Vigilante Feminists and Agents of Destiny

Laura Mattoon D'Amore is associate professor of cultural studies at Roger Williams University.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter One: Finding Agency after Trauma: Crafting a Community of Consent in Sarah J. Maas’ Young Adult Series A Court of Thorns and RosesChapter Two: “Choice is Your Weapon”: Violence, Empowerment, and X-23’s Journey Toward Consent and AgencyChapter Three: Hunting Wolves: Violence, Agency, and Empowerment in Jackson Pearce’s Retold Fairytales Young Adult Fantasy SeriesChapter Four: “I Know How to Do Things Most People Don’t”: Rape and Vigilante Justice on a College Campus in MTV’s Sweet/ViciousConclusionBibliographyAbout the Author

This study of popular culture heroines is rooted in the empowerment audiences find in them, refuting a frequent feminist critique that rejects fictional violence and female action heroes as reinforcement of patriarchy. D’Amore argues that violence can be experienced as agency, and that stories empowering women to seek individual goals can be feminist. D'Amore posits “vigilante feminists” as characters acting outside the parameters of law and society because the system has failed them. These characters appeal particularly to teen girls developing a sense of identity and connection with their bodies… D’Amore combines accounts of each narrative with interpretation, giving particular attention to trauma, agency, consent, and rape culture, with frequent comparisons to real-world situations. This approach is effective in conveying the appeal of these texts and the benefits they convey to their audiences. Female students might especially appreciate this book as both reading recommendation and revealing analysis of culture they have enjoyed. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.