Radical Feminism Writing And Critical Agency

Links radical feminist writings of the 1960s and 1970s to contemporary online women's networks.

Crucial conversations about feminist theories and how they can fall apart, rupture, and fragment.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-287) and index.

Crow (women's studies, U. of Calgary) attempts to retrieve the lost history of North American radical feminists (a group to be distinguished from mainstream feminism by their critique of the entire structure of society (in spite of anti-feminist attempts to label all feminists "radical"). She presents a collection of essays, manifestos, position papers, and newsletters drawn mainly from the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the Redstockings Archives, and the Barnard College Special Collections (thus limiting the material to the East Coast), covering the years 1967 to 1975. Most of the documents are organized topically under the headings lesbianism, heterosexuality, children, race, and class. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The contributors to Radically Speaking show that a radical feminist analysis cuts across class, race, sexuality, region, religion and across the generations. It is essential reading for Women's Studies, sociology, cultural studies, and anyone interested in processes of social change. Thecollection reveals the global reach of radical feminism and analyze the causes and solutions to patriarchal oppression. Seventy writers discuss their ideas and practice of contemporary feminism.

This collection contains essays by leaders in the field of post-structuralist enquiry as well as by those immersed in the new spirituality and the social consequences of recent biological research. Other essays reflect political struggles being waged with different strategies by radical feminists, and the analyses undertaken by feminists uneasy about their inclusion within educational institutions and the radical new interpretations of sexuality within the cultural domain.

The ‘minority’ feminist viewpoints have often been submerged in the interests of maintaining a mainstream, universal model of feminism. This anthology takes into account the various differences among women while looking at the important areas of feminist struggle. While sisterhood is indeed global, it certainly does not mean that all women are required to submerge their specific differences and assimilate to a universal model. Consequently, the collection includes essays by leaders in the field of post-structuralist enquiry as well as by those immersed in the new spirituality, and the social consequences of recent biological research. Other essays reflect the political struggles which continue to be waged with different strategies by socialist and radical feminists, and the self-searching analyses undertaken by feminists uneasy about their inclusion within educational institutions and the radical new interpretations of sexuality within the cultural domain. The collection begins with a critique of white mainstream feminism emanating from Aboriginal women in Australia. The implications of the critique indicate that there is a pervasive racism within the feminist movement.

The radical feminist movement has undergone significant transformation over the past four decades—from the direct action of the 1960s and 1970s to the backlash against feminism in the 1980s and 1990s. Drawing on organizational documents and interviews with both veterans of the women's movement and younger feminists in Columbus, Ohio, Nancy Whittier traces the changing definitions of feminism as the movement has evolved. She documents subtle variations in feminist identity and analyzes the striking differences, conflicts, and cooperation between longtime and recent activists. The collective stories of the women—many of them lesbians and lesbian feminists whom the author shows to be central to the women's movement and radical feminism—illustrate that contemporary radical feminism is very much alive. It is sustained through protests, direct action, feminist bookstores, rape crisis centers, and cultural activities like music festivals and writers workshops, which Whittier argues are integral—and political—aspects of the movement's survival. Her analysis includes discussions of a variety of both liberal and radical organizations, including the Women's Action Collective, Women Against Rape, Fan the Flames Bookstore, the Ohio ERA Task Force, and NOW. Unlike many studies of feminist organizing, her study also considers the difference between Columbus, a Midwest, medium-sized city, and feminist activities in major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, as well as the roles of radical feminists in the development of women's studies departments and other social movements like AIDS education and self-help. In the series Women in the Political Economy, edited by Ronnie J. Steinberg.