Against Purity: Rethinking Identity with Indian and Western Feminisms (Gender, Racism, Ethnicity)

This Pioneering Volume Critiques The Work Of Four Eminent Western Feminists - Rosi Bradiotti, Judith Butler, Donna Haraway And Luce Irigaray - And Explores The Relationship Between Indian And White Western Feminism. Pt. I. Indian Complications. 1. Women And Community Identities In Indian Feminisms. 2. Agency, The Self And The Collective In Indian Feminisms -- Pt. Ii. White Western Feminisms And Identity. 3. Luce/loose Connections: Luce Irigaray, Sexual Difference, Race And Nation. 4. Female Trouble: Judith Butler And The Destabilisation Of Sex/gender. 5. 'all That Counts Is The Going': Rosi Braidotti's Nomadic Subject. 6. Donna Haraway's Promising Monsters -- Pt. Iii. Against Purity. 7. Power, Identity And Impure Spaces. 8. Theorising Women In A Postcolonial Mode. Irene Gedalof. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [233]-242) And Index.

against Purity Confronts The Difficulties That White Western Feminism Has In Balancing Issues Of Gender With Other Forms Of Difference, Such As Race, Ethnicity And Nation. This Pioneering Study Places Recent Feminist Theory From India In Critical Conversation With The Work Of Key Western Thinkers Such As Butler, Haraway And Irigaray And Argues That, Through Such Postcolonial Encounters, Contemporary Feminist Thought Can Begin To Work 'against Purity' In Order To Develop More Complex Models Of Power, Identity And The Self, Ultimately To Redefine 'women' As The Subject Of Feminism.
theoretically Grounded Yet Written In An Accessible Style, This Is A Unique Contribution To Ongoing Feminist Debates About Identity, Power And Difference.

Against Purity confronts the difficulties that white Western feminism has in balancing issues of gender with other forms of difference, such as race, ethnicity and nation. This pioneering study places recent feminist theory from India in critical conversation with the work of key Western thinkers such as Butler, haraway and Irigaray and argues that, through such postcolonial encounters, contemporary feminist thought can begin to work 'against purity' in order to develop more complex models of power, identity and the self, ultimately to redefine 'women' as the subject of feminism. Theoretically grounded yet written in an accessible style, this is a unique contribution to ongoing feminist debates about identity, power and difference. This pioneering volume critiques the work of four eminent Western feminists -- Rosi Braidotti, Judith Butler, Donna Haraway and Luce Irigaray -- in the light of original readings of a wide range of Indian feminist historians and theorists. Irene Gedalof's exploration of the relationship between Indian and white Western feminisms allows the development of more complex models of power, identity and the self -- opening up a path which allows the redefinition of "women" as a subject of feminism. Sophisticated yet accessible, Against Purity is a unique contribution to ongoing feminist debates about identity, power and difference. Preliminaries......Page 1 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 1 Women and community identities in Indian feminisms......Page 34 2 Agency, the self and the collective in Indian feminisms......Page 58 3 Luce/loose connections......Page 78 4 Female trouble......Page 102 5 ‘All that counts is the going’......Page 128 6 Donna Haraway’s promising monsters......Page 152 7 Power, identity and impure spaces......Page 178 8 Theorising ‘women’ in a postcolonial mode......Page 202 Conclusion......Page 226 Notes......Page 234 Confronting the difficulties that white Western feminism has in balancing issues of gender with other forms of difference, such as race, ethnicity and nation, this study argues that feminist thought can begin to work "against purity" in order to develop more complex models of power, identity and the self Returning home to India after several years studying feminist theory in the US, feminist scholar Mary John ends her 1996 book with a call for Western feminists to see the East as something more than an object of their inquiries: In Part I of this book, I will be taking Mary John's advice to heart, although I would also want to rephrase her formulation.