Paradoxer i feminismens namn - En studie av genus och kultur ur ett poststrukturalistiskt feministiskt perspektiv
CultureGenderJudith ButlerPost-structuralismUniversalismPolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapLaw and Political Science
This thesis explores the validity of feminist poststructuralist theory in relation to gender and culture. Within the theoretical frame¬work of Judith Butler, combined with insights from the field of post-colonial theory, different perspectives of the dilemma of universalism are discussed. Primary sources for the study are policy documents from the Swedish government, literary texts and newspaper articles. The results show a number of paradoxes which need to be continually and critically kept unsolved. This does not mean an end to feminist engagement in other contexts than one's own but rather the need for theoretical awareness and self reflection. The early works of Judith Butler provide several important insights for future feminist thought. There is a radical potential in Butler's concept of the heterosexual matrix that should not be put aside in relation to culture. Also feminism should look to expanding the variety of lives that are deemed possible and intelligible and not take shelter in silence with reference to a non-imperialist aim. This can only be possible if identity categories are kept open. In the studied cases there are clear examples of foreclosures of culture and religion that legitimize an interpretation of gender as a natural hierarchical order.