Betty Friedan

Against the Tide is a collection of in-depth biographical essays on the most important women reformers in American history. This reader will be useful in any history course that deals with the important contributions made by women to the development of our government and society from the early republic to today. The volume combines scholarly vitality with readability, making it appropriate for all levels of students.

The history of the second wave of feminism in the United States demonstrates the potential for both serious social change and seemingly intractable divisions among women. Race, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation, and religion have all been dividing influences among women, shaping their various perspectives on and relations to the women's movement. Yet collectively, women's efforts--identified as second wave feminism--are seen as having made a difference. This book highlights the lives and work of fifty second wave feminists, women who have served as catalysts in the developing feminist movement. A diverse group--playwrights and politicians, grassroots organizers and scientists, poets and theologians--they provide the reader with compelling stories of individual women's lives, collective feminist struggles, and the possibilities of feminist social change.

Since the early 1970s, scholars have argued, defined, and refined a wide range of interpretations of American women's lives. Despite the richness of the recent literature, few interpretations sufficiently credit women's family and sexual experiences for the emergence of feminism and the construction of pro-family agendas. Thus, Johnston's approach offers an opportunity to view the history of feminism and the family from a fresh perspective. Much of the literature on feminism has focused on women's oppression and victimization, rather than on the power that women historically have exerted. Johnston's interpretation of American feminism differs from previous works because she argues that the gradual growth of feminist consciousness lies not simply in oppression or feelings of victimization, but paradoxically in a growing sense of empowerment of women as wives and mothers. Johnston explores critical questions concerning American women's sexual lives. How have women's empowering experiences in the family shaped,feminist consciousness and action? How have feminists confronted family issues? How have women exerted sexual power? How was it contained within the limits of patriarchal society at times, while at other times it fueled the fires of feminist rebellion? How have gender and class issues affected domestic politics and feminism?

The radicals and liberals of the 1960s expressed ideas that continue to both attract and repel people decades later. Nostalgia books relive the Woodstock festival and the protests; past Presidents Bush and Reagan remember the era with unease; and scholars skirmish over the meaning of the period. DeLeon is the first to provide information on activists of the period and their continued activities into the 1990s. With major sections on racial democracy, peace and freedom, sexuality and gender, the environment, radical culture, and visions of alternative societies, the book includes entries on a wide selection of nationally prominent personalities of the 1960s. In addition to those who dominated those years, the volume includes earlier activists who came into prominence in the 1960s and those who have come into the limelight since the 1960s. Each entry provides a biographical sketch, but the focus is on the person's basic concepts or the essence of his or her work and the public response it generated. The volume also includes extensive bibliographies on the individuals and the period.

In this second edition of her 1989 survey on feminist theory, Rosemarie Tong provides a more comprehensive & substantially redrawn map of twentieth-century feminist thinking. Besides providing up-to-date coverage of liberal, radical (libertarian & cultural), & Marxist-socialist schools of feminism, she covers psychoanalytic, existentialist, & postmodern feminism. All the chapters have been rethought & new chapters on ecofeminism & multicultural & global feminism have been added. Contents: Introduction. Liberal Feminism. Radical Feminism: Libertarian & Cultural Perspectives. Marxist-Socialist Feminism. Psychoanalytic & Gender Feminism. Existentialist Feminism. Postmodern Feminism. Multicultural & Global Feminism. Ecofeminism. Conclusion.

Provides a critical evaluation of the traditionalist approach to the study of world politics and incorporates a feminist perspective into international relations theory.

"Tobias objectively surveys the pitfalls & the triumphs along the way." Ms. "Were one teaching a course on American feminism from its origins in the nineteenth century to its contemporary travails, [this] would be the perfect text." San Francisco Review "An especially welcome resource for young women trying to make sense of the women's movement before becoming enmeshed in its battles." New York Times Book Review "An essential work for anyone who wants to learn, or learn more, about women's activism. An excellent, accessible work; highly recommended." Library Journal