Maya, Cixous

 Helene Cixous writes, "There is no invention possible ... without their being in the invention subject an abundance of the Other..." 

In her theory regarding woman as an identity and whether or not it can exist outside of man, the oppressor, she points to this idea that nothing can exist or be defined without the Other. One could connect this with many theorists we've visited this semester, Maucherey and intertextuality or hooks' theorizing the Other, but Cixous' work creates a larger narrative around identity as it pertains to women. 

During class we discussed this idea whether woman can exist without man. This quote alludes to Cixous believing that woman cannot exist without man. There is no identity possible, she argues, without there being the other. This points to the us versus them phenom, where there's always a constant pull between the other and the one doing the othering. With this idea, how do we navigate identity politics? It's obviously not black and white, but I wonder if there will ever be a clear answer. Maybe the clear answer is that we can't navigate identity politics without the existence of the Other. This is how identity groups are constructed. 

My media connection is a little abstract and not super closely tied to women. When I think of the Other, I think literally of "the others" in the television show Lost. In this show, the main characters arrive on this island and soon find out that there are others on the island. What do they end up calling them? The others. In terms of the quote, the others on the island have an identity constructed for them by the main characters doing the othering. What's also interesting is that the others also other the main characters whose plan crashes on the island. There is no invention, no identity, possible without there being the existence of something else.