Angela McRobbie

Congratulations to Dr. McRobbie! This book has been named to the list of books for the 2009 Critics Choice Book Award of the American Educational Studies Association (AESA). These essays show Angela McRobbie reflecting on a range of issues which have political consequence for women, particularly young women, in a context where it is frequently assumed that progress has been made in the last 30 years, and that with gender issues now 'mainstreamed' in cultural and social life, the moment of feminism per se is now passed. McRobbie trenchantly argues that it is precisely on these grounds that invidious forms of gender -re-stabilisation are able to be re-established. Consumer culture, she argues, encroaches on the terrain of so called female freedom, appears supportive of female success only to tie women into new post-feminist neurotic dependencies. These nine essays span a wide range of topics, including - the UK government's 'new sexual contract' to young women, - popular TV makeover programmes, - feminist theories of backlash and the 'undoing' of sexual politics, - feminism in a global frame - the 'illegible rage' underlying contemporary femininities.

Gender, Culture and Social Change

The Aftermath of Feminism

The new edition of this text brings together six essays from the original edition with two co-authored pieces and a new introduction and concluding chapter that considers the changes in the 1980s and 1990s years impacting on young women.

Feminism and Youth Culture

In this exciting new book Angela McRobbie charts the ‘euphoric’ moment of the new creative economy, as it rose to prominence in the UK during the Blair years, and considers it from the perspective of contemporary experience of economic austerity and uncertainty about work and employment. McRobbie makes some bold arguments about the staging of creative economy as a mode of ‘labour reform’; she proposes that the dispositif of creativity is a fine-tuned instrument for acclimatising the expanded, youthful urban middle classes to a future of work without the raft of entitlements and security which previous generations had struggled to win through the post-war period of social democratic government. Adopting a cultural studies perspective, McRobbie re-considers resistance as ‘line of flight’ and shows what is at stake in the new politics of culture and creativity. She incisively analyses ‘project working’ as the embodiment of the future of work and poses the question as to how people who come together on this basis can envisage developing stronger and more protective organisations and associations. Scattered throughout the book are excerpts from interviews with artists, stylists, fashion designers, policy-makers, and social entrepreneurs.

Making a Living in the New Culture Industries

Be Creative

From rap to rave, from designer menswear to Marie Claire, from rock to sex tourism, each essay in this collection tackles issues of ideology, bodies, power and gender in contemporary popular culture.

Social Experience and Cultural Studies

Back to Reality?

In this trenchant inquiry into the state of feminism, Angela McRobbie breaks open the politics of sexual equality and ′affirmative feminism′ and sets down a new theory of gender power. Challenging the most basic assumptions of the ′end′ of feminism, this book argues that invidious forms of gender re-stabilisation are being re-established. Consumer and popular culture encroach on the terrain of so-called female freedom, appearing supportive of female success, yet tying women into new post-feminist neurotic dependencies. With a scathing critique of ′women′s empowerment′, McRobbie has developed a distinctive feminist analysis that she uses to examine socio-cultural phenomena embedded in contemporary women′s lives: from fashion photography and the television ′make-over′ genre to eating disorders, body anxiety and ′illegible rage′. A turning point in feminist theory, The Aftermath of Feminism will set a new agenda for gender studies and cultural studies.

Postmodernism and Popular Culture brings together eleven recent essays by Angela McRobbie in a collection which deals with the issues which have dominated cultural studies over the last ten years. A key theme is the notion of postmodernity as a space for social change and political potential. McRobbie explores everyday life as a site of immense social and psychic complexity to which she argues that cultural studies scholars must return through ethnic and empirical work; the sound of living voices and spoken language. She also argues for feminists working in the field to continue to question the place and meaning of feminist theory in a postmodern society. In addition, she examines the new youth cultures as images of social change and signs of profound social transformation. Bringing together complex ideas about cultural studies today in a lively and accessible format, Angela McRobbie's new collection will be of immense value to all teachers and students of the subject.

Postmodernism and Popular Culture

In this trenchant inquiry into the state of feminism, Angela McRobbie breaks open the politics of sexual equality and 'affirmative feminism' and sets down a new theory of gender power. Challenging the most basic assumptions of the 'end' of feminism, this book argues that invidious forms of gender re-stabilisation are being re-established. Consumer and popular culture encroach on the terrain of so-called female freedom, appearing supportive of female success, yet tying women into new post-feminist neurotic dependencies. With a scathing critique of 'women's empowerment', McRobbie has developed a distinctive feminist analysis that she uses to examine socio-cultural phenomena embedded in contemporary women's lives: from fashion photography and the television 'make-over' genre to eating disorders, body anxiety and 'illegible rage'. A turning point in feminist theory, The Aftermath of Feminism will set a new agenda for gender studies and cultural studies.

In this short and provocative book, cultural studies scholar Angela McRobbie develops a much-needed feminist account of neoliberalism. Highlighting the ways in which popular culture and the media actively produce and sustain the cultural imaginary for social polarization, she shows how there is substantial pressure on women not just to be employed, but to prioritize working life. She fiercely challenges the media gatekeepers who shape contemporary womanhood by means of exposure and public shaming, and pays particular attention to the endemic nature of anti-welfarism as it is addressed to women, thereby reducing the scope for feminist solidarity. In this theoretically rich and deep analysis of current cultural processes, McRobbie introduces a series of concepts including 'visual media governmentality' and the urging of women into work as 'contraceptive employment'. Foregrounding a triage of ideas as the 'perfect-imperfect-resilience' McRobbie conveys some of the key means by which consumer capitalism attempts to manage the threats posed by the new feminisms. She proposes that 'resilience' emerges as a compromise, as hard-edged neoliberalism proffers the option of a return to liberal feminism. A lively and devastating critique, Feminism and Neoliberalism offers a much-needed wake-up call. It is essential reading for students and scholars of cultural studies, media, sociology, and women's and gender studies.

Essays on Gender, Media and the End of Welfare

Feminism and the Politics of 'Resilience'

Feminism for Girls presents feminist perspectives on aspects of adolescence which have been chosen for their special relevance to the lives and experiences of girls and young women today. Illustrated throughout, chapters cover themes and topics which include romance and sexuality, girls' magazines, careers and the reality of being a black girl in society today. Housewives look back at their youth and a sixteen-year-old girl writes vividly about what it's like trying to break out of the mould that parents and others so often expect for girls. This book is written for girls and young women themselves and for people who are, like the contributors, currently teaching or working with girls.

An Adventure Story

Feminism for Girls

Feminismus und der Aufstieg des neoliberalen Geschlechterregimes

Top Girls

British Fashion Design explores the tensions between fashion as art form, and the demands of a ruthlessly commercial industry. Based on interviews and research conducted over a number of years, Angela McRobbie charts the flow of art school fashion graduates into the industry; their attempts to reconcile training with practice, and their precarious position between the twin supports of the education system and the commercial sector. Stressing the social context of cultural production, McRobbie focuses on British fashion and its graduate designers as products of youth street culture, and analyses how designers from diverse backgrounds have created a labour market for themselves, remodelling `enterprise culture` to suit their own careers.

Rag Trade or Image Industry?

British Fashion Design

Angela Mcrobbie

En este breve y provocativo libro, la académica de estudios culturales Angela McRobbie desarrolla una muy necesaria explicación feminista del neoliberalismo. Resalta las formas en que la cultura popular y los medios de comunicación producen y sostienen activamente el imaginario cultural de la polarización social, nos muestra también cómo existe una fuerte presión sobre las mujeres no solo para que tengan un empleo, sino para que su vida laboral sea una prioridad en sus vidas. Presta especial atención a la naturaleza endémica del anti-bienestar cuando se dirige a las mujeres, y que no hace sino reducir el alcance de la solidaridad feminista. Denuncia a aquellos medios de comunicación que muestran una feminidad contemporánea en la que la mujer debe sentir vergüenza por su situación de desamparo. En este análisis teóricamente rico y profundo de los procesos culturales actuales, McRobbie introduce una serie de conceptos que incluyen la "gubernamentalidad de los medios visuales" y la urgencia de las mujeres a trabajar como "empleo anticonceptivo". Poner en primer plano el de "perfección-imperfección-resiliencia" mediante el cual el capitalismo de consumo a través alguno de los medios de comunicación intenta gestionar las amenazas planteadas por los nuevos feminismos. Propone que la "resiliencia" surge como un compromiso, ya que el neoliberalismo más duro ofrece la opción de un retorno al feminismo liberal. Una crítica viva y devastadora al Feminismo y Neoliberalismo sobre el que nos realiza una llamada de atención muy necesaria. Es una lectura esencial para todas y todos con interés en feminismo, en estudios de género y de la mujer, estudiantes y académicos de estudios culturales, medios de comunicación, sociólogos, etc.

Feminismo y resiliencia

This book offers an introduction to the theory and practice of cultural studies through a critical engagement with the work of six foundational theorists: Hall, Bhabha, Butler, Gilroy, Bourdieu and Jameson. By looking at the key themes and central dynamics of their writings, McRobbie introduces their work and their contribution.

A Textbook

The Uses of Cultural Studies

Mit dieser fulminanten Studie über den gegenwärtigen Zustand des Feminismus und seiner Verhandlung in der Populärkultur nimmt Angela McRobbie das zeitgenössische Aufatmen über das ,Ende des Feminismus’ kritisch ins Visier. Nicht zuletzt sei dies auch eine Folge davon, dass boshafte Retraditionalisierungen von Geschlechterregimes die (kulturelle) Oberhand gewinnen. McRobbie analysiert empirisch, wie sich Konsum- und Populärkultur Rhetoriken und Bilder von weiblicher Freiheit und Autonomie aneignen und damit vordergründig den Erfolg von Frauen zu unterstützen scheinen. Doch McRobbies Tiefenbohrungen in die Welten von Bridget Jones und Heidi Klum zeigen, dass Frauen faktisch in neue, post-feministische ,neurotische’ Abhängigkeiten gedrängt und (wieder einmal) degradiert werden. Scharfzüngig analysiert die Autorin kulturelle Phänomene und deren widersprüchlichen Wirkungen im Alltag von Frauen: Modephotographie, Fernsehserien, die ,Bearbeitung’ des Körpers und deren Zusammenhang mit Essstörungen, ,sinnloser Wut’, Körperhysterie. Angela McRobbie wird mit diesem Buch ihrer Position als prominente feministische Stimme und Klassikerin der Cultural Studies einmal mehr gerecht.

'What McRobbie manages to do so skilfully is to show how each [author], regardless of his or her particular disciplinary location, makes a significant contribution to the project of cultural studies. It should be essential reading for students studying culture' - THES 'I'll be recommending that students buy this text and teaching from it extensively over the course of the module. This is an excellent text by a concise, clear and important British scholar which will help introduce students to the opportuntities they have to study contemporary life meaningfully.' - Dr Stuart Robertson, University of Central England 'An inspirational take on cultural studies - past, present and future. It is both a student text and considerably more than that. It is written with admirable clarity, but so too with fire, passion and much good sense' - Bill Schwarz, Queen Mary, University of London 'This is an important book. It will be the first textbook in cultural studies that does what a truly useful textbook is supposed to do - in the very act of summarizing and representing the field, it recreates it anew and moves it further along' - Lawrence Grossberg, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 'This is one of the most useful textbooks in a long time' - Michele Barrett, Queen Mary, University of London Students of cultural studies frequently struggle with the subject's primary texts. For example, the work of Hall, Bhabha and Butler can be complex. Having grappled with these texts however, the student is then confronted with having to apply these insights to their own areas of study. The heart of this book comprises a series of extended critical chapters on six of the foundational theorists of cultural studies - Hall, Bhabha, Butler, Gilroy, Bourdieu and Jameson. By looking at the key themes and central dynamics of these writers work, Angela McRobbie introduces their work and their contribution. Alongside these chapters, McRobbie has added six shorter essays which demonstrate how one might actually do cultural studies using insights from these six key theorists. Aimed at students of cultural studies this book offers an introduction to both the theory and practice of cultural studies. It also provides readers with an opportunity to regard Angela McRobbie 'in dialogue' with six of today's leading cultural studies theorists. As such it will be eagerly welcomed by all students of media and cultural theory.

In this exciting new book Angela McRobbie charts the‘euphoric’ moment of the new creative economy, as itrose to prominence in the UK during the Blair years, and considersit from the perspective of contemporary experience of economicausterity and uncertainty about work and employment. McRobbie makes some bold arguments about the staging of creativeeconomy as a mode of ‘labour reform’; she proposes thatthe dispositif of creativity is a fine-tuned instrument foracclimatising the expanded, youthful urban middle classes to afuture of work without the raft of entitlements and security whichprevious generations had struggled to win through the post-warperiod of social democratic government. Adopting a cultural studies perspective, McRobbie re-considersresistance as ‘line of flight’ and shows what is atstake in the new politics of culture and creativity. She incisivelyanalyses ‘project working’ as the embodiment of thefuture of work and poses the question as to how people who cometogether on this basis can envisage developing stronger and moreprotective organisations and associations. Scattered throughout thebook are excerpts from interviews with artists, stylists, fashiondesigners, policy-makers, and social entrepreneurs.

Angela McRobbie

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