Kastelein, Barbara (1994) Popular/post-feminism and popular literature. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

Preview

PDF WRAP_THESIS_Kastelein_1994.pdf - Submitted Version - Requires a PDF viewer such as GSview, Xpdf or Adobe Acrobat Reader Download (14Mb)

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the ambivalence expressed towards feminism by many
women in the last decade and identifies post-feminism as a problematic through which
to explore this in contemporary women's writing. It focuses on selected fictional and
non-fictional texts of the 1980s and 1990s and examines the ways in which they
engage with feminist concerns.
Until now, post-feminism has not been studied through its articulations in popular
literature. To do justice to the wide range of views held by women and avoid a
defensive and pessimistic reading of commercialised mainstream culture, I have made
use of intertextual readings. The methodology is derived from feminist critical theory
and cultural studies in order to address the relation between feminist and non-feminist
literary texts and the dynamic interchange between what have been labelled as
feminist politics and mainstream or consumer women' s interests. The significance of
the research lies in the identification of ways in which such works of fiction and nonfiction
provide an outlet for women's voices which could serve as a basis for
developing feminist criticism and politics.
The thesis is divided into three chapters, the different themes of which illustrate
post-feminist concerns. In the first, I address the literature of popular therapy by
women. The second chapter focuses on contemporary fictional and non-fictional
writings by women on sex. The final chapter examines women' s relationship to
transgression through genres of crime writing. I have found that popular literary
forms used by women may offer a progressive and complex reading of post-feminism.
I conclude that post-feminism has drawn on popular elements of feminism and that, at
the beginning of the 1990s, one may identify a reincorporation of feminism into postfeminism.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman P Language and Literature > PR English literature
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Feminism and literature, English literature -- 20th century -- Women authors, Women in popular culture -- Great Britain
Official Date:	June 1994
Dates:	Date Event June 1994 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Taylor, Helen, 1947-
Extent:	v, 275 leaves
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/36104

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads