Celebrating 30 years of Feminism & Psychology

Feminism & Psychology ( F&P) was launched in 1991 with a sense of possibility, enthusiasm and excitement as well as a sense of urgent need – to critique and reconstruct mainstream psychology (theory, research methods, and clinical practice). Thirty years have now passed since the first issue was produced. Thirty volumes with three or four issues have been published each year, thanks to the efforts of many. On the occasion of F&P’s 30th anniversary, we, the present and past editors, reflect on successes, changes and challenges in relation to the journal. We celebrate the prestigious awards accruing to the journal, its editors, and authors, and the significant contributions the journal has made to critical feminist scholarship at the interface of feminisms and psychologies. We note some of the theoretical and methodological developments and social changes witnessed over the last three decades. We highlight challenges facing feminist researchers in academia as well as international feminist publishing. We conclude that the initial enthusiasm and excitement expressed by the then editorial collective was justified. But, there is still much work to be done.

Feminist Publishing in France 1975–2000

This chapter examines the place of feminist publishing in both the French and international publishing industries from 1975 until 2000. It uses the theories of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu in order to analyse the ways in which feminist publishers attempted to gain a foothold in an industry that was marked by broader economic, political and cultural shifts in French society in the decades following the 1970s. It considers both the publishing industry and feminism as ‘fields’, following Bourdieu, the intersection of which allowed French feminists and women writers a means of expressing and disseminating their ideas and experiences. Structural and political changes in the 1980s and 1990s, however, meant that the context was generally less favourable for feminist publishing, although some publishers were able to adapt to the shifting context and markets. Internal division and disagreements within the feminist movement also contributed to a decline in specialist collections devoted to feminism.