ABSTRACT
Postfeminism and Health. Sarah Riley, Adrienne Evans, Martine Robson. Chapter 6 . Chapter 6 develops discussion of re-traditionalisation by considering how women are positioned as carers for their children’s health. The chapter considers how postfeminist discourses of choice, autonomy and empowerment are tied to biological essentialist arguments, so that rather than see a resurgence of patriarchal forces, a turn to traditional women’s roles is interpreted as both choiceful and driven by women’s biology. The chapter links postfeminism to ‘intensive mothering’, which legitimises significant scrutiny of mothers while producing a subject position that is empowering and pleasurable for those women who can take it up, even while it creates anxiety and is exclusionary. Using breastfeeding as an example, the dynamics of postfeminist healthism are explored as they intersect with women’s traditional caring role and commercial interests. >>
