Introduction: Patriarchal backlashes to feminism in times of crisis: plus ça change, moins ça change

Abstract

ABSTRACT Susan Faludi’s feminist classic Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women was first published in 1991, thirty-one years ago, and yet its message seems to resonate more clearly than ever. The current issue focuses on present-day Europe and the last few decades, covering a very wide spectrum. There are surveys of countries or their crucial sectors (Bulgaria, Italy and France). The social media are dealt with in a separate essay and various subchapters. The literary works studied include Ali Smith’s Summer and verbatim theatre. Prominent examples are Angela Merkel’s 1993 review of Backlash and the Spanish Manada case. In conclusion, an intergenerational dialogue highlights recent controversies and tries to find pathways forward.Part I of the Introduction argues that one of today’s major aspects of the patriarchal backlashes against women remains rooted in biological, deterministic socio-political constructions of women’s bodies, which aim to deprive women of their agency as human beings. After a critical discussion of the backlash concept, Part II briefly characterises the structure of the issue and the individual articles.