Abstract
It is an interesting time to be a feminist. Jonathan Dean argues that ‘in the UK, the mid- to late 2000s have witnessed significant increases in influence, visibility and popularity of a range of autonomous feminist practices’ (p. 1). At the same time, the recession and public spending cuts have disproportionately impacted on women and austerity measures risk further undermining gender equality (Women’s Budget Group, 2012). Thus, it seems timely to examine the state of contemporary feminism. The three books reviewed here explore recent feminist practices in the UK and, to some extent, more widely. Whilst they do not all come from an overtly sociological perspective, they display a sociological approach in situating feminist practices within a broader socio-political context. This is the ‘postfeminist’ context outlined by McRobbie (2009), in which aspects of feminism have been incorporated into mainstream culture and institutions (for example, through processes of gender mainstreaming), but at the same time feminism is routinely disparaged. In McRobbie’s words, feminism is ‘taken into account’ only to be relegated to the past: feminist success is used to argue that women have achieved equality and that feminism is therefore no longer needed (2009: 12).
Shelley Budgeon focuses on exploring the links between this broader context and the work of third wave feminists in Third Wave Feminism and the Politics of Gender in Late Modernity. Third wave feminism is a contested term that has been used since the 1990s to refer to the practices of predominantly younger feminists who differentiate themselves from the second wave feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s. Whilst Budgeon argues that there can be no simple definition of third wave feminism, she identifies some recurring themes in third wave writing, such as difference, ambiguity, contradiction, and inclusivity. Whereas second wave feminists arguably mobilized around a collective identity and set of shared interests as women, third wave feminists emphasize the diversity of women’s experiences and interests and deny the possibility of a singular and authentic definition of either womanhood or feminism (p. 17).
Using a ‘genealogical’ approach to understanding feminist history, Budgeon views third wave feminism as emerging from a particular historical context. This is the late modern gender order (in other words, the current state of gender relations in western societies), which is characterized by the ‘postfeminist’ dynamic described above, the processes of individualization described by sociologists such as Beck and Beck-Gernsheim (2002) and Giddens (1991), and the dominance of neoliberal politics and discourses. Budgeon is concerned with the effects of this context on female subjectivity and particularly the complex and contradictory pressures brought to bear on young women. She draws on theories of reflexive modernization and analyses of neoliberalism to explore how ‘women are incited to think of themselves, as liberated individuals’ (p. 50) who are expected to determine their own lives and to display traditionally masculine characteristics such as autonomy and self-reliance. At the same time, they are still expected to conform to aspects of traditional femininity, such as heterosexuality, emotional expressiveness and care for others. Budgeon uses research on young women to show how they struggle to negotiate these often impossibly conflicting demands. She suggests that third wave feminism responds to the complexity and ambivalence of the contemporary gender order: ‘Third wave feminism is born out of contradictions, complications, and a lack of predictability’ (p. 3).
Having outlined the main features of the contemporary gender order, Budgeon then goes on to evaluate several third wave feminist strategies, such as a focus on personal experience and autobiographical writing (Chapter 4) and a ‘politics of the self’ based on individual difference rather than collective identity amongst women, and focused on cultural production and individual ‘identity projects’ rather than engagement with political institutions (Chapter 5). This ‘politics of the self’ often involves engaging with popular culture in order to reappropriate and revalue symbols of femininity and devalued identities such as ‘girl’. For example, ‘Girlie’ feminists ‘celebrate and work with the accoutrements of highly stylized femininity because in so doing they assert that practices once regarded as instruments of patriarchal power can now be wielded by woman to express strength and agency’ (p. 113). Without dismissing third wave feminism, Budgeon exposes the limitations of these strategies, arguing that attempts to reappropriate language and culture may not always succeed, since ‘the effects of resignification are contingent upon specific economic, political, and social relations’ (p. 123). Thus, she argues that third wave feminists need to take more account of the wider socio-political context in which their actions are embedded.
Budgeon also interrogates the concept of ‘choice’, which is often emphasized by third wave feminists (Chapter 6). She explores the tensions between a feminist understanding of choice, focused on enhancing women’s autonomy, and the use of the term within neoliberal discourses, where it implies the conduct of a rational actor disconnected from social structures. Budgeon argues that, in the current social context, it is not enough for feminists to value women’s ability to make choices: they also need to critically examine both the nature of those choices and the contexts in which they are made. Lastly, Budgeon explores the generational dynamics put in place by the idea of a third wave of feminism (Chapter 7). Third wave feminism sets itself up as a ‘successor’ to second wave feminism and thus relegates the second wave to the past (p. 156), a move which has caused division amongst feminists. Budgeon explores the problematic implications of a ‘generational’ account of feminist history, with its attendant notions of inheritance and debt (p. 161) and suggests that non-linear conceptions of time present an alternative way to think about feminist history.
Whilst the book ostensibly focuses on third wave feminism, it actually entails a much broader engagement with the contemporary gender order and ongoing debates within feminism. Budgeon uses the third wave as a starting point to discuss key concepts within feminism, such as experience, subjectivity and choice. Each of these concepts is the subject of a detailed and sophisticated theoretical discussion so that, in some ways, the book reads like a series of theoretical essays. Budgeon’s aims are very ambitious: to delineate the often vague and contested concept of third wave feminism, to evaluate it, and to situate it within a broader social context. This inevitably leads to a rather broad brush approach, and some of Budgeon’s theoretical discussions are quite abstract; I would have preferred more engagement with specific examples of third wave texts and political practices. Nevertheless, this book makes an important contribution to ongoing debates about feminist theory and practice, particularly through Budgeon’s extensive and creative analysis of the links between third wave feminism and the broader social context. Whilst perhaps too specialized for the general reader, it should be of value to those with an interest in feminist theory and politics.
For non-specialists, Reclaiming the F Word provides a more accessible introduction to contemporary feminism, aimed at a general rather than an academic audience. Redfern and Aune aim ‘to provide a whistle-stop tour of [feminist] activity in the UK today and further afield’ (p. x). Focused on newer forms of activism, the book is based on a survey of over 1200 feminists involved in feminist organizations or activities that have developed since 2000. The book mainly deals with the issues that concern today’s feminists and is structured into seven chapters, mirroring the seven demands of the 1970s Women’s Liberation Movement in the UK. 1 Redfern and Aune’s new seven demands, based on their survey results, are: (1) liberated bodies, (2) sexual freedom and choice, (3) an end to violence against women, (4) equality at work and home, (5) politics and religion transformed, (6) popular culture free from sexism, and (7) feminism reclaimed. In each chapter, the authors outline feminist approaches to the topic in question, drawing on research, feminist writing and activism, and responses to their survey. As well as highlighting the problems facing women in each of these areas, they also describe feminist responses to these issues and conclude each chapter with suggestions for action that the reader could take. Thus, the book aims to facilitate, as well as document, feminist activism.
Feminism is such a diverse and contested body of thought and practice that any attempt to specify its content is potentially problematic. Whilst Redfern and Aune themselves admit that ‘Not everyone will agree on the issues we’ve highlighted, and everyone will prioritise them in different ways’ (p. 16), they have attempted to reflect the diversity of current feminist beliefs and political strategies, which, in my view, is a key strength of the book. For example, Chapter 3 attempts to balance different feminist perspectives on prostitution, and the section on religion (in Chapter 5) explores strategies for transforming religion from religious, spiritual and secular perspectives.
Overall, this is a balanced, engaging and readable introductory text. It highlights continuing gender-based inequality and thus makes the case for the importance of feminism, it describes and celebrates a wide variety of contemporary feminist practices, it explores the perspectives of contemporary feminists, and it seeks to inspire readers to take action themselves. Whilst feminists and social scientists may already be familiar with many of the issues raised in the book, they may not be aware of the myriad examples of recent feminist practices that Redfern and Aune have documented. In addition, they may be interested in the survey research, which represents one of few recent empirical studies on UK feminism and, with its broad scope, provides valuable insight into the beliefs and experiences of predominantly younger UK feminists.
Jonathan Dean, in Rethinking Contemporary Feminist Politics, provides a more focused and theoretical analysis of three contemporary British feminist organizations: the Fawcett Society, Women’s Aid and the F-word website. He analyses these through the lens of ‘radicality’ in order to explore the state of contemporary feminism, aiming to counteract ‘melancholic’ accounts of feminist decline and deradicalization since the 1970s. Drawing on the work of political theorists such as Ernesto Laclau and Linda Zerilli, Dean develops a new definition of radicalism which is based on the ‘capacity to bring into existence new frames of thought and action’ (p. 38), rather than being attached to particular forms of political practice, such as consciousness-raising or autonomous, anti-state organizing. This helps to counteract the idea that, for example, feminist engagement with state institutions necessarily involves deradicalization, and ‘opens us to the possibility of radical practices emerging unpredictably in a diversity of contexts’ (pp. 62–3). Dean uses this framework to assess the radical potential of contemporary UK feminism.
Dean’s case studies constitute an interesting cross-section of current British feminist politics. The Fawcett Society has its roots in the 19th and early 20th century women’s suffrage movement and is named after suffragist Millicent Garrett Fawcett. Today it is a highly professional campaigning organization, focusing on research and lobbying across a range of feminist issues, such as equal pay, gender equality in the workplace, women in the criminal justice system, and women’s political representation. Dean states that Fawcett has traditionally distanced itself from radicalism but that the organization underwent a rebranding exercise in 2005 which arguably foregrounded a more radical stance. This involved, for example, using the term ‘feminism’ more openly, engaging more with grass-roots feminist activists, and focusing more explicitly on ethnic minority women, bringing together feminist and anti-racist concerns.
Whilst Fawcett may be seen as a legacy of the women’s suffrage movement, Women’s Aid, a national domestic violence charity, is a product of the women’s refuge movement of the 1970s. Dean shows how Women’s Aid has developed from an autonomous, collective, voluntary organization, into a professional service provider and lobbying organization. Whilst the organization has become more professionalized and institutionalized, he argues that it has maintained its radicality through a commitment to a feminist analysis of domestic violence that challenges hegemonic understandings of gender. Nevertheless, Dean’s account is not blindly optimistic. He also explores the tensions inherent in engaging with mainstream political institutions, which threaten the more radical dimensions of both Fawcett and Women’s Aid.
Dean’s third case study, the F-word, is a feminist website which was set up in 2001, and which is mainly aimed at younger British women. In this case study Dean explores issues around cyberfeminism, contributors’ engagements with popular culture, and the generational dimension of the site. Some of the themes identified by Dean in the content of the F-word reflect aspects of third wave feminism discussed by Budgeon: an engagement with popular culture, attempts to reconcile feminism and femininity, a focus on individual identity, and a broad and inclusive definition of feminism. Furthermore, as a forum for younger feminists, the F-word is to some extent identified as a third wave feminist space. Dean explores younger feminists’ uses of the term third wave and, like Budgeon, identifies the tensions that exist around the generational framing of feminism. He suggests that identification with the idea of the third wave on the part of younger women can imply a rejection or negative stereotyping of second wave feminism, and that this threatens to undermine the more positive and radical dimensions of the F-word as a feminist space.
Dean uses the case studies to argue for a ‘cautiously optimistic’ view of contemporary feminist politics, which I find quite refreshing and which contrasts, for example, with McRobbie’s (2009) more pessimistic account. He also concludes by reflecting on theorizing political optimism more generally. Dean’s work is grounded in political theory, so those from other disciplines may find the theoretical chapters rather dense. However, the case studies are very interesting and, like Redfern and Aune’s survey, provide valuable empirical research on recent feminist activity. Furthermore, Dean’s original reformulation of ‘radicality’ is a useful tool for analysing political practices, which could potentially be applied to a number of social movements. Thus, overall, this book fulfils the important roles of both documenting and critically evaluating feminist practices.
Together, these books provide insight into contemporary feminist practices and also illuminate some key themes within contemporary feminism. Redfern and Aune and Dean contribute empirical research on current feminist beliefs and practices, whilst Budgeon and Dean develop tools for critically analysing these. An issue that arises in all of the books is the importance of feminist history and the tensions produced by the ways in which we remember, understand, and write that history. For example, Redfern and Aune suggest that younger women’s activism is often ignored because it does not live up to the imagined feminist ‘golden age’ of the 1970s (pp. 12–13). Meanwhile, Budgeon and Dean both explore the problematic framing of feminist history in terms of ‘waves’ and ‘generations’ and Budgeon offers some alternative ways of thinking about feminist history. These concerns are symptomatic of a wider concern with temporality within contemporary feminist scholarship. 2 Fortunately, discussions of feminist temporality seem to be moving beyond identifying feminist waves and generations towards critiquing these metaphors and finding more inclusive ways of telling feminist history, and these books are also reflective of this process.
Other themes that are shared across all of the books include the diversity of contemporary feminisms and, crucially, the interactions between feminists and the wider socio-political context. Whilst the latter is the focus of Budgeon’s work, a concern with the wider social context is also present in the other books. For example, Dean analyses Women’s Aid’s work in relation to the ‘new public management’ approach to public services (p. 124) and considers the work of the F-word contributors in relation to broader discourses of post-feminism and depoliticized ‘popular feminism’. Redfern and Aune also discuss the wider social context when seeking to explain why more people do not identify as feminist (pp. 5–9). Thus, these writers all contribute to developing a sociological understanding of contemporary feminist practice.