Provocations for the Future

Feminism has evolved from a political and social movement into an academic discipline, the impact of which can extend beyond the walls and halls of the academy. It is predicated on the sound bite that asserts: “the personal is the political.” In this essay, I take the opportunity to “provoke,” in the sense of “challenge,” my own feminist past, present, and projected future by aligning it with the development of feminist critique within and beyond German studies. With attention to the academic and personal dimensions of contemporary responses to the F-word in the Anglo-American and European contexts, I address issues such as legitimacy, relevance, and generational differences sometimes categorized as “waves.” Along the way, I comment on some aspects of media cultures that can accommodate feminisms and their futures, both in the plural.