Whose Streets? Exploring the Political Pertinence of Public Space for Feminist Resistance to Neoliberalism
Keywords:
post-Marxist Feminism, Anti-essentialist Femninism, Political Praxis, Political Resistance, Public and Private Sphere, Neoliberal Hegemony, Neoliberal Rationality, Neoliberal Economisation, Neoliberalism, Nancy Fraser, Wendy Brown, Judith Butler, Chantal Mouffe, Political Imaginary, Contemporary Social Movements, Democratisation of the Public SphereAbstract
This essay traces the effects of neoliberalism as a distinct form of rationality across political institutions, social infrastructure and discursive spaces. Through examining the conscription of second-wave feminist discourses into the neoliberal project, the essay explores the importance of an agonistic feminist politics for contemporary democratic thinking. By drawing upon the work of key post-Marxist and anti-essentialist feminist thinkers, the essay engages critically with recent social movements that use public space as a site of political resistance. The essay explores the centrality of interdependency and plurality for feminist politics committed to resisting neoliberalism and to reinvigorating our political and social imaginaries.
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