Feminism Unfinished A Short Surprising History of American Womens Movements

Eschewing the conventional wisdom that places the origins of the American women's movement in the nostalgic glow of the late 1960s, traces the beginnings of this seminal American social movement to the 1920s, in the process creating an expanded, historical narrative that dramatically rewrites a century of American women's history. Also challenging the contemporary "lean-in," trickle-down feminist philosophy and asserting that women's histories all too often depoliticize politics, labor issues, and divergent economic circumstances, Dorothy Sue Cobble, Linda Gordon, and Astrid Henry demonstrate that the post-Suffrage women's movement focused on exploitation of women in the workplace as well as on inherent sexual rights. The authors carefully revise our "wave" vision of feminism, which previously suggested that there were clear breaks and sharp divisions within these media-driven "waves." Showing how history books have obscured the notable activism by working-class and minority women in the past, provides a much-needed corrective.

"By showing the importance of feminism to so many women of the past, this is a solid push back against the modern reticence to embrace the term and its continued relevance." Booklist

"The book's stories of the broader variety of feminist organizations offer useful perspectives for today's feminists: you did not invent this, your mothers did not get it all wrong; you are not done; and this might still take a while." Publishers Weekly

"Against today's bland corporate manifestos, the authors of Feminism Unfinished pose a rich, radical history of women's struggles and lend context to the battle for feminism's soul playing out today in the popular press and online. This is a necessary book." Sarah Leonard, senior editor, The Nation

"Forcefully disrupting misguided clichés, this pointed narrative highlights the transformative ideas and innovations driven by many generations of American women struggling for equal justice and aiming to be individuals and full citizens. Here, the full and continuous range of feminist efforts springs to life, tumultuous and internally varied as it was." Blanche Wiesen Cook, author of Eleanor Roosevelt

"Resonant and revisionist, this absorbing history of the past century of women's struggles widens horizons and deepens understanding. persuasively transforms how we think about social movements and, in so doing, effectively enlarges our political sensibilities." Ira Katznelson, author of Fear Itself, winner of the Bancroft Prize

"Finally, the last one hundred years of US history, but with women in it! Concise, clear, keen--but never oversimplified-- is an invitation to understand that powerful philosophy and revolutionary movement." Jennifer Baumgardner, author of Look Both Ways and Abortion & Life, and director of It Was Rape

"Edgy and important, gives us one hundred years of feminist activism across all divides of class, race, and difference. It is a powerful corrective to hearten us in these mean times: The Global Feminist Movement Is Unfinished, and Everywhere Ongoing." Scott Porch Chicago Tribune

"Hooray for Cobble, Gordon, and Henry, who have written the women's history we've been waiting for. Their vivid picture of working women acting together--women who were brave, funny, and fierce--is just what we need today when the voices of working people are rarely heard and the power of collective action rarely acknowledged." Karen Nussbaum, executive director of Working America

"The authors...pose a rich, radical history of women's struggles... This is a necessary book." Sarah Leonard

"A quick, compelling and astute history of the women's movement from the 1920s to today and the first major history of womens political, social and economic progress in the United States in a generation." The Nation

The American women's movement has been shrouded in myths, argue three leading scholars in this bold and revisionist history.

Reframing feminism for the twenty-first century, this bold and essential history stands up against "bland corporate manifestos" (Sarah Leonard).

Dorothy Sue Cobble lives in Princeton, New Jersey, and teaches at Rutgers University, where she is the Distinguished Professor of History and Labor Studies.Linda Gordon is the Florence Kelley Professor of History at New York University. She is the author of numerous books including Dorothea Lange and Impounded, and won the Bancroft Prize for The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction. She lives in New York.Astrid Henry is the Louise R. Noun Chair of Women's Studies at Grinnell College. She lives in Grinnell, Iowa.