Monarchy is a feminist issue: Andrew, Meghan and #MeToo era monarchy

For a brief period, discourses of feminism were brought into discussions of the British royal family through the figure of Meghan Markle. Such a conjuncture demands a closer look at the monarchy's relationship to feminism. This article considers the figure of a ‘feminist princess’ in the contex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women's studies international forum 2021-01, Vol.84, p.102435, Article 102435
Main Authors: Clancy, Laura, Yelin, Hannah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Campaigns
Capitalism
Celebrity feminism
Colonialism
Discourses
Feminism
Folklore
Meghan Markle
MeToo
Monarchy
Neoliberal feminism
Oppression
Patriarchy
Prince Andrew
Racism
Sexual abuse
Women's issues
Womens studies
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Summary:For a brief period, discourses of feminism were brought into discussions of the British royal family through the figure of Meghan Markle. Such a conjuncture demands a closer look at the monarchy's relationship to feminism. This article considers the figure of a ‘feminist princess’ in the context of an inherently antifeminist institution and alongside the deeply antifeminist figure of the ‘wayward prince’ - both specifically in the case of sexual abuse accusations against Prince Andrew, and historically in mythic stock representations from history and folklore. In so doing, we reveal the limits to the feminist discourses possible ‘from within’ the monarchical institution. We argue that monarchy relies upon interwoven structures of colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, and racism, and as such is incompatible with feminism's work towards dismantling intersecting systems of oppression. No amount of royal campaigns for ‘women's issues’ can elide the fact that the very existence of the monarchy is a feminist issue.
ISSN:0277-5395
1879-243X
DOI:10.1016/j.wsif.2020.102435