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White Feminist Stories Locating Race in Narratives of British Feminism

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White Feminist Stories Locating Race in Narratives of British Feminism View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by London Met Repository White Feminist Stories Locating Race in Narratives of British Feminism A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Terese Jonsson Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities London Metropolitan University June 2015 Abstract This thesis examines dominant feminist discourses emerging from liberal media, the academy, and activist networks in contemporary Britain. In particular, it traces stories and representations of feminism’s recent past (from the 1960s onwards) which are constructed and reproduced through these sites, analysing where and how issues related to race and racism are located within - and outside of - such narratives. It is based on empirical research analysing popular, academic, and activist books, newspaper articles in The Guardian and The Observer, as well as interviews with feminist activists and students of women’s and gender studies courses. Given that there is an extensive history of women of colour-led organising in post-war Britain, including an autonomous black women’s movement in the 1970s and ’80s, and the growth at this time of black British feminism both within and outside of the academy, the thesis interrogates dominant narratives which continue to construct British feminism as a story belonging to white women. Drawing on black and postcolonial feminist theory, it analyses the articulations of feminist politics emerging from these sites through an anti- racist lens. It demonstrates that the way the historical narratives are constructed and gain currency has a significant influence on contemporary feminist theory and politics, with whiteness reproduced as the hegemonic lens through which British feminism is understood. The thesis argues that white feminist racism haunts the dominant narrative of British feminism – as something which is repeatedly erased or evaded each time it is brought to view – and it calls for white feminist academics and activists to reckon with the long history of racism and imperialism which has been integral to the British feminist project since its inception. 2 Acknowledgements Thank you… First of all to my supervisor, Irene Gedalof, who has provided invaluable guidance, knowledge and support over the last six years. I feel incredibly lucky to have a supervisor who has been so generous with her time and energy. Thanks also to my second supervisor, Jenny Harding, who came on board late in the project to provide some much- needed expertise on how to make sense of the interview material. To Lani Parker, for her unwavering encouragement and patience, and for always challenging me to think deeper and act braver. Not to mention for the many incisive comments on draft chapters. To my parents, Kurt and Gunilla, and my sister Linda, for always supporting and believing in my somewhat circuitous academic endeavours. To inspiring feminists, critical scholars and fellow trouble-makers I have the fortune to know, learn from and work with. There are many I could mention, but I especially want to thank Humaira Saeed, Sarah Keenan, Johanna Novales and Dieuwertje Dyi Huijg, for ongoing conversations, collaborations and friendship. To Sam and Denise – friends who deserve special thanks for having stuck with me and cheered me on throughout this whole lengthy, intense process. And to Natasha, without whom I may never have actually finished. To Cathy Larne in the Research Office and Hema Joshi in FSSH, for all their help with navigating the administrative side of London Met. To the members of the gender and sexuality forum at London Met as well as the ‘Race’, Ethnicities and Postcolonial Studies (REPS) network, for all the collaborative learning. To my thesis examiners, Sara Ahmed and Sunny Singh, for their generous engagement with my work and sharing of their expertise. And last but certainly not least, to all the interview participants: my sincere appreciation and gratitude for taking part. 3 Table of contents Abstract................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Table of contents ................................................................................................................................................ 4 1. Feminism and its stories .............................................................................................................................. 7 Why narratives? ............................................................................................................................................. 10 Research on feminist narratives .............................................................................................................. 16 Structure of thesis and original contribution to knowledge ........................................................ 19 2. Feminism, race and whiteness: Theoretical, historical and political contexts ....................... 22 Feminism and race in post-war Britain: Activist and academic genealogies ......................... 22 Key terms ......................................................................................................................................................... 28 Feminism ..................................................................................................................................................... 28 Racism .......................................................................................................................................................... 30 White supremacy and whiteness ....................................................................................................... 32 White feminism and white feminists ................................................................................................ 37 Intersectionality ........................................................................................................................................ 42 A race-critical, intersectional feminism ................................................................................................ 45 3. Researching narratives, race and whiteness ...................................................................................... 48 Narratives, stories and representation ................................................................................................. 49 Researching race and whiteness ............................................................................................................ 53 Ethics ................................................................................................................................................................. 62 Research design: Methods of data generation and analysis ....................................................... 63 Generating the data ................................................................................................................................ 64 Analysing the data ................................................................................................................................... 66 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................... 68 4. Popular feminist literature: The new imperial feminism ................................................................ 70 The New Feminism by Natasha Walter ................................................................................................ 72 The Noughtie Girl’s Guide to Feminism by Ellie Levenson ........................................................... 74 How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran ............................................................................................... 75 The language of equality ........................................................................................................................... 77 Feminist subjects and objects.................................................................................................................. 79 4 Imperial constructions of power ............................................................................................................. 84 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................... 87 5. United, inclusive and innocent: Feminism in The Guardian and The Observer .................... 88 Liberal journalism and feminist discourse .......................................................................................... 89 From the ‘old’ to the ‘new’: Tracing contemporary feminism’s emergence .......................... 91 Feminism as a united community .......................................................................................................... 94 Innocent feminists ........................................................................................................................................ 96 Inclusion politics ........................................................................................................................................ 103 Struggles and contestations ................................................................................................................
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