Review: History, Theory and Practice in J. Jack Halberstam's Gaga Feminism: Sex, Gender, and the End of Normal

Abstract

In lieu of an abstract, here is the first paragraph of the review:

With a general audience of the non-academic public and a specific audience of feminists in mind, the author presents the overall book as an opportunity to embrace a new and radical type of feminism called “Gaga feminism.” Halberstam uses popular culture, mass media, and the consumer capitalist entertainment culture of America to demonstrate where Gaga feminism fits into the heterosexual culture of a changing but as yet unchanged gender scheme, why feminist and queer theory needs to consider the radical feminism as a possible solution, how Gaga feminism can help re-define or eliminate the concept of normal, the ways in which Gaga feminism can inform our national presumptions about marriage and the “natural,” and the recommendations and practices that someone can try when embracing Gaga feminism. Though he may not intentionally do so, Halberstam tends to develop the following three processes of support for Gaga feminism (not in any particular order in the book): foundational development, theoretical musings, and practical application.