Comfort feminism and the cruelty of a ‘post-racial’ monarchy in Britain

Lorraine Dowler; Ann E. Bartos

doi:10.1080/0966369X.2021.1997939

Comfort feminism and the cruelty of a ‘post-racial’ monarchy in Britain

Lorraine Dowler
, Ann E. Bartos

Geography

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper explores the entanglements of love and cruelty in the publicity of the 2018 wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. We suggest that the wedding failed to inch closer toward a ‘post-racialized’ society. Rather, the wedding and public (but superficial) embracing of Markle promoted a ‘comfort feminism’ which obscured the mundane white supremacy and sexism of modern Britain. The paper concludes with a brief afterward which discusses the legacy of the royal wedding in the context of the social, political, and cultural challenges wrought by the intersections of the global pandemic and structural racism.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	542-549
Number of pages	8
Journal	Gender, Place and Culture
Volume	30
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2021.1997939
State	Published - 2023

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 5 Gender Equality

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Gender Studies
Demography
Cultural Studies
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

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10.1080/0966369X.2021.1997939

Cite this

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abstract = "This paper explores the entanglements of love and cruelty in the publicity of the 2018 wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. We suggest that the wedding failed to inch closer toward a {\textquoteleft}post-racialized{\textquoteright} society. Rather, the wedding and public (but superficial) embracing of Markle promoted a {\textquoteleft}comfort feminism{\textquoteright} which obscured the mundane white supremacy and sexism of modern Britain. The paper concludes with a brief afterward which discusses the legacy of the royal wedding in the context of the social, political, and cultural challenges wrought by the intersections of the global pandemic and structural racism.",

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N2 - This paper explores the entanglements of love and cruelty in the publicity of the 2018 wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. We suggest that the wedding failed to inch closer toward a ‘post-racialized’ society. Rather, the wedding and public (but superficial) embracing of Markle promoted a ‘comfort feminism’ which obscured the mundane white supremacy and sexism of modern Britain. The paper concludes with a brief afterward which discusses the legacy of the royal wedding in the context of the social, political, and cultural challenges wrought by the intersections of the global pandemic and structural racism.

AB - This paper explores the entanglements of love and cruelty in the publicity of the 2018 wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. We suggest that the wedding failed to inch closer toward a ‘post-racialized’ society. Rather, the wedding and public (but superficial) embracing of Markle promoted a ‘comfort feminism’ which obscured the mundane white supremacy and sexism of modern Britain. The paper concludes with a brief afterward which discusses the legacy of the royal wedding in the context of the social, political, and cultural challenges wrought by the intersections of the global pandemic and structural racism.

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ER -

Comfort feminism and the cruelty of a ‘post-racial’ monarchy in Britain

Abstract

UN SDGs

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

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