AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment by Susan M. Hartmann ISBN: 0-300-07464-6 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: December, 1998 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $40.00

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: A new look at the rise of the second wave in America
Comment: In her latest book Hartmann finds the starting threads of modern feminism in the actions of women before and during the "Second Wave" feminism of the 1960s and 1970s. However, this time she breaks with current scholarship. In this revisionist work, Hartmann challenges the traditional beginnings of the women's movement accepted by most historians. In chapter one, Hartmann acknowledges the importance of the events typically associated with the rise of modern feminism, such as the publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique in 1963 and the founding of the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966, but Hartmann argues that the "Second Wave" owes more to the gains made by women (and some men) working outside of the mainstream feminist establishment. The actions of these individuals working within liberal organizations, but "outside of organized feminism help explain how a sea change in attitudes, practices, and polices regarding gender roles could occur throughout the social and structural fabric of the United States, despite the relatively limited personnel and resources of the formal organizations of the women's movement." To back her claim, Hartmann takes on a case study approach in the subsequent chapters, tracing contributions to the feminist cause made by women and men working in four liberal organizations: the International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Council of Churches (NCC), and the Ford Foundation. Consistent with her usual style, Hartmann recognizes the different experiences of black women, detailing black female action within the "Second Wave" in the final chapter. In her explorations of these associations, Hartmann recognizes that each liberal organization had a history of involvement with civil rights, and that federal mandates as well as other external pressures influenced the feminist activism within each organization. But she claims that regardless of outside pressure, the individuals working together within the separate organizations were the real catalysts that sparked feminist interests and agendas in each group. With that in mind, she goes on to show how each organization "contributed to an increased awareness of gender stratification" within their respective associations, and projected that awareness into public and government arenas. Hartmann states that each organization added to the movement in distinct ways, and taken together the efforts of the four groups created key "feminist footholds" that advanced the women's movement. The IUE mounted a defense against workplace discrimination; the ACLU litigated cases of employment, and sex discrimination and lobbied for abortion rights; the National Council of Churches gave moral authority to women, and fought the use of sexist language; and the Ford Foundation financed feminist projects, granting millions of dollars to feminist causes by the 1980s. Although Hartmann focuses primarily on the collective organizations, she highlights the feminist activities of several influential men and women who worked within their respective associations, but independently of the women's movement or radical women's liberation groups. Winn Newman of the IUE, Pauli Murray and Dorothy Kenyon of the ACLU, Theressa Hoover of the NCC, and Susan Berresford of the Ford Foundation, as well as a few others, receive individual recognition for their efforts at spearheading feminist activity previously excluded from the narrative of "Second Wave" history. These individuals gained leadership positions, and advocated the incorporation of feminism into the frameworks of their associations, which ultimately "helped legitimate feminist ideas for their hundreds of thousands of members." Hartmann states that although the actions undertaken by these liberal organizations often went unnoticed by the media and general public, the "feminist footholds" secured within them had far-reaching influence. She concludes, "Virtually every institution in the United States that has adopted any level of feminist policy bears the mark of one or more of these organizations," demonstrating that "American society experienced a broader feminist change than that emphasized by the independent women's movement."

Rating: 5
Summary: The Unexpected Activists
Comment: Scholars of 1960s and 1970s feminism have largely focused on student-led protests, forgetting about the older activists. In a highly readable book, Susan M. Hartmann sets her sights on these neglected men and women and finds feminists with footholds in the International Union of Electrical Workers, the ACLU, the National Council of Churches and the Ford Foundation. The diversity of these groups shows that Hartmann is paying attention to race and class issues. She also adds the element of religion to this book. Following a recent trend in historical scholarship, Hartmann looks at the junction of feminism and Protestant religion. Her findings are fascinating. Activists in all of Hartmann's four groups pushed feminists into positions of power, formed support networks, and appealed to outside authorities to rally support for feminist goals. In the National Council of Churches, to cite one example, feminists used its decentralized structure to concentrate feminist activity within the council's two most sympathetic divisions. Hartmann has found a story not just of women fighting for their rights but of men who supported greater equality within American society. A professor of both history and Women's Studies, Hartmann has penned a classic for the college classroom. As a unique work about the 1960s and 70s, it is also of value to anyone interested in social change during these turbulent times.