DECLARACIÓN DE LAS MERCANCÍAS

At the beginning of each project, the young people were asked in an interview to discuss their views surrounding gender and feminism, and reflect on how these views were incorporated as part of their sense of self. In these interviews, the young people displayed differing amounts of engagements with feminism, and significant variety in how they framed their approach to feminism and subjectivity.

In the school project, the two young men who took part in the project both began the project with a contradictory, conflicting view of feminism.

Facilitator: Do you see yourself as like supporting-

Deano: -oh supporting. Equality. Er... yeah, yeah to a certain extent. Yeah. I think.

Facilitator: What do you mean by a certain extent?

Deano: Like, I think, I believe in equality, but I just think, sometimes women, or feminists, they go, they try and find little things that maybe aren't that big of a deal. Erm, but yeah, I support equality.

- - -

Facilitator: Do you think of yourself as a feminist then? Winston: I would say yeah, I agree that it should be equal. Facilitator: Yeah?

Winston: But obviously there are, [pause] situations, where probably not.... like, this sounds really stupid, but like, in tennis, a couple of weeks ago, they were talking about equal pay for men and women, but I do think men should get paid more, because they play longer games. And then, we were talking about in English, we were talking about women not being on the front line, and our teacher, said, her friend who's a man agrees with that because she feels sometimes that women aren't as physically strong, and you've got to trust them with your life and stuff, and that if you're not all at the same standard, but yeah, I would say that I am.

In the first section of dialogue, Deano appeared to be combining tentative support for equality with a negative perception of the feminist movement. Similarly, in the second section of dialogue, Winston also combined support for equality with speech that mediated this support.

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Immediately after describing himself as someone who agrees with feminism, Winston then volunteered examples of situations where his views appeared to contradict this desire for equality. In both of these cases, the young men were simultaneously accepting and rejecting feminism. They combined statements that supported gender equality with statements that distanced themselves from feminism.

In addition to this, in these sections of dialogue, both Deano and Winston used the word 'equal' or 'equality' when responding to a question on feminism. Through this use of language, and the use of mediating speech discussed above, both young men appeared cautious to describe themselves in a way that related them to the feminist movement, or positioned them as a feminist. However, this was combined with statements from both young men that asserted that they believed in gender equality: the key tenet of feminism as defined in this thesis.

This disjuncture echoes that found by multiple studies that have considered how both men and women relate to feminism (Swirsky & Angelone 2016; 2014; Zucker 2004; Aronson 2003; Riley 2001) (see also section 2.2.10). Theorists have argued that there is a discrepancy between the number of individuals who support feminist ideas, issues and campaigns, and the number who identify as feminist (Swirsky & Angelone 2016; 2014). This discrepancy may be caused by some of the negative perceptions that still surround feminism (Swirsky & Angelone 2014). As such, many individuals may support feminist goals, but be reluctant to describe themselves as a feminist due to the stigma surrounding the movement (Swirsky & Angelone 2014; Zucker 2004; Aronson 2003).

The words of both Deano and Winston appeared to be echoing these trends. Both of these young men began the project by negotiating the contradiction between supporting feminist ideals, but distancing themselves from the feminist movement. For these young men, this may well have been linked to the negative connotations feminism retains, both within wider society, and within the space of their school itself. When the young people in the school project were asked to describe how feminism was seen in their school, the majority felt it was overall viewed negatively, although members of the sixth form of the school were more likely to have a positive view of the movement. When reflecting on feminism and the members of his school, Winston even went so far as to say:

And even if they don't agree with it, I think a lot of them still stand for stuff like equality, even if they don't want to be labelled as a feminist. I think, a lot of people are feminists, they just don't want to admit it, because of the negative connotations that go with it.

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In this quotation, Winston was referring to other pupils at the school. However, when discussing their relationship to feminism, he may have drawn upon his own experiences of negotiating feminism. As such, it is possible that both Winston and Deano avoided describing themselves as feminists because of the negative connotations attached to feminism. At this point in the project, the young men appeared to be negotiating a complex, contradictory relationship to feminism that simultaneously accepted and rejected feminism.

The four young women who took part in the project displayed a range of attitudes to feminism at the beginning of the project. One of the young women who took part in the school project displayed a negotiation of feminism that echoed many of the themes found in the views of Winston and Deano:

Eleanor: Like, I wouldn't say, like, I'm a feminist, but I do get quite annoyed at like, how much, like, the lack of equality and things.

In this statement, Eleanor again combined acceptance and rejection of feminism. In particular, the language Eleanor used illustrated the feminist paradox to which Deano and Winston also ascribed. Her statement "I wouldn't say, like, I'm a feminist, but...", perfectly encompassed the combination of the rejection of the feminist label or identity, with the support of the cause of feminism. Zucker reported that many of their participants used the phrase "I'm not a feminist, but...." (Zucker 2004, p.423), while Francis reported usage of the phrase "I'm not one of those women's libber type people but..." (Francis 2006, p.475).

The other three young women in this project all described themselves as a feminist, but with varying degrees of commitment to the movement. One of the young women described herself as a feminist, but also expressed some reticence about this description:

Monica: I am a bit of a feminist. I'm a bit of one. Not, I'm not a strong one because I think it's never going to be equal because of the world that you live in, but every so often my brothers, they're a bit younger than me, and they bully me a bit about being a woman and I'm like, I have to fight back the corner, and say it's not fair.

This young woman appeared to identify herself with feminism directly, rather than discussing gender in terms of language such as 'equality'. However, this support remained mediated by her following comments expressing doubt in the future success of the movement. In this section of speech, the young woman may have been using these negative descriptions of the future of feminism to distance herself from the movement, in a similar fashion to Eleanor, Winston and Deano. Or, she may have been expressing full support for the ideology and identity of the movement, but have been lacking in confidence in the potential feminism held

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to create real social change. Either way, her support and identification with feminism remained tentative and uncertain.

In contrast to this, the remaining two young women in the project displayed a more unreserved support for feminism.

Maddie: I'm, like, a really big feminist [laughs]...And I think it's really important.

- - -

Hannah: I think feminism is important and....it has changed a lot, but I don't think we're fully there yet.

Facilitator: So do you think of yourself as a feminist? Hannah: I'd say I am. I try to be anyway.

Here, the final two young women from the school project discussed their strong commitment to feminism. Their engagement with feminism was sufficiently strong that they both raised feminism in the interview as a topic to discuss, rather than allowing themselves to be questioned on it, as the rest of the participants had. In this sense, their engagement with feminism in the space of the interview appeared to be active, rather than re-active. These young women did not mediate their acceptance of feminism in their accounts, and they did not reject the word feminism. Within the confines of the interviews, these young women did not appear to be dissuaded by the negative connotations surrounding feminism. Both of these young girls openly discussed having an ongoing and active relationship with feminism, and spoke in a way that indicated that they regularly displayed feminist subjectivities.

The six young people who took part in the school FPAR project began the project exhibiting a range of views towards feminism. Within the youth group, the young people negotiated feminism in slightly different ways. While both of the young men in the school project had described relatively similar relationships to feminism, the young men in the youth group projects described a wide range of identifications with feminism. Two of the young men - one cisgender, and one transgender - freely discussed their commitment to the feminist movement:

Facilitator: So do you see yourself as a feminist?

Cameron: I'd say yeah. I'd say, at the end of the day, they're [women] doing the same job or the same, and yet they get treated differently, why? - - -

Facilitator: Do you think of yourself as a feminist? Matt: I'd say so, yeah. I'd like to be at least.

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These young men discussed their relationship to feminism in a way that suggested they openly embraced feminist subjectivities. Both young men were able to describe particular actions they had undertaken, or causes that they were interested in, with Cameron detailing the commitment he had made on the 'He for She' website, while Matt talked about his interest in equal pay for men and women. These young men appeared to be relatively interested in feminism, and informed about key parts of the movements.

In contrast to this, the other two young men in the youth group projects expressed slightly more contradictory relationships to feminism. One of the cisgender young men described himself in similar terms to those used by the two young men in the school group project:

Facilitator: So... on that note, do you see yourself as being a feminist, at all then, or not?

Elliot: Erm.... I think, a little bit. I think, erm it should be more equal. I don't think one gender should be more, important, or powerful than the other.

In the description given here by this young man, he used the word 'equal', rather than discussing his views in relation to words such as 'feminist'. In this sense, he appeared to distance himself from the feminist movement through his use of language. However, unlike the young men in the school project, Elliot did not mediate his support for feminism with examples of elements of feminism he did not support. In his account, he appeared to distance himself from an association with the feminist movement, but support the key tenets of the movement.

For the final young man in the group, identification with feminism was a complex matter: Facilitator: So do you think of yourself as a feminist?

Ernest: Erm... well.... I think, ideologically, yes. But I don't actually do anything. I don't campaign or anything. And I erm.. I think of it as being more equal rights than being... and also some people who call themselves feminists, actually think that women should have more rights than men, and instead of improving women's status, they should actually decrease what men can do. Which isn't right. You know, cos obviously that, it, it just makes your argument not credible, and its sexist, but it's to men instead.

Throughout the interview, Ernest, a transgender young man, showed an appreciation for the feminist movement, and an awareness of some of the issues and currents relevant to contemporary feminism. However, this awareness was combined with some cynicism. As discussed here, Ernest perceived some elements of the feminist movement to be discriminating against men. As such, he viewed feminism with mixed emotions.

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In addition to this ambivalence to the feminist movement, Ernest was one of the few young people to discuss their relationship to feminism explicitly in relation to action versus ideological support. While Ernest saw himself as someone who supported the ideals of feminism, he was cautious to describe himself as someone with a feminist identity, due to his lack of active support through conventional methods like campaigning. In this, Ernest mirrored some of the findings of theorists studying feminism. Several theorists have argued that some men and women appear to reject a feminist identity, not because they disagree with the labels or ideas, but because they think they are not active enough to be considered part of the movements (Swirsky & Angelone 2016; Zucker 2004; Aronson 2003). Zucker termed these individuals, who are politically informed and opinionated, but do not see themselves as being active within the feminist movement, engaged observers (Zucker 2004) (see also, section 2.2.10 of this thesis). Ernest's discussion of his ideological support of feminism appeared to echo this, and demonstrated the conceptions that this young man held about the meaning and nature of feminism, and involvement in the feminist movement.

The young woman who participated in the youth group project described her conception of feminism in a way that echoed elements of the views expressed by Ernest.

Facilitator: Do you think of yourself as a feminist?

Brittany: Well, I think that girls should have the same rights as, err, boys, but I don't think, I don't know if I should, I don't know if I would call myself, I don't really know.

Facilitator: Why not?

Brittany: Cos I don't really know much, like loads about feminism to call myself one.

While the hesitance expressed by Ernest was attributed to his lack of active engagement, for Brittany it was related to her lack of knowledge about feminism. Brittany positioned herself in support of feminism, but did not view this support to be sufficient to describe herself as a feminist. In this sense, her comments expressed a similar element of hesitation to that demonstrated by Ernest when he spoke of feminism.

In this section, I have given an overview of the position of the young people at the beginning of the FPAR projects. From this discussion, it is clear that the young people who participated in the projects joined the projects with differing relationships to feminism. Some of the young people identified themselves as feminists, but for others, their relationship with feminism was more complex, or more contested. For some of the young people, feminism was something they supported ideologically, but this engagement was not deep enough for them to consider their subjectivities in terms of feminism. For some of the other young people, feminism was

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something they discussed in contradictory terms, simultaneously accepting and rejecting feminism in ways that suggested a multi-faceted, tentative, or conflicting attitude to feminism. When considering how these young people positioned themselves in relation to feminism, it became evident that there is no simple binary between feminist and not-feminist. Instead, the young people displayed simultaneous forms of support, rejection, and mediation, which allowed many of the young people to occupy positions between the dichotomy of feminist and non-feminist. Several theorists have argued that feminist support should be conceptualised as a spectrum, or continuum (Swirsky & Angelone 2016; Aronson 2003) (see also, section 2.2.11). In this conceptualisation, the young people of both groups began the FPAR projects from differing positions of the continuum or spectrum of feminist support and identification.

From this discussion, it also became clear that at this point in the project, there was no simple gender divide that existed across both projects. In the school project, the boys were less likely to identify with feminism, and those that claimed a strong sense of feminist subjectivity were all female. However, in the youth group project, the opposite appeared to be the case. In this project, the sole female member of the group was one of the young people who held a weak relationship to feminism, while the two who expressed strong feminist subjectivities were a cisgender and transgender male. When looking at both projects together, the young people who identified most strongly with feminism were both male and female, and both trans and cisgender. In this sense, gender did not appear to be creating a simple divide in attitudes to feminism.