Synopses & Reviews
This best-selling anthology is a unique introduction to feminism and womens studies. It presents a multidisciplinary collection of academic essays and analyses, personal narratives, and fiction and poetry about womens lives. The selections illustrate the variety of womens experiences, primarily in the United States, considering both commonalities and differences among women and appreciating womens diverse approaches to living and fostering change.
About the Author
Amy Kesselman iwas an active member of a Chicago Womens Liberation in the late 1960s. She is currently Professor of Womens Studies at the State University of New York at New Paltz where she has taught womens studies and womens history since 1981. She received a Masters degree in history from Portland State University and began teaching womens studies at Mount Hood Community College, in Gresham , Oregon.. She is the author of Fleeting Opportunities: Women Shipyard Workers in Portland and Vancouver during World War II and Reconversion (SUNY Press, 1990) and Women: Images and Realities : A Multicultural Anthology ( Mayfield, 1995 and 1998; Mc Graw Hill 2002) as well as several articles on the history of U.S. feminism. She is currently working on a book on womens liberation in New Haven, Connecticut.
Table of Contents
* Indicates a new reading ** Indicates updated reading
PART I: WHAT IS WOMENS STUDIES? 1. Talking Back, BELL HOOKS 2. Sins of Silence, MAI KAO THAO 3. Claiming an Education, ADRIENNE RICH 4. The Politics of Black Womens Studies, AKASHA (GLORIA T.) HULL AND BARBARA SMITH 5. Men and Womens Studies: Premises, Perils, and Promise, MICHAEL KIMMEL 6. Have You Ever Heard of Asian-American Feminists?, STACEY G.H. YAP 7. Voices of Women's Studies Students: Womens Studies as a Growth Process, DANISTA HUNTE; Finding My Latina Identity Through Womens Studies, LUANA FERREIRA; What Womens Studies Has Meant To Me, LUCITA WOODIS; Why Womens Studies?, DEBORAH HALSTEAD LENNON; Womens Studies: A Mans Perspective, EVAN WEISSMAN *8. Women's Studies as Women's History, MARILYN J. BOXER
PART II: BECOMING A WOMAN IN OUR SOCETY Dominant Ideas About Women 9. The Problem That Has No Name, BETTY FRIEDAN 10. A Work of Artifice, MARGE PIERCY 11. Purification, GRACEPOORE 12. To Be Real, DANZY SENNA 13. Blazes of Truth, SUSAN SCHNUR 14. In Search of Liberation, DEBRA KENT 15. Brideland, NAOMI WOLF 16. On Being a "Good Girl": Implications for Latinas in the United States, ELISA DAVILA *17. Girls: We are the Ones Who Can Make a Change, ANA GROSSMAN and EMMA PETERS-AXTELL 18. Not a Pretty Girl, ANI DIFRANCO Learning Gender 19. The Gift, MURIELLE MINARD 20. Klaus Barbie and Other Dolls Id Like to See, SUSAN JANE GIILMAN *21. An Educator's Primer on the Gender War, DAVID SADKER 22. The Sexual Politics of Interpersonal Behavior, NANCY HENLEY AND JO FREEMAN 23. Teen Mags: How to Get a Guy, Drop 20 Pounds, and Lose Your Self-Esteem, ANASTASIA HIGGINBOTHAM *24. The Unreal World, JENNIFER L. POZNER *25. No Respect: Gender Politics and Hip-Hop, JOHNNETTA COLE and BEVERLY GUY-SHEFTALL 26. Mutineers in Mainstream Music: Heralds of a New Feminist Wave? NAOMI WEISSTEIN 27. Video, INDIA.ARIE 28. X: A Fabulous Childs Story, LOIS GOULD
PART III: GENDER AND WOMENS BODIES Female Beauty 29. The Beauty Myth, NAOMI WOLF 30. When I Was Growing Up, NELLIE WONG 31. To Other Women Who Were Ugly Once, INES HERNANDEZ-AVILA 32. Nose Is A Country... I Am the Second Generation, AISHE BERGER 33. The Body Politic, ABRA FORTUNE CHERNIK 34. Breaking the Model, GRACIELA (CHELY) RODRIQUEZ 35. The Fat Girl Rules the World, JULY SIEBECKER 36. Homage to My Hair, LUCILLE CLIFTON 37. Homage to My Hips, LUCILLE CLIFTON Sexuality and Relationships 38. Lusting for Freedom, REBECCA WALKER 39. “We Dont Sleep Around Like White Girls Do": Family, Culture and Gender in Filipina-American Lives,” YEN LE ESPIRITU 40. Esta Risa No Es De Loca, CARIDAD SOUSA 41. Pleasures, DIANE HUGS 42. Loving Another Woman, ANNE KOEDT *43. In Search of the Elusive Orgasm, LORI L. THARPS 44. Bisexuality, Feminism, Men and Me, ROBYN OCHS
PART IV: INSTITUTIONS THAT SHAPE WOMENS LIVES Women and Work **45. An Overview of Women and Work, ELLEN BRAVO, GLORIA SANTA ANA AND LINDA MERIC 46. Questions and Answers about Pay Equity, NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR PAY EQUITY 47. The Politics of Housework, PAT MAINARDI OF REDSTOCKINGS 48. The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World Is Still the Least Valued, ANN CRITTENDEN **49. Friendly for Whose Family? BETTY HOLCOMB **50. 9to5: Organizing Low-Wage Women, ELLEN BRAVO, GLORIA SANTA ANA AND LINDA MERIC *51. Sexual Harassment, ELLEN BRAVO *52. Sexual Harassment and the Law, ARLENE FOY REYNOLDS 53. In Case of Sexual Harassment: A Guide for Women Students, BERNICE SANDLER *54. Each Day I Go Home with a New Wound in My Heart, MIRIAM CHING YOON LOUIE 55. Women, ALICE WALKER Women, the Law and Social Policy 56. Women and the Law, KRISTIN MICCIO *57. Unequal: A Global Perpsective on Women Under the Law, JESSICA NEUWIRTH 58. How to Bring Children Up Without Putting Women Down, ANN CRITTENDON 59. Exploding the Stereotypes: Welfare, RITA HENLEY JENSEN **60. New Welfare Regime, Same Single-Mother Poverty Problems, RANDY ALBELDA *61. If I Survivie, It Will Be Despite Welfare Reform, TONYA MITCHELL *62. Women in Sport: A Journey Toward Equality, PAT GRIFFIN Women and the Family **63. Family and Women's Lives, SUSAN LEHRER 64. Seventeen Syllables, HISAYE YAMAMOTO 65. A Long Story, BETH BRANT 66. Elena, PAT MORA 67. "Don't You Talk About My Mama!", JUNE JORDAN 68. Working at Single Bliss, MARY HELEN WASHINGTON 69. A Marriage Agreement, ALIX KATES SCHULMAN *70. Why We're Not Getting Married, MARTHA ACKLESSBERG AND JUDITH PLASKOW Women and Religion 71. My Church Threw Me Out, MARY ANN SORRENTINO 72. Reactions to a Woman Rabbi, LAURA GELLER 73. Christian Fundamentalism: Patriarchy, Sexuality and Human Rights, SUSAN D. ROSE *74. The Black Church: What's the Word? JOHNNETTA COLE AND BEVERLY GUY SHEFTALL *75. Rethinking Women's Issues in Muslim Communities, KECIA ALI *76. Revelations, LINDA VILLAROSA *77. In Her Own Image, ROSE SOLARI
PART V: HEALTH AND REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE The Health Care System *78. The Politics of Women's Health, in the United States, BOSTON WOMEN'S HEALTH BOOK COLLECTIVE *79. Uninsured, Exposed and at Risk-But Not Powerless, LOURDES A. RIVERA 80. Mandatory Doctor's Visit, DIANA HUGS *81. The Feminization of AIDS, MARIELENA ZUNIGA *82. Necessity was the Midwife of Our Politics, DEBORAH GRAYSON *83. Native American Women's Health Resource Education Center, JAEL SILLIMAN, MARLENE FRIED, LORETTA ROSS, AND ELENA GUITTIEREZ *84. Breast Cancer Activism: Moving Beyond the Mammography Debate, SABRINA MCCORMICK Reproductive Freedom 85. Abortion: Is a Woman a Person?, ELLEN WILLIS 86. Lost Woman Song, ANI DIFRANCO 87. Talking with the Enemy, ANNE FOWLER ET AL. **88. Parental Consent Laws: Are They a "Reasonable Compromise"? MIKE MALES 89. Testimony of William Bell (on Raised Bill #5447), CONNECTICUT STATE LEGISLATURE 90. Using Pregnancy to Control Women, RUTH HUBBARD 91. Killing the Black Body, DOROTHY ROBERTS *92. Abortion in the U.S.: Barriers to Access, MARLENE GERBER FRIED
PART VI: THE DIFFERENCES AMONG US: DIVISIONS AND CONNECTIONS "Take a Closer Look": Racism in Women's Lives 93. Defining Racism: "Can We Talk?" BEVERLY DANIEL TATUM 94. Codes of Conduct, ADRIENNE SU 95. Salad, JANICE MIRIKITANI 96. I Am Not Your Princess, CHRYSTOS 97. Take a Closer Look, CARRIE CASTRO 98. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, PEGGY MCINTOSH 99. An Autobiography (excerpt), ANGELA DAVIS The Legacy of Class 100. Tired of Playing Monopoly? DONNA LANGSTON 101. Sisters, BARBARA NEELY 102. Jewish and Working Class, BERNICE MENNIS 103. Poverty, Hopelessness, and Hope, KENDALL A. JOHNSON 104. Grace Paley Reading, TOI DERRICOTTE "Are You Some Kind of Dyke?": The Perils of Heterosexism 105. "Homophobia and Sexism," SUZANNE PHARR 106. Cat, JULIE BLACKWOMON 107. Chicana Lesbians: Fear and Loathing in the Chicano Community, CARLA TRUJILLO 108. Livin' in a Gay Family, MEGAN MCGUIRE 109. I Lost It in the Movies, JEWELLE GOMEZ *110. Courage from Necessity, MR. BARB GREVE Older, Wiser, and Marginalized: Ageism in Women's Lives **111. Older Women: The Realities, OLDER WOMEN'S LEAGUE 112. Women in the Tower, CYNTHIA RICH 113. The Day Nani Fell and I Wasn't There to Catch Her, ANNA MARIE QUEVEDO *114. Over The Hill and Out of Sight, JANICE KEAFFABER Understanding and Valuing Difference *115. Rights, Realities and Issues of Women with Disabilities, LAURA HERSHEY 116. Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference, AUDRE LORDE 117. Fence Sitters, Switch Hitters, and Bi-Bi Girls: An Exploration of Hapa and Bisexual Identities, BEVERLY YUEN THOMPSON 118. Boundaries: Arab/American, LISA SUHAIR MAJAJ *119. Why Race Matters to a White Dyke, NELL GEISER 120. Bringing the Global Home, CHARLOTTE BUNCH 121. Friday Night, LINDA HOGAN
PART VII: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Violence Against Women in Intimate Relationships 122. Battering: Who's Going to Stop It? ANN JONES 123. The Club, MITSUYE YAMADA 124. Countdown, LANETTE FISHER-HERTZ 125. La Princesa, LATINA ANOMIMA 126. Holding Up More Than Half the Heavens, MARGARETTA WAN LIN AND CHENG IMM TAN 127. Bringing Women's Studies to a Battered Women's Shelter, COLLEEN FARRELL Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls 128. Rape, The All American Crime, SUSAN GRIFFIN 129. Whose Body Is It Anyway? PAMELA FLETCHER *130. High-School Gauntlet, RACHEL 131. With No Immediate Cause, NTOSAKE SHANGE 132. Naming and Studying Acquaintance Rape, PEGGY REEVES SANDAY *133. Rape and Gender Violence: From Impunity to Accountability in International Law, RHONDA COPELON *134. Stronger Than You Know, RACHEL MODELL Incestuous Sexual Abuse **135. Protecting Male Abusers and Punishing the Women Who Confront Them: The Current Status of Child-Sex Abuse in America, LANETTE FISHER-HERTZ 136. Making Sense of the Experience of Incest Survivors, PERI L. RAINBOW 137. Bubba Esther 1888, RUTH WHITMAN
PART VIII: CHANGING OUR WORLD Feminism as a Social Movement **138. The First and Second Waves of Feminism in the U.S., AMY KESSELMAN 139. The Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention, 1848 *140. What Feminism Means to Me, GEORGE MIDDLETON 141. Consciousness Raising: A Radical Weapon, KATHIE SARACHILD 142. The Boston Women's Health Book Collective, SUSAN BROWNMILLER *143. The Making of the Vanguard Center, BENITA ROTH 144. The Development of Chicana Feminist Discourse, ALMA GARCIA 145. Thoughts on Indian Feminism, KATE SHANLEY 146. Presenting the Blue Goddess: Toward a National Pan-Asian Feminist Agenda, SONIA SHAH 147. Blame It On Feminism, SUSAN FALUDI *148. Whose Security? CHARLOTTE BUNCH 149. The Globetrotting Sneaker, CYNTHIA ENLOE *150. Transnational Collaboration in Support of Sweatshop Workers: Union Organizing in El Salvador: In Solidarity with U.S. Students, SONIA BEARTRIZ LARA and United States Against Sweatshops, LIZA FEATHERSTONE AND UNITED STUDENTS AGAINST SWEATSHOPS Women Organizing, Many Issues, Many Voices *151. Struggles of Responsibility, WINONA LADUKE 152. style no. 1, SONIA SANCHEZ 153. Becoming the Third Wave, REBECCA WALKER 154. Black Feminism at Twenty-One: Reflections on the Evolution of a National Community, BARBARA RAMSBY 155. Voices, WOMEN OF ACE (AIDS COUNSELING AND EDUCATION), BEDFORD HILLS CORRECTIONAL FACILITY 156. Construction Workers, Subway Creeps and Other Daily Hazards, MARTHA LANGELAN *157. Domestic Workers Organize in the Global City, AI-JEN POO AND ERIC TANG 158. Just Sex: Students Rewrite the Rules on Sex, Violence and Equality, JODY GOLD AND SUSAN VILLARI 159. Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Fture, JENNIFER BAUMGARDNER AND AMY RICHARDS *160. Voices of Womens Studies Graduates: Real Life: Women's Studies in Action, LORI GROSS; Becoming a Feminist Doctor, SHARON THOMPSON; *A Women's Studies Graduate Goes to Africa, CONSTANCE RIVERA
* Indicates a new reading ** Indicates updated reading