Negotiating at the Margins: The Gendered Discourses of Power and Resistance

How do power and resistance work in the everyday lives of women? The editors and contributors to this volume examine the tension as women actively construct their own lives but within conditions of structural constraints imposed by others. Feminists continue to debate the best way to understand power and resistance. On one hand, socialist feminists present a picture of female subordination and male domination. These theorists view women as passive victims of oppression and minimize women's attempt to negotiate at the margins of power. One strength of this position is that it provides women with the foundation they need to organize against oppression. The other school of thought is postmodern feminism. These theorists argue that since power is everywhere, there may be multiple sights for resistance. The problem is that this approach does not always lead to effective or collective feminist politics. The essays in the Fisher/Davis collection bridge these theoretical gaps. Each paper pays close attention to both structural constraints and the ways women at least attempt to resist. The essays in the opening section analyze the body and its adornments. Kathy Davis writes about why women choose cosmetic surgery, placing their answers in the context of dominant discourses about female beauty, but also showing how women interpret their choices as in their own best interests. Elizabeth Wilson looks at fashion, showing how lesbians construct their sexual identity through clothing. In another paper on clothing, Linda Arthur studies women in the Mennonite community who both reinforce the dress code and resist it. The focus of the middle section is on the ways power and resistance work in institutional settings, including health care, social work, the legal system, education, and housing. Sue Fisher looks the contrasting discursive practices of doctors and nurse practicioners. Linda Gordon studies how women in the nineteenth century stood up for their needs and rights when they dealt with social service agencies. The legal system is the institution Ann-Louise Shapiro studies. She explores how female criminals in Paris used discourse on gender to their own advantage, creating some freedom within the margins of expectations for feminine conduct. Nina Gregg asks why some Yale clerical workers went out on strike while others did not. She places the workers' decisions in the context of their multiple identities. Rob Rosenthal explores housing, showing how homeless women are not always passive victims. The final section examines cultural discourses in negotiations about gender in popular culture. Each contributor treats dominant discourses as multilayered, complex, and contested. Mary Ann Clawson shows how women have negotiatied places for themselves in college rock-and-roll bands. Norma Moruzzi analyzes women urban guerrillas in the film "The Battle of Algiers," showing how women resist those in power. Television is at the center of Elspeth Probyn's essay. She looks at the scene of two women kissing on L.A. Law, analyzing the scene in terms of cultural discourse about women's choices. In the final essay, Susan Bordo explores women's attempts to remake their bodies, reminding us that there are limits to women's agency because actions are embedded in a web of power and domination. Taken together these essays show how theory is grounded in everyday events and attitudes. The contributors interpret power and resistance in terms of both domination and agency. They add to the ongoing process of feminist theorizing.