Beyond Identity Politics: Feminism, Power and Politics

by Moya Lloyd

Overview

Recent debates in contemporary feminist theory have been dominated by the relation between identity and politics. Beyond Identity Politics examines the implications of recent theorizing on difference, identity and subjectivity for theories of patriarchy and feminist politics.

Organised around the three central themes of subjectivity, power and politics, this book focuses on a question which feminists struggled with and were divided by throughout the last decade, that is: how to theorize the relation between the subject and politics. In this thoughtful engagement with these debates Moya Lloyd argues that the turn to the subject in process does not entail the demise of feminist politics as many feminists have argued. She demonstrates how key ideas such as agency, power and domination take on a new shape as a consequence of this radical rethinking of the subject-politics relation and how the role of feminist political theory becomes centred upon critique.

A resource for feminist theorists, women's and gender studies students, as well as political and social theorists, this is a carefully composed and wide-ranging text, which provides important insights into one of contemporary feminism's most central concerns.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803978850
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/30/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.76(h) x 0.49(d)

About the Author

Dr Moya Lloyd
BA, Ph D (Warwick)
Research Interests: Contemporary political theory, particularly feminist theory and democratic theory.
Courses taught 2004-2005: Political Theory and gender

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Subject and Politics
Re-Imagining the Feminist Subject
Accounting for Specificity and Difference
Essentialism - A Risk Worth Taking?
Power and Domination
Agenda and Resistance
The Politics of Critique
Politics and Parody
Radical Democracy and Inessential Coalitions
Conclusion
Interrogating The Political

Editorial Reviews

"Lloyd begins by addressing the complex, dynamic, unstable, and messy relationship between subject constitution and politics. She focuses on the space between essentialism and antiessentialism to examine what feminist politics looks like from the perspective of fluid and open identities. Rather than leading to the demise of feminist politics, this approach, she argues, gives ideas about power, domination, agency, and resistance a more powerful ability to critique."

CHOICE - C. Shrewsbury

"A core addition to academic library Women's Studies and Political Science reference collections, Beyond Identity Politics is very strongly recommended for anyone searching for a grasp of modern gender politics concerning the treatment and perspectives of women in the political arena."

The Political Science Shelf - Wisconsin Bookwatch

"Lloyd begins by addressing the complex, dynamic, unstable, and messy relationship between subject constitution and politics. She focuses on the space between essentialism and antiessentialism to examine what feminist politics looks like from the perspective of fluid and open identities. Rather than leading to the demise of feminist politics, this approach, she argues, gives ideas about power, domination, agency, and resistance a more powerful ability to critique. "— C. Shrewsbury

Choice Magazine

"A core addition to academic library Women's Studies and Political Science reference collections, Beyond Identity Politics is very strongly recommended for anyone searching for a grasp of modern gender politics concerning the treatment and perspectives of women in the political arena. "— Wisconsin Bookwatch

The Political Science Shelf