 | |
| Author | Joyce Antler |
|---|---|
| Language | en |
| Publisher | NYU Press |
Publication date | May 4, 2018 |
| Pages | 453 |
| ISBN | 9780814707630 |
| 305.42089/924073 | |
| LC Class | 2017045030 |
Jewish Radical Feminism is a 2018 book by Joyce Antler (b. 1942). [1] Antler is a Professor Emerita of American Jewish History and Culture, and of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis University. [2]
Antler's book investigates the high rate of participation of Jewish women in the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s. She notes that, by her estimates, "in some collectives in large cities, two-thirds to three-quarters of women’s liberation participants may have been Jewish." [3] Yet, the large number of Jewish women in the movement did not seem, Antler argues, all that evident in general histories of the feminist movement. Thus, as Shulamit Magnus's review of Antler's book notes, Jewish Radical Feminism addresses an important series of questions:
What accounts for the very disproportionate role of Jews in this movement, and why was their Jewishness not a factor in the consciousness of many of these activists? Why was their common Jewishness, for all the diversity in their Jewish background and expression, not something they noticed, much less pondered; their Jewishness invisible, even to themselves? Why did so many “never talk about” Jewishness and women’s liberation until Antler asked them to? [4]
To answer these questions, Antler interviewed over forty women, whom she classified as belonging to either "women's liberation collectives who at that time did not identify Jewishly" or "collectives whose members did explicitly identify as Jewish." [5] While all women in the study were Jewish (religiously and/or culturally), those in the former of the two groups did not forefront their Jewishness in their activism at that time.
In addition to interviews, Antler used secondary literature on the women's movement in the US, memoirs, and documents (published and unpublished) to sketch out the role of Jewish women in the feminist activism of the 1960s and 1970s (the "second-wave"), and to better understand if and how Jewishness played a role in how these women approached their work. [6]
Jewish Radical Feminism was a finalist for the 2019 PROSE Award in Biography (from the Association of American Publishers). [7]
In a 2018 article from Contemporary Jewry, Tahneer Oksman called Antler's book a "compelling, original, and urgent reexamination of the past." [8] Similarly, a review from the Jewish Book Council stated that Jewish Radical Feminism was "important, accessible, and inspiring." [9]
Another Jewish publication, Tablet (magazine), offered both praise and criticism of the book in an article from Rachel Shteir. Shteir praised the book's "fresh look at not only the movement’s past but also its present and future," but she also noted that, by "Covering so much, Jewish Radical Feminism cannot do justice to all of its subjects. Sometimes an earnest, anodyne triumphalism creeps in to the writing." [10]
Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other social divisions such as in race, class, and sexual orientation. The ideology and movement emerged in the 1960s.
The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great change throughout the world. The WLM branch of radical feminism, based in contemporary philosophy, comprised women of racially and culturally diverse backgrounds who proposed that economic, psychological, and social freedom were necessary for women to progress from being second-class citizens in their societies.
Feminist separatism is the theory that feminist opposition to patriarchy can be achieved through women's separation from men. Much of the theorizing is based in lesbian feminism.
Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism. Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently valuable, that [Black women's] liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else's but because of our need as human persons for autonomy."
Blu Greenberg is an American writer specializing in modern Judaism and women's issues. Her most noted books are On Women and Judaism: A View from Tradition (1981), and Black Bread: Poems, After the Holocaust (1994).
Off Our Backs was an American radical feminist periodical that ran from 1970 to 2008, making it the longest-running feminist periodical in the United States. Marilyn Salzman-Webb and Marlene Wicks were among Off Our Backs original founders, creating the periodical in Washington, D.C. as a response to what many felt was an underrepresentation of the women’s liberation movement in mainstream media. It was a self-sustaining periodical edited and published by a collective of women consisting mainly of volunteers who practiced consensus decision-making. Reporting on feminism related topics, the periodical transitioned from a monthly to a bi-monthly newspaper, and ultimately to a quarterly magazine before financial difficulties led to its termination in 2008.
Marcia Judith Freedman was an American-Israeli activist on behalf of peace, women's rights, and gay rights. In 1969, she immigrated to Israel where she helped establish and lead the feminist movement in the 1970s. She was a member of the Knesset from 1974 to 1977.
Elayne Antler Rapping was an American critic and analyst of popular culture and social issues. She authored several books covering topics such as media theory, popular culture, women's issues, and the portrayal of the legal system on television. As a regular contributor to such publications as The Nation, The Progressive, and The New York Times, she wrote on a wide variety of cultural issues including film and movie reviews.
Meredith Jane Tax was an American feminist writer and political activist.
The personal is political, also termed The private is political, is a political argument used as a rallying slogan of student activist movements and second-wave feminism from the late 1960s. In the context of the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s, it was a challenge to the nuclear family and family values. In 1970, the phrase was popularized by the publication of a 1969 essay by feminist activist Carol Hanisch under the title "The Personal Is Political". The phrase and idea has been repeatedly described as a defining characterization of second-wave feminism, radical feminism, women's studies, or feminism in general. It has also been used by some women artists as the underlying philosophy for their art practice.
The following is a timeline of the history of feminism.
The Women's liberation movement in North America was part of the feminist movement in the late 1960s and through the 1980s. Derived from the civil rights movement, student movement and anti-war movements, the Women's Liberation Movement took rhetoric from the civil rights idea of liberating victims of discrimination from oppression. They were not interested in reforming existing social structures, but instead were focused on changing the perceptions of women's place in society and the family and women's autonomy. Rejecting hierarchical structure, most groups which formed operated as collectives where all women could participate equally. Typically, groups associated with the Women's Liberation Movement held consciousness-raising meetings where women could voice their concerns and experiences, learning to politicize their issues. To members of the WLM rejecting sexism was the most important objective in eliminating women's status as second-class citizens.
The women's liberation movement in Asia was a feminist movement that started in the late 1960s and continued into the 1970s. Women's liberation movements in Asia sought to redefine women's relationships to the family and the way that women expressed their sexuality. Women's liberation in Asia also dealt with particular challenges that made the liberation movement unique in different countries.
Sylvia Barack Fishman is an American feminist sociologist and author. She is the Joseph and Esther Foster Professor of Judaic Studies at Brandeis University, Co-Director of the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, and a board member of JOFA, the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance. She writes about Jewish life in America.
Marilyn Salzman Webb, also known as Marilyn Webb, is an American author, activist, professor, feminist and journalist. She has been involved in the civil rights, feminist, anti-Vietman war and end-of-life care movements, and is considered one of the founders of the Second-wave women's liberation movement.
Bread and Roses was a socialist women's liberation collective active in Boston in the 1960s and 1970s. The group is named after the slogan of the 1912 Lawrence textile strike, with Bread signifying decent wages and Roses meaning shorter hours and more leisure time. The overarching theme of the original Bread and Roses movement pertained to gaining economic stability and dignity for women across the workforce.
Di Vilde Chayes was a New York-based secular Jewish lesbian feminist collective that examined and responded to antisemitism and Middle Eastern politics. The collective spoke out against antisemitism in the lesbian and feminist movements and critiqued anti-Zionist activists.
Celestine Ware was a radical and Black feminist theorist and activist. A member of the New York Radical Feminists, she authored Woman Power: The Movement for Women's Liberation.