The affective life of heterosexuality: heteropessimism and postfeminism in Fleabag

In this article we engage with the cultural moment of "heteropessimism" through the specific case of Fleabag (2016, 2019), with the show acting as the lens through which we illuminate the psychic and affective life of heterosexuality's cultural production. Our queer reading of Fleabag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Feminist media studies 2022-11, Vol.22 (8), p.1902-1917
Main Authors: Holzberg, Billy, Lehtonen, Aura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cruel optimism
Feminism
Fleabag
gender melancholia
Heteronormativity
heteropessimism
Heterosexuality
Neoliberalism
postfeminism
Quality of life
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Summary:In this article we engage with the cultural moment of "heteropessimism" through the specific case of Fleabag (2016, 2019), with the show acting as the lens through which we illuminate the psychic and affective life of heterosexuality's cultural production. Our queer reading of Fleabag suggests that while the heteropessimist sensibility of the show critiques the neoliberal and gendered constraints of heterosexuality, it at the same time creates a renewed, if pessimistic, investment in heteronormativity and repudiates alternative feminist and queer attachments. Overall, our analysis of Fleabag's failed attempts to detach from heterosexual fantasies of the "good life" highlights the centrality of heteronormativity to contemporary imaginaries of feminism. As such, we suggest that heteropessimism might be best understood as the latest stage of postfeminism and argue that a critique of the cultural prominence and affective structure of heteropessimism is crucial for invigorating queer and feminist politics today.
ISSN:1468-0777
1471-5902
DOI:10.1080/14680777.2021.1922485