The affective, cultural and psychic life of postfeminism

A postfeminist sensibility 10 years on

Bibliographic Data

ID5809478
AuthorsRosalind Gill (0000-0002-2715-1867, City, University of London, UK; Professorial Fellow, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume20
Issue6
Pages606-626
Publication date2017-11-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEuropean Journal of Cultural Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1367-5494 • E-ISSN: 1460-3551
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1367549417733003
OpenAlexW2768321702
LanguageEN
Citations received389
References cited96

This article revisits the notion of 'postfeminism' 10 years after its formulation in critical terms as a sensibility characterizing cultural life. The article has two broad aims: first to reflect upon postfeminism as a critical term - as part of the lexicon of feminist scholarship - and second to discuss the current features of postfeminism as a sensibility. The first part of the article discusses the extraordinary uptake of the term and considers its continuing relevance in a changed context marked by deeply contradictory trends, including the resurgence of interest in feminism, alongside the spectacular visibility of misogyny, racism, homophobia and nationalism. I document a growing attention to the specificities of postfeminism, including attempts to map its temporal phases, its relevance to place, and intersectional developments of the term. The second part of the article examines the contours of the contemporary postfeminist sensibility. I argue that postfeminism has tightened its hold upon contemporary life and become hegemonic. Compared with a decade ago, it is much more difficult to recognize as a novel and distinctive sensibility, as it instantiates a common sense that operates as a kind of gendered neoliberalism. It has both spread out and intensified across contemporary culture and is becoming increasingly dependent upon a psychological register built around cultivating the 'right' kinds of dispositions for surviving in neoliberal society: confidence, resilience and positive mental attitude. Together these affective, cultural and psychic features of postfeminism exert a powerful regulatory force. This article forms part of 'On the Move', a special issue marking the twentieth anniversary of the journal. It also heads up a special online dossier on 'Postfeminism in the European Journal of Cultural Studies

Aesthetics · Feminism · Intersectionality · Neoliberalism (international relations · Political science · Psychic · Racism · Relevance · Scholarship · Sensibility · Social science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · History · Law · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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