Feminists Theorize the Political

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: For those of you who are already interested in post-structuralism or French Feminism, this book is a must-read. The essays in this book are written by the most important contemporary feminist thinkers out there, including (most notably) Judith Butler, Joan Scott, Gayatri Spivak, Chantal Mouffe, Bonnie Honig, Drucilla Cornell, and Donna Haraway.

The essays in this book really help to fill the space that Judith Butler opened up when she wrote "Gender Trouble," clarifying post-structuralist understandings of subjectivity and the relationship of discourse to reality, and exploring the ways in which these understandings can advance feminist goals.

Martha Nussbaum has argued that post-structuralism destroys the foundation upon which feminism necessarily rests. But, this book asks, what is the value of this feminism, and what group is it "representing?" To those who question whether political agency can survive the post-structuralist critique of subjectivity, this book responds by questioning the political implications of sealing off a self-identical human subject. Those who would attempt to save the category of "women" are forced to ask to what extent a feminism based on "woman-ness" is both over-inclusive and under-inclusive, and to what extent this understanding of an essential "woman-ness" closes off possibilities for critique and politicization.

Traditional understandings of subjectivity and identity claim that we are all subject to a set of irresistible truths that we can never escape. These truths determine our identities, our experiences, and our interests. But can this really be the case? Do femininity or homosexuality or Judaism already place limits on subjectivity, or are these identities created by the very actions that purport to follow from them? Why must we pursue an empancipatory politics from a pre-determined standpoint? Why can't that very standpoint be open to political contest?

This book grapples with all of these questions in a series of brilliant and yet very readable essays that revolutionize the way we understand political action and identity. These essays are part of a political practice that seeks to open taken-for-granted meanings up to resistance and contest, and thus open up new spaces for self-definition and political action.