Customer Reviews

Introducing Postfeminism

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For my next trick, I'd like to pull an hypothetical rabbit from a proverbial hat... what's that you say? sounds exactly like the goals of Postmodern Feminism? You are 100% correct, sir/madam-- just check out this book as the proof!

I was over at the lovely downtown home of a couple of friends and, toward the end of the evening, was handed this cute little dark blue book with a very becoming pink Madonna-inspried getup hanging on an equally pink rod gracing the cover.

The book is "Introducing Postfeminism" by Sophia Phoca and Rebecca Wright. As postmodern feminism (here-termed 'postfeminism', since philosophers prefer their big words small) has always been of supreme interest to yours truly, I immediately opened the volume and began to glean therefrom the attendant humor I had thoroughly expected.

Interlaced with poppy cartoons of the 'great thinkers' of postfeminism, engaging the world in a variety of oddball venues, are pages of terrific summation of the movement, its implications for society, and its parallels in psychology and philosophy.

If you're unfamiliar with this Zeitgeist-creating movement, this is THE book to begin with-- everything's there: from Freud to Saussure to Irigaray to Paglia to Foucault to Haraway.

Oh, sure, they all seem harmless enough, but read this through and you will appreciate just how sweeping the cultural notion of "celebrating differences, not equality" has become. It's equally amazing to see exactly what counts as "evidence" for feminists-- just about anything observable or not. Check out pages 110-111, where the hymen is described as existing "both within and outside the body"; "it can be metaphorically broken or remain intact."

Postfeminists, like psychoanalysts, have an odd tendency to generalize biological gestalt to social universals: a Lacanian celebration of implicit social roles coded within the genitals. Indeed, much of postfeminism has been about "deconstructing" (a very specific term, really) these roles and reconstructing them into something new and, presumably, more socially viable.

Haraway, for example, suggests that females should relate to the CYBORG being: "Cyborg replication does not rely on organic sexual reproduction or the organic nuclear family. The cyborg is both animal and machine; both fiction and social reality. The cyborg breaks down the traditional humanist barriers: human versus animal, human versus machine and physical versus non-physical. The cyborg is the 'illegitimate child of patriarchy, colonialism and capitalism'."

Mhm... but before you run off to start installing brain-chips and artificial limbs (portrayed nicely in the book at p. 142), you might consider that since women alone can be "virtual reality", they alone are entitled to the special status as cyborg-- watch out boyfriend, eh?

Paglia suggests that Madonna is the 'ideal' postmodern woman who is both fully feminine and sexual but totally in-control...

Oh yes, and did you know that cinema is inherently masculine because it is voyeuristic?

Madcap psychobabble, or important social trend? Decide for yourself folks but enjoy the ride in this VERY appealing, very well written, and highly entertaining book!

Ironically, the "Introducing" books always seem to be least useful for those who really need an introduction. Introducing Postfeminism (an awkward term if ever there was one) is no exception - it's overly stylish and short on transitions, organized paragraphs, and clear explanations of specific figures and ideas. If you already have a solid grounding in these matters, the book may be a handy pocket reference - however, as an actual introduction it's a mess. The ideas jump off the page in the worst kind of buzzworded style, and we're scarcely five words into essentialism when structuralism barges into the picture. Even a reader eager to learn (me) finds hirself skimming.

Hey Addison Godel, are you in any way related to Kurt Godel ?
Just wondering. "Introducing Postfeminism" is a good book except the part on psyhcology i didnt really think it was too introductory. But nevertheless a great read and introduction to a complex subject.