Feminism and Citizenship
August 1998 | 192 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Until recently, feminist theory and citizenship theory have seemed two distinct areas, with writers in both camps seldom discussing the other's work. Feminism and Citizenship challenges this silence, arguing for the need to collect the debates around citizenship and feminism. The author provides an original reflection on the key issues in political theory and advocates a unique feminist intervention into the sub-themes of citizenship including liberty, rights, social equality, political identity, political representation, and political judgment.
Rian Voet moves to develop a feminist notion of citizenship by critically discussing citizenship theories and sub-themes, and identifying rudimentary feminist theories of citizenship. However, unlike most feminist texts that insist political theory takes feminism and gender more seriously, Voet emphasizes that feminist theory should reflect more seriously on citizenship.
Introduction
PART ONE: BACKGROUND
Debates on Feminism and Citizenship
Feminism
Social-Liberal Citizenship
PART TWO: SUB-THEMES OF CITIZENSHIP
Liberty
Rights
Social Equality
Political Subjectivity
Political Representation
Political Judgement
PART THREE: EVALUATION
Evaluating Feminist and Other Citizenship Conceptions
Active and Sex-Equal Citizenship
`By insisting on a productive conjuncture between feminism and citizenship, Rian Voet reinvigorates the classical political conception of citizenship as participation in public and social life - a conception of active citizenship that is both sex-equal and woman-friendly. This is a lucid, persuasive and accessible study' - Anna Yeatman, Macquarie University