Women's Studies has been the paradox that femininity has posed for feminist theory. As we wrote in the introduction, it remains relatively under-scrutinised in the journal as well as, to some extent, more broadly in women's/gender studies: on the one hand, a central problem especially for (white) women, on the other, a seemingly undertheorised concept. Curiously, while we have deconstructed 'woman' as a unified subject and object of feminism, femininity itself seems to still need further reconfiguration. As an afterword to this issue, special issue editors Ulrika Dahl and Jenny Sundén have worked with Open Forum editor madeleine kennedy-macfoy on inviting a few scholars who have influenced our own work and whose work in turn has developed theoretical discussions around femininity to a virtual round table discussion. We thank Professor
The project of developing a contemporary critical populism requires us to discriminate between uncritical populisms that ultimately reinforce unequal social relations, and popular discourses capable of generating counterhegemonic projects. In the field of popular feminisms, this means discriminating between the pseudo-feminist distortions that saturate popular culture and the feminisms that are radically committed to social justice. From this point of view, what has been called neoliberal feminism or postfeminism are clear examples of culturally populist feminisms can be developed in decidedly uncritical ways. As a new populist narrative, neoliberal postfeminism, has gobbled up feminism to regurgitate it as some other thing, which is sexier and more profitable in political, commercial and symbolical terms, and which adapts the rhetoric of neoliberal entrepreneurial subjectivities – free, empowered, sovereign of themselves and their choices – to these new post-recessionary times of popularised feminism. Against this, and with a particular focus on the Spanish context, this paper makes an intersectional case for a truly critical popular/populist feminism, capable of normalising the values of equality, justice, diversity, wellbeing and freedom, as well as of developing a progressive social project for everyone.
The project of developing a contemporary critical populism requires us to discriminate between uncritical populisms that ultimately reinforce unequal social relations and popular discourses capable of generating counter-hegemonic projects. In the field of popular feminisms, this means discriminating between the pseudo-feminist discourses that saturate popular culture and the feminisms that are radically committed to social justice. From this point of view, what has been called neoliberal feminism or postfeminism are clear examples of how culturally populist feminisms can be developed in decidedly uncritical ways. As a new populist narrative, neoliberal postfeminism has gobbled up feminism to regurgitate it as merely some other thing, which is sexier and more profitable in political, commercial and symbolic terms and which adapts the rhetoric of neoliberal entrepreneurial subjectivities – free, empowered, sovereign of themselves and their choices – to these new post-recessionary times. Against this, and with a particular focus on the Spanish context, this article makes the case for a truly critical popular/populist feminism, capable of normalising the values of equality, justice, diversity, wellbeing and freedom, as well as of developing an intersectional and progressive social project for everyone.
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