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Feminisms Matter This page intentionally left blank Copyright © University of Toronto Press Incorporated 2012 Higher Education Division www.utppublishing.com All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without prior written consent of the publisher—or in the case of photocopying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), One Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1E5—is an infringement of the copyright law. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Bromley, Victoria L., 1959– Feminisms matter : debates, theories, activism / Victoria L. Bromley. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4426-0500-8 1. Feminism. 2. Anti-feminism. 3. Feminist theory. 4. Women political activists. I. Title. HQ1154.B85 2012 305.42 C2012-905269-8 We welcome comments and suggestions regarding any aspect of our publications— please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or visit our Internet site at www.utppublishing.com. North America UK, Ireland, and continental Europe 5201 Dufferin Street NBN International North York, Ontario Estover Road, Plymouth, PL6 7PY, UK Canada, M3H 5T8 ordErS PHoNE: 44 (0) 1752 202301 ordErS fax: 44 (0) 1752 202333 2250 Military Road ordErS E-MaIL: [email protected] Tonawanda, New York USA, 14150 ordErS PHoNE: 1-800-565-9523 ordErS fax: 1-800-221-9985 ordErS E-MaIL: [email protected] Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders; in the event of an error or omission, please notify the publisher. This book is printed on paper containing 100% post-consumer fibre. The University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support for its publishing activities of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund. Cover design: Michel Vrana. Image composited with photos from Shutterstock: wall, donatas1205; figure, Warren Goldswain. Text design: Zack Taylor, Metapolis. Printed in Canada For my family James, Yvonne, Tekie, and Kuwor. This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix Introduction xi 1 Don’t Call Me That! Feminism and Other “F-words” 1 2 What’s Feminism Done (For Me) Lately? Feminist Contributions 13 3 How Do I Know What I Know? Epistemology and Theory 37 4 Making My Head Spin: Critical Intersectionality 47 5 So Many Details and So Much Reading: Feminist Theories 65 6 From Universalizing to Queering and Globalizing Theories 91 7 Taking Feminism on the Road: Feminist Methods 115 8 It’s Not Dead? Connecting the Dots across the Waves of Feminisms 131 9 Don’t Men Count, Too? Feminisms and Masculinities 151 10 The Strategies That Empower Us: Feminist Activism 173 11 Still Struggling: Making Change 189 Works Cited and Suggested Readings 213 Index 247 vii This page intentionally left blank ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to begin by thanking my students over many years who have given me the opportunity to teach and learn alongside them. You have helped to create a space for us to explore feminisms from diverse perspectives, to travel together through feminist debates, and to engage in feminist activism. I would also like to thank my many dedicated teaching assistants who have enriched my teaching experience, provided insights into student perceptions, and helped me to develop my feminist pedagogy. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues for their unwavering support throughout the process. To Aalya Ahmad, my friend and colleague: you have been both my academic sounding board and intellectual cheerleader. You were always ready to listen to my ideas, help me over the stumbling blocks, and edit my work before I would let anyone else read it. You made it possible for me to write this book. To Beth Hughes, my friend and colleague, you made the often-lonely task of writing this book tolerable. You suffered through my al- most daily updates. Allowing me to talk about my progress and difficulties was more important than you will ever know. The endless coffee shop excursions to talk about not just the book but about life made this book possible. Your com- ments on drafts were invaluable to the end product but your friendship extends far beyond this publication. To Virginia Caputo, who is my friend, mentor and colleague, you have taught me what it means to be a feminist. Your generosity of spirit on every level offers a model for teaching and living life to its fullest. Your enduring support and confidence in me has given me the strength to continue the fight for justice. To Pamela Walker, my friend, trusted advisor and colleague, your comments on this book were excellent and made it a better product. Your sense of humour, even under difficult circumstances, is always appreciated. To Karen March, my friend and colleague, thank you for sharing your vast intellectual insights regarding qualitative methodologies. You were incredibly generous with your time in offering critical commentary, and your record for fastest turnaround on chapter drafts remains unchallenged. I want to thank André Turcotte for carefully reading a book about which you knew nothing and yet still provided great insights! To Andrew Asare, thank you for creating diagrams that allowed some of my concepts to be visually interpreted ix x Acknowledgements by readers. Mark Slater, our telephone collaborations on the illustrations for the text were an enriching experience. Your ability to interpret my sense of humour graphically has made this a very different kind of feminist book. I wish to thank the fantastic team at the University of Toronto Press, especially my editor Tracey Arndt who believed in the need for a feminist text of this type and my ability to deliver it. Thanks also to Beth McAuley and her team for pushing me to make this book better. Finally, I would like to thank my family. To my daughters, Tekie and Kuwor, you have made my life complete by allowing me to be your “other” mom. I appreciate deeply the loving care you gave my mom when I was di- verted by writing and unable to do so. My love and appreciation for you both is immeasurable. To my mother, Yvonne, who will never read this book be- cause of her ongoing struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, you have always given me the unconditional love that has made me believe that a better world is possible. And lastly, to my husband James, you have been my constant support and inspiration. Your unconditional love, unfailing trust, and constant belief in me has made my life complete. INTRODUCTION As you sit on the bus, in the library, at home in the living room, or in a com- mons on campus, you might find people looking over your shoulder and asking you what you’re reading. When you respond, “I’m reading Feminisms Matter: Debates, Theories, Activism,” they might ask you why. Why indeed? Perhaps it’s because you’re interested in feminisms or because the book has been assigned as part of a course you’re taking. The word on the street, on the other hand, is that feminism is dead, so what could possibly be important about feminism? The short answer is, “Everything!” The longer answer is that feminisms help us to understand ourselves and the world in which we live. Feminisms help us to redress oppressions and bring about social change. Most people, if they don’t quickly change the subject to something more neutral like the weather, roll their eyes and dismiss these statements as naïve or just plain crazy. But then there are the people who are genuinely interested in how we can go about envisioning and making social change. These are the folks who may not think of themselves as feminists but who still want to know more. So be prepared: the questions will soon follow, and not just from other people—you may have some interesting ones, too. Because once you get feminisms, you will look at things differently. This book is a reader-friendly guide to thinking through the multi- plicities of feminisms: their various conceptualizations; the diverse issues they address; the critical dialogues among feminisms, feminists, and activists; the struggles and achievements of women’s movement; and strategies for social change. The book incorporates exercises, questions, illustrations, and case stud- ies as learning tools to assist in the process of thinking through feminisms. Readers are invited to learn not only about feminisms but also to think about how feminist theories can help us understand the world in which we live and even frame social change. As a way of opening the door to new ways of seeing the world, this book confronts the major reasons that people offer for not being feminists. This book challenges negative stereotypes, unravels myths, and confronts as- sumptions about feminisms, and goes beyond the response, “I’m not a femi- nist but...” Feminisms Matter: Debates, Theories, Activism encourages readers to xi xii Introduction engage in processes of critical thinking about feminisms that move beyond popular anti-feminist rhetoric. As you read, you will become familiar with the basic concepts and defini- tions commonly used by feminists while demystifying the notion that theory is “too hard” and “too abstract.” My purpose here is not to provide the ultimate feminist theory text; others have already done this extremely well. Nor is my goal to reproduce the work of numerous excellent feminist anthologies. The goal here is threefold: to spark your curiosity about theory, to lead you to recognize that theory is something you already do, and to build your confidence around theorizing and critical thinking. Each of these goals, of course, requires thinking through feminisms, debates, theories, and activism.