This book illustrates how third wave and contemporary forms of feminism function as “contained empowerment.” The author investigates feminist, reproductive rights, and gender-based activisms of the1990s through the present and in contrast with anti-feminist, white supremacist, and structural repressions, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Contained Empowerment and the Liminal Nature of Feminisms and Activisms examines the processes by which activist successes are limited and outlines a theoretical framing of the liminal and temporal limits to social justice efforts as “contained empowerment.” With a focused lens on the third wave and contemporary forms of feminism, the author investigates feminist activity from the early 1990s through responses and reactions to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 and contrasts these efforts with anti-feminist, white supremacist, and other structural normalizing efforts designed to limit and repress women's, gendered, and reproductive rights. This book includes analyses of celebrity activism, girl power, transnational feminist NGOs, digital feminisms, and the feminist mimicry applied by practitioners of neo-liberal and anti-feminism. Victoria A. Newsom concludes that the contained nature of feminist empowerment illustrates how activists must engage directly with intersectional challenges and address the multiplicities of structural oppressions in order to breach containment.

Section I: Theorizing Contained Empowerment

Chapter 1: Contained Empowerment: Negotiating In/Visibility and Action

Chapter 2: The Contained Embodiment of Feminist Activism

Chapter 3: The Liminality of Feminist Waves

Section II: The Contained Nature of US Third Wave Feminisms

Chapter 4: Metaphors of Containment

Chapter 5: Digital Activism as an Echo Chamber

Chapter 6: In/Visible Activism: The Contained Nature of Feminist NGOization

Section III: Contemporary Activisms, Polarizations, and Problematic Containments

Chapter 7: The Containment of Digital Celebrity and Fan Activisms

Chapter 8: Backlash and Mimicry as Carnivalesque Liminality

Chapter 9: Activism to Breach Containment