Feminist Discourse in Irish Literature: Gender and Power in Louise O’Neill’s Young Adult Fiction(Routledge Studies in Irish Literature)

Feminist Discourse in Irish Literature addresses the role of young adult (YA) Irish literature in responding and contributing to some of the most controversial and contemporary issues in today’s modern society: gender, and conflicting views of power, sexism and consent. This volume provides an original, innovative and necessary examination of how “rape culture” and the intersections between feminism and power have become increasingly relevant to Irish society in the years since Irish author Louise O’Neill’s novels for young adults Only Ever Yours and Asking For It were published. In consideration of the socio-political context in Ireland and broader Western culture from which O’Neill’s works were written, and taking into account a selection of Irish, American, Australian and British YA texts that address similar issues in different contexts, this book highlights the contradictions in O’Neill’s works and illuminates their potential to function as a form of literary/social fundamentalism which often undermines, rather than promotes, equality.

Table of Contents:
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

About the Author :
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.