Women Images Realities A Multicultural Anthology

A unique introduction to feminism & women's studies, this book is a multidisciplinary collection of essays & analyses, personal narratives, fiction, & poetry about women's lives. The selections illustrate the variety of women's experience, considering both commonalties & differences among women, as well as appreciate women's varied approaches to survival & personal & social change. Topics: socialization, women's bodies, reproductive health, work, violence against women, & approaches to feminist change. Includes the voices of women of all ages, varied sexual orientations, & different ethnic, racial, & class backgrounds.

This multicultural anthology explores the similarities and differences among women's experiences, and the approaches women have used to change their lives. Poems, fiction, diary entries, and essays included illustrate personal experiences and issues in women's studies. The reader's unique blend of academic and literary sections presents feminist issues in an accessible format for students.

This best-selling anthology is a unique introduction to feminism and women’s studies. It presents a multidisciplinary collection of academic essays and analyses, personal narratives, and fiction and poetry about women’s lives. The selections illustrate the variety of women’s experiences, primarily in the United States, considering both commonalities and differences among women and appreciating women’s diverse approaches to living and fostering change.

From Comfort Woman: “We began the day with breakfast, after which we swept and cleaned our rooms. Then we went to the bathroom downstairs to wash the only dress we had and to bathe. The bathroom did not even have a door, so the soldiers watched us. We were all naked, and they laughed at us, especially me and the other young girl who did not have any pubic hair. “At two, the soldiers came. My work began, and I lay down as one by one the soldiers raped me. Every day, anywhere from twelve to over twenty soldiers assaulted me. There were times when there were as many as thirty; they came to the garrison in truckloads.” “I lay on the bed with my knees up and my feet on the mat, as if I were giving birth. Whenever the soldiers did not feel satisfied, they vented their anger on me. Every day, there were incidents of violence and humiliation. When the soldiers raped me, I felt like a pig. Sometimes they tied up my right leg with a waist band or a belt and hung it on a nail in the wall as they violated me. “I shook all over. I felt my blood turn white. I heard that there was a group called the Task Force on Filipino Comfort Women looking for women like me. I could not forget the words that blared out of the radio that day: 'Don't be ashamed, being a sex slave is not your fault. It is the responsibility of the Japanese Imperial Army. Stand up and fight for your rights.'” In April 1943, fifteen-year-old Maria Rosa Henson was taken by Japanese soldiers occupying the Philippines and forced into prostitution as a “comfort woman.” In this simply told yet powerfully moving autobiography, Rosa recalls her childhood as the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy landowner, her work for Huk guerrillas, her wartime ordeal, and her marriage to a rebel leader who left her to raise their children alone. Her triumph against all odds is embodied by her decision to go public with the secret she had held close for fifty years. Now in a second edition with a new introduction and foreword that bring the ongoing controversy over the comfort women to the present, this powerful memoir will be essential reading for all those concerned with violence against women.

Now in its fifth successful edition, Women: Images and Realities offers a unique, thought-provoking introduction to feminism and women’s studies. A multicultural anthology, the text presents a multidisciplinary collection of academic essays and analyses, personal narratives, and fiction and poetry about women’s lives. The readings illustrate the variety of women’s experiences, primarily in the United States, considering both commonalities and differences among women and appreciating women’s diverse approaches to living and fostering change.

A multicultural array of poets explore what it is means to be American This powerful and moving collection of poems stretches across the boundaries of skin color, language, ethnicity, and religion to give voice to the lives and experiences of ethnic Americans. With extraordinary honesty, dignity, and insight, these poems address common themes of assimilation, communication, and self-perception. In recording everyday life in our many American cultures, they displace the myths and stereotypes that pervade our culture. Unsettling America includes work by: Amiri Baraka Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Rita Dove Louise Erdich Jessica Hagedorn Joy Harjo Garrett Hongo Li-Young Lee Pat Mora Naomi Shihab Nye Marye Percy Ishmael Reed Alberto Rios Ntozake Shange Gary Soto Lawrence Ferlinghetti Nellie Wong David Hernandez Mary TallMountain ...and many more.