The diversifying, politicising and maturing of anglophone chick lit alongside changing feminist ideologies and genre fluidity

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Ireland, Charlotte (2024). The diversifying, politicising and maturing of anglophone chick lit alongside changing feminist ideologies and genre fluidity. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis traces the evolution of the genre of chick lit, from the 1990s to 2010s, and its changing relationship with contemporary feminisms. During the 1990s and 2000s, postfeminism gained significant prominence, and the 2010s witnessed the emergence of a fourth wave of feminism. Through applying feminist concepts associated with these strands, this thesis explores the ways in which chick lit, a genre closely connected to feminism, has adapted for contemporary readers. This study offers a new perspective on contemporary literature and demonstrates how the genre of chick lit, in the 1990s and 2010s, both acknowledges and challenges discriminations based on gender, age, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
The thesis is comparative, and deliberately brings together ‘classic’ 1990s chick lit texts and authors (Candance Bushnell, Helen Fielding, Terry McMillan and Lauren Weisberger), with more recent publications published in the 2010s, in order to explore continuities and differences within these genre works. I analyse these texts within the context of postfeminist and fourth-wave feminist perspectives, while also considering criticisms and shortcomings within the movements. Each chapter focuses on a key theme of significance for both chick lit and feminism: Chapter 1 explores single womanhood and dating, Chapter 2 concentrates on sex and sexual politics, Chapter 3 examines friendship and women’s relationships with other women, and Chapter 4 considers representations of women’s careers and the workplace environment.
The main finding of this thesis is that the genre of chick lit has diversified, matured and become increasingly politicised, while concurrently retaining established chick lit themes and tropes. Publishers and critics have claimed that chick lit is a dead genre, narrowly defined by specific and static tropes, drawn from the genre’s heyday in the 1990s. This thesis challenges this contention by showcasing how chick lit is alive, relevant, adaptable and versatile. By comparing older and newer works, I identify a new subgenre of contemporary literature that can be termed ‘neo chick lit.’ The texts suggest a diversification and maturation of a genre which is often critiqued for its centring of young, white, middle-class and heterosexual women. My comparison of chick lit also highlights the genre’s fluid representations of changing feminist ideologies. Feminist concepts related to dating, sex, friendship and workplace remain similar in works of chick lit published concurrently with both postfeminism and fourth-wave feminism. However, there are distinctions too. Neo chick lit more overtly challenges the gender inequalities that works of foundational chick lit imply. The politicisation of the genre is most notable in this change in tone. Genre tropes and ideologies of 1990s chick lit thus persist in neo chick lit, but with some significant and important differences.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):