Page 71 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, št. 3-4: K paradigmam raziskovanja vzgoje in izobraževanja, ur. Valerija Vendramin
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a. mladenović ■ conceptualising postfeminisim
(Aapola et al., 2005; Harris, 2004, in ibid.). Postfeminist discourses are
thus based on the idea that girls and women no longer need feminist poli
tics (McRobbie, 2009) since gender oppressions have evaporated and gen
der equality is presumed to be achieved (Pomerantz and Raby, 2011).
It can thus appear that feminism has brought “its own movement
to a standstill”, to quote Iris van der Tuin (2015: p. xiv). It has, as Kavka
(2002: p. 32) notes, “erased itself out of existence by its very success”. These
are precisely the reasons why we need feminism now more than ever, as
society still functions on patriarchal principles even if it is trying to pres
ent itself as gender-neutral or, paradoxically, even as newly feminist, as has
been the case of late. This discrepancy can be observed in the generations
of young women who believe they are liberating themselves while engag
ing in what McRobbie (2007, 2009) refers to as a “post-feminist masquer
ade”, a form of gender power securing the (re)production of masculine
hegemony by means of ironic, quasi-feminist strategies of taking on high
ly-styled disguise of femininity. Paradoxically, though, the post-feminist
masquerade emphasises its non-coercive status by presenting itself as a
matter of personal choice (McRobbie, 2009).
Postfeminism operates on the principle of restructuring the relations
and practices that were established as patriarchal in the Second Wave by
ascribing to them positive, liberating meanings and carefully masking
the social pressure and coercion tied to them. But simply rebranding cer
tain practices as liberating does not make them essentially less oppressive.
Feminism reminds us of just that, as van der Tuin (2015: p. 2) elaborates:
Feminism is a working through of Difference as a structuring principle
of empirical realities as well as the social imaginary so as to seek less pe
jorative relations of (sexual) differing. I do not foresee a stabilization of
differing relations – it is in fact not in the nature of difference as an active
verb to stabilize – and therefore I predict that feminism has a long future
ahead of itself. Feminists working though Difference can only be helped
by embracing the work of feminist foremothers. Feminists of the past
have engaged with the same game.
The second step towards transtemporal interaction has to do with
uncovering gendered relations in education and society as a whole, espe
cially those veiled in sophisticated postfeminist discourses. This cannot
be done without reflecting on the prominence of postfeminism. Why is
postfeminism such a powerful modus operandi in contemporary socie
ty? The obvious answer would be the role of different agents of socialisa
tion, such as schools, mass media and popular culture, which, of course,
cannot be overlooked. We have already addressed some of these topics.
69
(Aapola et al., 2005; Harris, 2004, in ibid.). Postfeminist discourses are
thus based on the idea that girls and women no longer need feminist poli
tics (McRobbie, 2009) since gender oppressions have evaporated and gen
der equality is presumed to be achieved (Pomerantz and Raby, 2011).
It can thus appear that feminism has brought “its own movement
to a standstill”, to quote Iris van der Tuin (2015: p. xiv). It has, as Kavka
(2002: p. 32) notes, “erased itself out of existence by its very success”. These
are precisely the reasons why we need feminism now more than ever, as
society still functions on patriarchal principles even if it is trying to pres
ent itself as gender-neutral or, paradoxically, even as newly feminist, as has
been the case of late. This discrepancy can be observed in the generations
of young women who believe they are liberating themselves while engag
ing in what McRobbie (2007, 2009) refers to as a “post-feminist masquer
ade”, a form of gender power securing the (re)production of masculine
hegemony by means of ironic, quasi-feminist strategies of taking on high
ly-styled disguise of femininity. Paradoxically, though, the post-feminist
masquerade emphasises its non-coercive status by presenting itself as a
matter of personal choice (McRobbie, 2009).
Postfeminism operates on the principle of restructuring the relations
and practices that were established as patriarchal in the Second Wave by
ascribing to them positive, liberating meanings and carefully masking
the social pressure and coercion tied to them. But simply rebranding cer
tain practices as liberating does not make them essentially less oppressive.
Feminism reminds us of just that, as van der Tuin (2015: p. 2) elaborates:
Feminism is a working through of Difference as a structuring principle
of empirical realities as well as the social imaginary so as to seek less pe
jorative relations of (sexual) differing. I do not foresee a stabilization of
differing relations – it is in fact not in the nature of difference as an active
verb to stabilize – and therefore I predict that feminism has a long future
ahead of itself. Feminists working though Difference can only be helped
by embracing the work of feminist foremothers. Feminists of the past
have engaged with the same game.
The second step towards transtemporal interaction has to do with
uncovering gendered relations in education and society as a whole, espe
cially those veiled in sophisticated postfeminist discourses. This cannot
be done without reflecting on the prominence of postfeminism. Why is
postfeminism such a powerful modus operandi in contemporary socie
ty? The obvious answer would be the role of different agents of socialisa
tion, such as schools, mass media and popular culture, which, of course,
cannot be overlooked. We have already addressed some of these topics.
69
