Passage One

1．To discuss questions of sex and gender it is necessary to engage with a large body of feminist theory．It is impossible to conceive of a cultural studies that did not do so．However，while feminist thinking permeates cultural studies，not all forms of feminism are to be thought of as cultural studies．Nor are all zones of cultural studies concerned with questions of gender(though many feminists would argue that contemporary cultural studies is hindered by its production of ungendered^[1]understandings of culture)．Consequently，it is more important to explore those streams of thought within cultural studies that are concerned with sex，gender and feminism than to know the history，classification or analysis of the women's movement per se．

2．Franklin et al．(1991)have pointed to a number of similarities of concern between cultural studies and feminism．They draw attention to: the aspiration of feminism and cultural studies to connect with social and political movements outside of the academy^[2];a critical stance vis-à-vis more established disciplines^[3]such as sociology and English literature;a mutual suspicion of and challenge to established ideas of“certain knowledge”;a wish to produce“knowledge”of and by“marginalized”and oppressed groups with the avowed intention of making a political intervention．In conclusion，cultural studies and feminism have shared a substantive interest in issues of power，representation，popular culture，subjectivity^[4]，identities and consumption．

3．However，the relationship between feminism and cultural studies has not always been comfortable．Stuart Hall has described feminism as“A thief in the night，it broke in;interrupted，made an unseemly noise，seized the time，crapped on the table of cultural studies”．That is，feminism was not always warmly welcomed，but had to“shout”loudly to make itself be heard．Thus did feminists put questions of sexuality，gender，subjectivity and power at the heart of cultural studies．In doing so they displaced but did not abandon what had been the central issue of class．(Rewritten from Chris Barker，Cultural Studies:Theory and Practice，pp．279-280)

Questions for Understanding

1．What do many feminists complain about contemporary cultural studies?

2．According to Franklin el al，what are the similarities of concern between cultural studies and feminism?

3．Why do you think feminism is interested in“issues of power，representation，popularculture，subjectivity，identitiesand consumption”?

4．In what way does Stuart Hall compare feminism to a thief?

5．Why does feminism have to“shout”in order to be heard?