Social Science : Feminism & Feminist Theory

Skillfully Probing the Attack on Women's Rights. "Opting-out," "security moms," "desperate housewives," "the new baby fever"--the trend stories of 2006 leave no doubt that American women are still being barraged by the same backlash messages that Susan Faludi brilliantly exposed in her 1991 bestselling book of revelations. Now, the book that reignited the feminist movement is back in a fifteenth anniversary edition, with a new preface by the author that brings backlash consciousness up to date. When it was first published, "Backlash" made headlines for puncturing such favorite media myths as the "infertility epidemic" and the "man shortage," myths that defied statistical realities. These willfully fictitious media campaigns added up to an antifeminist backlash. Whatever progress feminism has recently made, Faludi's words today seem prophetic. The media still love stories about stay-at-home moms and the "dangers" of women's career ambitions; the glass ceiling is still low; women are still punished for wanting to succeed; basic reproductive rights are still hanging by a thread. The backlash clearly exists. With passion and precision, Faludi shows in her new preface how the creators of commercial culture distort feminist concepts to sell products while selling women downstream, how the feminist ethic of economic independence is twisted into the consumer ethic of buying power, and how the feminist quest for self-determination is warped into a self-centered quest for self-improvement. "Backlash" is a classic of feminism, an alarm bell for women of every generation, reminding us of the dangers that we still face. more...

Price: $14.95

In this striking autobiography, Puah Rakovksy (1865-1955) tells of her experiences as a Jewish woman in later 19th- and early 20th-century Poland who broke with her traditional upbringing to become a professional educator, Zionist activist, and feminist leader. Her passionate account offers unprecedented entree into the life experience of East European Jewry in a period of massive social change. more...

Price: $15.95

While some see the Miss American Pageant as hokey vestige of another era, many remain enthralled by the annual Atlantic City event. And whether you love it or hate it, no one can deny the impact the contest has had on American popular culture-indeed, many reality television shows seem to have taken cues from the pageant. Founded in 1921, the Miss America Pageant has provided a fascinating glimpse into how American standards of femininity have been defined, projected, maintained, and challenged. At various times, it has been praised as a positive role model for young American women, protested as degrading to women by feminists, and shamed by scandals, such as the one caused by the Penthouse photos of Vanessa Williams in 1984. In this first interdisciplinary anthology to examine this uniquely American event, scholars defend, critique, and reflect on the pageant, grappling with themes like beauty, race, the body, identity, kitsch, and consumerism. ""There She Is, Miss America"" provides a fascinating examination of an enduring American icon. more...

Price: $90.00

Confronting the difficulties that white Western feminism has in balancing issues of gender with other forms of difference, such as race, ethnicity and nation, this study argues that feminist thought can begin to work "against purity" in order to develop more complex models of power, identity and the self. more...

Price: $44.95

Heather Merrill investigates how migrants and Northern Italians struggle over meanings and negotiate social and cultural identities. Using rich ethnographic material, Merrill traces the emergence of Alma MaterÑan anti-racist organization formed to address problems encountered by migrant women. Through this analysis, she reveals the dynamics of an alliance consisting of women from many countries of origin and religious and class backgrounds. more...

Price: $75.00