Austerity and Feminism(s)

This chapter draws on feminist identification to further examine austerity's moral discourses. Feminism, as this chapter illustrates, is a productive site through which to examine austerity practices. The chapter also exposes how feminism becomes an active force field that reinforces and questions certain aspects of the austerity project, and a way through which moral, classed and racialized differences are opposed and further reproduced. It highlights that some women do not claim a feminist position, or are unsure about the label, however, this does not mean that feminism is rejected by all. Some women's locations do not mediate feminist consciousness in predictable ways and their struggle is not narrated solely in terms of gender relations. The chapter argues that many women, on the other hand, do claim a feminist position. Some women identify with a particular form of neoliberal feminism which converges with, and reinforces austerity policies and discourses. Ultimately, it shows how women are identifying with and advocating for antineoliberal forms of feminism. Making interventions in the austerity project, collective action was seen as necessary to aid social justice and the common good.