I am interested in exploring ideas of utopia, specifically as they relate to
ideas about gender and nature. What would an all-female world be like, where
girls' most secret fears and desires are allowed their full expression? Like
many utopias, my imaginary female society is situated in a forest; the
cultural meanings of the woods, as explored in 'Lord of the Flies', interest
me as a site outside of the bounds of societal laws, where a dark and
chaotic 'human nature' is revealed. Those cultural connotations, combined
with prevalent images in horror movies of women as victims in the woods,
about to be attacked by a predator, or as 'children of the earth', truly at
one with nature, intrigue me. I'd like to take a closer look at what it
means to be a woman in the woods our culture. |