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Personal is Political |
2 Sep 2008 |
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The classic feminist slogan has come of age – but is this a positive development?
TheÌýphrase from the 1960s, ‘the personal is political’, stood for the idea that only by looking at people's private lives, as well as the public institutions of law, politics and work, can weÌýunderstandÌýwhy women are treated as unequal to men. Nowadays, the privateÌýand public spheres are interconnected as never before. Recently, the papers featured the holiday snaps of David Cameron and Gordon Brown.ÌýMichelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic Convention was given great prominence, and the French were captivated byÌýSarkozy’s marriage to Carla Bruni. AsÌýpoliticians tell us toÌýtighten our belts during the credit crisis, and reduce our waistlines, we hear a lotÌýabout theÌý‘nanny state’. And with conflicting views on women’s ability to have children and hold down a job, there is increased attentionÌýon ‘work-life balance’.
So does this blurring between the public and the private spheres represent a victory for that generation of feminists who argued that the personal is political?ÌýJenniÌýdiscusses thisÌýwithÌýthe writers Joan Smith, Jennie Bristow and Anthony Howard. |
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