Sexist Novels and Literary Prizes

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Literary prizes are often a source of controversy, the majority of which revolves around what should qualify or disqualify a novel in regards to its award nomination potential. Lately there has been a push towards novels that convey politically correct themes, but this does not prevent authors from winning with less than moral works (Geason). For example, the French author Michel Houellebecq recently won a coveted French literary prize (the Prix Goncourt) without straying from writing novels that are hotly debated. He goes as far as to be “overtly controversial” within his works, including disparaging comments on women and Islam (Keaton and Barchfield). This win will surely lead to an increase in publicity, as every time a novel wins a literary prize the sales increase dramatically. An upsurge in sales leads to an increase in the consumption of their message. (Fein) For this reason, authors who publish novels intended to spread a sexist viewpoint should be disqualified from winning literary prizes – a win encourages the spread of the ideas contained within their works.
The first example of an author that is explicitly sexist being honored despite the fact is Norman Mailer. Winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, one for Armies of the Night (1968) and one for The Executioner’s Song (1979), Mailer suffered from a severe fear of homosexuality (Academy of Achievement) (Snyder). This manifested in both his novels and his everyday life with over exaggerated displays of masculinity. In his personal life Mailer accepted sex and violence as his “gods” (Jones). He also expressed opinions such as “a little bit of rape is good for a man’s soul” (Jones). Women were used as a sort of expendable prop in order to maintain Mailer’s image of masculinity –...

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...nd anti-Muslim views presented in his earlier texts.
Mackenzie, Suzie. "The Man Can't Help It." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 31 Aug. 2002. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. This is an article written about the life of Houellebecq that elaborates on his treatment of women in his personal life.
Schaefer, Richard T., and Robert P. Lamm. Sociology. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. Print. This is a sociology textbook that talks about feminism and the impact of mass media on how people interact.
Snyder, Michael. "Crises of Masculinity: Homosocial Desire and Homosexual Panic in the Critical Cold War Narratives of Mailer and Coover." Academic OneFile. Gale Group, 2007. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. This is a paper discussing the fear of homosexuality present in the literature written by Norman Mailer. It contains quotes on the rise of homosexuality as the “feminization” of America.

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