Feminism's New Age: Gender, Appropriation, and the Afterlife of Essentialism

259 Pages·2011·1.36 MB·English

by  Karlyn Crowley

C
Feminism’s
r
o
w
New Age
WOMEN’S STUDIES / NEW AGE l
e
y
Crystals, Reiki, Tarot, goddess worship—why do these New Age tokens and
practices capture the imagination of so many women? How has New Age
culture become even more appealing than feminism? And are the two mutually
exclusive? By examining New Age practices from macrobiotics to goddess
worship to Native rituals, Feminism’s New Age seeks to answer these questions
by examining white women’s participation in this hugely popular spiritual
F
movement. While most feminist approaches to the New Age phenomenon
e
have simply dismissed its adherents for their politically problematic racial
m
appropriation practices, Karlyn Crowley looks honestly at the political
shortcomings of New Age beliefs and practices while simultaneously reckoning
with the affective, political, and cultural motivations which have prompted i
n
New Age women’s individual and collective spiritualities. New Age spirituality
is in fact the dynamic outgrowth of a long-standing tradition of women’s
i
social and political power expressed through religious writings, art, and public s
discourse, and is key to understanding contemporary women’s history and m
religion’s role in modern American culture alike. Crowley offers a new and
provocative assessment of the significance of the New Age movement, seen ’
s
through a feminist and critical race studies lens.

N
“This is an important, provocative, and timely book. As a feminist theorist
particularly concerned about continued white hegemony, I found myself e
often simultaneously annoyed and fascinated by this book. I think that my w
own response to it is a measure of both the significance of the topic and the
author’s success at her chosen project.”
A
— Agnes B. Curry, coeditor of Karol Wojtyla’s Philosophical Legacy
g
KARLyN CRoWLey is Director of Women’s and Gender Studies and
e
Associate Professor of english at St. Norbert College.
Gender, Appropriation, anthde Afterlife of Essentialism
SUNY
P R E S S
NEW yOrk prESS
Karlyn Crowley
crowley HC.indd 1 4/8/11 9:43:28 AM

Feminism’s New Age

Feminism’s
New Age
Gender, Appropriation,
and the Afterlife
of Essentialism
KARLYN CROWLEY
CoverartofWaterSkiingWitchescourtesyofGillyReeves-Hardcastle
PublishedbyStateUniversityofNewYorkPress,Albany
©2011StateUniversityofNewYork
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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static,magnetictape,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwisewithout
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Forinformation,contactStateUniversityofNewYorkPress,Albany,NY
www.sunypress.edu
ProductionbyDianeGaneles
MarketingbyMichaelCampochiaro
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Crowley,Karlyn,1968–
Feminism’snewage:gender,appropriation,andtheafterlifeof
essentialism/KarlynCrowley.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4384-3625-8(hardcover:alk.paper)
ISBN978-1-4384-3626-5(pbk.:alk.paper)
1.Feminism—UnitedStates—History—21stcentury. 2.NewAge
movement—UnitedStates—History—21stcentury. I.Title.
HQ1421.C762011
305.420973'0905—dc22
2010032065
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Tomyparents,AnnVarnonandRonaldCrowley

Contents
Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction:“It’sPowerwithouttheAnger”:
Spirituality,Gender,andRaceintheNewAge 1
1.“TouchedbyanAngel”:
TheFeminizationoftheNewAgeinAmericanCulture 23
2.“TheIndianWayIsWhat’sInside”:
GenderandtheAppropriationofAmericanIndian
ReligioninNewAgeCulture 57
3.GenderonaPlate:
TheCalibrationofIdentityinAmericanMacrobiotics 89
4.TheStructureofPrehistoricalMemoryinthe
AmericanGoddessMovement 113
5.NewAgeSoul:
TheGenderedCodingofNewAgeSpiritualityon
TheOprahWinfreyShow 133
Conclusion:IsNewAgeCulturetheNewFeminism? 149
Notes 171
WorksCited 185
Index 209
vii