Damned Bores and Slick Sisters: The Selling of Blockbuster Feminism in Australia

Australian Feminist Studies

Volumn 11, Issue 23, 1996, Pages 9-16

  Rowlands, Shane ^a   Henderson, Margaret ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0030556015     PISSN: 08164649     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/08164649.1996.9994800     Document Type: Article

References (49)

1. Helen Garner, The First Stone: Some Questions About Sex and Power (Picador) Sydney, 1995.
2. Rene Denfeld, The New Victorians: A Young Woman's Challenge to the Old Feminist Order (Allen & Unwin) St Leonards, 1995.
3. Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1949) trans. H.M. Parshley (Penguin) Harmondsworth, 1988.
4. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (1963) (Penguin) Harmondsworth, 1965.
5. Toril Moi, Simone de Beauvoir: The Making of an Intellectual Woman (Blackwell) Oxford, 1994, p. 3.
6. Barbara Ryan, Feminism and the Women's Movement: Dynamics of Change in Social Movement Ideology and Activism (Routledge) New York, 1992, p. 42.
7. Barbara Deckard, The Women's Movement: Political, Socioeconomic, and Psychological Issues (Harper & Row) New York, 1975, p. 326.
8. Ann Curthoys discusses the importance of Millett and Greer in 'Australian Feminism Since 1970' in Norma Grieve and Ailsa Burns (eds), Australian Women: Contemporary Feminist Thought (Oxford University Press) Melbourne, 1994, p. 18. Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch (1970) (Granada) Sydney, 1981; Kate Millett, Sexual Politics (1969) (Virago) London, 1977.
9. Ann Curthoys discusses the importance of Millett and Greer in 'Australian Feminism Since 1970' in Norma Grieve and Ailsa Burns (eds), Australian Women: Contemporary Feminist Thought (Oxford University Press) Melbourne, 1994, p. 18. Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch (1970) (Granada) Sydney, 1981; Kate Millett, Sexual Politics (1969) (Virago) London, 1977.
10. Ann Curthoys discusses the importance of Millett and Greer in 'Australian Feminism Since 1970' in Norma Grieve and Ailsa Burns (eds), Australian Women: Contemporary Feminist Thought (Oxford University Press) Melbourne, 1994, p. 18. Germaine Greer, The Female Eunuch (1970) (Granada) Sydney, 1981; Kate Millett, Sexual Politics (1969) (Virago) London, 1977.
11. As Curthoys notes, from 1970-1985 'the pattern was very much one of Australian feminists reading overseas debates, especially American, French, and British, and then discussing this "overseas theory" in the light of immediate Australian political concerns and particular Australian intellectual traditions' p. 19.
12. Three recent examples being Greer's recent spat with Suzanne Moore, dutifully reported, on 'Sixty Minutes' ('GERMane WARFARE' on 16 July 1995) and in the Australian, 24 May 1995 ('Girl Talk' by Andrew Alderson), and the Weekend Australian's eight page feature liftout (' The Female Eunuch: Twenty-Five Years On', 7 October 1995). In the liftout, the contents are generally marked by a trivialisation of Greer's work and life, reducing the second wave of feminism to The Female Eunuch, and interpreting its impact in terms of lifestyle improvement. For example, ' Great Moments in Feminism . . . and How to Make a Pass in the 90s', where celebrities such as Bryce Courtenay, Graeme Blundell and John Singleton (none of whom are known for their support for women's rights) offer their answers to the multiple choice quiz of feminism devised by the Australian.
13. Three recent examples being Greer's recent spat with Suzanne Moore, dutifully reported, on 'Sixty Minutes' ('GERMane WARFARE' on 16 July 1995) and in the Australian, 24 May 1995 ('Girl Talk' by Andrew Alderson), and the Weekend Australian's eight page feature liftout (' The Female Eunuch: Twenty-Five Years On', 7 October 1995). In the liftout, the contents are generally marked by a trivialisation of Greer's work and life, reducing the second wave of feminism to The Female Eunuch, and interpreting its impact in terms of lifestyle improvement. For example, ' Great Moments in Feminism . . . and How to Make a Pass in the 90s', where celebrities such as Bryce Courtenay, Graeme Blundell and John Singleton (none of whom are known for their support for women's rights) offer their answers to the multiple choice quiz of feminism devised by the Australian.
14. Three recent examples being Greer's recent spat with Suzanne Moore, dutifully reported, on 'Sixty Minutes' ('GERMane WARFARE' on 16 July 1995) and in the Australian, 24 May 1995 ('Girl Talk' by Andrew Alderson), and the Weekend Australian's eight page feature liftout (' The Female Eunuch: Twenty-Five Years On', 7 October 1995). In the liftout, the contents are generally marked by a trivialisation of Greer's work and life, reducing the second wave of feminism to The Female Eunuch, and interpreting its impact in terms of lifestyle improvement. For example, ' Great Moments in Feminism . . . and How to Make a Pass in the 90s', where celebrities such as Bryce Courtenay, Graeme Blundell and John Singleton (none of whom are known for their support for women's rights) offer their answers to the multiple choice quiz of feminism devised by the Australian.
15. Three recent examples being Greer's recent spat with Suzanne Moore, dutifully reported, on 'Sixty Minutes' ('GERMane WARFARE' on 16 July 1995) and in the Australian, 24 May 1995 ('Girl Talk' by Andrew Alderson), and the Weekend Australian's eight page feature liftout (' The Female Eunuch: Twenty-Five Years On', 7 October 1995). In the liftout, the contents are generally marked by a trivialisation of Greer's work and life, reducing the second wave of feminism to The Female Eunuch, and interpreting its impact in terms of lifestyle improvement. For example, ' Great Moments in Feminism . . . and How to Make a Pass in the 90s', where celebrities such as Bryce Courtenay, Graeme Blundell and John Singleton (none of whom are known for their support for women's rights) offer their answers to the multiple choice quiz of feminism devised by the Australian.
16. Three recent examples being Greer's recent spat with Suzanne Moore, dutifully reported, on 'Sixty Minutes' ('GERMane WARFARE' on 16 July 1995) and in the Australian, 24 May 1995 ('Girl Talk' by Andrew Alderson), and the Weekend Australian's eight page feature liftout (' The Female Eunuch: Twenty-Five Years On', 7 October 1995). In the liftout, the contents are generally marked by a trivialisation of Greer's work and life, reducing the second wave of feminism to The Female Eunuch, and interpreting its impact in terms of lifestyle improvement. For example, ' Great Moments in Feminism . . . and How to Make a Pass in the 90s', where celebrities such as Bryce Courtenay, Graeme Blundell and John Singleton (none of whom are known for their support for women's rights) offer their answers to the multiple choice quiz of feminism devised by the Australian.
17. Three recent examples being Greer's recent spat with Suzanne Moore, dutifully reported, on 'Sixty Minutes' ('GERMane WARFARE' on 16 July 1995) and in the Australian, 24 May 1995 ('Girl Talk' by Andrew Alderson), and the Weekend Australian's eight page feature liftout (' The Female Eunuch: Twenty-Five Years On', 7 October 1995). In the liftout, the contents are generally marked by a trivialisation of Greer's work and life, reducing the second wave of feminism to The Female Eunuch, and interpreting its impact in terms of lifestyle improvement. For example, ' Great Moments in Feminism . . . and How to Make a Pass in the 90s', where celebrities such as Bryce Courtenay, Graeme Blundell and John Singleton (none of whom are known for their support for women's rights) offer their answers to the multiple choice quiz of feminism devised by the Australian.
18. Three recent examples being Greer's recent spat with Suzanne Moore, dutifully reported, on 'Sixty Minutes' ('GERMane WARFARE' on 16 July 1995) and in the Australian, 24 May 1995 ('Girl Talk' by Andrew Alderson), and the Weekend Australian's eight page feature liftout (' The Female Eunuch: Twenty-Five Years On', 7 October 1995). In the liftout, the contents are generally marked by a trivialisation of Greer's work and life, reducing the second wave of feminism to The Female Eunuch, and interpreting its impact in terms of lifestyle improvement. For example, ' Great Moments in Feminism . . . and How to Make a Pass in the 90s', where celebrities such as Bryce Courtenay, Graeme Blundell and John Singleton (none of whom are known for their support for women's rights) offer their answers to the multiple choice quiz of feminism devised by the Australian.
19. Anne Summers, Damned Whores and God's Police: The Colonization of Women in Australia (Penguin) Harmondsworth, 1975.
20. Ann Curthoys, For and Against Feminism: A Personal Journey into Feminist Theory and History (Allen & Unwin) North Sydney, 1988, p. 26.
21. See 'The Future of Feminism - A Letter to the Next Generation' which reappears in the 1993 edition of Damned Whores and God's Police, and 'Shockwaves at the Revolution', Sydney Morning Herald (Good Weekend), 18 March 1995. Summers constructs the history of feminism as if it's been conflict free: a smooth, inevitable (and stylish) progression toward the welcoming arms of government, embellished by the individual successes of Power Dressing Ladies for Capitalism.
22. See 'The Future of Feminism - A Letter to the Next Generation' which reappears in the 1993 edition of Damned Whores and God's Police, and 'Shockwaves at the Revolution', Sydney Morning Herald (Good Weekend), 18 March 1995. Summers constructs the history of feminism as if it's been conflict free: a smooth, inevitable (and stylish) progression toward the welcoming arms of government, embellished by the individual successes of Power Dressing Ladies for Capitalism.
23. Marilyn French, The War Against Women (Summit) New York, 1992; Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women (1991) (Vintage) London, 1992; Katie Roiphe, The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism (Hamish Hamilton) London, 1994; Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth (Chatto & Windus) London, 1990; Naomi Wolf, Fire with Fire (Fawcett Columbine) New York, 1994; Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women (Simon & Schuster) Sydney, 1994.
24. Marilyn French, The War Against Women (Summit) New York, 1992; Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women (1991) (Vintage) London, 1992; Katie Roiphe, The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism (Hamish Hamilton) London, 1994; Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth (Chatto & Windus) London, 1990; Naomi Wolf, Fire with Fire (Fawcett Columbine) New York, 1994; Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women (Simon & Schuster) Sydney, 1994.
25. Marilyn French, The War Against Women (Summit) New York, 1992; Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women (1991) (Vintage) London, 1992; Katie Roiphe, The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism (Hamish Hamilton) London, 1994; Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth (Chatto & Windus) London, 1990; Naomi Wolf, Fire with Fire (Fawcett Columbine) New York, 1994; Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women (Simon & Schuster) Sydney, 1994.
26. Marilyn French, The War Against Women (Summit) New York, 1992; Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women (1991) (Vintage) London, 1992; Katie Roiphe, The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism (Hamish Hamilton) London, 1994; Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth (Chatto & Windus) London, 1990; Naomi Wolf, Fire with Fire (Fawcett Columbine) New York, 1994; Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women (Simon & Schuster) Sydney, 1994.
27. Marilyn French, The War Against Women (Summit) New York, 1992; Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women (1991) (Vintage) London, 1992; Katie Roiphe, The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism (Hamish Hamilton) London, 1994; Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth (Chatto & Windus) London, 1990; Naomi Wolf, Fire with Fire (Fawcett Columbine) New York, 1994; Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women (Simon & Schuster) Sydney, 1994.
28. Marilyn French, The War Against Women (Summit) New York, 1992; Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women (1991) (Vintage) London, 1992; Katie Roiphe, The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism (Hamish Hamilton) London, 1994; Naomi Wolf, The Beauty Myth (Chatto & Windus) London, 1990; Naomi Wolf, Fire with Fire (Fawcett Columbine) New York, 1994; Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women (Simon & Schuster) Sydney, 1994.
29. For a discussion of the American context for the production of feminist theory and its relations to publishing and academic formations, see Katie King, 'Producing Sex, Theory, and Culture: Gay/Straight Remappings in Contemporary Feminism' in Marianne Hirsch and Evelyn Fox Keller (eds), Conflicts in Feminism (Routledge) New York, 1990.
30. These revisions are occurring, but tend to be in the less spectacular forms of ongoing feminist research projects, particularly postgraduate work and journal articles. The problem of contextual difference (or disjunction) is highlighted in Beatrice Faust's foreword to The New Victorians which simultaneously heralds and dismisses the work's significance in an Australian context: 'The New Victorians is an excellent critique of separatist feminism in the United States but Australians should read it with sympathetic caution' (p. xi).
31. Anne Summers, 'Shockwaves at the Revolution'; David Leser, 'Generational Gender Quake', Sydney Morning Herald (Good Weekend) 18 March 1995.
32. Anne Summers, 'Shockwaves at the Revolution'; David Leser, 'Generational Gender Quake', Sydney Morning Herald (Good Weekend) 18 March 1995.
33. Summers, 'Shockwaves', p. 28.
34. Rene Denfeld, 'Don't Let the Extremists Spoil Feminism', Sydney Morning Herald, 12 April 1995, p. 19.
35. Cassandra Pybus, Seduction and Consent: A Case of Gross Moral Turpitude (1991) (Mandarin) Port Melbourne, 1994.
36. Kate Henderson, 'Repression Reinvented', Courier Mail, 29 April 1995, p. Wkd 6.
37. Veronica Brady, 'Helping the Fly Get Out of the Bottle', Sydney Morning Herald, 22 April 1995, p. 11A.
38. MacKenzie Wark, 'Two Tales of Living in Contemporary Prose', Australian, 30 August 1995, p. 22.
39. Drusilla Modjeska, Gleebooks Gleaner, May 1995, p. 3; Jenna Mead, 'After the Stone was Cast', Canberra Times, 12 August 1995, pp. C1, C6; Marilyn Lake, 'Feminism and the Generation Gap: Where From Here?', Age, 4 April 1995, p. 15.
40. Drusilla Modjeska, Gleebooks Gleaner, May 1995, p. 3; Jenna Mead, 'After the Stone was Cast', Canberra Times, 12 August 1995, pp. C1, C6; Marilyn Lake, 'Feminism and the Generation Gap: Where From Here?', Age, 4 April 1995, p. 15.
41. Drusilla Modjeska, Gleebooks Gleaner, May 1995, p. 3; Jenna Mead, 'After the Stone was Cast', Canberra Times, 12 August 1995, pp. C1, C6; Marilyn Lake, 'Feminism and the Generation Gap: Where From Here?', Age, 4 April 1995, p. 15.
42. Take for example, 'The War Between the Women', Weekend Australian, 24-25 June 1995, p. Wkd 1.
43. 'Garner Casts a Stone at Her Critics', Australian, 9 August 1995, p. 10.
44. Cassandra Pybus's review of The First Stone highlights its problematic tone: These days another literary delusion is gaining credence: that non-fiction is no more than storytelling with some tangential connection to real events. But investigative non-fiction - be it history or serious journalism - has conventions of both form and ethics ... A gripping or entertaining narrative is not raison d'etre for a work of serious non-fiction, which is what The First Stone lays claim to be. We read Garner's text as 'fence-sitting' on the boundaries between the novel and non-fiction, hence suffering from a confusion of form and objectives.
45. Edward W. Said, Orientalism (Penguin) Harmondsworth, 1985.
46. Marilyn Lake, 'Three Perspectives on Helen Garner's The First Stone', Australian Book Review, no. 174, September 1995, pp. 26-7.
47. In the radio documentary, 'The Cult of the Feminist Personality' (Prod. Jo Chichester and Pam Verall, The Coming Out Show, ABC Radio, 31 July 1993), Wolf makes the point that male journalists use Camille Paglia's numerous outbursts to express indirectly their own hostility towards feminism. She characterises this as a ventriloquist relationship between certain representatives of the mass media and the self-appointed feminist 'spokespeople'. We see a similar dynamic being played out with Helen Garner's reception and the reporting of various feminist 'catfights'.
48. Denfeld, New Victorians, p. 50.
49. Laura Kipnis, 'Feminism: The Political Consciousness of Postmodernism?' in Andrew Ross (ed.), Universal Abandon? The Politics of Postmodernism (University of Minnesota Press) Minneapolis, 1988, p. 164.