English feminists and their opponents in the 1790s: Unsex’d and proper females

In this accessible introductory guide, the author identifies key feminist approaches to popular culture from the 1960s to the present and demonstrates how the relationship between feminism, femininty and ponityand popular culture has often been a troubled one. The book introduces the central ideas of both second-wave feminism and feminist cultural studies and demonstrates how they inform feminist debates about a range of popular forms and practices through a series of case studies: the woman's film; romantic fiction; soap opera; consumption and material culture; fashion and beauty practices; and youth culture and popular music. By showing the relationships between feminist positions within different fields of study, Joanne Hollows identifies the ways in which feminism has often been based on a rejection of both popular culture and femininity. The book examines the ways in which different feminist critics have drawn cultural distinctions between what is 'feminist' and what is not, demonstrating how feminist identities were often produced through a refusal of feminine forms and practices and shows what implications these positions have for feminist cultural politics. The author also illustrates the importance of understanding both feminine and feminist identities as a site of struggle in specific historical contexts.