Feminist Critique Research Articles

Politicizzare la cura per curare la democrazia

“Taking care” involves a politics of relationships. Care has both a subjective and a relational dimension: starting from subjectivity, everyone opens up to vulnerability, dependence, fragility. Care is above all a practical path of spillage from the self and return to the self, enriched by the experience of the other. This paper proposes a reflection that starts from the founding myth of the essentiality of care and crosses the feminist critique of essentialism and the dialectical tension between mysticism and de-valuation. Focusing on the analysis provided by the so-called second school of ethics of care, it wants to reflect on the current possibility of making care a political paradigm for change and democratization of relationships and society.

Eliminating racial discrimination of employees: An assessment of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended

The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended, was enacted inter alia to "achieve equity in the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination". In terms of the Act, no person may discriminate against an employee unfairly, but research shows that racial discrimination of black employees persists, despite the promulgation of the Act. The objective of this article is to determine whether the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended is the appropriate vehicle to eliminate racial discrimination of black employees. This is undertaken through the lens of critical race theory, which analyses the ways in which ignoring the importance of race perpetuates oppression. Although critical race theory was developed in the United States, it is relevant to South Africa given that black employees are still subjected to racial discrimination even many years after the end of apartheid. The tenets of critical race theory include structural determinism; the critique of liberalism; social science insights, historical analysis and multidisciplinary thinking; intersectionality; storytelling, narrative, and naming one's reality; and anti-essentialism. This article examines each tenet and shows how they relate to the Act. The contention is that the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, as amended is not the most appropriate vehicle for eliminating racial discrimination of black employees in South Africa.

Rape, law and stories of trauma: representations of sexual violence in The Australian Women’s Weekly, 1970–82

The 1970s ushered in a period of significant feminist activism, public debate and judicial reform on issues of rape and child sexual abuse. In this article, I examine how The Australian Women’s Weekly raised and navigated the issue of rape from its commercial position as a conservative-leaning publication between 1970 and 1982. It seeks to understand mainstream Australian women’s attitudes towards sexual assault and how they evolved under emerging feminist critique.

Affirmative Consent is Not Enough: A Feminist Critique of the NSW Reforms and the Limits of Consent under Patriarchy

ABSTRACT On 1 June 2022, long-awaited reforms to the law of sexual consent came into force in NSW. The central feature of the amendments is the introduction of affirmative consent – a ‘yes means yes’ standard which requires positive communication for sex to be lawful. In the context of national conversation around the prevalence of sexual assault, instituting affirmative consent is an important step – but is it enough? This paper considers the NSW model and introduction of affirmative consent in the context of feminist theory, particularly the arguments raised by Catharine MacKinnon in Toward a Feminist Theory of the State. Engaging with the limits of the consent framework as a product of a liberal, patriarchal system is critical to improving the legal recognition of the spectrum of sexual assault experienced by women.

Motherhood and competitive coaching: six stories of generational differences in persisting and resisting gender inequities in sport

ABSTRACT In this paper, we examine mothers’ experiences of coaching; specifically investigating the nuances of generational cohorts (i.e. Generation X and Millennials). Using critical feminist narrative inquiry, we conducted interviews with fourteen mother-coaches (apprentice, assistant, or head coaches) within the context of an amateur national, 10-day multi-sport games event in Canada. Participants represented eight different provinces across Canada and 10 different sports. Three themes were constructed that call attention to the Canadian coaching culture: a) creating space in sport’s hetero-patriarchal culture, b) sport policy reproduces gendered coaching discourses, and c) reimagining coaching and the value of communities of practice. The findings draw attention to the importance and variation among generational cohorts and how mother-coaches engage in individual and collective acts of resistance to the everyday inequities. This study highlights the importance of support (e.g. from spouses and other women coaches) while exposing systemic inequities.

Girls, anger, and popular feminism on Netflix

ABSTRACT Contributing to the ongoing scholarly debates about popular feminism in female-centric media culture, this project explores what the recent Netflix teen girl programs I Am Not Okay With This (2020), Trinkets (2019–20), and Never Have I Ever (2020–2023) reveal about adolescent girls’ – particularly girls of color and/or queer girls—feminisms and expressions of anger. Girls in these programs freely express anger, progress through a series of “feminist snaps,” and articulate a range of feminist critiques, albeit without claiming the label “feminist.” However, the programs do constrain the feminist expressions of girls of color more than those of white girls, and, for all girls, feminism does not yet translate into collectivist and political activism on a larger scale, evidencing the vestiges of a postfeminist cultural mindset. For the most part, the personal is still the personal in these programs and the feminisms more palatable.

Friends, experts or witches: doing feminist research in challenging political contexts

The article explores methodological and ethical tensions arising from positionality and reflexivity while doing feminist research in a challenging parliamentary setting, specifically one that includes radical-right populist actors that use anti-gender rhetoric. Reflecting upon positionality is vital for qualitative researchers, especially those engaged in critical feminist research, where gendered power hierarchies between researchers and their environment demand daily manoeuvring and subsequent analytical concern. We explore how the gender of the researchers, gender equality as a research topic, our feminist positionalities, and intersectional aspects shaped the research process in the context of the European Parliament. The article contributes to the literature on feminist positionalities and reflexivity by discussing not only the ambiguities emerging from our empirical research choices, such as engaging with radical-right actors, but also the other ‘critical ingredients’ that feminism handles, such as identities, relationships, power and affects, reflecting how they are interwoven with relationships and interactions in the field.

A Together Apart Corporeality: The Representation of the Female Body in Hanane El-Sheikh’s the Occasional Virgin and Sylvia Plath’s the Bell Jar

This paper is concerned with the conceptualization of the female body in samples from Arab and American literatures, by virtue of the analysis of Hanane El Sheikh’s The Occasional Virgin(2015), and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar(1963) respectively. The present investigation relies on feminist criticism traced by Simone De Beauvoirand Julia Kristeva, in addition to Michel Foucault’s theory of docility.

A critical feminist study of mothers raising a child on the autism spectrum in Iran

This research explores the experiences of mothers raising autistic children in Iran through a critical feminist lens. We aimed to probe deeply not only into gender dynamics but also to explore how intersecting factors, including systemic issues, class, and social structure, interact to shape the challenges and experiences of these women. A reflective thematic analysis was conducted, involving a final participant group of 10 mothers. Upon analyzing the results, two prominent themes were constructed: the first theme, titled ‘In Interaction with the World Outside,’ focuses on the experiences of mothers as they interact with others and society. The second theme, named ‘In Interaction with the Self,’ explores the personal journeys and introspective experiences of mothers about themselves. Our findings illuminate the experiences of mothers who, despite being affected by systemic issues, social institutions, patriarchy, and gender inequality, actively challenge these forces and demonstrate their determination to secure the best possible future for their children. This highlights the urgent need for a more inclusive and supportive society that recognizes their agency, prioritizes gender equality, and empowers them to navigate the complexities of raising a child on the autism spectrum.

Features of Feminist Approach to Scientific Research

Feminist philosophy is one of the leading areas of contemporary philosophy. It has been actively developing over decades and has significant contributions in various areas of theoretical and practical philosophy. Feminist philosophy of science is particularly interesting, as it is primarily responsible for feminist formulations of basic methodological statements of feminist approach to scientific research. The goal of this article is to determine the main features of feminist approach to scientific research. In order to achieve this goal, the article analyzes the main ideas of feminist philosophy of science regarding the criticism of the ideal of value-free science, reviewing and rethinking the meaning of objectivity, and reflections on feminist methodology. Accordingly, the article consists of an introduction, three parts, and conclusion. The first part is dedicated to the causes and effects of feminist criticism of the value-free ideal of science. In the second part, feminist reflections about objectivity are outlined, drawing on the views of such prominent feminist philosophers as Sandra Harding, Helen Longino, Elisabeth Lloyd, and Heather Douglas. The relevance of these reflections for feminist historiography of philosophy is also noted. The third part addresses the question of whether there is a feminist method and explores the traits and typical properties of a feminist methodology. In conclusion, the main features of feminist approach to scientific research are formulated. These include attention to the role of values in producing and applying scientific knowledge, a preference to explanations that account for details and complexity over simplification and generalization, consideration of women’s experience, consideration of usefulness of diversity within scientific communities to mitigate assumptions and prejudices, belief is compatibility of objectivity and value-ladenness, openness to criticism, and self-reflection.

“Not in the Objective Function”: Gender Equality Considerations in the work of Women Government Economists in Israel

This article examines the role of gender equality considerations in economic policy from the perspective of women economists in central economic agencies in government service in Israel. It asks whether and under what circumstances women economists promote policies aiming to reduce gender inequality or benefit women. Using qualitative research tools, the study reveals that women economists view the incorporation of gender equality into economic policy as insignificant and marginal. Gender equality is perceived as a narrow issue, specific and sectoral, while the core issues dealt with by economists are considered broad and universal. The findings are consistent with previous research claiming that placing women in influential positions does not ensure representation of gendered interests, as gender plays a secondary role to training, education, and institutional context. The findings indicate that the claim of neutrality in diverse aspects of economics limits women economists’ activity and thwarts unfettered thinking on economic policy. HIGHLIGHTS In Israel, gender plays a marginal role in women economists’ policymaking. Spaces for training and learning in economics remain fundamentally gender biased. Neutrality perception limits critical feminist thinking on economic policy. Including feminist perspectives in economic education is vital.

A Critical Engagement with the Conceptualization of Sexual Harassment in International Human Rights Law

ABSTRACT This article discussess the concept of sexual harassment in international human rights law (IHRL). After analysing how sexual harassment emerges in two different legal traditions, I investigate the transformations the concept has undergone. I create an outline of sexual harassment as a concept and of certain contexts in which it is conceptualized in international human rights law. The research is grounded in critical feminist studies and intersectionality theory. I investigated an extensive number of legal texts, including various IHRL treaties, soft law, and interpretations by treaty bodies, with a focus on the concept of a hypothetical ‘victim’ within the sexual harassment narrative. This was done by delving into the linguistic choices present in legal documents that deal with sexual harassment. I conclude that sexual harassment in IHRL is largely constructed around the ‘universal subject’ of the white cisgender middle-class women, with other identities perceived as exceptions. This leads to the exclusion of subjects who are different from the imaginary victim, thus creating people, spaces, and settings in which sexual harassment is neglected by the law.

The Most Iniquitous Lobby: The Committee for Constitutional Government and the Shaping of American Politics, 1937–1955

AbstractThis article examines the Committee for Constitutional Government, a conservative organization that spearheaded a novel form of mass-based mobilization and direct-mail propaganda to counter New Deal reforms from 1937 to the late 1950s. I argue that the members of the committee offered a supple and variegated response to New Deal liberalism, one with deep roots in the American past. Organizationally, the committee differed from other conservative groups of the period in the vastly greater reach of its propaganda, the small-donor financial base of its operations, and its extensive cultivation of a grassroots movement committed to right-wing reform. The committee was a critical political actor from 1937 to 1955, systematically shaping legislation and countering the trend toward social democracy in America. The ultimate result of its campaigns was to retard the growth of the administrative state and help formulate a cogent conservative critique of reformist liberalism.

‘The Private is Political’. The Problem of the Private/Public Divide in the Light of Feminist Theory of the Second Half of the 20th Century

Starting from the slogan ‘The Private is Political’, resounding in the American women’s liberation movement, a feminist critique of the separation of the private (domestic/family) sphere and the public sphere, in its early modern form, is presented. The private sphere, with women assigned to it, is, on the grounds of early modern political theory, outlawed from the rules deemed to apply to the public world, and impregnated from sound analysis and possible reform. The separation of the private and the political masks the interdependence between the two spheres and serves to legitimise gender inequality. Feminist theory problematizes this divide and reveals the complex interplay between private and public. Two themes stand out in the analysis: the subsumption of women under the family based on liberal theories of the social contract, and the idealisation of the domestic sphere, imagined as an emotional and moral refuge, in opposition to the public world, marked by egoism and impersonality. This construction serves an ideological function, reinforcing the separation attributing women to the home and family.

Virginia Woolf s A Room of One s Own: A Foundational Feminist Vision in Euro-American Thought

Virginia Woolf’s seminal work, A Room of One’s Own, published nearly a century ago, is reexamined in this study as not only a feminist manifesto but as a feminist vision that anticipated some of the key features addressed in subsequent Euro-American feminist philosophies. Divided into three sections, the research offers a close analysis of Woolf’s text and its prescient insights, discussing separately the particular focal concerns of British, American, and French feminism, and elaborating on the ways these were envisioned and addressed as early as 1929 in Woolf’s visionary text. The study utilizes Showalter’s typology to analyze Woolf’s text and to organize elaborations on the points Woolf addresses and envisions that became fundamental within subsequent Euro-American feminist criticism, including the correlation between economic and social conditions and intellectual freedom, the necessity of women’s inclusion in the literary canon, and the significance of feminine discourse and gynocriticism. By highlighting Woolf’s remarkable foresight, this research positions A Room of One’s Own not only as a foundational feminist text but also as a profound feminist vision that continues to inform feminist thought today. This re-examination of Woolf’s work contributes to on-going academic discourse surrounding feminist theory and literary criticism.

Wallaert, S. (2023). Kwaad Spreken: Wie Gelooft de Boze Vrouw?. Borgerhout: Letterwerk. Review by Alexia Debbaut

Sigrid Wallaert’s Kwaad Spreken: Wie Gelooft de Boze Vrouw? (translation: Knowing Anger: Who Believes the Angry Woman?) is part of the Questa-series essays, a series launched by the Belgian publisher Letterwerk, which foregrounds critical feminist writing. All essays in this series focus on specific topics (such as ethics, love, age, music...) or specific philosophies (like feminist ethics, feminist philosophy, the philosophy of Proust, etc.). Knowing Anger is an important contribution to contemporary feminist debate because it sheds light on the (omni)presence of feminist anger and its epistemic value. As Wallaert puts it, anger is more than the wrapping paper in which you pack your message. It is an essential part of what you have to say (Wallaert, 2023, p. 29). She speaks of an ‘anger turn’, as she sees a new prominence of (the use of) feminist anger in the (non-fiction) publishing industry, the media, the academic world and politics, parallel to Sara Ahmed’s ‘happiness turn.’ Wallaert investigates where this anger comes from and how it is used as an enabling force in feminist activism by using Miranda Fricker’s Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing (2007).

Cohabiting Relationships as Matula for Young Women and Grounds for Intimate Partner Violence: A Critical Feminist Perspective

Cohabiting Relationships as Matula for Young Women and Grounds for Intimate Partner Violence: A Critical Feminist Perspective

A Feminist Critique of the Practice of Polygamy in the Context of Islamic Law and Human Rights

A Feminist Critique of the Practice of Polygamy in the Context of Islamic Law and Human Rights

Beyond Representationalism: The Performative Materialities and Affective Dimension of Lin Tianmiao’s the Proliferation of Thread Winding

This paper reexamines the meanings and values of Lin Tianmiao’s (born 1961) The Proliferation of Thread Winding (1995) through an analysis of its materialities. Lin’s Thread Winding has received much attention in feminist discourse, which tends to draw attention to the symbolic manifestations embedded in the act of winding, and in textiles and domestic objects—techniques and materials often associated with “women’s work” within certain Western feminist critiques of women’s art. This paper moves beyond the gendered lens of interpreting Lin’s art, which has built on symbolic and metaphorical readings of the underlying visual representations, and instead turn to investigate how her work can be understood from the perspective of its discursive materialities, through which the art objects produce material signs (phenomenological effects) that indicate its previous process of art making. Drawing upon new materialist theories and the notion of affect, this paper understands the materialities of Lin’s work as dynamic phenomena, emerging from ongoing intertwining relationships between human and nonhuman agencies. It examines how Lin’s work constitutes a series of inquisitive investigations into multiple processes of making, and how affective qualities and critical knowledge can materialize in and through this process.

Educate yourself! Exploring feminist politics and self-development in Danish online fat activism

ABSTRACT This article explores Danish fat activism and feminist politics on Instagram. Based on a 6-months ethnographic and digital fieldwork among Danish fat activists on Instagram, the article investigates the social implications of challenging normative body ideals online. Through ethnographic examples, the article illustrates how learning about fat acceptance through a fat accepting community is a liberating, deeply personal and transformative process. It is however also a social process taking place within a particular digital community with certain expectations on how to enlighten, educate, and understand oneself as a political subject. In the process of becoming a fat activist online, one is encouraged to appropriate new knowledge on feminist body politics and a feminist language for the social oppression of, among others, fat bodies. We argue that, contrary to popular transformation journeys on TV and social media, the goal for Danish fat activists is not outward bodily change but instead to develop the abilities to recognize social injustice and translate it into a social and feminist critique. Ironically, this inwards process towards feminist enlightenment simultaneously situate the Danish fat acceptance movement within an individualized neoliberal cultural logic of self-development as imperative.