Abstract
Women’s voices, historically, have been silenced or Othered, but, through the interdisciplinary genre of the memoir, women are able to write from a female perspective and create a strong voice for feminism. By sharing the reality of the female experience, the memoirist ultimately reveals truths about her own life and, in doing so, examines the world in which she lives—especially with regard to gendered identity and social norms. This paper explores feminist and interdisciplinary aspects of the contemporary female-authored memoir. I focus on two key feminist issues—women’s role or gendered identity and the male gaze—within the memoirs of bell hooks, Caitlin Moran, and Tina Fey, incorporating interdisciplinary and feminist perspectives. Through their personal narratives, Moran, hooks, and Fey, explore politically charged topics (that are often silenced due to social stigma), while voicing their feeling of dissent toward social and gendered norms; ultimately, generating and promoting important feminist discourse.
