Women In The Spanish Revolution

DEFYING MALE CIVILIZATION examines women's role and experiences in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). It addresses the significant contributions made by anonymous women at the homefront as well as the heroic accomplishments of female political leaders and women who fought at the warfronts.

With fists upraised, Mujeres Libres struggled for their own emancipation and the freedom of all.

"Study of the role women played in the Mexican Revolution and the Spanish Civil War. Examines female figures such as the soldaderas of the Mexican Revolution and the milicianas of the Spanish Civil War and the intersection of gender, revolution, and culture in both the Mexican and the Spanish contexts"--Provided by publisher.

"Women played an integral role in the Spanish Civil War. In fact, women's participation in the anti-fascist resistance constituted one of the greatest mass political mobilizations of women in Spain's history. Milicianas provides a comprehensive picture of what life was like for the women who fought alongside their male comrades during the first year of the Spanish Civil War, focusing on how the women themselves viewed this experience. It examines the political and social forces that led to the acceptance of women into the ranks of armed combatants, and those that led to their eventual removal from the front"--Page 4 of cover.

"When historians take women's movements and gender differences in organizations... seriously, this book will become part of the canon.... a forthright effort to view women's participation in politics in exciting new ways." --American Historical Review "The work not only fills a gap in knowledge of women's radical politics, but also addresses current concerns of feminist scholars." --Choice "The book brings us something of the excitement of the revolutionary possibility lived by these women--and the frustration of their encounter with male resistance to including women's emancipation in the revolutionary program." --Signs "Theirs is a story of commitment and creativity, of steadfastness and practicality, of communal endeavour and the bleak individual fate of defeat, hardship, and exile." --Gender and History "Ackelsberg, in the roles of both historian and activist, has crafted a volume that speaks to a wide variety of interests.... Her story is rich with the memories and voices of women... " --The Women's Review of Books "The author examines the autonomous women's liberation organization in late-1930s Spain, which represented an alternative to the individualistic perspectives characterizing mainstream feminist movements of the time." --Smith Alumnae Quarterly "... particularly strong on the ideology and organization of this radical women's group of the late 1930s." --Society for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies Bulletin "Ackelsberg gives the reader a fine explanation of the Spanish events, the general perspective of anarchism and the inspiring goals and struggles of Mujeres Libres." --Fifth Estate Ackelsberg explores the development of Mujeres Libres, founded in 1936 during the Civil War in Spain as an organization dedicated to the liberation of women from their triple enslavement--to ignorance, as women, and as producers.