Abstract
This article discusses the ways in which feminist politics have been dissolved since the 1980s, most notably in the popular cultural sphere, so as to make feminism appear anachronistic. It considers how various discourses and texts have sought to efface the political impetus of feminism through claims to political correctness. Young women are thus interpolated into a more insidious patriarchy that re-inscribes female shame, guilt, passivity and silence in both professional and personal contexts, at the same as it espouses the discourse of equal rights. Many are not only apologizing for the equal rights that been “granted” to them, but have also become apologists for this “benevolent” patriarchy. This article opens the debate as to how feminist politics may be revived given the ubiquity of these de-politicising discourses.
Recommended Citation
Harris, Ashleigh
(2003)
"From Suffragist to Apologist: The Loss of Feminist Politics in a Politically Correct Patriarchy,"
Journal of International Women's Studies: Vol. 4:
Iss.
2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol4/iss2/8