Sexed
A History of British Feminism
1. Auflage Juni 2024
286 Seiten, Hardcover
Sachbuch
Kurzbeschreibung
Susanna Rustin's Sexed is a radical retelling of the story of British feminism.
Starting in the revolutionary 1790s and ending in the present day, she introduces the 1830s radicals who demanded "LIBERTY FOR EVER!", Victorian petitioners who expected to be dead before women won the vote, and rival camps of suffragists who embraced and rejected violence. She considers the contributions of the first female MPs, as well as activists including the Greenham peace protesters and the black and Asian women's groups of the 1970s and 1980s.
Her goal? To show how successive generations have fiercely contested what it means to be a woman, and why this matters. Biology on its own is not destiny. But this book argues that differences between male and female bodies have always been feminist issues. While gender is a useful concept, women cannot be supported by a politics that forgets that they, like men, are sexed.
Susanna Rustin's Sexed is a radical retelling of the story of British feminism.
Starting in the revolutionary 1790s and ending in the present day, she introduces the 1830s radicals who demanded "LIBERTY FOR EVER!", Victorian petitioners who expected to be dead before women won the vote, and rival camps of suffragists who embraced and rejected violence. She considers the contributions of the first female MPs, as well as activists including the Greenham peace protesters and the black and Asian women's groups of the 1970s and 1980s.
Her goal? To show how successive generations have fiercely contested what it means to be a woman, and why this matters. Biology on its own is not destiny. But this book argues that differences between male and female bodies have always been feminist issues. While gender is a useful concept, women cannot be supported by a politics that forgets that they, like men, are sexed.
List of Illustrations
Introduction: The Return of Sexual Politics
1. Rebels (1790s-1840s)
2. Organisers (1850s, 1860s)
3. Crusaders (1870s,1880s)
4. Suffragists (1860s-1920s)
5. Legislators (1920s, 1930s)
6. Housewives (1940s, 1950s)
7. Liberators (1960s-1980s)
8. Specialists (1990s, 2000s)
9. Feminists (2010-2023)
Epilogue
Appendix
Sources and further reading
Notes
Index
Samira Ahmed, broadcaster
"Thinking about the meanings of sex, Susanna Rustin reminds us, is feminist work that will always need to be done"
Prof Sally Alexander
"For a generation of women fighting to reclaim our rights anew, there is inspiration to be found"
Prof Alice Sullivan
"A fascinating overview"
Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson, Women's Budget Group
"Brilliant and unmissable... traces the common causes and splits from Wollstonecraft to Mumsnet"
Sonia Sodha, The Observer
