Feminist Criticism of the Concept of Resilience: Transformation of the Subversive into the Normative
Feminist Criticism of the Concept of Resilience: Transformation of the Subversive into the Normative

Summary/Abstract: The concept of resilience originated in engineering and environmental systems theories. Resilience entered humanities relatively recently as a new theoretical and practical approach to addressing challenges and risks in both macro and micro-communities. The concept of resilience is being criticized for theoretical fluidity behind it, difficulties related to its empirical verification and for being ideologically embedded in the neoliberal framework of global capitalism. Subject of this paper is an overview of a sharper critique of the concept that is coming from feminist perspective. In perspective of feminist criticism, the concept of resilience is perceived as an element of hegemony in neoliberal theory that purports deregulation and in particular market deregulation. While at first glance the concept of resistance denies identity policies and social exclusion deriving from it, in fact it absorbs harm inflicted by neoliberal economic and social restructuring. Resilience allows induced damage to be recycled given that new identity frames and aesthetics become created. Gender status is no longer associated with visible gender manifestation – it rather appears as it is shaped by economic and social background. Resilience becomes new neoliberal female ideal feature that only enhances vitality of white supremacist patriarchy.

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