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Feminist prison activism

An assessment of empowerment

University of California, Berkeley, whitehej{at}pacificu.edu

In the following ethnography of the California Coalition of Women Prisoners (CCWP), who exist at the forefront of feminist prison activism, I address canonical feminist debates focused on the relationship between subjectivity, experience, knowledge, and power by closely following an explicit attempt at political reform by and for women. I argue that feminist prison activists' attempts to reform the American prison system reveal why feminist theorists must remain committed to a specific, contextual, and localized analysis of the prospects for political empowerment.

Key Words: consciousness-raising • empowerment • feminist political action • feminist theory • women in prison

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Feminist Theory, Vol. 8, No. 3, 299-314 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1464700107082367


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Cee Whitehead, J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?