Reinventing the Wheel or Fixing It ? A Case Study of Radical Feminism In Contemporary Montreal. By Genevieve Page, B.A. (Hons) A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Canadian Studies Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario August 17th 2006 2006, Genevieve Page Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be includedBien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i * i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. There is no alternative. Margaret Thatcher Le fait d etre radicale, moi dans ma vie, ce que ga me permet c est de pouvoir dire Non! Pas un Non, mais un gros Non! A member of Nemesis ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract This thesis examines radical feminism in Montreal in the last five years and explores its potential for resisting neo-liberalism. I compare the ideas that animated 1970s radical feminism in the United States, France and Quebec then offer a case study of four contemporary radical feminist groups. This thesis identifies a similarity in fundamental concepts across time, but posits that there is an intersectional analysis present in contemporary radical feminism. After establishing the neo-liberal context of Quebec and its impact on social actors, this thesis argues that radical feminists’ collective struggle grounded in the personal as political can inform resistance to neo-liberalism in innovative and transformative ways. This thesis also hypothesises that contemporary radical feminism can support the construction of global solidarity and transnational alliances. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements Merci a toutes les femmes qui ont participe aux entrevues pour avoir accepte de partager vos experiences et votre savoir. Merci a toutes les feministes radicales qui m’ont appuyee, soutenue, nourrie, questionnee et poussee toujours plus loin autant dans la reflexion que dans la lutte. Merci a Eve-Marie Lampron pour son soutient autant emotionnel qu’academique. Et surtout, merci a Andre pour sa confiance, sa patience, ses judicieux conseils et surtout, son amour. A special thank to L. Pauline Rankin, my supervisor, for the dedication, the thoughtful criticism, and for believing in me, from the start. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Abstract ...............................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ v Introduction 1 Research question.......................................................................................................... 2 Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 3 A Few Methodological Notes.................................................................................... 8 The Mainstreaming-disengagement framework...................................... 9 Third Wave ........................................................................................................ 11 A typology of currents of thought................................................................. 14 My personal involvement with the groups................................................. 16 Outline................................................................................................................ ............ 19 Chapter One - Radical feminism 21 Radical feminism..............................................................................................................21 Universal Patriarchy ..........................................................................................25 Women as a natural category............................................ 26 Women as a class................................................................................................27 The Personal is Political...................................................................................30 Radical feminism in action.............................................................................................31 Materialist Radical Feminism ........................................................................................35 Radical feminism and the treatment of difference....................................................37 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................41 Chapter Two - Quebec Radical Feminism in the 1970s 43 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 43 The Wind of Change : Quebec in the 1960s ............................................................ 43 Radical Feminist Theory in Quebec ............................................................................ 47 Patriarchy as a system of oppression.......................................................... 50 Women’s nature................................................................................................ 51 Women as a class............................................................................................. 52 The personal is political................................................................................. 53 Quebec Radical feminists in Action ....................................... 54 Feminism and Nationalism.......................................................................................... 58 Socialist or Materialist Feminism? The English-Canadian Difference................62 Interlude : The Latent Period of Radical Feminism ............................................... 65 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................67 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Chapter Three-The context of Quebec at the turn of the millenium 68 Neo-liberalism and its application in Quebec............................................................69 Institutionalised Women’s groups and the State.......................................................80 The New Mobilisation : A Revival of Social Movements ......................................84 Conclusion............................................................................................ 90 Chapter Four - Contemporary Radical Feminism 92 General Parameter of the Case Study........................................................................92 Methodological Approach............................................................................................. 96 Ethical Concerns ..............................................................................................99 Data Analysis.................................................................................................................. 100 Radical feminism : a definition................................................................................... 102 Universal patriarchy....................................................................................... 105 Women as