Between Men And Feminism Rle Feminist Theory

Between Men and Feminism had its origins in a lively colloquium at St John’s College, Cambridge in 1990. It discusses how two decades of feminism have affected the ways men define their own masculinities, and how they have responded in their own social, sexual and political lives to the challenges posed by the evolving feminist critiques of patriarchy and maleness itself. The collection contains a great diversity of approaches from Britain and North America. It includes viewpoints from academics, a poet, an educational researcher and the members of an active men’s group. Gay issues feature prominently, as do psychoanalytical views, and a number of the pieces provide a refreshingly personal and practical outlook. Between Men and Feminism shows men finding their own way within the spaces feminism has opened to them, rediscovering their own gendered voices and participating in the transformation of controllong ideologies in their daily lives. These very readable accounts will appeal not only to students in the social sciences and gender studies, but to all men who find themselves responding to the feminist challenge.

What are men doing in feminist discourse? Although many feminists have commented on the relation, actual or possible, of men to feminist thinking and practice, and although some male academics have written about feminism, there has so far been little shared discussion. Men in Feminism is the first substantial attempt to produce a dialogue between feminists and their male allies. This lively book, comprised of essays by both men and women, is a controversial sally in the current debate over the future of feminist theory. Its focus is one seemingly direct and yet surprisingly prickly question: the actual and potential relationship of men to the now impressive and widely recognized body of feminist writing. Each essay attempts to assess the benefits or damage of male participation in feminism; several of the contributions stand in direct dialogue with others. The editors present, mediate and reflect upon the agreements and arguments in the book, as well as between themselves as editors. Their dialogue-afterword draws together the questions at the heart of the volume. Offering few comfortable answers, Men in Feminism will open up discussion of this theoretical and thoroughly political issue.

Between Men and Feminism discusses how two decades of feminism have affected the ways men define their own masculinities, and how they have responded in their own social, sexual and political lives to the challenges posed by the evolving feminist critiques of patriarchy and maleness itself. The collection contains a great diversity of approaches from Britain and North America, including viewpoints from academics, a poet, an educational researcher and the members of an active men's group. It shows men finding their own way within the spaces feminism has opened to them, rediscovering their own gendered voices and participating in the transformation of controlling ideologies in their daily lives. These very readable accounts will appeal not only to students in the social sciences and gender studies, but to all men who find themselves responding to the feminist challenge.

This book investigates how men relate to feminism, the women's movement and to the women in their lives.

What do men feel about the women’s movement? How has it changed them, if at all? To try and answer these questions Helen Franks talked to many men and drew upon research in Britain, the US and Australia. She interviewed men from all social groups – business executives, writers, factory workers, shopkeepers – and all ages, from fifteen to fifty-nine. They included divorced men, husbands, gay men, and some who had ‘swapped roles’ with the women in their lives. She found some surprising results. All men, whatever their attitude to women, seem to be affected, not to say threatened, by feminism. In these pages she documents the thoughts – often confused – of very different kinds of men on sharing housework; women as colleagues; sexual behaviour; pornography; gayness; friendship with other men; fatherhood and marriage. Helen Franks is a sympathetic listener. A committed feminist, she pulls no punches in her criticisms of traditional male attitudes. But she believes that the problems men find in responding constructively to feminism are considerable. After all, men have no broad-based ‘men’s movement’ to sustain them. And she argues that patriarchal society oppresses men, just as, though in a different way, it does women. The feminist classics of the 1960s and 1970s changed women’s lives by revealing a world of shared experiences and unfulfilled potential. The time has come to do the same for men.

Contemporary Western European Feminism is a ground-breaking history of feminism. Gisela Kaplan invites a critical analysis of current ideas, terms and assumptions about our modern world. Written confidently and with compassion, this is the story of a long revolution that has set out to change predominant attitudes and transform value hierarchies and human lifestyles. By outlining the postwar histories of individual countries Kaplan contextualises women’s movements and documents a significant chapter of European social history. She poses questions about the interrelationship between the new movements and the parliamentary democracies in which they occurred, while analysing the contradictions of living in modern capitalist countries. Contemporary Western European Feminism also tackles important contradictions, such as those between the welfare state and the free market economy; industrialisation and religious value systems; social engineering and the production of wealth; and dissent and patrimonial systems of democracy. For those wanting to know more about Europe without the intimidating barriers of language and for those already experts in its social history, Contemporary Western European Feminism is essential reading.

Subordination presents a survey of some of the most important ideas developed within feminism since the 1970s. Among the central themes addressed are: the origins of women’s subordination; the private/public split; the nature and the role of domestic labour; the impact of psychoanalysis on feminist theory; the relationship between the State and women’s subordination. One of the book’s purposes is to draw together strands of thought and debate often kept separate. Throughout, the major theoretical developments in Britain, the United States and Australia are reviewed within a comparative perspective. Consistently, the focus of attention is on how, and how far, theorists in these countries have been able to point to ways of explaining the changing but enduring nature of sexual inequalities.

Feminist social scientists often find that carrying feminism into practice in their research is neither easy nor straightforward. Designed precisely with feminist researchers in mind, Feminist Praxis gives detailed analytic accounts of particular examples of feminist research, showing how feminist epistemology can translate into concrete feminist research practices. The contributors, all experts in their field, give practical examples of feminist research practices, covering colonialism, child-minding, gay men, feminist social work, cancer, working with young girls using drama, Marilyn Monroe, statistics – even the writing and reading of research accounts. These detailed accounts are located in relation to the position of feminism and of women generally in the academic world, and looked at in the light of discussions, debates, and controversies about feminist methodology across several disciplines. Feminist Praxis is unique in combining theoretical discussion of feminist methodology with detailed accounts of practical research processes. This blend of the practical and the theoretical will make it an invaluable text for feminists carrying out research at all levels, and it will also appeal to those interested in the relationship between theory, method and feminist epistemology.