Claudia Gillberg

Whose University Is It Anyway? : Power and Privilege on Gendered Terrain

that a pathology of harm, sufferance and deviance, what she coins as ‘illegible rage’ is normalised and glamorised in popular culture. McRobbie offers the example of feminine melancholia evident in photographs of Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell in the fashion magazines. ‘Popular culture is asking women to get used to gender melancholia, and to recognize themselves and each other within its terms’ (p. 115). In Chapter Five, McRobbie examines ‘a movement of women’, predominantly white working class and lower middle class, aspiring to become visible and more socially mobile through the site of popular culture, notably the medium of television. She argues that these women who enter the ‘make-over’ television programmes seek to be glamorous, but are the victims of ‘symbolic violence’ where middle-class female judges set the bar through verbally assaulting the state of their bodies, dress and grooming. McRobbie observes that ‘class relations are changed by the performative force of femininity’ (p. 131). She claims that race and ethnicity shape the ‘make-over’ format with black and Asian women contestants treated more respectfully than their white counterparts. In her concluding chapter, McRobbie questions practices in ‘affirmative feminism’. The first is ‘gender mainstreaming’ which aims to promote gender equality. In her view, it is ‘feminism undone’ (p. 155) because women’s rights are incorporated in a discourse of human rights and translated into policies where there are constraints. She concurs with feminist theorist Rosi Braidotti that gender mainstreaming increases differences in access, entitlement and status among women, isolating and rendering them as more vulnerable. However, she is critical of Braidotti’s cultural space of affirmative feminism and politics of becoming for not considering the hostility of young women to feminism. Another practice McRobbie identifies is ‘third wave feminism’, a web-based activism and writing that folds femininity into feminism, retaining the ‘girlieness’ regarded as celebratory. She is critical of this ‘almost all white and US–Anglo focus’ (p. 157). For McRobbie, education provides a salient space for feminist transformation. In her view, the feminist classroom establishes a ‘contact zone’ for young women, offering a site for potential feminist affirmation through its teaching and pedagogy. The Aftermath of Feminism should appeal to those interested in the areas of gender, education and cultural studies. It provides a challenging read.

A narrative of an action research study in preschool: choice points and their implications for professional and organisational development

Against the background of Swedish preschools historical and traditional functions in Swedish society, this article focuses on some of the choice points and their implications for professional and organisational development in preschool. By combining feminist pragmatism and feminist action research, some analytical points are made regarding the significance of organisational settings and the limitations they can have on the professional practices within the organisational setting. The preschool teachers in this study show that pedagogical change is possible, although it takes time and is not necessarily endorsed by municipal employers. The role of action researchers is described in terms of positions and ethics. The latter is presented as particularly important.

Feminism and Healthcare: Toward a Feminist Pragmatist Model of Healthcare Provision

This chapter covers a range of topics pertaining to the ontological, epistemological, and ethical intricacies, complications, and possibilities of providing quality healthcare to women patients reg ...

Becoming visible in Iran : Women in contemporary Iranian society

Becoming visible in Iran : Women in contemporary Iranian society, by Mehri Honarbin-Holliday