Books in the Routledge Library Editions: Feminist Theory series

The ΓÇÿminorityΓÇÖ feminist viewpoints have often been submerged in the interests of maintaining a mainstream, universal model of feminism. This anthology takes into account the various differences among women while looking at the important areas of feminist struggle. While sisterhood is indeed global, it certainly does not mean that all women are required to submerge their specific differences and assimilate to a universal model. Consequently, the collection includes essays by leaders in the field of post-structuralist enquiry as well as by those immersed in the new spirituality, and the social consequences of recent biological research. Other essays reflect the political struggles which continue to be waged with different strategies by socialist and radical feminists, and the self-searching analyses undertaken by feminists uneasy about their inclusion within educational institutions and the radical new interpretations of sexuality within the cultural domain. The collection begins with a critique of white mainstream feminism emanating from Aboriginal women in Australia. The implications of the critique indicate that there is a pervasive racism within the feminist movement.

Materialist Feminism and the Politics of Discourse confronts the impasses in materialist feminist work on rethinking ΓÇÿwomanΓÇÖ as a discursively constructed subject. The book looks at the problem of examining critically the social dimensions on which theories of discourse are premised: how such theories understand ΓÇÿmaterialityΓÇÖ; the relation between ΓÇÿwomenΓÇÖs experienceΓÇÖ and feminist politics, and that between history and discourse. Rosemary Hennessy considers the work of Kristeva, Foucault, Laclau and Mouffe, and argues for a materialist feminist re-articulation of discourse as ideology. Concerns over identity and difference are incorporated into a rewriting of materialist feminism''s analysis of women''s oppression across capitalist and patriarchal structures. In adapting postmodernist theories in this way, Hennessy develops a project of social change, where feminism, while maintaining its specificity, is necessarily aligned with other emancipatory movements.

Feminism for Girls presents feminist perspectives on aspects of adolescence which have been chosen for their special relevance to the lives and experiences of girls and young women today. Illustrated throughout, chapters cover themes and topics which include romance and sexuality, girlsΓÇÖ magazines, careers and the reality of being a black girl in society today. Housewives look back at their youth and a sixteen-year-old girl writes vividly about what itΓÇÖs like trying to break out of the mould that parents and others so often expect for girls. This book is written for girls and young women themselves and for people who are, like the contributors, currently teaching or working with girls.