Feminist Discourse in Irish Literature

Jennifer Mooney is an assistant professor in the School of English, Dublin City University, Ireland. She is deputy chair of its M.A. in Children’s and Young Adult Literature degree programme and co-director of the Centre for Research in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Jennifer’s teaching and research interests include gender and sexuality in young adult literature and popular culture, recent critical concerns with posthumanism and ecocriticism, and Irish studies. She serves on The Irish Society for the Study of Children’s Literature board.

Introduction

i. Introduction

ii. The Primary Texts

iii. Literary Context and Theoretical Approach

iv. Significance of the Research

v. A Note on the Inclusion of International Texts

vi. Chapter Overview

Chapter One: Historical Contexts

i. Introduction

ii. "Rape Culture" Theory as a Feminist Project: the 1:5 Statistic

iii. "Rape Culture" Theory and the 1:5 Statistic in Ireland

iv. Failures of "Rape Culture" Theory

v. YA Literature as Social-Change-Oriented

vi. A Brief History of YA Literature

vii. Theorising YA Literature

viii. YA Literature and Research in the Late-Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries

ix. The Rise of Irish YA Literature in the Second Decade of the Twenty-First Century

x. The Power of the Past on Irish YA Literature

xi. The Role of Irish YA Literature in Addressing Contemporary Issues

xii. Conclusion: The Role of Irish YA in Addressing Contemporary Issues

Chapter Two: Louise O’Neill and Feminist Theory

i. Introduction

ii. Background and Upbringing

iii. Public Figure, Political Activist, Feminist

iv. Critical Responses to O’Neill’s Texts

v. Categorising O’Neill’s Texts

vi. Feminism and Poststructuralism

vii. A Brief History of Feminism

viii. Theories of Power and Agency in Second-wave Feminist Thought

ix. The Relevance of Second-Wave Feminism Today

x. Third-Wave Feminism, Post-Feminism and Intersectional Feminism

xi. The Relevance of Third-Wave Feminism Today

xii. Fourth and Fifth-Wave Contemporary Feminism

xiii. Conclusion

Chapter Three: Only Ever Yours

i. Introduction

ii. The Disciplined Body in Only Ever Yours

iii. Inviting a Feminist Reading: Imagery, Intertextuality, and Typographical Play

iv. Technology and Posthumanism in Only Ever Yours

v. Technology, Consumerism and Media

vi. Social Media and Simulated Self-Identity in Only Ever Yours

vii. Apocalyptic Feminist Posthumanism in Only Ever Yours

vii. Didactic Feminism in Only Ever Yours

viii. Real-life Women and Girls’ Power

ix. Youth Magazines and Media Discourse

x. Missed Opportunities?

xi. Conclusion

Chapter Four: Asking For It

i. Introduction

ii. Asking For It: Preliminary Feminist Reading

iii. Asking For It in Terms of Ireland and "Rape Culture"

iv. Asking For It: Resisting or Reinforcing "Rape Myths"?

v. Theorizing Rape as Inevitable: Victim-hood Forever in Asking For It

vi. The Problem of Alleged "Rape Culture" as Orthodoxy

vii. Overstating the Sexual Double Standard and Essentialising the Male Body as Violent in Asking For It

viii. Feminist Criticism on Consent and Alcohol

ix. Consent and Alcohol in Asking For It

x. Missed Opportunities?

xi. Conclusion

Chapter Five: Alternatives to the Didacticism of "Rape Culture"

i. Introduction

Part One: Irish Authors

ii. Siobhán Dowd: A Swift Pure Cry

iii. Deirdre Sullivan: Needlework and Perfectly Preventable Deaths

iv. Sarah Maria Griffin: Spare and Found Parts and Other Words for Smoke

v. Moïra Fowley-Doyle: All The Bad Apples

Part Two: Non-Irish Authors

vi. Isabel Quintero: Gabi, a Girl in Pieces

vii. Helen Barnes: Killing Aurora

viii. Conclusion

Chapter Six: "Lad"- dishness

i. Introduction

ii. Masculinity Theory

iii. O’Neill’s "Lads"

iv. Only Ever Yours "Lads"

v. Asking For It "Lads"

vi. Sullivan’s, Griffin’s and Fowley-Doyle’s "Lads"

vii. Quintero’s "Lads"

ix. Barnes’s "Lads"

x. Conclusion

Chapter Seven: Radical AUTHORity

i. Introduction

ii. Complicating the Line between Young Adult and Adult in O’Neill’s Works

iii. Radical AUTHORity in O’Neill’s Works

iv. Power in The Surface Break

v. Radical AUTHORity in Sullivan’s, Griffin’s and Fowley-Doyle’s Works

vi. Conclusion