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Abstract
How are patriarchal regimes perpetuated and reproduced? Kate Manne’s recent work on misogyny aims to provide an answer to this central question. According to her, misogyny is a property of social environments where women perceived as violating patriarchal norms are ‘kept down’ through hostile reactions coming from men, other women and social structures. In this paper, I argue that Manne’s approach is problematically incomplete. I do so by examining a recent puzzling social phenomenon which I call (post-)feminist backlash: the rise of women-led movements reinstating patriarchal practices in the name of feminism. I focus on the example of ‘raunch feminist’ CAKE parties and argue that their pro-patriarchal dimension cannot be adequately explained by misogyny. I propose instead a different story that emphasizes the continued centrality of gender distinctions in our social normative life, even as gendered social meanings become increasingly contested. This triggers meaning vertigo, a distinct form of social anxiety and the reactionary impulse at the heart of (post)-feminist backlash. Meaning vertigo both complicates the answer to Manne’s main question—“why is misogyny still a thing?”—and suggests the need and opportunity for a different kind of feminist political intervention.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2517–2538 |
Journal | Philosophical Studies |
Volume | 176 |
Issue number | 9 |
Early online date | 9 Jul 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 Sept 2019 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- backlash
- feminism
- gender
- Kate Manne
- misogyny
- patriarchy
- raunch
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Misogyny and (Post-)Feminist Backlash
Melo Lopes, F. (Speaker)
2017 → 2018Activity: Other activity types › Other
Profiles
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Filipa Melo Lopes
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences - Lectureship in Social and Political Philosophy
Person: Academic: Research Active