Theorizing contained empowerment: A critique of activism and power in third wave feminist spaces

This dissertation is the author's first evaluation of contained empowerment as a theory for understanding how and why certain potentially empowering ideologies are limited in their ability to directly enact change. Contained empowerment is the localized nature of empowerment for the marginalized, contained within fixed subject positionalities. The author argues that this is problematic because contained empowerment is often limited to changing individual status within the system rather than altering the system itself. However, when contained empowerment is successfully negotiated both within and outside of the subject position for which it is created, the marginalized can gain self confidence that can empower other aspects of their lives. Thus, the goal of this dissertation is to create a conceptual framework for understanding the potential of these sorts of liminal subject positions.; In this dissertation, the author examines three contained empowerment sites framed in the liminal third wave feminist ideals: the metaphor "girl power"; a third wave feminist organization; and a third wave feminist online journal. In each case, the contained empowerment of these sites is localized and contained within normative understandings of femininity and youthful girlhood while challenging norms associated with these ideals. The author determines that the localized nature of contained empowerment is itself marginalized, drawing its potential from both outside of and within normative power structures.