Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

a feminist anti-feminism

Abstract

The article analyzes the monologue Fleabag (2013), by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, situating the work within the field of British new writing and in-yer-face theatre. It argues that the incorporation of aesthetic procedures from these movements enhances the subversion of Eurocentric feminist discourses by exposing the protagonist’s contradictions, violences, and vulnerabilities. Unable to conform to normative standards, Fleabag challenges and satirizes both feminism and machismo through an acidic humor that counterbalances the tragic tone and explicit language of the play. The study examines the dramaturgical interplay constructed through the character’s self-destructive behavior, whose comic outcomes reveal social conventions that hinder the constitution of an authentic female identity. The theoretical framework draws on the contributions of Alekz Sierz and Michael Billington, in dialogue with contemporary feminist criticism.