Postfeminism
Postfeminism – a stage following feminism, in which the concepts of classical feminism have been reinterpreted. The term emerged in Europe in the early 1990s. Postfeminism is often referred to as new feminism or postmodern feminism.
It should be noted that the meaning of the term is complex. Postfeminism may be regarded as a product of feminism, with the difference that feminists had a clear programme, whereas the generation of postfeminists does not. This may be explained by the relatively recent formation of postfeminism.
The word itself implies a connection with feminism. Feminism and its various categories – liberal, Marxist, radical, lesbian, and others – are familiar to many. Postfeminism offers its own distinctive marker: the use of the prefix post-, which denotes a transformed continuity. In a certain sense, the prefix suggests the end of feminism or its inevitable obsolescence; it may also mean “moving forward, beyond,” or “rejection” and “release.” Society moves further toward a more “fashionable” current. Feminism enabled postfeminism to claim a modified position, while at the same time appropriating feminist principles and discourse.
Sophia Phoca, one of the theorists of this phenomenon, expresses the view that postfeminism may be understood as another manifestation of feminism, or as its new stage. It is generally believed that feminism has achieved a great deal; postfeminism will probably set new tasks for society.
Postfeminism may be interpreted as a rejection of feminism’s attempt to create a place for women outside the patriarchal system and as a desire to find one’s own place within it. While feminists continue to debate the nature of the patriarchal social system, postfeminists declare their womanhood with renewed force.
The term postfeminism was first used in a particularly significant way in October 1982, when The New York Times Magazine published Susan Bolotin’s article “Voices of the Post-Feminist Generation.” The article was based on a series of interviews with women who generally agreed with the goals of feminism but did not identify themselves as feminists.
Other significant works written later include Tania Modleski’s Feminism without Women: Culture and Criticism in a “Postfeminist” Age, Amelia Jones’s “Postfeminism, Feminist Pleasures,” and Camille Paglia’s Sex, Art, and American Culture: Essays.
It should also be noted that the term was readily taken up by the mass media. Some scholars argue that postfeminism is, in fact, a continuous “technological process” that is confidently developing through the mass media.
The main representatives of postfeminism include Camille Paglia, Amelia Jones, Sophia Phoca, and others.
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