The Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism
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THE ROUTLEDGE COMPANION TO FEMINISM AND POSTFEMINISM Feminism has had a radical impact on today’s world. But now the very future of feminism is under attack. The ideas of the feminists of the 1960s and 1970s are being questioned and redefined by a younger generation of ‘postfeminists’. The Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism is the perfect guidebook for finding one’s way around what has become an increasingly complex subject. Over a dozen in-depth background chapters, written by leading authorities on the subject, provide a broad-ranging and up-to-date overview. This is followed by a comprehensive A–Z reference section, which provides all the essential information on everything from the Spice Girls to Julia Kristeva. Topics covered include: • Simone de Beauvoir • bisexuality • Princess Diana • cosmetic surgery • the ‘new man’ • Courtney Love • prostitution • Andrea Dworkin • abortion • ‘slasher’ films Ideal for general readers as well as for students at all levels, this is an invaluable guide for anyone with a serious interest in feminism, its history and its future. Sarah Gamble is Senior Lecturer in English Studies at the University of Sunderland. Routledge Companions Routledge Companions are the perfect reference guides, providing everything the student or general reader needs to know. Authoritative and accessible, they combine the in-depth expertise of leading specialists with straightforward, jargon-free writing. In each book you’ll find what you’re looking for, clearly presented—whether through an extended article or an A–Z entry—in ways which the beginner can understand and even the expert will appreciate. Routledge Companion to Global Economics Edited by Robert Beynon Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism Edited by Sarah Gamble Routledge Companion to The New Cosmology Edited by Peter Coles Routledge Companion to Postmodernism Edited by Stuart Sim Routledge Companion to Semiotics and Linguistics Edited by Paul Cobley THE ROUTLEDGE COMPANION TO FEMINISM AND POSTFEMINISM Edited by Sarah Gamble LONDON AND NEW YORK First published in the United Kingdom in 1998 by Icon Books Ltd as The Icon Critical Dictionary of Feminism and Postfeminism First published in the United States of America in 1999 by Routledge as The Routledge Critical Dictionary of Feminism and Postfeminism This edition first published 2006 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/. Text Copyright © 1998, 2001 Sarah Gamble All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-01101-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-415-24309-2 (Hbk) ISBN 0-415-24310-6 (Print Edition) (Pbk) CONTENTS Editor’s Introduction vii Contributors xi 1 Part I Feminism: its History and Cultural Context 1 Early Feminism 3 Stephanie Hodgson-Wright 2 First Wave Feminism 15 Valerie Sanders 3 Second Wave Feminism 25 Sue Thornham 4 Postfeminism 36 Sarah Gamble 5 Feminism and Gender 46 Sophia Phoca 6 Feminism and the Developing World 54 Alka Kurian 7 Women and New Technologies 65 Liza Tsaliki 8 Feminism and Film 75 Sue Thornham 9 Feminism and Popular Culture 84 Natalie Fenton 10 Feminism and the Body 94 Fiona Carson 11 Feminism and Literature 103 Jill LeBihan 12 Feminism and Language 111 Mary M.Talbot 13 Feminism and Philosophy 117 Pamela Sue Anderson 14 Feminism and Religion 125 Alison Jasper 15 Feminism and Psychoanalysis 133 Danielle Ramsey Select Bibliography 141 145 Part II A–Z of Key Themes and Major Figures 147 A–Z Entries Index 331 EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION THE CONTROVERSIES OF FEMINISM It would not be overstating the case to say that feminism has been one of the most far- reaching movements this century, whose influence has been felt in every area of social, political and cultural life worldwide. Indeed, feminism has achieved the dubious distinction of becoming an utterly familiar part of our cultural landscape. We all know, or think we know, what feminism means, and we all, to a greater or lesser extent, pay it lip- service. Yet for most people, it appears, feminism remains something ‘out there’ rather than an internalised, actualised belief; a view promoted by a number of recent highly publicised surveys, which appear to show that few women are now willing to explicitly identify themselves as feminist. However, that is not to say that all the goals feminism has set itself have been achieved, since the changes it has set in motion may be as much defensive as accommodating, with male institutions striving to protect cherished areas of privilege and superiority. So although, as the very existence of this dictionary proves, feminism is a theory (or set of theories), something capable of being studied and debated on an academic level, it is simultaneously a movement which retains a commitment to change the real world outside the universities. But what, exactly, is feminism? A general definition might state that it is the belief that women, purely and simply because they are women, are treated inequitably within a society which is organised to prioritise male viewpoints and concerns. Within this patriarchal paradigm, women become everything men are not (or do not want to be seen to be): where men are regarded as strong, women are weak; where men are rational, they are emotional; where men are active, they are passive; and so on. Under this rationale, which aligns them everywhere with negativity, women are denied equal access to the world of public concerns as well as of cultural representation. Put simply, feminism seeks to change this situation. The Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism cannot lay claim to the distinction of being the first dictionary of feminism to be published. However, it appears at an apposite moment, a period in which ‘feminism’ is becoming an increasingly contested term. This is something this volume is intended to highlight, as indicated by the inclusion of the controversial term ‘postfeminism’ in its title. The introduction of the word ‘postfeminism’ into the popular lexicon has been taken to imply that we have somehow moved beyond the need for feminist activism, hence its linkage to the work of a disparate group of British and American writers, such as Naomi Wolf, Rene Denfeld and Natasha Walter, who argue in support of a change in the feminist agenda. Consequently it has come under extensive attack by feminists who still adhere to the tenets of the second wave as a betrayal of more than a century of feminist activism. Whether or not this is the case, the ‘traditional’ feminist versus the ‘post’ feminist debate is vociferous and ongoing, its fires stoked, no doubt, by a media only too willing to capitalise on the opportunity to portray it as a break in the massed ranks of the ‘sisterhood’. What this dictionary is intended to illustrate, however, is that feminism has always been a dynamic and multifaceted movement. Although, as has already been stated, it can very generally be categorised as the struggle to increase women’s access to equality in a male-dominated culture, there has never been a universally agreed agenda for feminism. Exactly what ‘equality’ for women entails, the means by which it is to be achieved, even the exact nature of the obstacles it faces, are all disputed issues. To read feminism’s history, therefore, is to uncover a record of debates, schisms and differing viewpoints and, approached in this way, the postfeminist debate merely dramatises a situation which has always, in fact, held true for feminism, a movement which thrives on diversity. So, to read postfeminism as indicating that the feminist movement has fragmented beyond the point of no return could be a misinterpretation, since it may constitute nothing more than the latest divergence in the constantly shifting parameters of feminist thought. Additionally, what can be termed ‘postfeminism’ has followed the example set by theoretical second wave feminism in negotiating fruitful relationships with postmodernism, drawing on theories of difference, identity and deconstruction in order to interrogate the ways in which the category ‘woman’ is constructed. STRUCTURE AND SCOPE OF THE VOLUME The Routledge Companion to Feminism and Postfeminism goes beyond the scope of a simple dictionary in its inclusion of essays alongside lists of definitions of names and terms, thus enabling the areas covered by this volume to be elaborated on in greater depth and detail than would ordinarily be the case. These essays form Part I of the book, and they have been collected and arranged with two aims in mind. Firstly, the four essays with which the book opens, when read together, give an overview of the development of feminist thought in Great Britain and America. Although feminism is conventionally dated from the inception of the first wave in the nineteenth century, this study looks further back in order to demonstrate that women were expressing views we would now identify as ‘feminist’ long before the development of a discourse of liberation. The essay on ‘Early Feminism’ is followed by essays on ‘First Wave Feminism’ and ‘Second Wave Feminism’, which introduce the reader to these crucial periods in the formation of the feminism we know today.