Feminist Identity Research Articles

Beyond “Religious Fundamentalism”: Bridging Religious Tradition, Gender Normative Systems, and State Institutions to Respond to Intimate Partner Violence in Ethiopia

Despite its western Christian origin, the notion of religious fundamentalism has been employed by western and non-western scholars alike to describe a variety of religious groups perceived to manifest antagonism to aspects of modernity and secularism, especially western ideals of gender equality as enforced in many cases by state policies. Within religion and gender studies and Gender and Development scholarship, fundamentalism has been often invoked in reference to faith communities opposing feminist ideals, but without due recognition being given to the western metaphysics of feminist theories of gender, or the epistemological and ethical problems of “naming” such communities as “fundamentalist” within Western/Anglophone scholarship. This lack of reflexivity risks essentializing religious communities as being opposed to feminist gender ideals when their reactions might reflect more complex underlying reasons, and can also be counterproductive in effectively responding to gender inequalities and women’s abuse in religious societies. This paper proposes that a more intimate engagement with non-western religious traditions grounded in a study of theological teachings and the lived religious experience of specific communities can remedy such tendencies and achieve a better understanding of the nexus of gender, faith, and tradition/modernity in diverse cultural contexts. It illustrates this by drawing key insights from a study of conjugal abuse in an Orthodox Täwahәdo community in Ethiopia that demonstrated intricate associations between understandings of and attitudes toward conjugal abuse and the local religious tradition, the significance of a culture-as-religion discourse in the maintenance of rigid gender norms, and the potential of Orthodox theology to counter ideas about abusiveness that contributed to its implicit tolerance. The paper relates these findings to Ethiopian women activists’ efforts and the multi-religious societal fabric of Ethiopian society to explore the possibilities for integrated responses to intimate partner violence in the country.

Representation of Feminist Identity in The Color Purple and Beloved

Representation of Feminist Identity in The Color Purple and Beloved

Are Gender Identities and Gender Ideologies Associated with the Variety and Type of Owned Sex Toys? Evidence from a Large Italian Sample of Cisgender Individuals.

Research on the use of sex toys has been primarily performed from a medical perspective, while there is still limited research from a psychosocial perspective. To bridge this gap, in this study we examined whether some psychosocial variables might be linked to sex toy ownership in a sample of 3960 Italian (cisgender men and women) sex toy buyers. More specifically, we investigated the association between gender identities and ideologies and the variety and types of sex toys owned. Based on the data, we detected two dimensions underlying the ownership of sex toys: (1) orientation to owning kinky sex toys and (2) orientation to owning clit-oriented sex toys. Results showed that benevolent sexism and gender system justification were negatively correlated with owning clit-oriented toys. Moreover, strongly gender-identified participants owned a small variety of different toys and preferred toys that were designed to stimulate the vagina or clitoris over less commonly-used toys. No significant correlation between feminist identification and sex toy type owned was found when gender identification was taken into account. These results suggest that the owning of sex toys might be associated with traditional gender ideology and the strength of gender identification.

Intersectional Differences in Perceptions of Feminism and Implications for Activism

Despite the centrality of activism to the feminist movement, societal stigma, and misunderstanding of feminism’s goals have led to difficulty in eliciting united activism. Furthermore, much of the historical feminist and women’s studies literature has failed to account for the perspectives of individuals with multiple, diverse intersecting identities (e.g., race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic class, and education level), contradicting the values of equality and inclusivity for which the movement stands. The present study took an intersectional approach in measuring feminist identity development, self-labeling, and engagement in activism, using a range of demographic questions and assessing experiences of sexual harassment and informal education. Results indicated that increased feminist self-identification and endorsement of feminist attitudes and values predicted increased engagement in activism. Additionally, a qualitative approach was used to investigate updated, diversified perceptions of feminism. Content analysis highlighted the need to emphasize the centrality of intersectionality and inclusion within feminist research as well as the Westernized feminist movement.

Not to blame, but still responsible: Negotiating social representations of neoliberal feminism amongst urban middle‐class Indians

AbstractIndian gender advocacy has been criticised for promoting individualistic neoliberal solutions to issues requiring structural change. Such solutions are most accessible to middle‐class women and their dominance in gender advocacy is attributed to the middle‐class viewership of campaigns. Few studies have researched how this intended audience responds to such messages. As patriarchy benefits men, it is also important to understand how gender intersects with social class to shape responses. Accordingly, this research explores the reception of neoliberal feminist ideals in Indian gender advocacy amongst an urban middle‐class audience of 25 participants, comprising of 13 women and 12 men in Bengaluru, India. The theoretical and methodological framework is the social representations theory. Participants viewed three campaign videos and undertook semi‐structured interviews. Thematic analysis was employed to explore their perceptions of the causes and solutions to the issues portrayed in the campaigns, leading to three themes being identified. In the theme of ‘individuals’, participants held women responsible for resisting oppression. In the theme of ‘culture’, participants viewed culture as a cause of patriarchy, with cultural change seen as a solution. In the theme of ‘institutions’, participants discussed institutional sexism but were pessimistic about institutional reform. These findings suggest that whilst patriarchy is blamed on cultural norms and institutional failure, solutions are often conceived in terms of self‐transformation of individual women. These results are situated in social representations' theoretical premise of themata and positioning to analyse how social locations like gender, class and regional identity were mobilised by participants to contest or maintain a neoliberal feminist ideology. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Questioning ‘Man’ in Joana Tischkau’s Colonastics: Black Feminist Identity Politics in Contemporary German Theater

In my contribution to this volume on Responsive Bodies I want to take a closer look at recent Black feminist identity politics in German theater in order to think about what the Caribbean philosopher Sylvia Wynter calls ‘Man.’ In this regard later in this text I will focus on the video clip series Colonastics (2020) by Joana Tischkau. I will do so in relation to the colonial roots of post-war racism in Germany, more precisely the time after its reunification in 1989. In front of this background my claim is that Afro-German feminist theater makers in the last couple of years have been responding to a certain white dominant culture in the country I am living in as a white German, where right-wing political parties like theAlternative für Deutschland (AfD) are getting stronger again right now unfortunately. The responsiveness corresponding with the aesthetic practices of the theater makers being discussed here questions, I am claiming with Wynter, ‘Man’ as a dominant genre of being human and thereby brings forth a true pluralization of German society.

Ambivalent effects of anger in Chinese feminists’ refusal to patriarchal marriage and family

ABSTRACT Studies have shown that emotions play an important role in the emergence, unfolding, and demise of social movements. Many studies argue that anger is one of the most propelling emotions promoting movement participation, while others demonstrate the ambivalence of anger within social movements. Previous studies have suggested that the context in which emotions play a role in social movements remains underexplored. This study focuses on the self-organized feminist online space, where the political and private dimensions overlap, and contextualizes anger among online feminists who question the inferior position of women in patriarchal marriage, the family, and women’s low social status in contemporary China. Based on previous literature on emotions in social movements and methods of emotion discourse analysis, this study aims to deliberate (1) the subversive feature when anger is directed to the structure and opponents and (2) anger misaligned with other emotions in that its subversive power is suppressed. The findings revealed that anger represents subversive power when feminists oppose the source of injustice and confront their opponents’ denigration without fear. However, frustration, grievance, and pain come to the forefront when anger is suppressed in affective relationships. Additionally, when feminists successfully cope with emotional conflicts and emphasize the empowering side of their anti-marriage stance, their feminist identities are reinforced.

Feminist identity crisis in Africa

Feminist movement in Africa lacks capable guardians to steer the development of feminine identity or theory, and to operationalize the feminist agenda. The apparent lack of a national or continental feminist theory has not helped to elevate the status of the majority of women beyond the patriarchal controls, particularly in the rural and peri-urban communities, despite improved social modernization. Africa’s feminist crisis involves the lack of leadership, ideological vacuity, absence of structure or movement, and the non-application of cultural; political; class; religious and tribal identities in developing feminist theory. In search of capable feminist guardians, the tendency of feminist groups is to co-opt self-actualized African women into feminism with or without their consent, and without regard to the accidental coincidence of those personalities’ narratives with feminist epistemology. Feminism in Africa is in search of relevance within the public space. This paper interrogates these issues and uses the narrative of several self-actualized women in Africa, who have, apparently, been co-opted into feminism as a result, to discuss aspects of the crisis and the delimiting public policy and legislation against, perhaps, the development of feminine identity.

Beauty: Liberation and/or Confinement in The Life and Loves of a She Devil by Fay Weldon

This essay critically examines the transformation of the protagonist, Ruth Patchett, in Fay Weldon’s novel The Life and Loves of a She Devil (1983). The transformation that Ruth undergoes can be viewed in two ways: both in terms of her role in society and her physical appearance. Initially a submissive housewife, Ruth evolves into an independent businesswoman who undergoes extensive cosmetic procedures to conform to prevailing beauty standards. This article reveals, through an analysis of Ruth’s liberation from traditional domestic obligations and her response to societal constructs of beauty, the marginalization she experiences as a result of her deviation from societal norms. Ruth’s rebellion against the idealized attributes of a housewife reflects her pursuit of qualities associated with appealing femininity. Hence, this article highlights how Ruth transforms herself into a seductive object of the male gaze to remake herself into a powerful subject. Through this transformative journey, the article elucidates the interplay between societal ideals of beauty, female liberation, and implications on personal fulfilment. Although Ruth’s transformation into the ‘ideal’ woman endorses the patriarchal codes of ideal and standardised beauty, this essay argues that the same transformation reverses the process to reveal how female empowerment can be achieved through the manipulation of standards.

Democratic Identity, Political Policing, and the Other side of the US-Canada Security Community

Canada and the US maintain one of the closest international partnerships in the world, but there are concerns about its future. Donald Trump's election generated anxieties about the rise of autarkic or authoritarian politics in the region. These worries persist as it remains to be seen whether the Trump administration was a temporary interruption to liberal governance or a signifier of more profound change. Canadian security scholars have contemplated whether an illiberal shift may disrupt the US-Canada security community. This article intervenes in these discussions by emphasizing the extent to which prejudices and political policing have fostered the community's emergence and operation. Archival investigation reveals that illiberal practices have proven reconcilable with a liberal identity throughout the community's development. Therefore, without dismissing existing concerns, we should be vigilant of the possibility that the security community may be internalized within democratic retrenchment, rather than corroded by it.

Realization of Feminist Identity in Toni Morrison's "Beloved" and Alice Walker's "The Color Purple": A Perspective Based on Womanism

Realization of Feminist Identity in Toni Morrison's "Beloved" and Alice Walker's "The Color Purple": A Perspective Based on Womanism

Artificial Look: Body Narcissism in the Fashion and Cosmetic Industry

Consumers universally engage with cosmetic products in pursuit of bodily perfection, often influenced by prevailing fashion trends dictating societal beauty standards through advertising. Consequently, a woman's body serves as a cornerstone of identity, its alignment with these standards transforming it into a commodified entity. While the fashion industry ostensibly champions feminist ideals of empowerment, its underlying motive remains profit generation. This paper endeavors to explore the commodification of women's bodies within the fashion and cosmetic industries, illuminating its enduring implications. Through a historical analysis spanning from the colonial era to contemporary society, we examine the evolution of the body as a commodity, drawing on secondary sources and available data on beauty standards. Grounded in Saussure's structuralist framework, this study aims to unravel the intricate dynamics underpinning the commodification process and its broader societal ramifications.

The rise of Housing Nationalism in Canada and transnational property ownership patterns

ABSTRACT We consider how housing acts as a potential realm where perception of crisis can activate reactionary nationalism, investigating how it differs from and interacts with other realms (e.g. jobs and wages, crime, and social welfare). We argue that housing produces distinct triggers for reactionary responses, and potentially results in different media framing, politics, and policy trajectories. We detail the rise of Housing Nationalism in Canada, following its spread from British Columbia, where we find that flexible framing of foreign threat often borrowed from other realms. By contrast, pinning Housing Nationalism to policy generally required more tractable definitions of foreignness, tied to surveillance and the application of penalties. We examine the roll out of policy responses associated with Housing Nationalism and lay out potential harms in terms of challenges to liberal ideals, including Canadian multinationalism, immigrant incorporation, and transnational ties. Finally we provide a baseline of Canadian transnational property ownership patterns, demonstrating that within the provinces where Housing Nationalism became most dominant, Canadian residents generally own far more properties abroad than the number of properties owned in Canada by residents elsewhere. Overall, the Canadian case demonstrates the utility of considering housing as a distinct realm motivating the rise of reactionary nationalism.

Transwar Japanese Thought at “the End of Ideology”

In 1957, the Japanese affiliate of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an international anticommunist organization dedicated to the liberal ideals of the “free world,” convened a symposium under the title “Tradition and Transition in Japanese Culture” (“Nihon bunka no dentō to hensen”). The event put noted Kyoto School intellectuals who had earlier conceptualized Japan's unique mission within world history during the war years—including Kōsaka Masaaki, Suzuki Shigetaka, and Nishitani Keiji—into dialogue with postwar thinkers who advocated for freedom of thought in opposition to what they viewed as the closed-mindedness of ideology. Drawing on rarely cited archival documents, this article explores how the symposium raised key questions about the fate of world historical thinking in transwar Japan at the same time that it tested the putative universality of postwar liberal ideals against what the symposium participants called the particularity of Japanese culture.

The Commodification of Feminism — A Critical Analysis of Neoliberal Feminist Discourse

This paper critically examines the commodification of feminism within the framework of neoliberal feminism, a discourse that has gained significant traction in recent years. Neoliberal feminism emphasizes individual empowerment, personal success, and market-driven solutions to gender inequality. While this approach has succeeded in making feminist ideas more mainstream and accessible, it also poses substantial challenges by overlooking systemic and structural barriers that many women face. This paper explores the historical emergence of neoliberal feminism, its key characteristics, and the role of media and corporations in promoting commodified feminist ideals. It further analyzes the positive and negative impacts of neoliberal feminism on broader feminist movements, highlighting the shift from collective action to individual empowerment. Through critical perspectives from radical, intersectional, and socialist feminists, this paper underscores the limitations of neoliberal feminism and calls for a renewed focus on collective action, intersectionality, and systemic change to achieve true gender equality. By resisting the commodification of feminist ideals and advocating for more inclusive strategies, the feminist movement can better address the root causes of gender inequality in a neoliberal context.

The Feminist Refusal of I May Destroy You

Abstract Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You (HBO, BBC One, 2020) chronicles a first-generation Black woman's struggles in the aftermath of her sexual assault. Set in the United Kingdom, I May Destroy You was well-received by US critics and audiences alike, who rallied around the series as a positive, cohesive, and ultimately feminist example of how a woman productively deals with sexual trauma. These discourses of positive representation used to frame I May Destroy You, however, focus on reinforcing liberal feminist ideals of assimilation, legibility, and respectability in the service of an unexamined “womanhood.” In reality, I May Destroy You uses both plot—as Arabella and her friends attempt to make sense of her rape—and narrative form to deconstruct the identity of “woman,” the term that most television series on “women's issues” and with feminist modes of address have attempted to represent and stabilize since the medium's foundations in the mid-twentieth century. In resisting stable, positive identity categories in a story of sexual violence, Coel's I May Destroy You presents an aberration and an important intervention in a televisual landscape that often relies on access to distinct binaries of male/female, Black/white, and victim/perpetrator to make claims of “accurate” representation—both for sexual assault on television and for women's experience more broadly.

Are brands that perform gendered product differentiation perceived as sexist? An experimental investigation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the consumer response to brands offering gendered product differentiation (i.e. products “for her” or “for him”).Design/methodology/approachAcross three experiments, the effect of gendered (vs gender-unrelated) product differentiation on perceived brand sexism and word-of-mouth intention was tested. The moderating effects of feminist identity (Studies 1 and 2), endorsement of sexist beliefs (Study 2) and basis (stereotypical vs biological) for product differentiation (Study 3) were also tested.FindingsConsumers perceive brands that offer gendered product differentiation as sexist, which in turn leads to negative word-of-mouth intention. Moreover, consumers with a strong feminist identity are more likely to perceive brands that offer gendered product differentiation as sexist, whereas consumers who endorse sexist beliefs are less likely to do so. Finally, consumers respond negatively when the gendered product differentiation is based on a gender stereotype, but much less so when it seems based on a biological difference between sexes.Originality/valueAlthough multiple brands offering gendered products have been denounced by consumers as sexist, no research has examined this phenomenon. This paper pioneers in examining the consumer response to brands offering gendered product differentiation and in demonstrating that consumers perceive such brands as sexist.

From Lavender Menace to Queer Nation: the transformation of lesbian identity in the baby boom era

Women of the early baby boom years in the U.S. came out into an environment in which same-sex desire was stigmatized and criminalized. For working-class lesbians, the bar scene provided an environment in which women could find companionship and a way to live a life decoupled from traditional heterosexual roles. For middle class women, bar life was fraught with legal and social risk, and some–mostly white–women worked to establish a more “socially acceptable” communal life through organizations such as the Daughters of Bilitis. As the women’s movement flourished in the late 1960s and 1970s, women born in the early years of the baby boom (1946–1950) created distinctive lesbian feminist cultures and identities. In contrast to early baby boomers, women born at the tail end of the baby boom (1960–1964) came out in a vastly different cultural context. Second-wave feminism had already peaked, the AIDS epidemic and debates about sexuality changed the context for lesbian identity and activism, and organizing by women of color created the development of an intersectional view of lesbian identity and activism. Through an analysis of feminist magazines, newsletters, and texts of the late 1960s through the 1990s, this paper explores the cultural contexts through which radical lesbian feminist identities arose and, for a period, flourished in the U.S. By the end of the 1980s and 1990s, as second-wave feminism declined, lesbian feminist identity shifted. Over the last decades of the twentieth century, new queer forms of identification emerged, coupled with a decline of lesbian identification among younger people. I argue that these new forms represent both continuity and disruption with earlier forms of lesbian identification.

Exploring Gender Dynamics in Indian and Pakistani English Poetry: A Comparative Pragma-Stylistic Examination

This research paper highlights the analysis of gender dynamics among Indian and Pakistani poetry by conducting manual thematic analysis on Kishwar Naheed’s poem collection ‘Composition of Scorched Heart’ and ‘Ms. Militancy’ by Meera Kandasamy. The thematic analysis was executed through the lens of gender identity, opposition to patriarchal norms, experiences of oppression, the significance of sisterhood, and the pursuit of empowerment and liberation. Both poets provide insights about the emotional settings formed by rigid social norms also challenging cultural expectations. Comparative examination reveals common themes, differences in methodology, symbolism, and intersectionality recognition. These volumes of poems challenged readers to consider the distinctions of women's lives within liberal feminist ideals, contributing to the ongoing conversation on gender, power, and cultural expectations. This comparative study investigates the expressions of liberal feminism in India and Pakistan via an analysis of two stirring poetry collections: “Ms. Militancy” by Meena Kandasamy and “Composition of Scorched Heart” by Kishwar Naheed.

A Comparative Analysis of Intersectional Feminist Identities in Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom and Cloud Nine

The portrayal of women in patriarchal communities and their resistance against the tyranny of males are one of the most evident themes of literary texts. Feminist writers and scholars object to the conventional premise that women are inferior, silenced, or marginalized figures, and they aim to alter the mindsets of traditionalists’ by implementing and analyzing the sense of the rebellious spirit of female characters through their works. The advocates of intersectional feminist theory hold a notion that the oppression, from which women suffer, is the result of intersected social factors combined with the gender identity of women. In other words, gender cannot be the sole reason for tyranny but women’s social status, race, poverty, sexuality, ability, or disability are some of the crucial issues that accompany and reinforce the oppression they experience. In this regard, the purpose of this article is to scrutinize Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom and Cloud Nine by analyzing the female characters’ miserable conditions and their struggles to find their real identities since the female characters suffer from patriarchal dogmas and norms in each play.