Feminism and the Power of Love is a crucial addition to the rapidly expanding field of Love Studies. Too few books tackle the problematic status of love in feminist theory, but even fewer address the central theme of this book, namely the tension between two indisputable facts: love plays and replays sex and gender relationships of power; but it is also a vital source of human enhancement and energy. Understanding this tension through a variety of disciplines and methodological lenses, this book represents an important advance of feminist theory.
Professor Eva Illouz, author of Why Love Hurts
Politics, economy, revolution, history: whats love got to do with these? Everything, or so the provocative essays collected in Feminism and the Power of Love claim. Whether you find love a distinctly patriarchal invention or a necessary affect for utopian transformations, the conversations arrayed here will convince you of the value of love studies for contemporary feminist theory.
Professor Robyn Wiegman, Duke University
The contribution that Feminism and the Power of Love has been making to the wider field of Love Studies has been transformative. The contributors to this book look critically at love as a site where emotional and reproductive labor are distributed unequally whilst acknowledging the crucial function of loving care in human bonding. This approach throws a much needed light on the complexity of love as a manifestation of interconnected desires, emotions, social relations and cultural modes of expression. If you are interested in intimacy, love or relationships you will find this book indispensable for your study and research whether you agree with its premises and outcome or not.
Professor Michael Gratzke, Hull University, Convener of the Love Research Network
What might be cutting-edge concepts of love? Transformative intimacies? Anti-ownership possibilities? Non-oppressive bonds? Feminism and the Power of Love breaks new grounds as it introduces feminist love studies, arguing that while love is an intimate affair, it also has a huge influence on public and political life. Showcasing creative energies and diverse methodologies, the volume historicizes love, teases out the contradictions of love, and calls on feminist theorists to shape the field of love studies.
Katarzyna Marciniak, Ohio University
Feminism and the Power of Love
The power of love has become a renewed matter of feminist and non-feminist attention in the twenty-first centurys theory debates. What is this power? Is it a form of domination? Or is it a liberating force in our contemporary societies?
Within Feminism and the Power of Love lies the central argument that, although love is a crucial site of gendered power asymmetries, it is also a vital source of human empowerment that we cannot live without. Instead of emphasizing either-or, this enlightening collection puts the dualities and contradictions of love centre stage. Indeed, by offering various theoretical perspectives on what makes love such a central value and motivator for people, this book will increase ones understanding as to why love can keep people in its grip even when practised in ways that deplete and oppress. In light of such analyses, the contributions within Feminism and the Power of Love present new perspectives on the conditions and characteristics of non-oppressive, mutually enhancing ways of loving.
Bridging the gap between Feminist Affect Studies and Feminist Love Studies, this book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students, including postdoctoral researchers, interested in fields such as womens and gender studies, sociology, political science, philosophy, cultural studies and sexuality studies.
Adriana Garca-Andrade is Professor in the Department of Sociology, Universidad AutnomaMetropolitana (UAM), Mxico.
Lena Gunnarsson is a Researcher and Teacher in the Department of Gender Studies, Lund University, Sweden.
Anna G. Jnasdttir is Senior Professor at rebro University, Sweden.
Routledge Advances in Feminist Studies and Intersectionality
Routledge Advances in Feminist Studies and Intersectionality is committed to the development of new feminist and pro-feminist perspectives on changing gender relations, with special attention to:
Intersections between gender and power differentials based on age, class, dis/abilities, ethnicity, nationality, racialisation, sexuality, violence, and other social divisions.
Intersections of societal dimensions and processes of continuity and change: culture, economy, generativity, polity, sexuality, science and technology;
Embodiment: Intersections of discourse and materiality, and of sex and gender.
Transdisciplinarity: intersections of humanities, social sciences, medical, technical and natural sciences.
Intersections of different branches of feminist theorizing, including: historical materialist feminisms, postcolonial and anti-racist feminisms, radical feminisms, sexual difference feminisms, queer feminisms, cyber feminisms, post-human feminisms, critical studies on men and masculinities.
A critical analysis of the travelling of ideas, theories and concepts.
A politics of location, reflexivity and transnational contextualising that reflects the basis of the Series framed within European diversity and transnational power relations.
Core editorial group
Professor Jeff Hearn (managing editor; rebro University, Sweden; Hanken School of Economics, Finland; University of Huddersfield, UK) Dr Kathy Davis (Institute for History and Culture, Utrecht, The Netherlands) Professor Anna G. Jnasdttir (rebro University, Sweden) Professor Nina Lykke (managing editor; Linkping University, Sweden) Professor Elz.bieta H. Oleksy (University of d, Poland) Dr Andrea Pet (Central European University, Hungary) Professor Ann Phoenix (Institute of Education, University of London, UK) Professor Chandra Talpade Mohanty (Syracuse University, USA)
Involving Men in Ending Violence against Women
Development, Gender and VAW in Times of Conflict
Joyce Wu
Third Wave Feminism and Transgender
Strength through Diversity
Edward Burlton Davies
Dreaming Global Change, Doing Local Feminisms
Visions of Feminism. Global North /Global South Encounters, Conversations and Disagreements
Edited by Lena Martinsson and Diana Mulinari
First published 2018
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2018 selection and editorial matter, Adriana Garca-Andrade, Lena Gunnarsson and Anna G. Jnasdttir; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Adriana Garca-Andrade, Lena Gunnarsson and Anna G. Jnasdttir to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
