Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. YOUNG AND FBMINIST NEGOTIATINC 'TbNNIITIES' IN THE 1990S A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Ara in Sociology at Massey University Ifelena Rose Court 1995 SrlS'+2CIq13 Caur E ?..q) l- l_ ABSTRACT '| This study explores the experiences of seven young feminist women in relation to a feminist poststructuralist understanding of idenitity' and subjectivity. A review of both the local and international literature reveals a dearth of material about young feminist women and their experiences. Semi-structured, multiple, in-depth interviews are analysed to explore how the young women in this study: . understand feminism and what it means to be feminist . develop their feminist 'identities' . negotiate their feminism in their family relations . understand the conflicts and contradictions that arise in this situation. Significant findings include the complexity and multiplicity of the ways the young women's feminist identities develop, their commitment to feminism and its imperative to achieving change, and the ways the women make sense of the cogtradictions in their actions to enable them to construct and maintain a coherent sense of self. Two interesting aspects of this study are its critique of feminist poststructuralism in light of the concept of 'sense-making' and its engagement with the principles of feminist research, in particular, an exploration of issues arising from the decision to include the researcher as a participant in the study. l_1 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people have helpdd me to bring this research to fruition. Firs0y, my gratitude goes to my supervisors Nicola Armstrong, Dr Brian Ponter and Dr Lynne Alice. Each has played a different, but vital role in the development of my ideas. Thank you to Nicola for her help in developing the research focus and goals - for getting it up and moving. Thank you also to Brian for his support and encouragement and for being there when he was needed. 'Finally thank you to Lynne for helping me to bring it all together and making it a finished product, and for keeping me going when it seemed like it would never end. Without the guidance of my supervisors this would have been a far longer road to travel. I am indebted to my interviewer for giving me her time which enabled me to include my own experiences in the study. I would also like to thank Lynne Star for reading drafts and giving me feedback that helped me to clarify my ideas. My gratitude goes to Ali Murdoch, Tania McGilchrist and Sharon Priest for their hard work in transcribing the volumes of taped interviews. And thank you to the Sociology Department and the V/omen's Studies Program for their financial support in the form of teaching work. I am also deeply grateful to the six women Ali, Catherine, Shelley, Marie, Beth and Robyn who shared their lives with me to enable this study to be carried oul Thank you for the giving of your time and your experiences. A big thank you also goes to arrgefa for answering tie phone when I had my 'big idea' and for encouraging me to carry it through, to Merran for putting up with me at home, to Hannah for being there and to all my other friends who provided light relief and entertainment. Thank you especially to those who were part of the proof ieading team: Angela, Blair, Simon, Andrea, Marian, Steve and Jane. My biggest thank you goes to my family... To Elizabeth and Raymond, thank you for providing me with shelter and more importantly, your love and friendship. iv To Gerald, love and thank you for encouraging me over the years and for forever pushing me the next step and for being there for me both as a friend and a Dad. ! To Steve, who helped with those sentences that just would not come oul read and listened to my ideas and thoughts and helped untangle the more gruesome ones, whose help in the last few days was invaluable and most importantly whose love and laughter have kept me bompany in the most wonderfrrl ways. And finally to Marian - who has encouraged me to always strive for the best, has stimulated my ideas in all ways, and has been a reference list at the end of the telephone. More importantly though - my love and thanks go to Marian for being my friend and for stirring the cauldron (with Gerald's help) that has made me into a feminist. Without her (and him) this thesis would never have been thought of let alone written. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CIIAPTER ONE REVIEW OF THE MOVEMENT AND THE LITERATURE The Women's Movement: The Seventies and Eighties Academic Studies Young Feminist Women in the Literaturc Conclusion CHAPTER TWO FEMINIST POSTSTRUCTURALISM: A REVIEW AND CRITIQUE Language, Meaning and the Subject Subjectivity, Discourse and Subject Positions Power, Resistance and Agency Issues with Feminist Poststructuralism Conclusion CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY: ISSUES OF DTVERSITY AND INCLUSION The Research Design: Key Issues The Participants Interviewing Analysing dre Data and Writing Up Conclusion ii lu v 7 7 l9 24 35 37 38 4L 49 53 61 62 63 69 73 82 87 vt_ CHAPTER FOI,JR SHHHH! WE'RE MAKING FEMINISTS!!! Defining Feminism: What Does it Mean to be Feminist? Development of Feminist 'Identities': The Case Studies (a) Catherine (b) Emma (c) Beth (d) Ati (e) Robyn (O ShelleY (g) Marie Key Themes in the Devclopment of the women's Feminist 'Identities' A Plurality of Feminisms Conclusion CHAPTER FTVE PERSONAL IS POLITICAL: NEGOTIATING CONFLICTS AND CONTRADICTIONS Negotiating traditional femininity (a) Maric and Bettt (b) Shelley (c) Ali (d) RobYn (e) Catherine (O Emma Sense Making Conclusion CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSION: YOTJNG FEMINISTS IN THE NINETIES APPENDICES REFEREI{CES 88 89 92 93 99 104 108 tL2 r17 t22 128 131 r33 t34 135 135 L43 t47 149 150 t52 153 155 r57 r62 t75 INTRODUCTION In the late 1960s and early 1970s a resurgence of feminism swept the western world. This 1960s feminism has been described as one of the new social movements that developed out of a decade marked by 'protest movements' (Cahill and Dann 1991:l). As in other Western countries such as North America, Britain and Australia, the feminist movement was strong in Aotearoa./New Z,e,aland. The feminist magazine Broadsheet begarr publication in 1972 and fifteen hundred women gathered at the first United Women's Convention held in Aucklandin 1973 (Dann 1985:16). Interest in women's issues was strong at a regional and community level. Women's liberation and consciousness-raising groups sprang up around the country, challenging dominant images of and ideas about women. Androcentric and sex-role stereotyped education, equal pay for equal work and equal employment opportunities, access to child care, women's health issues, access to abortion and the representation of women in the media were targeted for action (Dann 1985). In the 1990s however, feminism has increasingly been described as a relic of the past, no longer reflecting the concerns of today's woman. It is argued that women have achieved equaliry both in the work place and in the home. It is the dawning of the age of 'post feminism'. In a reply to my request for recent articles written by the magazine about feminism, Robyn Langwell, editor of North and South wrote: "I think we've moved a long way past the need to cover the women's movement and feminism. From where I sit these are necessities of the past" (Personal letter dated May 30, 1994). Despite this 'death of feminism', a survey carried out in 1992 found that 65Vo of the women surveyed, under the age of 25, felt that there was still a need for a strong women's movement in Aotearoa./1.{ew Z.ealand (MRL Research Group 1992:.13). Furtherrrore,l1Vo of the women in this age group identified as feminist (ibid:l). This survey illustrates that feminism and the issues it addresses is still relevant to a significant number of young women in this country. Introduction A variety of literature explores the experiences of feminist women in Aotearoa./I'lew 7*aland, ranging from Sue Middleton's (1985) study of feminist educators who grew up in the post World War Two period and Gaye Payze's (1991) study of Equal Employment Opporrunity coordinators as feminists, to the Maud Cahill and Christine Dann (1991) collection of personal narratives of women involved in the women's movement during the '70s and '80s. Such studies have explored the experiences of older women; very little has been written about young feminist women. The literature that does focus on young women exists largely within the field of popular culture and magazines like Broadsheel (see, for example, sabbage 1988, Marnie 1988, Wernham.1990, cooper 1993, Marno 1994). It is this dearth of literature about young feminist women that this study aims to address. It explores the experiences of seven young, self identified feminist women aged between 18 and 25. The women represent different ethnic and class backgrounds and varying sexual identities, but have all been university educated to varying levels. Their stories reveal how they became aware of feminism in a multipticity of ways, including through parents, sisters, books and universitY courses. The study focuses on issues of subjectivity and 'identity'I. It explores how the women took up a feminist 'identity', and examines the conflicts and contradictions that arise as the women negotiate this 'identity' with other compatible and incompatible subject positions. The study developed out of my own experiences as a young feminist woman who was raised by a feminist mother and pro-feminist father. In Chapter Five I discuss how my experience of feminism centres around feelings of empowerment and disempowennent because of negative popular representations of feminism. I am very conscious of my 'identity' as a feminist and of how I present this to others. I am aware that I do not always do things that are consistent with my feminist ideas. When I was in the first year of my masterate I undertook a research project focusing on women and poverty as part of my research methods rThe meaning of identity' as it is used in this study is explored in Chapter Two. Introduction paper. I was uncomfortable with the gap between my research participants' experiences and my own, as this did not enable me to put into practice many of my ideas about how to do feminist research. It was while I was writing up that study that I thought about combining my desire to research people in a similar position to myself wi& my interest in issues of 'identity' and feminism. In particular I wanted to explore how other young women experienced being feminist in the 1990s and how they negotiated any conflicts that arose. Thus, the study asks three main questions: 1. What does it mean for these women to be feminist? 2. How did they become feminist? 3- How do they negotiate their feminism in relation to other areas of their lives? From this third question an unanticipated fourth issue arose. This was how the women experienced the contradictions that developed as they negotiated the conflicts between their feminism and other areas of their lives. The theoretical perspective guiding the research is the feminist poststructuralism offered primarily by Chris Weedon (1987) and Bronwyn Davies (1989a, 1989b, 1991, 1993, 1994)2. Their ideas are discussed along with an exploration of the work of scholars such as Jane Kenway, Jana Sawicki, Nicola Gavey and Vivian Scott Melton. The concept of 'sense- making'3 (Ruttedge Shields and Dervin 1993) has also been proposed as a way of understanding how individuals make sense of contradictions in their lives. Weedon and Davies argue that an individual's subjectivity is consciously and unconsciously constructed within socially, culturally and historically specific contexts through a range of competing and conflicting discourses that comprise discursive fields. Individuals 2The thesis involves an interrogation of the usefulness of feminist poststructuralism as a way of understanding the experiences of young feminist women. 3The concept of sense-making suggests that individual's experience gaps exist between time, spaces, object and persons, gaps that must be bridged. These gaps can be understood as similar to the contradictions that exist between discourses. Introduction are offered subject positions from which they can make sense of the world and their relationship to it. Feminist poststructuralism argues that an individual's subjectivity reflects the contradictory nature ofdiscourses as she or he negotiates the needs and values ofthe different subject positions available. These different subject positions or 'identities' make up an individual's subjectivity and are neither fixed nor mutually exclusive. Instead, they co-exist and often impinge upon each other- The concems of one subject position do not disappear when the individual takes up a another position. Rather, she carries the interests and demands of one subject position into her experience of others and in so doing must negotiate any conflicts that arise. However, the dominant and influential discourse of humanism emphasises a coherent, unitary, non-contradictory self. The strength of this discourse means that individuais rarely accept the contradictions in their subjectivity resulting from the varying and often conflicting subject positions that they may encounter. Instead they are compelled to constitute themselves as unitary, coherent beings. The concept of sense-making is used to argue that individuals build bridges to make coherent the gaps that exist in their negotiations. This concept offers a way of understanding how individuals make sense of the dissonances that arise out of these conflicts in ways that they can feel consistent and free of any internal self-conflict. This study uses a qualitative method of multiple in-depth semi-structured interviews which have an emphasis on creating narratives as a way of gaining access to the women's experiences. I have included myself in the research as a participant and respondent; I was interviewed by a colleague and my data exists alongside that of the other six women. I chose to do this in order to make visible how my experiences might have shaped the way I have interpreted the data. This will be discussed in more detail in Chapter Three. Chapter One is divided into three parts. The first section provides a contemporary young feminist's view of the development of the women's movement in Aotearoa./l'{ew Zealand in Introduction the late 1960s, through the 1970s and 1980s. It discusses the international events and authors who helped shape the local movement, and explores some of the dominant feminist discourses that emerged. The discussion also looks at some of the splits that occurred within the movement. The second section provides an overview of some of the major Aotearoa.t{ew 7*aland literature investigating the experiences of feminist women during this period. The third and final section turns to some of the national and international literature that focuses on young feminist women. It looks at the discourses about feminism that are prevalent in the 1990s, drawing together the areas identified in the literature as influencing young women in the development of their feminist 'identities'. The chapter concludes with an exploration of what the literature has to say about the ways that young women have negotiated their feminism. Chapter Two focuses on the theoretical perspective used in the thesis, that of feminist -poststructuralism (Weedon 1987, Davies 1989a, 1989b, 1991, 1993, 1994). It examines the meaning of 'discourse', and discusses the way that an individual's subjectivity is constituted through discourse. I argue that an individual's subjectivity is often conflicting and contadictory because of the multiplicity of competing meanings available within discourse. I conclude with a discussion of the difficulties encountered when I attempted to use some of the key feminist poststructuralist ideas to understand the experiences of the young feminists in the study. The concept of sense-making, which addresses the way that individuals make sense of the contradictions they experience, is introduced as possible solution to one of these problems. Chapter Three explores the methodology and method used in the study. It discusses the principles of feminist research put forward by Brenda Smith and Carolyn Noble-Spruett (1986) and Shulamith Reinharz (1992) that guided the research process. The chapter examines the significance of two principles for the study; firstly, the principle of maximising diversity and the problems of cross-cultural research, and secondly, the issue of locating the researcher in the research process, specifically my dual role as a participant and researcher. This chapter also introduces the seven women in the study. Introduction In Chapter Four the ways the young women understand feminism and the meanings they give to being feminist are discussed. I then explore how the women's feminist 'identities' were formed and how these circumstances shaped their specific feminist perspectives. Chapter Five discusses two issues arising from the third research question. Firstly, how do the women negotiate their feminism with other aspects of their lives and in particular, with their families of origin? For many of the women, their families do not share their commitment to feminism. This situation has created the possibility of conflict for the women as they tried to negotiate their commitment to the feminist notion that the 'personal is political'a. The second issue of how the women experienced the contradictions that arose in this situation. The chapter uses 'sense-making' to explore how the women worked to resolve contradictions. The discussion ends with a brief exploration of the usefulness of the concept of sense-making- Finally, Chapter Six draws together the findings of this study and points towards areas that need further investigation in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of young feminist women in the '90s' In summary then, the study explores issues of identity' formation and 'identity' negotiation in relation to the experiences of young feminist women in Aotearoa./I'{ew 7l.aland in the lggos. It aims to address the dearth of literature about young feminist women' and to challenge the idea that feminism is not relevant to young women while also exploring some of the limits of feminist poststructuralism. In addressing these areas, it raises questions about the meanings of feminism and about the nature of identity'. &fhe 'personal is political' was a central tenet of many feminist discourses in the seventies and eighties and remains strong today_. It has come to mean both the idea that an individual's personal life is a key site of notitic.at3tnlggle' and the more prescriptive idea thal feminists should live their lives in line with their feminist politics (Dann 1985). This idea will also be discussed in ChaPter One. CIIAPTER ONE REVIEW OF TIIE MOVEMENT AND TTIE LITERATURE This chapter begins by providing a brief social history of the second wave of feminism in Aotearoa/1.{ew 7x,aland, highlighting some of the factors that led to the revival of a public feminist movement, before identifying some of the dominant feminist discourses that developed during this period. It also discusses the divisions during the late '70s and early '80s which eventually led to the fracturing of the movement. The second section overviews some of the Aotearoa./New 7*aland academic studies of the experiences of feminist women from this period. The focus then shifts, in the third section, to discuss the national and international literature about the experiences of young feminist women who grew up during the '70s and '80s, when the women's movement was at its height. THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT: THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES' ITS BEGINNINGS The beginnings of the 'second wave' of feminism in Aotearoa./1.{ew Znalarrd are dated to the late 1960s (Dann l9S5). This period was marked for many women by a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the social roles available to thern, which coincided with a period of widespread protests that questioned the dominant discourses of the time. The protests focused on issues of equality and freedom including areas such as the Vietnam war, the nuclear bomb, Black civil rights and apartheid in South Africa. Many, in particular white, middle class women both in Aotearoa/l.lew Znaland and overseas tlt is important to note that this review is constructed from a position outside of the events described. While I was alive during most of the period being discussed, I was not involved in the women's movement. As such the description is written from the perspective of a young feminist woman whose understanding has developed from the writings available about the period. Review of the Movement and the Literature were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the social expectation that their primary roles would be as wives and mothers (May 1992). The shortage of jobs that followed the end of World War Two had led to pressure being placed upon women to return to the home, after their entry into paid work during the war. The 'cult of Domesticity" which defined women in terms of nurturance, morality and above all domesticity, became even stronger during this period (James and Saville-Smith 1994:15); and as Helen May (1992:107) comments, women were expected to get their happiness and sense of fulfilment from their primary 'identity' as wives and mothers. This dominant discourse is evident in this letter to the New T-f-aland Women's WeeklY: "The rewards of being a housewife are in your own achievements and contributions... pay day comes every day as you see your children developing, your husband contented after a good dinner, und your home a comfortable background for them" (New 7s'aland Women's Weekly cited in May 1992:111)' However, many women's experiences did not match the ideal constructed within the dominant discourses. Rather, as Sandra Coney (1993:52) suggests, a sizeable number of women were "depressed, lacking in self-esteem and according to psychiatrists' were taking tranquillisers in large numbers". While May (1992) points out that not all women felt this way, it was still a cornmon experience for many women during this period' It was these experiences or 'the problem that had no name', that Betty Friedan explored in her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique. She argued that society, through the dominant discourse that constructed women as homemakers, wives and mothers (the feminine mystique), had created a major barrier to women achieving their potential as complete human beings (Friedan 1963). Friedan's book drew many women together by showing them that they were not alone in their feelings of dissatisfaction. As one woman in May's (1992:175) study of women in the post-war period remembers: "Bett5/ Friedan's book... was terrific.-. lit was] the flrst realisation that everybody else felt the same as I did". Women's growing frustration with what became known as 'suburban neurosis' coincided with a period of protests. Cahitl and Dann (1991:1) see the sixties as a decade that: Review of the Movement and the Literature "gave birth to what was loosely known as the 'protest movement'... (it) witnessed a diamatic rise in public protest, characterised by militant street marches on issues such as civil rights, nuclear weapons (ban the bomb), and the war in Vietnam". These 'new social movements' had freedom as a cenfal theme and contributed to an environment of social criticism that strongly influenced the development of the women's movement. May (1992:207) suggests that the strength and impact of the protest movements lay less in their numerical size and more in the growing awareness of new and conflicting discourses. For many women, their involvement in the women's movement originated in their participation in other protest movements (see for example Dann 1991). Many of the concerns that women faced were not being addressed by these movements however, and women were often ignored, and/or ridiculed, for attempting to explore their own experiences of inequality. Consequently, both here and internationally, women began to question the hierarchical nature of the organisations in which they were involved as well as their exclusion from the top ranks. Cahill and Dann (1991:2) suggest that women, dissatisfied with the nature of the movements, but spurred by the 'radicalism and militancy' of these campaigns, began to join together in small groups that formed the basis for the women's liberation movement. These grouPs were strongly influenced by ideas that were developing in North America. THE NORTH AMERICAN INFLUENCE While 'protest'movements' occurred throughout the western world, Aotearoa/New ZnaJand was primarily influenced by the civil rights and peace movements and the general, university based, left-wing politics of the United States2. This link between feminisms in Aotearoa,/N ew Zealand and those in the United States can perhaps be seen most strongly in the authors and books referred to as influential by the women in the Cahill and Dann (1991) collection of narratives about the women's movement in Aotearoa/l'{ew 7*aland. They included Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963), Robin Morgan's Sisterhood is Powedul (1970), Shulamith Firestone and Anne Koedt's edited book Nores from the second Year: Women,s Liberation, MajorWritings of the Radical Feminists (1970), Shulamith Firestone's tThis was in contrasr to the development of the British movement which Coney (1993) argues was linked more strongly to the ideas of socialism and Marxism. Review of the Movement and the Literature The Dialectics of Sex (1972) and Marilyn French's The Women's Room (1978) all of which originated from the United States. One exception was The Female Eunuch (1970) by Germaine Greer, an Australian3. It is also from the United States that bra-burning, one of the most dominant media images of feminism originated. Media reports of a group of women dumping bras, girdles, curlers, false eyelashes, wigs and women's magazines into a Freedom Trash Can were sensationalised (Dann 1985:101). Rather than reporting that the women were rejecting the artificiality of modern concepts of beauty and wanted women to be valued for their real qualities, the media reported the protest as an example of the silliness of women involved in the movement. The accusarion of bra-burning became a powerful way of ridiculing feminists. As Dann (199I:77) writes: "in 1969 the first reports of these c::azy American women's liberationists who burnt their bras began to filter through to New Znaland. The tone of the reports was snide - they were meant to make us see how foolish these would-be feminists were, these women who didn't know that the battle of the sexes was over and that women had won". Despite this, a number of more positive discourses of feminism also developed in Aotearoa./New 7-ea\and. Some of these were strongly shaped by the local context. DISCOURSES OF FEMIMSM IN AOTEAROA/NEW ZEALAND Before I discuss the nature of the feminist discourses that were strong in AotearoaA{ew Z,ealand I will briefly clarify the meaning of discoursea. The notion of discourse as used 3Germaine Greer's influence on the discourses of feminism available within Aotearoa/l'{ew 7*a1a d was strengthened by her controversial visit in 1972. She made national headlines after her arrest for swearing on national television. Dann (1985:12) maintains that "the enonnous publicity surrounding her visit alerted many women to women's liberation ideas for the first time',- May (1992) argues that Greer reinforced the militant image and style of the women's ,no\r.-"nt in Aotearoa./I.lew 7*aland. Greer offered New Zealanders a somewhat shocking image of liberated womanhood: ,,she was educated and articulate in language both of the gutter and of academia, independent and sexually liberated, bra-less and even knicker-less" (May 1992l.210). ottris concept is explored more fully in Chapter Two' l0 Review of the Movement and the Literature within feminist poststructuralism is best understood as referring to a field of knowledges and meanings. Discourses exist as, and are expressed through language, representations and practices. Discourses constitute an individual's subjectivity by offering specific frames of understanding and possible ways of interacting (Weedon 1987, Davies 1989a, 1993). A wide range of discourses can exist about any one aspect of life. Some discourses are more powerful than others, and all discourses compete with each other to offer meanings about the world. Discourses do not operate in isolation however, since they reflect an individual's social circumstances and overlap with other discourses to create meaning. Discourses of liberal, radical, socialist, Maaori5 and lesbian feminism have been strong within Aotearoa/New 7*aland6. These discourses draw on and build upon each other, but have also reacted against one another. Consequently, it is difficult to clearly delineate the specific ideas and practices originating in any one discourse. When I associate certain practices and ideas with a particular discourse it does not imply that those ideas and practices are limited to that discourse alone. Nor am I arguing that the women participating in such practices would necessarily consciously associate themselves with only that discourse, to the exclusion of others. It is beyond the scope of this thesis to give a detailed analysis of the ways in which varying discourses of feminism have shaped women's experiences in Aotearoa/I'{ew Z'e,aland7 , but general feminist discourses can be identified. For example, May argues that the women's movement was broadly divided around liberal feminist and radical feminist discourses. She maintains that liberal feminist discourse: "generally supported the political and economic status quo but argued that women were 5The double 'a' in the spelling of Maaori and Paakehaa indicates the long vowel sound in the Maaori language (Turoa 1995). While I would prefer to use a macron this option is not possible. Original spelling is used when quoting- e1he discourses of Maaori and lesbian feminism will be discussed later in this chapter. TSue Middleton (1985) provides a comprehensive overview of liberal, radical and Mandst/socialist feminism in Aotearoa./1.{ew 7*aland in her study of feminist educators. 11 Review of the Movement and the Literature discriminated. againsr and lacked the opportunity to succeed" (May 1992:2L2). One example of feminist action framed within liberal feminist discourse was the 1983 Girls can Do Anything campaign. In contrast, radical feminism saw men's oppression of women, termed 'patriarchy', as the primary and central oppression for all women over and above class and ethnicity. Issues of sexuality were of fundamental importance and included subjects such as reproduction, marriage, compulsory heterosexuality and motherhood (Roland and Klein lggo:273). The Reclaim the Night marches were an example of the practices that expressed this discourse. In reference to this focus, Middleton (1985:137) argues that: ,,while liberal feminism had influenced older, as well as younger women, radical feminism appealed to the 'post-war babies' in that it articulated their conflicts over sexuality". Radical feminism, unlike liberal feminism, argued that the system could not be changed from within and instead needed radical change, change that often was linked to direct action tactics. Middleton (1gg5:152) in conrrast to May, argues that socialist and Mancist feminist discourses have also been influential in Aotearoa/I.lew Znaland. These have had more currency within academia however. For example Alison Jones and Camille Guy (1992:3o3) argue that socialist feminism was relegated to the margins of the mainstream movement by 1g7g, when there was an attempt to expel members of the Socialist Action I-eague from the piha conference because their primary allegiance lay with a male dominated political party. Central to the discourses and politics of the 'second wave' of feminism was the idea of .the personat is political'. Dann (1985:149) argues that, in the early stages of the movement' it referred to the idea that women should "examine their daily lives and not just the formal political institutions for signs of male dominance". Women were encouraged to explore all aspects of their personal lives including their sexual relations and the division of labour within their homes. The notion of 'the personal is political' is most strongly associated with the discourse of radical feminism (Roland and Klein 1990:275). one of the practices central to this political discourse was consciousness-raising groups which existed throughout the country during the seventies and early eighties. These groups 12 Review of the Movement and the Literature consisted of up to ten women who came together to share and discuss their experiences. In these groups they often became aware that they shared many experiences as women. Noreen Penny (1991:112) states of the first consciousness-raising group that she attended that: "it was great to have found a group where I could really talk". Dann (1985:97) argues that consciousness-raising groups provided women with a base and motivation for political action: "shame was converted to anger, and anger into action based on group support". Consciousness-raising groups, and the women's liberation movement in general, promoted a sense of 'sisterhood' among many of the women involved. Coney (1993:62) argues that the movement was founded upon the notion that women formed a 'class', or group with common interests. This idea can be linked to the radical feminist view that "male power, that is patriarchy, dominates over class, religion, race and culture" (Roland and Klein L99O:277). However, as was to become evident, this notion of women as a single group denied the differences and multiplicities of women's experiences. These differences began to surface through the very political practice that had formed the base for the movement consciousness-raising groups. Viv Walker (1991:101), a working class woman, highlights the alienation she felt from the women in her group: "I found [it] pretty embarrassing really, these women talking about their vaginas. It was all a bit strange to me. They had long hair, and they were going to get jobs - they seemed to be from another Planet". This lack of shared experience and concerns increasingly became an issue for women involved in the women's movement during the late seventies and early eighties and led to a growth in 'identity politics'. The discourse of identity' politics has become a critical site of debate following on from the seventies view that feminism was itself an 'identity' structure, rather than a method or tool for social change. That is, that feminism is about who one is rather than how to change societY. Fuss (1989:97) argues that "identity politics refers to a tendency to base one's politics on a sense of personal 'identity' - as gay, as Jewish, as black, as female". Jones and Guy (1991:311) maintain that'identity'politics, the naming of ourselves, is a crucial part of the 13 Review of the Movement and the Literature feminist projects- In AotearoaArlew Trualand during the late seventies and early eighties the women's movement became increasingly split along the lines of sexuality, ethnicity and class. Coney (1993:62) maintains that the spark that had ignited the women's movement originated from young, white, middle class women. The goals of the movement were shaped by the concems and beliefs of this group and did not adequately reflect the multiplicity of women's experiences in Aotearoa./1.lew Tnaland. For example, it was not until 1977 that a lesbian woman was given speaking time at the United Women's Convention and even then she was only allowed five minutes (Johnson 1991:68). "By the mid seventies, these goals needed renegotiating to be more embracing, but this process did not occur" (Coney 1993:62)- Consequently women whose experiences and concerns were not being addressed by the movement began to separate off into 'identity' based groups in order to have their needs addressed. Coney argues that: "The movement changed over the late seventies and early eighties from a network of women's liberation groups with wide aims, which came together periodically at caucuses and workshops (for initance, Hamilton 1975, Wainuiomata 1976, Auckland 1976, Christchurch 1977, Piha 1978), to a fragmented conglomeration of groups which might have no contact with each other" (ibid:60). The first women to organise separately were lesbians (Dann 1985). Sisters for Homophile Equality (SHE) was formed in 1973 and began to publish Circlee. SHE and Circle wete aimed at lesbian women but heterosexual women were initially welcomed. "Women who feel exclusively heterosexual, but who are interested in love between women (which is the essence of lesbianism) are more than welcome to subscribe and write to our magazine, and to join our movement" (Circle cited in Dann 1985)- However, by the 1978 Women's Liberation Congress at Piha a split had formed between lesbian and heterosexual women. A paper was presented by the Wellington-based Lesbians sUnderpinning this argument is the idea of a feminist 'identity'. This study is, in part, interrogating thiJ understanding by exploring the contradictions surrounding a feminist 'identity'. tv1ary-Helen Ward (1995) has written a thesis on the private lesbian-only newsletters that were a central part of the separate organisation of many lesbian feminists. L4 Review of the Movement and the Literature Ignite Fire Brigade in which it was argued that "lesbians, the backbone of the women's movement, were ripped off and oppressed by the movement, while heterosexual women enjoyed heterosexual privilege" (Jones and Guy 1992:302). This split culminated in the exclusion of heterosexual women from lesbian sleeping spaces and led to much personal abuse (Coney 199I:65, Awatere Huata I99l:124). One discourse that was significant in this shift in relations between lesbian and heterosexual feminists was the element of radical feminism that interprets heterosexuality as the key to women's oppression. Women who maintained sexual relations with men were considered to be 'sleeping with the enemy'. Dann (1985:33) cites the American CLIT papers in which lesbian women are warned away from heterosexual women, who are described as men in disguise. These ideas were also linked to the shift in meaning of the central feminist principle 'the personal is political'. Dann (1985:149) argues that the term quickly moved from being: "a descriptive slogan to a prescriptive injunction... there was pressure for women to live 'politically correct' personal lives". The women's movement was also split over ethnicity- While Maaori women's issues and experiences had received more attention than those of lesbian women (for example, Maaori women were invited to address and give workshops at the 1972 Women's Liberation Conference and the 1973 United Women's Convention), Dann (1985:34-5) maintains that "their presence generated no political push on the majority of Pakeha women". In 1976 the lapsed Nga Tamatoa was reformed by Hilda Halkyard, Ripeka Evans and Donna Awatere Huata and took on an unprecedented feminist focus (Awatere Huata 1993:122). By 1978 Maaori women were openly challenging Paakehaa women and the women's movement for their lack of support of Maaori issues and the Treaty of Waitangi (ibid:124). ln 1980 Maaori women gathered together for the first Huihuinga Wahine Maori Anake. Non-Maaori women were excluded from the hui in the same way that men had been excluded from the Women's Liberation Conferences. The separate organisation of Maaori women also sparked the development of discourses 15 Review of the Movement and the Literature of Maaori feminism. Ngahuia Te Awekotuku (1991a:52) dates the beginnings of Maaori feminism to the 1980 Huihuinga Wahine Maori Anake. Middleton (1993:32) argues that most of the discourses of feminism that have underpinned the women's movement in Aotearoa./1.{ew Tsaland were imported from overseas and did not always fit the local circumstances. The growth of indigenous discourses of feminism such as those of Maaori feminisms can be seen as a response to this mismatch. Maaori women such as Rose Pere (1983), Donna Awatere (1984), Kathie Irwin (1992), Linda Tuhiwai Smith (1992), and Ngahuia Te Awekotuku (1991a) have all written about Maaori women's experiences both in traditional Maaori society and following colonisation. A third grouping within the 'identity' discourse of the women's movement centred around the issue of class, although in Aotearoa./1.{ew 7*,aland this division has received less attention than those based on sexuality and ethnicity. Historically Aotearoa/I'{ew Z.ealand has in popular discourse attempted to deny its class divisions. As Rosie Scott (1992:49) claims, "class is still a dirty word in many circles, including some feminist ones". The invisibility of working class women within the women's movement is demonstrated by the absence of writing about working class women. Two examples of this are Broadsheet Been Around For Quite A While (Rosier 1992) and Up From IJnder: Women And Liberation In New Tzaland (Dann 1985). While each book contains sections which explore the concerns and experiences of Maaori and lesbian women (see for example, Rosier 1992:58-Ill, Dann 1985:31-39), working class women's experiences are not given the same attentionro. Christine Bird (1985:39) argues that: "working class feminists see things differently from middle class feminists. They have the same sort of frustration that Maori feminists have... they feel the same anger at the assumption that what will benefit middle class women will benefit all women". Jones and Guy (1992) argue that the movement attempted to provide a framework for t\ilorking class women are not excluded completely, though. Rosier (1992) has included a piece ironically titled 'The Invisible Working Class Feminist' by Christine Bird, and Dann (1985), in various sections dealing with different issues of the movement, mentions the plight of working class women. For all intents and purposes, though, the experiences of these women are largely invisible. 16 Review of the Movement and the Literature exploring and negotiating differences between women by developing the notion of a 'hierarchy of oppressions'. The hierarchy was based upon the belief that while all women are oppressed, some are more oppressed than others on the basis of, for example, their sexual and ethnic identities. Jones and Guy (1992:306) argue that within this hierarchy: "the more oppressed were to be listened to: not because we needed to understand what they had to say, but because their membership of certain suffering social categories gave them the moral edge". Donna Awatere Huata (I993:I24), in line with this discourse, remembers being safe from criticism at the Piha conference, despite her heterosexuality, because she was Maaori and disabled. At another conference, women were given biscuits to represent their 'privileges' and were instructed to take biscuits from those women below them in the hierarchy. A white, heterosexual, middle class, tetiary-educated, able-bodied, professionally employed woman who attended the conference was left feeling that she was taking something from the other women; that she was responsible for their oppression (Jones and Guy 1993:307). The hierarchy of oppressions added more pain and divisions to an already fractured movement. Coney (1993:54) argues that: "in the nineties it is hardly possible to talk of a 'movement', as the term implies breadth, activity and some commonality of purpose. The women's movement in New Zealand (sic) exists only in pockets, as rape crisis centres, refuges, groups against pornography, and women's centres". However, Coney's argument emphasises an understanding of the movement as a monolith. It focuses on a unitary conception of feminism that reflects aspects of feminism in the seventies. By contrast, a feminist poststructuralist reading would emphasise the multiplicity and plurality of the current state of feminism and the women's movement. Such a rbading gives space to the diversity of women's interests and experiences. WOMEN'S STUDIES ASSOCIATION During the eighties and on into the nineties the Women's Studies Association (WSA), which was first set up in 1976, has played an important part in shaping the form of t7 Review of the Movement and the Literature Aotearoa./1.{ew 7*aland feminismsrr. This influence stemmed in part from WSA conferences which started in 1978. The conferences, which took the place of the United Women's Conventions that had been a key part of the women's movement during the seventies, provided the only national forum through which women in Aotearoa/1.{ew 7*aland could come together to explore and share ideas about feminismr2. The WSA placed an emphasis on recognising and acknowledging the differences that existed between women. For example, the advertisement calling for papers for the 1985 WSA Conference stated that: "all women presenting material are asked to consider the visibility of lesbians, black women, the disabled and working class women" (WSA Newsletter, 1985:8). The 1984 conference had as its specific focus the issues of racism and heterosexism. The importance of these issues to the WSA is evident in the existence of its lesbian caucus and the 1987 constitutional change that noted the Association's responsibility to address the oppression of Maaori in its work and activities (Roth and McCurdy, 1993:368). Members of the WSA were also concerned that a division did not develop between community based feminisms and those based in the universities. Conference papers did not need to be academic in nature and the conferences were often held outside of the main university centres (for example, Blenheim hosted the 1984 conference (Dann, 1985:18) and the New Plymouth Women's Centre organised the 1986 conference (Roth and McCurdy, I993:I4l)). This inclusive approach to women's studies in Aotearoa./Ilew Tnalandis reflected in the New Zealand Women's Studies Handbook. They state that the book is for: "women involved in community or formal education who wish to tutor a course in women's studies... [or] women who wish, as a group to study women-.." (Craven et al 1985:9). ttMary Hancock (1979) surveyed the Women's Studies progriunmes being run in Aote aro a./l.{ew Zealand. t2I owe my understanding of the impact of the Women's Snrdies Association on Aotearoa./Irlew 7*aland feminisms to a personal conversation with Claire-Louise McCurdy. 18 Review of the Movement and the Literature SUMMARY In this section I have argued that feminism underwent a public revival in the late sixties and early seventies. As part of the period of protest that marked the sixties and seventies, many women throughout the western world began to question the dominant images of, and ideas about, women. While the women's movement in Aotearoa./I'{ew Tnaland was strongly influenced by ideas and events from the United States, the feminist discourses that developed were also specific to issues and concerns faced in this country. One of the central issues that faced the women's movement in the seventies and eighties was the need for feminist discourses to reflect the diversity of experience amongst Aotearoa./Irlew 7*aland women. Maaori, working class and lesbian women all questioned the limited nature of the ideas being put forward by the predominantly white, middle class and heterosexual women who dominated the public face of the movement. As such there has been a strong emphasis placed upon recognising and acknowledging plurality and difference between women that has become central to understandings of feminism in Aotearoa/lrlew T,rualand. This emphasis has also been a central part of the Women's Studies Association. The Association, which was also concerned with maintaining links between university based courses and those based in the community, was the only major national forum for feminist ideas during the eighties. The academic studies that have focussed on feminism in this country have also explored and reflected many of these issues. ACADEMIC STI]DIES A number of academic studies have explored the experiences of women who identified as feminist during this period. Sue Middleton (1985) interviewed a group of feminist teachers who were born in the post World War Two period, exploring their politicisation as feminists and the ways in which they put their feminism into.practice in their teaching. Her focus centred strongly on the women's education experiences. GayePayze (1991) was interested the relationship between feminist practice and the state. She interviewed EEO coordinators 19 Review of the Movement and the Literature as 'femocrats' to explore the extent to which they used their positions to pursue a feminist agenda. Jennifer Curtin and Heather Devere (1993) interviewed 52 women from a range of backgrounds about their views of feminism and whether they identified as feminists. Bev Hong (Lggz) is currently undertaking doctoral research into women who support women's rights but reject the term 'feminist'. She has interviewed and surveyed women who call themselves feminists and women who do noL Her sample included two groups of women, one group comprised of those over the age of thirty five, and the other made up of younger women aged between eighteen and thirty- Middleton completed a life history study of the experiences of twelve women who grew up in the post war period and entered the teaching profession at a stage of teacher shortager3. All of rhe women identified themselves as feminists, although they aligned themselves with a range of feminist discourses including liberal feminism, radical feminism,lesbian separatism, anti-racism, Marxism and socialist feminismra. Middleton adopted a socialist feminist approach to analyse the experiences of the women in her study. She argues that it provides the most useful framework for understanding the contradictions in the women's lives because it takes into account the "dynamics of cultural reproduction of both class and gender" (1985:17). Middleton suggests that girls who grew up in this period, and in particular girls in the academic stream at high school: "experienced contradictions between their sexual and intellectuaVprofessional lives and between the dominant ideology of feminine domesticity and the permissive attitudes of the 'sexual revolution"' (Middleton 1985:9). t3The teacher shortage of the late fifties and sixties meant that women who normally would not have been in a financial position to get tertiary training gained access to a university education. Consequently Middleton's study includes women from a variety of class backgrounds. She also included Maaori and lesbian teachers in her sample. toMiddleton (1993:42-3) has since drawn attention to some of the problems of developing these sort of typologies. While she discusses these with particular reference to their usefulness as a framework for curriculum usage, the criticisms are also valid for research framed by such typologies. 20 Review of the Movement an^d the Literature Some of the women also experienced feelings of victimisation or marginality that led them to question the society in which they were living. Middleton (1985:13) maintains that the women became 'radicalised' when they shifted from understanding the contradictions in their lives as personal failings and began to interpret them as social phenomena. Access to feminist discourses provided the means for this shift and also enabled the women to see both the possibility and desirability of change. The second part of Middleton's study explores the different ways in which the women have put their feminist ideas into practice in their teaching and how this has led to feelings of marginalisation as feminist teachers. The second study was completed by Payze in 1991. Payze wanted to explore the extent to which individuals can and do use the state to pursue their own personal political agendas. In particular she was interested in the possibilities for feminists (or femocrats as feminist women in this sphere are more popularly known) within this setting. Payze interviewed eight EEO coordinators who held 'head office' positions within a variety of government departments. A number of areas are explored, including the women's reasons for entering the EEO field, their involvement with the feminist movement and feminist networks (Chapter Four), and what groups the women placed importance upon maintaining legitimacy with, including other femocrats, other feminists, their peers (that is with fellow EEO coordinators), and their own status as organisational members (Chapter Five). Payze argues that while in most cases the women considered themselves feminists, many distanced themselves from the 'social movement'. Further, she maintains that many of the coordinators sought the positions for reasons of professional development or to "access higher rates of remuneration and reward" (1991:85). The women appeared to be most concerned with maintaining credibiliry with other EEO coordinators rather than feminists in any wider sense. In light of these findings Payze concluded that the EEO coordinators in her study were not primarily driven by feminist agendas and were better seen as "pursuing a professional project within the field of EEO" (1991:ii) Curtin and Devere (1993) are interested in the factors that influenced women's willingness 2l Review of the Movemcnt and the Literature to identify as feminists. In their study they interviewed 16 groups of between three and five women about their views of feminism. The women were selected on the basis of age, education, religion, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, party activism and location and were interviewed in informal discussion groups based upon shared socio-economic characteristics (Curtin and Devere 1993:10-11). Twenty women identifred themselves as feminists, twenty one did not and ten were undecided in that they expressed both positive and negative feelings towards feminism. Curtin and Devere argue that education, level of religious commitment, age, class and ethnicity were important factors in the willingness of the women to link themselves with feminism. However, the validity of these results is difficult to assess due to a lack of information about the selection process of the study- Curtin and Devere highlight a number of popularised discourses of feminism that were significant in discouraging the women from identifying with feminism. This was despite their widespread support for issues or values that are commonly associated with feminism, such as equal pay, child care provisions, sexual harassment and equity in educationrs. These popular discourses of feminism included an image of feminists as separatists or 'anti-men' and as wanting to look like men, including having 'butch haircuts'. Some of the women also saw feminists as prioritising careers and as attacking women who chose to work in the home- Linked with this idea was a belief of some of the older women that feminists have made life harder for women. Curtin and Devere conclude, following bell hooks, that if feminism is to increase its level of support it should "not demand that feminism be an 'identity' or a lifestyle, but rather action which seeks to end sexist, racist and other oppressions" (1993:26)- Hong (1995a) is currently undertaking doctoral research exploring the reasons why some women call themselves feminist and others do not. As part of this study she interviewed 40 women who were divided according to age and identification with feminism. The first group, aged over 35 consisted of 12 women who called themselves feminists and eight who did not. The second group of women were aged between 18 and 30 years and l l were feminists and ttM*y of these issues have been central to the discourses of liberal feminism. The high level of rupport reflects the way in which liberal feminist ideas have become part of popular discourses of gender relations. 22 Review of the Movement and the Literature nine were not. Hong identifies nine factors as important in determining whether the women identified as feminist or not. These included: Whether they perceived the feminist label as negative or positive. Whether feminists only focused on women's inequality with men. How politically active they were. Whether feminists were derogatory of traditionally feminine roles such as housewife and mother. Whether more political action is needed before there is gender equality. How the general public perceive the feminist label. How well their lifestyle fits in with that generally expected of women in society. To what extent they had contact with support groups of women (Hong I995a:3). The second part of Hong's study is a survey of 301 women and explored statistically the importance of these different factors (Hong 1995b). She concludes that perceptions of the label feminist vary with the respondent's belief that more political activity is necessary, and their involvement in such activity. For the older women, issues concerning the expectations of women in society and the central focus on gender were also influential; while for the younger women, contact with support networks was an important component (ibid:2). SUMMARY While a range of academic studies have explored the experiences of feminists in Aotearoa.ft.{ew 7*aland, few of these have focused on young feminist women. Of the two studies that have included young women among their participants(see Curtin and Devere L993, Hong 1992, 1995a, 1995b), both have focused on the reasons behind women accepting or rejecting the label of 'feminist'. As such, neither explore what it is like to be young feminist woman. Nor do these studies adopt a sociological perspective for the analysis of their results. 23 Review of the Movement and the Literature YOUNG FEMIMST WOMEN IN TIIE LITERATURE So, what literature does address the experiences of young feminist women? Much of the literature that does exist, like that on older feminist women, takes the form of popular literature (for example, in magazines such as Ms and Broadsheet), rather than as academic researchr6. This popular literature is diverse in its focus and includes narratives about young feminist women's experiences, explorations of their views on a number of issues including education, work, marriage and motherhood as well as prescriptions about how to make feminism more accessible and appropriate for themselves and other young women. While I am primarily interested in the literature that explores young women's experiences of feminism, some of this literature still helps to reflect the social and cultural context of these experiences. One exception to the pattern is Kimberly Dill's United States masters thesis tstled Feminism in the nineties: the influence of collective identiry and community on young feminist activists ( 1991)'?. The following discussion focuses on material relevant to this study, including the range and narure of the popular discourses of feminism available to and discussed by the young women; the ways in which the women encountered feminist ideas; how the young women have experienced their feminist identities; and in particular, how they have experienced and negotiated conflicts. The first section explores what the Aotearoa./l'{ew 7-ealand literature highlights as important and then surveys the perspectives expressed in the international literature. The second and third sections focus more on the international literature, as very little has been written in the Aotearoa./I.{ew Znaland context about young feminist women's ,6My search for literature in this area included searching the Sociological Abstracts' the Social -Sciences Citation Indexes, First Search, INNZ, Massey University, Auckland University, Waikato University, Canterbury University and Otago University library catalogues,andtheAustralianBibliographicNetwork.'3''owrotetoanumbrofmagazines ,"qu"riiog any recently published articles that dealt with feminism or the women's movement- tiDill (1991) explores the experiences of a group of young feminists who are members of activist groups. She discusses both how the young women encountered feminism and their experien-ces of activism. Only those issues which are relevant to this study are included in this review. A Review of the Movement and the Literature entry into feminist ideas and their negotiation of their subjectivities. Although the discussion is skewed towards the international literature, Aotearoa.fl{ew Z,e,aland material is brought in wherever possible. DISCOURSES OF FEMINISM IN TFM LITERATURE ABOUT YOUNG WOMEN The Stereotype: One of the most prominent ideas of feminism that is discussed is the popular stereotype of feminism and feminists (see Marnie 1988, Cooper 1993, Marno 1994). As Lisa Sabbage (1988:20) states: "many young women are convinced that feminists are aggressive, polemical, fat and hairy manhaters". She remembers her friends looks of horror when she expressed interest in going to the Women's Space at her university. They saw the space as being full of "strident lesbians" (ibid). Lyn Loates (1992:35), who talked to eight young women aged between 16 and 22 reports a similar view of feminists. "The word [feminist]... drummed up images of hairy legs and strident voice. To three out of the eight, it meant lesbianism"- This discourse is seen as strongly linked to the media presentation of feminism in the seventies, an image which Sabbage (1988) argues is still strong today. Loates (1992) and Larissa Marno (1994) argue that this discourse is a significant reason why so many young women reject the term feministr8. An almost identical discourse about feminism and feminists is identified in the international literature (see for example Lutz in Van Gelder 1983, Donald 1985, Ermacora 1985, Dill 1991, Kamen 199I, Stephen 1991, Glickman 1993). As one woman comments: "feminists are seen as overweight, overalled, spike-haired lesbians, while feminism itself is regarded as a radical movement concerned with separatist, 'man-hating' politics" (Gillman 1985:31). Similar arguments to those in the Aotearoa./1.{ew 7*aland literature are also put forward about tsThe strength of this discourse is demonstrated by the Cosmopolitan framing of a Naomi Wolf (1994) article on what modern men must be like if feminist women are to accept them. The article title reversed the focus of the article by asking "Can you be a feminist and stillbe attractive to men?" (my emphasis). 25 Review of the Movement and the Literature the negative effect of this discourse on young women's willingness to identify as feminists (see for example, Kamen 1991, Faludi I99L, Wolf 1993). Another popular discourse, 'postfeminism', also shapes young women's experiences of feminism in the nineties. Postfeminism: The discourse of 'postfeminism' is also mentioned in the literature although to a lesser degreere. This discourse suggests that feminism is not needed any more, or as Rachel Cooper (1993:9) cofirments "'You've done a great job girls, now let's get on with more important stuff ". Like the previous discourse, the idea that feminism is an idea of the past is linked to the media (see Cooper 1993, Marno 1994). As mentioned in the Introduction, Robyn Langwell, editor of North and South, drew on this discourse in her comment that we have moved beyond the need to write about feminism. The strength and widespread nature of this discourse is also demonstrated by its use as the name of one of the talks ('I'll be a post-Feminist in Post-Patriarchy') at the 1993 Listener Women's Book Festival- Like the discourse of feminists as hairy, strident man-haters, the discourse of post-feminism is also discussed in the international literature (see Hornaday 1983, Stott 1985, Stephen 1991), which suggests that young feminist women easily reject this discourse as an invalid representation of the current state of gender relations. This idea is further reinforced by the existence of more positive discourse that suggests the existence of a 'third wave of feminism'. The Third Wave: This more positive discourse evident in the literature is one which sees feminism entering a 'third wave', of which young women are the spearhead (see for example Marno 1994, Ehrenreich lggg, Schrof 1993). A central aspect of this discourse is the need to acknowledge rT-ynne Alice explores some popular culture representations of 'postfeminism' in a paper deliverid to the Feminism/postmodernism/Postfeminismconference heldatMassey University, November 17 -lgth, 1995. 26 Review of the Movement and the Ltterature the differences between women. Joannie Schrof argues that: "Third wavers are acutely aware of their predecessors' reputation for being hateful to men, focussing on too narrow a set of goals and marginalising minority and low-income women...[they] are looking to eradicate the image of feminism as a rich white woman's club" (Schrof 1993:27). This idea of diversity is also present in other literature: "Well, being feminist doesn't mean that everyone does everything one certain way. Feminism for every woman is different because of the different environments we all come from" (Ambey in Stephen l99l:3t-2). These popular discourses of feminism form part of the discursive field within which young feminist women have developed their feminist identities. ACCESS TO FEMINIST DISCOURSES AND IDENTITIES A significant factor shaping the different meanings of feminism for different women is the ways they encountered feminist discourses and identities. While the literature does include discussions of the ways in which young women have developed their feminist ideas, such discussions are very limited and exist primarily in narrative forms (see for example the Scutt 1985 collection and Stephen 1991). Interestingly, most of the literature that addresses this issue comes from Australia and the United States rather than Aotearoa./1.{ew 7*,aland- Two exceptions are Marnie (1988) and Helen Wemham (1990). However, while the articles mention the ways in which young women encountered feminism, they do not really discuss their experiences. Consequently the focus of this next section is on the international literature. Aotearoa/l',{ew 7*aland material is included when possible. The major areas identified within the literature are the family, education, literature and the media, feminist communities, and experiences of other forms of oppression. The Family: The first and perhaps strongest of the ways in which the young women encountered feminism was the family. For some of the women, feminism was among the political perspectives available in their homes (see Donald 1985, Ermacora 1985, Gartrell 1985, Giles 2:l Review of the Movement an"d the Literature 1985, Dill 1991, Glickman t993). This was the case for several of the women in Dill's (1991:37) study. These young women gained support and information from their feminist mothers. For other women, their families fostered a strong belief in equality. "Although [my mother was] not an ardent feminist she has always instilled in me the belief that women are equal and that anything I wanted to do - I could" (Trewick 1985:95). The narratives suggest that this belief system was often combined with an emphasis on politics: "[as I was] exposed to politics and economics from birth, debating and heated arguments were a regular part of my childhood" (Gillman 1985:32). A few of the women were introduced to feminist discourse through their older sisters who were part of the women's movement of the 1970s (see Corley 1985, Stephen 1991). Inrerestingly, the literature that discusses families of origin (namely the Scutt (1985) collection) does not include young women who grew up in households where conservative discourses about women's roles were dominant2o. Rather, the narratives are of women who grew up in households where at least a liberal discourse of equality was strong. The notable exception to this pattem exists within the Aotearoa/l.Iew 7*aland literature. Marnie (1988) describes her father a 'male chauvinist'; however, other than noting that she was a 'tomboy' she does not explore how these discourses influenced the development of her feminist 'identity'. The literature also suggests, however, that even for those young women who grew up in families with feminist ideas, the development of their feminist identities was neither a straight forward, nor necessarily painless, process. For example, Mia, the fourth of the five daughters from a feminist family, struggled with her family's reputation as feminist. For her it meant that she was singled out for purposely sexist comments from teachers (Glickman 1993:44). When Mia left her community to go to college, she was: 2tlearly, the women in Glickman's (1993) study must also be mentioned here. However, given that Glickman's sample was of daughters of feminists the fact that at least liberal discourses of feminism were strong is intentional. ?8 Review of the Movement and the Literature "relieved to shed the 'baggage of all those sisters and that reputation'... During the first year, 'when someone would ask me if I'm feminist, my immediate reaction was to run away and say no, no. It was so hard to take pride in it'... She eventually was flushed out and pegged as a radical advocate of 'the women's thing'... still, her first year at college was a slow painful gathering of strength.-. Now when people ask me that question I turn it on them - I say'Of course, aren't you?"'(Glickman 1993:10-11). In a similar vein, Australian Cathy Henry recalls being hostile towards her mother's "comparatively mild interest in feminism". Feminism was something Henry thought was stupid (Henry 1985:68). Education: A second site where the young women encountered feminism was in education. For several women, school offered the opportunity to discover significant women and to explore topics linked to feminism such as lesbianism and sexual harassment (see Gillman 1985, Donald 1985, Stephen 1991). For others, university opened up this space: "Doing my degree was when it all happened. My mind opened up. It did a bit of a shuffle" (Stott 1985:155). "I started calling myself feminist... when I enrolled in my first women's studies course" (Monagle in Stephen 1991:30). Women's studies courses were also central to the experiences of the young women in Dill's (1991:31) study. The classes provided the women with alternative ways of understanding their experiences that could better explain how they were feeling. Wernham (1990), an Aotearoa./I.lew TnaJand writer argues that attending feminist studies courses provided her with a site for exploring her feelings and experiences with other young women. Literature/lVledia: Literature and the media was another important medium through which some of the young women encountered feminist ideas (see Donald 1985, Gillman 1985, Giles 1985, Stephen 1991). Diana Forward (1935) recalls seeing a BBC documentary about the Pankhursts and the suffrage movement in Britain when she was nine: "I can still feel my horror, frustration and anger as I watched the treatment of those women, and the pride and admiration their actions inspired in me" (Forward 1985:136-7). Anna Donald (1985:25) spoke of finding out about feminism through literature. She was 29 Review of the Movement and the Literature given a biography of Emily Pankhurst, among others, which gave her access to a list of new words including "suffragette" and "feminism". These caught her attention: "Emily Pankhurst became a hero, inspiring me to find out all I could about feminism" (Donald 1985:26)- Biographies and autobiographies of women involved in feminism were also central to Sarah Gillman's (1985) experience of feminism. This access to the ideas of women who had gone before was a key part of the young women's entry into feminism. Some of the young women in Dill's (1991) study also encountered feminist ideas through literature. Their reading of feminist texts was often stimulated by wider social events or by friends who were interested in feminist issues or participated in women's studies courses. Feminist Communities: Unlike the previous generation, few of the young women in this literature talk about entering into feminism through consciousness-raising groups or women's action groups. Several women in Rose Glickman's study talked about their mothers' feminist communities of which they were part. For these women: "their mother's feminist communities represent to them the halcyon days (Glickman 1993:44). As noted earlier, Helen Wernham (1990) saw her feminist studies classes as providing a community for exploring feminist ideas. Nevertheless there is an awareness among the young women that they are the second generation of 'second wave' feminists, and as such can draw on the strength of their predecessors and look to them for ideas (see for example, Giles 1935). Jennifer Stott, a young Australian feminist maintains that: "the work of the women's movement in the late 1960s and 1970s has influenced my consciousness and behaviour. It has meant that although society may continue to criticise choice of lifestyle and sexuality, a strong network of support reaffirms that you're not mad, not weird not the only one. The women's movement has given us female role models, mentors, a network of alternative options" (Stott 1985:156). This idea of the women's movement in the'70s and '80s providing support to younger women is echoed by Barbara Findleton in reference to the American movement: "One of the reasons I don't despair is because no matter how difficult it is being feminist today, it certainly had to be harder to be one of the pioneers who laid the foundation- fireie's *y r"ttr" of standing on the shoulders of the previous generation: it comforts me" 30 Review of the Movemont and the Literature (Stephen l99l:33). For some American women, though, the previous generation's involvement in the women's movement is seen as a barrier to younger women getting involved. Many of the existing feminist organisations are dominated by older woman. Barbara Ehrenreich (1988:32) cornments that some young women feel that: "In the 'older women's movement, if you're under thirty, you may as well be invisible"'. Similarly, Henry (1985), a young Australian woman, also feels inhibited by the 'generation gap' bet'ween the younger and older women. Wernham (1990), referring to the Aotearoa/lriew 7*aland context, describes the lack of consciousness-raising groups as making it harder for young women to develop their feminist ideas and actions. She comments that it is difficult being: "younger than the main body of feminists in New Z,ealand... the women who did consciousness raising in the 70s obviously got such a bigbuzz of energy and went on to do a whole lot of other things. It's hard to be younger than that, and sort of jump in" (Wernham 1990:16). Interestingly, the positive feelings associated with 'standing upon the shoulders of older feminists' do not appear at all in the Aotearoa/New Z,e,aland literature. Instead, both Sabbage (1988) and Wernham (1990) report a sense that a woman must have been through the 'school of hard knocks' in order to qualify as a feminist. Sabbage ( 1988:19) argues that this feeling is particularly strong amongst white middle class women, "desperate to prove that they are 'worthy' of feminism"2l. Experiences of Other Forms of Oppression: Dill (1991) identifies a further area through which the young women in her study entered feminism, that is through an awareness of other forms of oppression such as racism or heterosekism. These young women felt that their experiences of being in a minority group enabled them to 'open their eyes' to other things that were going on around them. Some of 2rThe significance of this difference should not be over stated given the limited amount of Aotearoa./1.{ew 7*aland literature about young feminist women. 31 Review of the Movement and the Literature the African-American women felt that their awareness of their ethnicity blocked their entry into feminism though; they did not want to be viewed as "white middle class" (Dill l99l:36). NEGOTIATING A FEMINIST 'IDENTITY' As with the previous section, the Aotearoa./I.{ew Znaland literature does not explore how young feminist women experience and negotiate their feminist identities. Consequently, we must consider again the international literature. Negotiating the Meaning of Being 'Feminist': The literature reveals a number of responses by young feminist women to the popular discourse of feminism which constructs feminists as hairy, radical man-haters. In Glickman's (1993) study of the daughters of feminist mothers in America, she found that while many of the young women called themselves feminists, they were wary of the implications of the term. "For these daughters the problem is how to call themselves feminists in a world that selectively and disapprovingly defines the word to exclude everything but the most dramatic and extreme elements. They tenaciously refuse to distance themselves from the label, but it causes them discomfort" (ibid:9). Glickman reports that many of the daughters discussed this discourse when asked about their own identities as feminists even though she did not ask them for others' perceptions of the word. While rejecting this popular discourse of feminism, the women clearly felt constrained by it. Some in Glickman's study came closer to accepting the discourse. She writes: "Yes, they would call themselves feminists as long as it is clear they are not that kind of feminist" (1993:11). Only a few women in Glickman's group unequivocally embraced the term feminist, regardless of its popular presentation. Another response discussed in the literature was the use of alternatives to the term 'feminist' as a way to negotiate the stereotype within the popular discourse. One woman in Paula Kamen's sample said: "I would describe myself more as an egalitarian because feminist, in my mind... has a lot of negative connotations. Feminism in its purest form is what I believe in: equal rights 32 Review of the Movement and the Literature for women - politically, socially, economically. But some elements in 'feminism' bother me" (Kamen l99l:42). A similar view is voiced by a young Australian woman: "I don't exactly dislike the term 'feminist'... I believe it conjures up radical and 'bum your bra' connotations. I prefer the term 'equal opportunities' because it implies seeking equal rights and opportunities, and that's what women need" (Trewick 1985:97). While these women express support for the basic feminist tenets of equal opportunities, they associate the term feminist with more 'radical' images of feminism such as bra-burning. The women try to negotiate this conflict by turning to alternative terms to represent their position. The conflicts and tensions that the women experience between their feminism and other aspects of their lives are not so easily resolved however. With the exception of Mary Suh (in Stephen 1991) who refers to her struggle to negotiate her feminism with her Korean heritage, Glickman's American study is the only literature that explores conflict between feminism and the young women's other life choices and broader societal values. In her account, she explores the negotiations many of the women have employed to combine their feminism with other areas of their lives such as their careers, marriage and children, as well as their own bodies. One example of such a negotiation process centred around the issue of shaving body hair. One woman was taught by her mother that it was "sexist and unnatural to shave". Heeding her mother, Antonia chose not to shave but did not feel comfortable baring her unshaved body to the world. Consequently she chose to hide her 'shaggy armpits' in sleeved shirts even though this made running on the track team uncomfortable. "I struggled and struggled and finally thought - 'This is ridiculous. It's just some hair. Big deal.' Antonia shaved, 'still hoping some day to be strong enough not to care.' Then, she recounts, came the big break through. She began to go swimming without shaving. 'And now, in fact I don't shave my legs or my pits. Never! When people notice, I say. 'Never been shaved.' She grins raising her arm in a gesnrre of triumph." (Glickman 1993:91-92). Antonia struggled to negotiate non-feminist discourse5 about women's body hair with her feminist up-bringing. However, Glickman does not offer any exploration of the reasons behind Antonia's shift from shaving to not shaving. 33 Review of the Movement and the Literature After being raped, Nina (another daughter in Glickman's study) experienced conflict between her desire to dress how she chose and the wider societal discourses that link women's clothing with their sexuality. She comments: "'I used to dress very differently - tank tops and miniskirts. Now I realise that regardless of what you think or of who you are, what you wear puts out a message. And you need to take responsibility for that'. Only when Nina is in a rebellious mood does she say to herself, 'Fuck it! I'm going to dress however I want. I want to yell out - you have no right to hassle me. Just leave me alone!"' (Glickman 1993:95). In this area of their lives the young women seem to have less room for negotiation and resistance because of their lack of control over the thoughts and beliefs of others. In both cases Glickman draws attention to the conflicts that the young women experience as they negotiate their feminist identities with other demands in their lives. However, in neither case does she explore the processes they become involved in as they negotiate these conflicts. SUMMARY This review of the literature about young feminist women has revealed a number of interesting points not the least of which is the lack of literature available in Aotearoa/1.{ew Znaland. While there is more international literature, much of it exists in a popular medium. The young women in the literature highlighted a range of discourses about feminism including those of 'postfeminism' and 'feminism's third wave'. However, the most influential discourse was one which represented feminists as hairy, butch lesbians. Many of the women had to negotiate this discourse as they took up their feminist identities and in some cases the women chose not to call themselves feminists because of the 'radical' associations. The range of ways that young women can gain access to feminist discourses and identities is also evident in the literature. The most central were the family, education, literature and the media, feminist communities, and experiences of other forms of oppression. Interestingly, most of the literature that discussed the influence of families focussed on those young women who had grown up in families that were supportive of liberal or feminist discourses. Even for the daughters of these families though, the process by which they took up a feminist 'identity' 34 Review of the Movement and the Literature was not simple or without conflict. In the case of the influence of feminist communities, both positive and negative feelings towards older feminist women were evident. The final area explored centred around the young women's negotiations of their feminist identities. As already mentioned the literature explores the way many of the women negotiated their understanding of feminism in relation to the dominant discourses. Glickman was the only writer who explored the conflicts that developed as the young women negotiated their feminism in relation to other aspects of their lives. Glickman's account does not provide any detailed exploration of how the young women experience this process though. CONCLUSION In this chapter I have explored three quite distinct areas including an account of the development of the women's movement in Aotearoa.t{ew Znaland and the key discourses that have shaped the dominant meanings of feminisms in this country; a brief overview of the academic studies that have explored the experiences of feminist women in Aotearoa,t{ew 7-eaJand: and finally a review of the literature about and by young feminist women both locally and internationally. The dominant meanings of feminism in Aotearoa/ New Zealand have been shaped by the social history of the movement in this country. While a number of discourses have been imported from overseas (in particular from North America), a range of more local discourses have also developed. These reflect and draw on the specific cultural and historical conditions of Aotearoa./1.{ew Tnaland, such as discourses of Maaori feminism. There has also been particular concern or attention focussed on recognising and acknowledging the diversity and plurality of women's experiences. This has arisen particularly out of the issues raised at the United Women's Conventions during the '70s and the focus of the WSA during the '80s and '90s. The academic studies that have been undertaken also reflect a number of these themes. 35 Review of the Movemcnt and the Literature For example, Middleton (1985) acknowledges the diversity of women's experiences in her selection of participants for her study of feminist teachers. Another important aspect of these studies, however, is the lack of focus on the experiences of young feminist women. While two studies (Curtin and Devere 1993; Hong 1995a) do include young women, they focus primarily on why some women identify as feminist and others do not. As such, they do not really address the issue of how young women experience being feminist' Although this issue is addressed more fully in the literature that does talk about young feminist women's experiences, much of this literature only exists in a popular culture form. Further, there is a general lack of literature that focuses on the experience of young feminist women in Aotearoa./i.{ew Tnaland- A number of discourses are evident in both the national and international literature that does exist however, including the stereotype of feminists, the idea of postfeminism and the more positive conception of a third wave of feminism. The literature identifies a number of key areas through which the young women gain access to feminist ideas including the family, education,literature and the media, feminist communities, and experiencing other forms of oppression. There is little discussion though, of the ways that young women negotiate their feminism with other aspects of their lives. In the next chapter I will explore the theoretical perspective used in the study, that of feminist poststructuralism. It discusses the key ideas of feminist poststructuralism before highlighting some of the difficulties that arose during this study- 36 CHAPTER TWO FEMINIST POSTSTRUCTURALISM: A REVIEW AND CRITIQUE This chapter is an exploration of feminist poststructuralism and its usefulness for understanding the experiences of young feminist women. In the 1980s and 1990s poststructuralism has been an important new development in social theory. Essentially pluralist in emphasis, it has engaged with a wide range of disciplines and provides new perspectives on a number of social and theoretical issues. Examples include textual analysis and deconstruction (Derrida, Barthes)" psychoanalysis (Lacan), the state of knowledge (Lyotard, Jameson), challenges to 'gender' (Kristeva, Irigaray, Alice) identity and sexuality (Butler and Foucault), media (Debord, Baudrillard) and power and the subject (Foucault). In this thesis, my attraction to some of the writings of feminist poststructuralism has led me to explore the issue of identity'r. Specifically my research focuses on the construction of gendered 'identity' and how it is played out in the everyday experiences of young feminist women. For this reason I have turned to the form of feminist poststructuralism proposed by Chris Weedon, Bronwyn Davies, Nicola Gavey, and Vivian Scott Melton2. While these authors draw upon the ideas explored by other poststructuralist writers, their focus centres upon the construction and experience of gendered subjectivity. I had hoped that they would useful theoretical tools for exploring issues of identity' in relation to the experiences of the young feminist women interviewed. However, as I increasingly concluded, many of the key concepts within feminist poststructuralism offer only limited explanatory power. The chapter begins by exploring the understandings of language and meaning that tThe term 'identity' is explored towards the end of this chapter. 2There are many other authors involved in the debates about the subject. However, they tend to focus on meta-theoretical issues including the 'death of the subject' and the processes through which individuals are constituted as subjects of knowledge within discourses (See for example, Foucault 1967, 1981, Barrett 1991, Flax 1990, McNay 1992, Benhabib 1992, Rosenau 1992). Further discussion of the issues raised by these authors is outside of the scope of this study. 37 Feminist Poststracturalism: A' Review and Critique underpins the feminist poststructuralist understanding of subjectivity. It then discusses subjectivity in more detail, including the central concepts of 'discourse', 'subject position' and 'discursive fields' before exploring the understanding of 'power', 'resistance' and 'agency' in feminist poststructuralism. A discussion of some of the limitations of this approach concludes this chapter. This section includes an interrogation of the concepts of 'subjectivity', 'positioning' and 'identity', a discussion of the relationship between individuals and discourse and finally, an exploration of the concept of 'sense-making' as a way of understanding how individuals experience conflict and contradiction. LANGUAGE, MEAMNG AND TI{E ST]BJECT A central feature of feminist poststructuralism (and many other forms of poststructuralist theory) is the importance of language. Feminist poststructuralists argue that it is through language that the gendered subject is able to interpret the world around her (Weedon 1987). This marks a shift away from the humanist understanding of language, in which language is believed to reflect a pre-existing, natural and fixed social reality. Humanism3 locates the production of meaning in the sphere of the individual; individuals create and determine the meaning of their own statements. Within this framework, the individual, drawing on Enlightenment ideas, is seen as a conscious, rational and unified being whose self is located in an inner core. This core unfolds as the individual develops, but remains "essentially the same - conrinuous or'identical' with itself' (Hill 1992:275)o. The individual is believed to 3It is difficult to find a concise definition of humanism. I understand it as a perspective on society and politics that places the conscious individual at the centre of social life (Mclrnnan 1995:103). As part of this, history is understood as the actions and achievements of these individuals. aDavies (1993) notes that while the assumptions of humanist discourses of the self were liberatory in their original intention and in many of their effects: "humanism also constrained each person to constinrte themselves as rational, unitary and non-contradictory, and as if they were distinct and fundamentally separate from 38 Feminist Poststructuralism: A Review and Crifique be ontologically prior to and, as such, autonomous from society. Liberal humanists in particular argues that individual needs, interests, capacities and desires exist independently of social context; they are neither created nor even fundamentally altered by the social world (Jaggar, 1983:.29). As such, within humanism, the individual was seen as a largely transcultural, transhistorical and transcendent being. The humanist theory of language that underlay this conception of the self has been critiqued by the structuralist linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. Saussure rejects the argument that language reflects a pre-existing social reality, and instead suggests that language "constitutes social reality for us" (Weedon, 1987:22). This understanding of language is premised on the idea of meaning as a social construct. That is, rather than individuals controlling meaning, it is constituted through the social system of languages. As such, language is seen as pre-existing individuals, and it structures the way we express our thoughts. Rather than seeing the self as pre-social, structuralists such as Marx, Freud, and Althusser argue that an individual's subjectivity is constructed in relation to the structures of society (Hall 1992). They question the idea of a unitary, ftxed, conscious and rational self and instead suggest that subjectivity is shaped by both conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions and develops across a person's life time (ibid). Poststructuralism moves beyond the structuralist understanding of language, meaning and the social world" (1993:10). As such it limited the possibilities for individuals to see the multifaceted and fluid nature of their own experience and in effect drew tighter boundaries around an individual's sense of self. ssaussure argues that language is an abstract system made up of chains of signs. Each sign is in turn composed of a signifier (the sound or symbol) and a signified (idea) (Weedon, 1987:23). The signifier and signified are only arbitrarily related and have no natural connection (Saussure, L970.45). Rather, the meaning of a sign is established rclationally on the basis of its difference from other signs (Hall, 1992:288). Hence, 'marr' gets its meaning by being 'not woman' rather than intrinsically or naturally meaning 'male'. 39 Feminist Poststructaralism; A Review and Critiqae the subject. While Saussure acknowledges the impact of social communities and time upon language, his analysis focuses on facets of continuity rather than difference (see Saussure 1970:50-54). By contrast, poststructuralists such as Derrida focus on the difference and discontinuity within language and meaning, and argue that meaning must be seen as multiple and shifting6 lDenida L976). Within feminist poststructuralism Derrida's arguments about the temporality of meaning are further enhanced by an emphasis on context. Weedon (1987:25) argues that the, albeit temporary, meaning given to any signifier is always shaped by the specif,rc social, cultural and historical context within which it is locatedT. Thus, for feminist poststructuralists: "meaning is not fixed in language [or] in other cultural symbols... it shifts as different linguistic, institutional, cultural and social factors come together in various ways" (Kenway et al 1994:189). This understanding of language and meaning as context specific, multiple and shifting opens up a space for exploring the ways individuals negotiate the different meanings available to them. Such negotiations a.re central to the experiences of the women in this study both in terms of the meaning of their feminism and their broader understandings of themselves and the world around them. 6Derrida (1976) maintains that the meaning of words (which exists in the relationship of difference between signifiers) is in a constant state of 'deferral', that is, because a signifier only gets its meaning from its difference from other signifiers, meaning can never be fixed as it is always suspended in a web of defenal to other signifiers. tBarreft (1991: I24) argues that Derrida is associated with a group of literary, art and frlm critics who argue that a text should be engaged with on its 'own' terms rather than in reference to factors such as historical, social or biographical 'contexts' which are seen as external to the text. This concern within feminist poststnrctualism for the social and historical contextualisation of language and meaning is linked in part to Foucault's work. 40 Feminist Poststructuralism: A Review and Critique SUBJECTIVITY, DISCOURSE AND STJBJECT POSITIONS Subjectivity within feminist poststructuralism can be broadly understood as: "the conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions of the individual, her sense of herself and her ways of understanding her relation to the world" (Weedon 1987:32). Several assumptions underlie this notion of subjectivity including, the idea that subjectivity is socially constructed within discourse. It is through discourse that we are able to give meaning to the world around us, and that we are constituted as conscious thinking subjects (Weedon 1987). Central to this argument is the belief that subjectivity is always in process, shifting and changing as the individual encounters new discourses and has new experiences. Further, because of the conflicting and often contradictory nature of discourses, subjectivity is seen as a site of conflict and contradiction as individuals negotiate the multiplicity of meanings available to them. However, the contradictions within an individual's subjectivity are shaped within a strong discourse that emphasises coherence and continuity. This conception of subjectivity will be explored more fully as the chapter proceeds. The concept of 'discourse' as understood within feminist poststructuralism involves a shift away from the traditional meanings of discourse as either 'text', as in formal linguistics, or in its more corlmon usage, as 'conversation' (McHoul and Grace 1993, Barrett 1991). Instead, drawing in particular upon the work of Michel Foucault, the term discourse represents the networking of knowledge, power and pleasure. Foucault, particularly in his later work (post 1970) was interested in exploring the links between power and knowledge and more specifically in the ways that subjects are constituted within disco