From Superwomen to Domestic Goddesses

The book was awarded the W. K. Hancock Prize of the Australian Historical Association in 2010. Why are women turning their back on feminism? This book examines the rise and fall of feminism in the public imagination in the last twenty years, and explains why 'feminism failed me' has become the catch-cry of a generation. Today many women feel betrayed by the promises of feminism and are looking for liberation through 'raunch culture' or as 'yummy mummies' and 'domestic goddesses'. Yet during the 1980s the popular ideal of the 'Superwoman' offered a source of empowerment and pride for women and equality with men even 'having it all' seemed possible. Through a close reading of popular culture sources, this book shows how women's engagement with feminism has shifted over time, and considers its future as a social movement.

Autorentext

The Author: Natasha Campo holds a Ph.D. from the History Program at La Trobe University (Australia). She has published and presented widely in academic forums as well as in the mainstream press on Australian feminist history, and has a particular interest in the way feminism has been represented and remembered in the popular media. She currently works in the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash University (Australia) and is an editor of Lilith: A Feminist History Journal, based at The University of Melbourne (Australia).

Inhalt

Contents: Having it All? Remembering Feminism Why Work Makes Women Sexy! The Career Woman Total Freedom. Why Settle for Less? The 24-Hour Woman There s More to Life than Having Children: The Happy Working Mother Generation X and the Failures of Feminism Feminism Failed Me: Childcare and the Denigration of Motherhood Baby Hunger Choosing to Stay at Home Domestic Goddesses and Playboy Bunnies: Remembering Feminism in a Post-Feminist Era Remembering and Forgetting.