The affective, cultural and psychic life of postfeminism: A postfeminist sensibility 10 years on

Abstract

This article revisits the notion of 'postfeminism' 10 years after its formulation in critical terms as a sensibility characterizing cultural life. The article has two broad aims: first to reflect upon postfeminism as a critical term -as part of the lexicon of feminist scholarship -and second to discuss the current features of postfeminism as a sensibility. The first part of the article discusses the extraordinary uptake of the term and considers its continuing relevance in a changed context marked by deeply contradictory trends, including the resurgence of interest in feminism, alongside the spectacular visibility of misogyny, racism, homophobia and nationalism. I document a growing attention to the specificities of postfeminism, including attempts to map its temporal phases, its relevance to place, and intersectional developments of the term. The second part of the article examines the contours of the contemporary postfeminist sensibility. I argue that postfeminism has tightened its hold upon contemporary life and become hegemonic. Compared with a decade ago, it is much more difficult to recognize as a novel and distinctive sensibility, as it instantiates a common sense that operates as a kind of gendered neoliberalism. It has both spread out and intensified across contemporary culture and is becoming increasingly dependent upon a psychological register built around cultivating the 'right' kinds of dispositions for surviving in neoliberal society: confidence, resilience and positive mental attitude. Together these affective, cultural and psychic features of postfeminism exert a powerful regulatory force. This article forms part of 'On the Move', a special issue marking the twentieth anniversary of the journal. It also heads up a special online dossier on 'Postfeminism in the European Journal of Cultural Studies'.

The ‘new industrial man’ as unhero: Doing postfeminist masculinities in an Italian pharmacological research centre

“…Critical scholars (e.g., Adamson & Kelan, ; Gill, ) argue that postfeminist discourses, in advocating empowerment, individualism, choice and self‐discipline, tend to silence structural inequalities and cultural influence and ‘[depoliticize] many of the fundamental issues advanced by […] feminism’ (Rosenfelt & Stacey, , p. 78). The analysis that follows builds on this critique and shows how postfeminist discourses that embed tensions associated to patriarchal expectations, entangled with current cultural changes (e.g., men as new fathers, non‐winners — neither breadwinners etc.…”

“…Critical scholars (e.g., Adamson & Kelan, 2018;Gill, 2017) argue that postfeminist discourses, in advocating empowerment, individualism, choice and self-discipline, tend to silence structural inequalities and cultural influence and '[depoliticize] many of the fundamental issues advanced by […] feminism' (Rosenfelt & Stacey, 1987, p. 78).…”

Critical social psychology and interdisciplinary studies of personal life: Greater than the sum of its parts

“…However, the ordinary quality of affective practices that reproduce neoliberal subjectivities tends to get lost in such work (Wetherell, , p. 155). Another generative body of work showing the prevalence of neoliberal sensibilities can be found in studies of postfeminist cultures and psyches (Gill, ; Riley, Evans, Elliott, Rice, & Marecek, ; Scharff, ). Yet, foci on intimacies and personal relationships in studies of postfeminism tend to be on various aspects of sexual relationships or disciplinary body practices, with the intersections with other types of (pluralising) intimacies remaining under‐explored (for an exception see Kanai, ).…”

Re-purposing fika: rest, recreation or regulation in the neoliberalized Swedish University?

“…In the context of conspicuous productivity, fika can seem like profligacy and self-indulgence in hyper-professionalised work cultures (Gornall and Salisbury 2012). The 'always on' 24/7, self-beratement, machinic academic 7 production line culture suggests that one lacks the entitlement to stop work to attend to one's health and well-being (Gill 2017). Business models favoured by neoliberal employment regimes suggest that every investment requires a return.…”