Description
Book SynopsisWhat do mompreneurs, angry working-class men, and migrant domestic workers all have in common? They are all gendered subjects responding to the economic, political, and cultural realities of neoliberalism’s global gender order.
In this ambitious book, Radhakrishnan and Solari map the varied gendered pathways of a global hegemonic regime. Focusing on the US, the former Soviet Union, and South and Southeast Asia, they argue that the interconnected histories of imperialism, socialism, and postcolonialism have converged in a new way since the fall of the Soviet Union, transforming the post-war international order that preceded it. Today, the ideal of the empowered woman – a striving, entrepreneurial subject who overcomes adversity and has many “choices” – symbolizes modernity for diverse countries competing for status in the global hierarchy. This ideal bridges the painful gap between aspiration and lived reality, but also spurs widespread discontent.
Blending social theory, rich empirical evidence, and a multi-sited understanding of neoliberalism, this book invites all of us to question taken-for-granted knowledge about gender and capitalism, and to look to grassroots international movements of the past to chart the path to a fairer future.
Trade Review“This perceptive book shows that offloading state responsibility onto individuals and families reinforces both the cover story of
neoliberal feminism (i.e. making women free to choose, as long as they choose to continue providing unpaid social reproductive labor) and of the
manly protector as both bulwark and, occasionally, threat to the neoliberal order.”
Quinn Slobodian, Wellesley College and author of Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism
“This is a fascinating book! It offers an original and thought-provoking definition of the neoliberal gender order. This great author pairing provides expertise on a fantastic combination of cases, not usually placed in conversation with each other, to create one persuasive and engaging argument.”
Sarah Ashwin, London School of Economics and Political Science, and author of Gender, State and Society in Soviet and Post-Soviet RussiaTable of Contents1. Introduction: A Multicentric World Order
2. Neoliberalism’s Pre-histories
3. Investing in “Empowered” Women
4. Neoliberalism’s Gendered Architecture
5. Moving Towards Modernity
6. Manly Protectors
7. Conclusion: A Fairer Multipolar Future
