Feminism, psychology, and the gendering of neoliberal subjectivity: From critique to disruption

Abstract

Numerous feminist scholars have argued that women, especially young women, have been constructed as ideal neoliberal subjects. Informed by Foucauldian approaches that extend neoliberalism beyond a set of free market principles to a dynamic that creates new forms of subjectivity, these scholars have demonstrated the elisions between "postfeminism" and neoliberalism in the positioning of young women as consumers, self-helpers, and "empowered" agents par excellence. The psy-disciplines have actively participated in the gendering of neoliberal subjectivity and I selectively review feminist critiques of this complicity. These critiques problematize discourses of empowerment, agency, and choice, even as they have seeped into feminist psychology itself. I then consider the theoretical resources that are available within and beyond feminist psychology to disrupt and even displace neoliberal forms of subjectivity. Building on insights from psychosocial studies, intersectional and decolonial approaches, and critical history and conjunctural thinking, I brainstorm some alternatives that feminist psychologists could offer.

The Psychology of Neoliberalism and the Neoliberalism of Psychology

“…The neoliberal growth imperative is similarly evident in the conceptions of empowerment that inform hegemonic psychological science. Writing about this topic in the context of feminism, Rutherford () notes how hegemonic perspectives of psychological science construct women's empowerment in ways—as self‐reliance, self‐management, freedom from social constraint, control over one's life, and liberty to chart one's destiny—that are consistent not only with neoliberal individualism, but also (and somewhat ironically) with androcentrism (Riger, ). The connection to androcentrism helps to illuminate how this conception of empowerment may be counterproductive for feminist (and other forms of) liberation from social oppression.…”

Psychology education and the neoliberal episteme in Australia

“…Dominant narratives about what it means to be fit for the 21 st century have become culturally normalized (Connell, 2013;Vassallo, 2015) and they seek to not only describe and rationalize market relations in a particular way, but they seek to naturalise neoliberal subjectivities as essentially human (Adams et al, 2019;Rutherford, 2018;Sugarman, 2015).…”

“…Critical psychologists have outlined the ways in which mainstream psychology has historically been a cultural product and producer within western capitalism (see Kagan et al, 2011;Ratner, 2014;Roberts, 2015) and more specifically neoliberal capitalism (Ratner, 2019;Sugarman, 2015;Teo, 2018). There is ample evidence to suggest that psychology and psychological knowledge has played an integral role in the production of neoliberal subjectivities, and that neoliberal ideologies have played a role in the shaping of psychological knowledge (Adams et al, 2019;Binkley, 2014;Rose, 1996;Rutherford, 2018;Sugarman, 2015). This dynamic relationship of neoliberal production is self-reinforcing and some of the normalizing and socializing of these neoliberal forms of subjectivity occurs via hegemonic forms of psychological science that are maintained within higher education (Adams et al, 2019;Breen & Darlaston-Jones, 2010).…”

Politics and Sexual Difference

“… 14 “…the alliances and collusions between “post-feminism” and neoliberalism are central to the construction of young women as ideal neoliberal subjects” (Rutherford, 2018, p. 91).…”