Feminism is so 70s, we're all post feminists now

Lwin, Laura (2011) Feminism is so 70s, we're all post feminists now. Honours thesis, Murdoch University.

Abstract

Postfeminism could be considered an ongoing development in the history of feminism. Alternatively, it can be seen as a form of antifeminism or faux feminism. The following thesis is a reaction against the postfeminist sentiment which argues that feminism is an ideology of the past, or in need of significant reconfiguration. Rather, I argue that feminism continues to be an exciting movement capable of bettering the lives of Australian women. Feminism is an emancipatory ideology which seeks to free women from patriarchy by employing strategies such as protest and consciousness raising. Feminist activism has brought many changes to women’s lives, including woman suffrage, workplace reform, and the institution of equal opportunity and anti-discrimination legislature. Such achievements show that feminism is worthwhile, despite the criticism of authors such as Naomi Wolf, Christina Hoff Sommers, and Camile Paglia who suggest that today’s feminism ought to move in a different direction from that of the Second Wave. However, women continue to experience injustices similar to those identified by feminists of the 70s, such as the existence of informal barriers which negatively impact women’s political participation, the lack of women in decision making positions in business, and the physical violence that women are subjected to. Modern day women ought to embrace feminism and seek to achieve the goals such as those laid out by Aune and Redfern in Reclaiming the F-Word: The New Feminist Movement – liberating women’s bodies; ending violence against women; transforming politics and work; and reclaiming feminism.

Item Type:	Thesis (Honours)
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Politics and International Studies
Supervisor(s):	Dudley, Janice
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/6739

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