Just thinking about the second half of Maylei Blackwell's Chicana Power.
An initial question:
What is a "counterpublic" and how does Blackwell understand this concept in relation to Chicana feminist formations in the 1960s and 1970s?
Feel free to post your thoughts on this in the comments.
More to follow...
I found Blackwell's understanding of counterpublic to reflect a push back of sorts against the "normative" feminism. She uses the concept of print culture, saying "Chicana activists participated in these modes of print communication and began to create new ones, ultimately forming a parallel Chicana counterpublic that multiplied the spaces of participation for women and gendered analysis." (137)
ReplyDeleteBlackwell cites Nancy Fraser's definition of a counterpublic "as parallel discursive arenas where those excluded from dominant discourses 'invent and circulate counter discourses, so as to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, interests, and needs'" (134). Blackwell sees Chicana print culture as a counterpublic that helped Chicana feminists in the 1960s and 1970s communicate across different regions, organizations, and political ideologies and to eventually extend the conversation with other women of color organizations.
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