The Enactment of a “Postfeminist Sensibility”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Teens’ Constructions of Dating Abuse Among Their Peers

Abstract

At a societal level, postfeminist and neoliberal companion discourses have minimized structural determinants of dating abuse while elevating individual characteristics such as personal responsibility and agency. Adolescent survivors of dating abuse most frequently seek help from their peers; thus, the substance of that support is critical to reduce stigma and support survivor’s well-being. Using critical discourse analysis methodology, this article examines how postfeminism has been enacted in teens’ discursive constructions of dating violence and describes the ramifications of such constructions. Analysis used structured questions to unpack teens’ constructions and discursive formations of dating abuse. Teens participated in 11 in-person and online focus groups nationally. Results indicate that teens discursively construct abuse survivors in ways that privilege postfeminist discourses of personal choice, agency, and empowerment. Specifically, teens employed discourses of direct and indirect culpability to describe why survivors enter and remain in abusive relationships. Such framings contribute to constructing a “stigmatized identity” for abuse survivors consistent with postfeminist discourse. Multitiered interventions must be developed that both challenge postfeminist discourses and support teens in developing more empathetic responses to abuse survivors.