Antipsychiatric activism and feminism: the use of film and text to question biomedicine

This article examines the relationships between antipsychiatric activism and feminism, paying particular attention to the civil liberties of mental health consumer/survivor/expatient (c/s/x) individuals in relation to mental health practices. It argues that a continually rigorous exploration of the complex (and at times uneasy) relationships between antipsychiatric activism, feminism and mental health practice is necessary and useful for pursuing social justice by working toward the diminishment of mental health inequalities. The article includes an overview of the ‘spectrum’ of antipsychiatric stances and a review of some of the literature covering the relationship between antipsychiatry and feminism, and uses cinematic and literary examples to highlight the complexity of addressing issues like medication ‘compliance’ and ‘non-compliance’ among mental health users and consumers in biomedical contexts.