WOMEN’S STUDIES LIBRARIAN
FEMINIST COLLECTIONS A QUARTERLY OF WOMEN’S STUDIES RESOURCES
Volume 30 Number 3 Summer 2009
University of Wisconsin System Feminist Collections
A Quarterly of Women’s Studies Resources
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ISSN: 0742-7441 © 2009 Regents of the University of Wisconsin System Feminist Collections A Quarterly of Women’s Studies Resources
Volume 30, Number 3, Summer 2009
CONTENTS
From the Editors ii
Book Reviews
Which Women’s Studies? 1 by Catherine M. Orr
Exceptional Women: Rights, Liberty, and Deviance in the French Revolution 6 by Holly Grout
Professional Reading
Collecting, Preserving, and Sharing Women’s History 10 by Phyllis Holman Weisbard
E-Sources on Women and Gender 13
New Reference Works in Women’s Studies 15 American Women’s Movement, Arab Women Writers, Gender, LGBT Studies, Politics, Science Fiction, Sex Work, Women’s Health, Women’s History, Women’s Rights
Periodical Notes 24
Items of Note 28
Books Recently Received 29 From the Editors September 2009. Summer of- families of our own, or both. Still, each with their parents full-time, or whose ficially ended just before this issue of of us manages to spend a week or two own health is not good. But whatever Feminist Collections went to press. It with them every two or three months, else this experience is, it is certainly didn’t seem overwhelmingly summery at minimum, and the closest one has rich. this year in Madison, Wisconsin, or in established an increasingly elaborate I’d still like to go on a real vaca- my own life. First of all, we didn’t have network of local assistance. My broth- tion. Maybe that will happen in Febru- many truly hot days; in fact, I could ers and I, all over fifty, are part of a ary or March — perhaps a non-family, probably count on one hand the num- huge and growing demographic, that non-work-related trip to a southern ber of times we used the air condition- of “older” folks who are trying to care beach. Even if it doesn’t, I can learn ing at my house. Sadly, I didn’t swim for their even older loved ones, often to be more creative with the situation even once, indoors or out, although I from a distance. I’m in — taking tiny vacations within can’t really blame the weather for that. a day at home or on My household didn’t have a vegetable the road, for instance, garden, because it’s our first year in and taking more a new home and we hadn’t finished notice of the vaca- planning where the beds will go. And I tion moments I am didn’t take a real vacation. already having. On the other hand, I did manage to put a couple hundred miles on my I hope your bicycle, which at least got me outdoors summer was satisfy- on some days. I distinctly remember ing, whether or not slapping a few mosquitoes, although it entailed what you it hasn’t been a banner year for them. consider “vacation.” We cooked outside a few times at our As you page through house, sat on our back deck, and drank this “summer” issue more iced than hot lattes. We and our of FC, you may find hens were also a highlight of what has Miriam Greenwald the content to be become a popular summer event in more in tune with the Madison — the Chicken Coop Tour. fall academic season: (That day was sweltering.) I don’t resent and won’t regret this the three feature reviews include one And then, even though it wasn’t phase of my life, which started about about the history, future, and essence a “real vacation,” I did do something two years ago and will continue for as of this thing called women’s studies. that millions of Americans do in the long as either of my parents — now 89 After you’ve found out why Catherine summer, despite the price of gas: in- and 90 — is still alive. There are ways Orr was “completely flummoxed” terstate highway driving. In my case, in which my relationship with them and how she responded to the text it was more than 3,000 miles in my is better than it has ever been; and my that caused her to feel that way, make 2005 Toyota Matrix, with my trained brothers and I are communicating and sure also to read about women in the therapy poodle in the back seat, on working together with a level of grace French Revolution, the workings of the two weeklong trips to eastern Pennsyl- I couldn’t have imagined even a few International Information Centre and vania to help my very elderly parents years back. Being present for my par- Archives for the Women’s Movement, — who, despite physical decline and ents’ navigation of old-old age is joyful reference works on topics from sci- dementia, continue to live by them- and meaningful even as it is heart- ence fiction to sex work, newly noticed selves in their own house on a beauti- breaking and bewildering. It’s also an websites on women and gender, and fully gardened double lot. I have three enormous logistical challenge, and just periodicals and other items of interest living siblings, but none of us lives plain exhausting at times, although I to scholars, students, followers, or crit- closer than a few hundred miles to know of others for whom this phase ics of “this thing.” Mom and Dad, and we all have jobs or must be far more so — those, for in- J.L. stance, who have no siblings, who live
Page ii Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Book Reviews Which Women’s Studies?
by Catherine M. Orr1
Joan Wallach Scott, ed., Women’s Studies on the Edge. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008. 240p. bibl. index. pap., $22.95, ISBN 978-0822342748.
Alice E. Ginsberg, ed., THE EVOLUTION OF WOMEN’S STUDIES: REFLECTIONS ON TRIUMPHS, CONTROVERSIES, AND CHANGE. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 256p. index. $74.95, ISBN 978- 0230605794.
I received my Ph.D. and started Brown’s provocative essay is re- The chapters hang together fairly my first academic job in women’s stud- printed in a new edition of that special well, because Ginsberg asked the con- ies in 1998. Around that time, a special issue of differences: a volume entitled tributors to consider a series of fifteen issue of differences: A Journal of Feminist Women’s Studies on the Edge, one of two questions, including the following, in Cultural Studies was published, guest- books about the state of women’s stud- their writing: edited by Joan Wallach Scott and titled ies that I review here, the second being “Women’s Studies on the Edge.”2 With Alice E. Ginsberg’s anthology, The Evo- Why were you interested in a freshly minted dissertation about lution of American Women’s Studies: Re- getting involved in Women’s U.S. women’s studies and a mandate flections on Triumphs, Controversies, and Studies? to deliver an undergraduate core cur- Change. These texts continue, in this How has your definition of riculum for the new women’s studies new millennium, a publishing trend Women’s Studies’ goals and major, I was a little on edge myself in women’s studies that seeks to look purposes changed over the — even more so given the unswerving back and assess the field more than a years? challenges Wendy Brown outlined in generation after its most promising and What is the relationship be- that issue’s most influential essay, “The radical beginnings in the contemporary tween Women’s Studies and Impossibility of Women’s Studies.” North American academy. women’s liberation? How was I qualified to produce and What kinds of “texts” have lead a curricular endeavor single-hand- The essays in The Evolution you used over the years and edly at my little liberal arts college on of American Women’s Studies do not what kinds of texts are you the prairie, if five tenured faculty at “tak[e] for granted that the reader using now? research powerhouse UC Santa Cruz knows ‘French Feminism,’ ‘modern- How has your work addressed found themselves “completely stumped ism,’ or ‘post-structuralism,’” — in differences between and over the question of what a women’s other words, the book is written for among women? studies curriculum should contain”?3 “people who are interested in the field What should Women’s Studies Although I initially greeted Brown’s but not schooled” in its theories. Gins- be called (e.g., gender studies, essay with anxious disdain, I have come berg asked her contributors, all aca- feminist studies, etc.)? to regard it with much gratitude and demics who have devoted their lives to (pp.2–3) respect, not because I agree with all women’s studies, for reflective, chrono- of her assessments — I don’t — but logical, personal essays that help to Some of the book’s most interest- because of her willingness to call the document the field’s evolution through ing content is generated by women’s question about the limiting potentials their own experiences. The result is a studies veterans who, although they of our field’s chosen path in 1998 — series of progress narratives that, to- came from the same generation and limits that persist to some extent even gether, attempt to paint the “‘larger had similar career trajectories, generate now. picture’ of the evolution of feminism very different responses to these ques- and Women’s Studies across time, dis- ciplines, and identities” (p.2).
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page Book Reviews
tions. For example, Paula Rothenberg Hemmings, Ann Braithwaite, Susanne regards the trend toward naming pro- A growing literature in the Luhmann, and Jane Newman, to grams and departments “gender stud- field...raises foundational name a few, has warned against a cer- ies” as “a dangerous and conservatising tain nostalgia for a particular kind of trend. It encourages us to forget the concerns about the future past — an interested telling, as it were history that brought us to this point of women’s studies based on — that can creep into the stories of and it obscures the race, class, and gen- the prescriptive power in so those “heady” times in the 1970s. The der differences that continue to shape many narratives about its problem is not just that these render- our lives” (p.85). Making the opposite ings of women’s studies often express argument using an almost identical past. themselves in palpable disappointment premise is Judith Lorber: “The strength with current practitioners’ research, of Gender Studies is that it recognizes engaging, and disrupting the sym- administration, and politics (issues that the multiplicity of genders, sexes, and bolic and material “systems of power” are certainly important to raise and sexualities…[W]e need categories for (p.133) that undergird identity-based debate), but that too often the logic comparison, even while we are criti- exclusions at every level of society. within these narratives about the field cally deconstructing them” (p.161). demands a return to a historical loca- Other satisfying artifacts in The tion that is not necessarily open and Probably the most intellectually Evolution of American Women’s Studies accountable (to take up Russo’s term) to challenging essay is by Ann Russo, who include Beverly Guy-Sheftall’s explica- all the current constituencies of wom- bypasses the long (and, on occasion, tion of and argument for her version en’s studies: read, women and men of tediously repetitive) autobiographical of Black women’s studies in all its rich color, transgender men and women, approach of others and instead offers local and global dimensions, Nancy postcolonial subjects, or folks whose a version of women’s studies as a dis- Naples’ rendering of women’s studies current research projects take up topics cipline that should “cultivate account- “as an interdisciplinary and praxis ori- that don’t necessarily focus on women ability”: ented site committed to intersectional or even gender. Put another way, in analysis and political practice” in which telling some stories again and again, The recognition that our she made sense of the work of “activ- other stories are necessarily excluded work within Women’s Studies ist mothers” (p.199), and Sue Rosser’s and rendered invisible. Dissertators in may be complicit in, at the fascinating description of the develop- recently established women’s studies same time that it is resistant ment of feminist science studies. Ph.D. programs, newly hired tenure- to, oppression dislodges a At the same time, some oppor- track directors or joint appointments, simple formulation of us/ tunities are missed, especially in the and in general those who have only them — oppressed/oppressor, attempt to explore the “evolutions” of lately decided to call women’s studies victim/perpetrator, power- a forty-year endeavor from perspectives their home can tell different sorts of less/powerful — and moves that are dominated almost completely stories that may add fresh perspectives us toward a serious analysis of by narratives from the founding gener- and much-needed counterpoints to any the enmeshment of systems ation of women’s studies practitioners. multi-voiced narrative of the field’s his- of oppression and systemic I understand that it makes a certain tory. privilege in scholarship and amount of sense to draw on those with teaching. (p.133; emphasis in the most experience. And I am not try- Fortunately, telling some differ- original) ing to grind a generational ax or make ent stories about the field is exactly a simplistic appeal for inclusiveness. what the second book reviewed here In other words, while many of the con- Rather, I point to a growing literature takes up. Joan Scott’s project rejects tributors in this volume speak of “in- in the field that raises foundational an uncritical notion of progress (along clusion” as a goal for the field, Russo concerns about the future of women’s with its evil twin, nostalgia) and at- reminds us that such a goal cannot go studies based on the prescriptive power tempts to align the field with what nearly far enough toward discovering, in so many narratives about its past. she calls “feminism’s most potent The work of Robyn Wiegman, Clare weapon”: critique (p.7). In this case, Scott and her contributors seek to turn “feminism’s critical edge upon itself...
Page Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Book Reviews
[and thereby] open women’s studies to mark some foreboding trend or apoca- If readers have long ago come to different futures than were either imag- lyptic vision, followed by one or more terms with Brown’s challenges, then ined ‘at the beginning’ (in the 1970s rejoinders that build on, interrogate, the second section of Women’s Studies and 1980s) or are envisioned now by and/or open up still further possibili- on the Edge, which offers the book’s defenders of the status quo” (p.8). ties for those earlier trends and visions. two new and timely essays, may be of Along with external forces, like the For example, in the first section, interest in that it considers, as Scott backlash against Affirmative Action, which leads with Brown’s essay, Robyn claims, “those who have been ‘edged the corporatization of universities, the Wiegman follows with “Feminism, out’ by the category of ‘women’” (p.9). “political correctness” bogeyman, and Institutionalism, and the Idiom of Fail- First, Saba Mahmood takes up the the “I’m-not-a-feminist-but” crowd, ure.” Wiegman accepts Brown’s basic spate of post-9/11 autobiographical women’s studies has been grappling criticisms of women’s studies’ paradoxi- accounts of patriarchal violence penned with a set of internal conflicts about cal relation to its object of analysis. by Muslim women (think: Azar Nafisi’s its own institutionalization that has Brown argues that while women’s Reading Lolita in Tehran, Carmen bin caused it, according to Scott, to “lose studies was at one point politically and Ladin’s Inside the Kingdom: My Life its critical edge” (p.6) and succumb to intellectually vibrant, as an institution in Saudi Arabia, or Dutch politician “blind spots that insure coherence and it now “may be politically and theo- Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s The Caged Virgin: An stability by ignoring or denying contra- retically incoherent, as well as tacitly Emancipation Proclamation for Women dictions” (p.7) (think: identity politics, conservative — incoherent because by and Islam). These memoirs have been hierarchies of oppression, unreflective definition it circumscribes uncircum- consumed eagerly and praised greatly appeals to authenticity, etc.). With this scribable ‘women’ as its object of study, by Westerners, including a number of text, Scott (and by extension, I would and conservative because it must resist prominent academic feminists. The imagine, the long-time editors of dif- all objections to such circumscription problem, according to Mahmood, is ferences, Ellen Rooney, Naomi Schor, if it is to sustain that object of study” that often the women who produced and Elizabeth Weed) is making the case (p.21). As a consequence, Brown floats these discourses of Islamic patriarchy that, over the years, the journal’s con- the old notion of “mainstreaming” have been “handsomely rewarded tribution to this assessment effort has women’s studies, dismantling its own by conservative political parties and been, shall we say, critical. departments and programs and send- think tanks internationally” (p.84). ing feminist academics back to labor Of course, this exchange of favors Those familiar with that original in their disciplinary “homes,” as a way takes place within the larger context special issue of differences might well out. Wiegman, however, wonders, of the run-up to and execution of the ask about the new edition, “Why both- U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. er?” We all have plenty of things gath- Why refuse the possibility that Interesting timing, indeed! Ultimately, ering dust on our bookshelves waiting attention to the issues [Brown] Mahmood presents readers with a well- for a first read-through, let alone a defines will productively con- researched and well-argued account of second. And it is true that four of the tribute to the redefinition, re- Western feminist complicity with the eight essays from that original publica- signification, and redeployment Bush-Cheney agenda that should give tion are reproduced here. However, of the intellectual force, frame, us pause the next time the emancipa- the structure of this text transforms and function of the field? If tion of women is foregrounded for any those original four essays — along with it is women that we must let foreign policy initiative. She warns that two additional essays from differences go of, as along with Brown I “feminism runs the risk of becoming archives, two entirely new essays, and believe we must, then we must more of a handmaiden of empire in a new introduction by Scott — into also refuse the assumption that our age than a trenchant critic of the a more tightly focused and organized intellectual domains and their Euro-American will to power” (p.82). text about a specific set of contem- objects of study are referentially porary issues for the field of women’s the same. (p.60) Gayle Salamon’s contribution to studies. So, although temporally this section is “Transfeminism and the complicated, each of the book’s three In other words, perhaps the intellec- Future of Gender,” which makes the sections — “Over the Edge,” “Edged tual project of women’s studies should somewhat ironic claim that women’s Out,” and “Edging In” — stages an include rethinking the premises upon studies has failed to offer a meaning- encounter, featuring, first, essays that which the paradox rests.
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page Book Reviews
ful account of gender, at least as it is about what they have to do “thought, embodied, and lived” by with women or gender long those who identify — and even those Perhaps the intellectual enough to make our analysis who don’t identify — as transgender. To project of women’s studies of gender and sexuality new be relevant once more, Salamon argues, should include rethinking again and supple enough to women’s studies needs to be the place the premises upon which help us intervene usefully in where emerging genders are studied. those developments. (p.187) Likewise, transgender studies needs the paradox rests. feminism, given the dominance of “a In other words, sacrilege and irrever- liberal individualist notion of subjec- ence might prove to be our most useful tivity, in which a postgender subject and administrative units” (p.169), but — and revitalizing — tools in women’s possesses absolute agency and is able also about how women’s studies’ rein- studies and beyond. Martin concludes to craft hir gender with perfect felic- vigoration can affect the university as a with an illustration of interdisciplinary ity” (p.115). The most intriguing point whole: exploration that can only be described that Salamon drives home is that refer- as a fierce and riotous intellectual odys- ences to sexuality and gender are so [O]ur discussions of women’s sey, moving from Slavoj Žižek’s “sym- frequently confused, and, far too often, studies need to be set in the bolically mediated” bodies and notions one “stands in” for the other. In the context of larger discussions of “the real” to Pheng Cheah’s ideas gay marriage debate, for example, we about the organization of about the potentials of Derrida’s chal- are bombarded with the slogan from knowledge and of learning lenges to idealist theories of power, and the right that “marriage is between a in universities and efforts to on to Elizabeth Wilson’s work on what man and a woman,” which, as Salamon change the forms of disciplin- she calls “neural geographies” (pp.187– points out, “imagines itself to be a cor- ary and intradisciplinary bal- 195). I didn’t really get it, and, chances rective to improper gendering as much kanization that constrain our are, neither will you; but that is not the as to wayward sexuality” (p.122). This intellectual vision and prevent point. The point, for Martin, is that kind of conflation and cross-wiring us from providing students a what lies beyond our “impoverished goes on at all points of the political more integrated education. practices” is not going to look familiar spectrum, according to Salamon. This (p.170) or safe, and that embracing what we insight then calls into question how have reactively disavowed will require a conceptually related and politically al- Martin’s solution for what ails women’s radical sort of openness. The question, lied the “T” is to the GLB that so often studies and the university at large calls then, is whether women’s studies is the precedes it. Opportunity knocks for for a sort of uber-interdisciplinarity field that is best positioned to take up women’s studies. that goes well beyond the usual alli- the cause. I, for one, hope so. ances with, say, two branches of the I would be remiss in paying humanities, or tentative toe-dipping Taken together, The Evolution of proper respect to Feminist Collections into the softer of the hard sciences. American Women’s Studies and Women’s if I didn’t at least mention the final Rather, Martin urges us to engage Studies on the Edge offer opposing challenging entry in Women’s Studies on perspectives on the field of women’s the Edge, by the University of Wiscon- what has been disavowed, studies, with the former taking up the sin–Madison’s new chancellor. In “Suc- refused, or ignored, [so that] past to offer outsiders a glimpse in and cess and Its Failures,” Biddy Martin’s we might unsettle what have the latter fiercely focused on a future content and approach reflects her become routine and thus im- that requires serious self-examination. role as an academic administrator (at poverished practices. In addi- What struck me most as I read both Cornell University in 1998) as much tion to transforming critical texts “against” each other and tracked as it does her role as a women’s studies practices, we need to educate various disagreements within each text practitioner. She is thinking hard, not ourselves about developments was the importance of paying attention just about what women’s studies needs in technology, knowledge and to which version of women’s studies is to “reinvigorate” itself, after, as she sees administrative systems in and mobilized (or conversely “on trial”) as it, now “having been institutionalized outside the university, sus- each author positions herself within or on equal footing with other academic pending or deferring questions against it. In other words, these texts
Page Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Book Reviews present a wide variety of historical and of feminist epistemology” (p.119). Ultimately, my hope for future theoretical locations for women’s stud- The irony of ironies, I thought, is that assessments of women’s studies is that ies, along with an assortment of claims Salamon is writing in a women’s stud- they — no, that we — acknowledge, about the discipline’s institutional ies publication edited by the feminist up front, that we are situated in very strength or fragility, a range of declara- historian who raised the question of different locations — institutionally, tions about the extent to which any women’s studies’ uncritical use of “ex- intellectually, generationally, theoreti- given author feels hailed or alienated perience” nearly twenty years earlier. I cally, administratively — and thus have by the discipline’s dominant discourses, screamed back in the margins: “I assign very different understandings,and mis- and the scope of relevant contexts Brown’s “Impossibility” and Scott’s understandings, of the field that we are — local to global — that have an im- “Experience” regularly as part of my positioning ourselves within or against. pact on the discipline. This may seem students’ women’s studies education!” Advancing our own arguments has to like an obvious point — of course we How could she paint me, and by exten- make room for listening to how others experience women’s studies from a sion the entire field of women’s studies, understand their own locations and position that is uniquely ours — but it with such an uninformed and reaction- investments in the same discipline that is surprising how infrequently that in- ary brush? we claim as ours. sight matters in the various arguments advanced in these works. Indeed, it is But then I had to remind my- Notes a point that many of us must put aside self that I screamed just as loudly in to make the claims we do about the the margins of Ginsberg too, but my 1. Thanks to Ann Braithwaite for her discipline. screams there were about several au- thoughtful feedback in the course of thors’ assumptions about — well, the writing this review. For example, at one point I was fixedness of gender and the uncritical completely flummoxed by some of acceptance of the “evidence of experi- 2. Volume 9, Number 3, Fall 1997. Salamon’s claims, such as her state- ence.” Whoops! There I go: assuming ments that women’s studies is a “dis- that my version of women’s studies is 3. Page 81 in the original article in dif- cipline whose very essence depends the only version out there, or the only ferences (p.19 in the 2008 edition). upon the fixedness of gender” (p.117) one worth attending to. So much for and that “the discipline has an equally Russo’s “accountability.” [Catherine M. Orr is an associate profes- entrenched belief that identity must sor and the chair of women’s and gender be a matter of privileging ‘experience’ studies at Beloit College (Wisconsin).] as an inevitably gendered cornerstone
Miriam Greenwald
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page Book Reviews
Exceptional Women: Rights, Liberty, and Deviance in the French Revolution by Holly Grout
Lisa Beckstrand, DEVIANT WOMEN OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF FEMINISM. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2009. 165p. $43.50, ISBN 978-0838641927.
Lucy Moore, LIBERTY: THE LIVES AND TIMES OF SIX WOMEN IN REVOLUTIONARY FRANCE. London, UK: Harper Press, 2006 [U.S. paperbound edition, Harper Perennial, 2008]. 464p. pap., $16.95, ISBN 978-0060825270.
Sophie Mousset, WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION: A BIOGRAPHY OF OLYMPE DE GOUGES. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2007. 108p. $32.95, ISBN 978-0765803450.
In her 1792 novel, Le Prince rapher Sophie Mousset commemo- highlighting her activism, engaging her philosophe, the high-spirited feminist rates the life and work of one of the most important political writings, and Olympe de Gouges boldly declared, revolution’s most prolific female writers conveying her frustrations with revolu- “[I]f women are ready to back me up, and ardent advocates of human rights. tionary politics. The centerpiece of the it is my desire that, in future centuries, Mousset argues that even though de chapter is de Gouges’ most celebrated their names be seen next to that of Gouges “rightly deserves the title of work, “The Declaration of the Rights the greatest men.”1 Etching the names pioneer, prophet, and heroine” (p.ix), of Woman and the Female Citizen.” of exceptional women alongside the her contributions to the revolution and A pastiche of the National Assembly’s names of history’s “greatest men” is to modern feminism have been largely “The Declaration of the Rights of Man precisely the objective of three twenty- ignored. Mousset’s concise biography, and Citizen,” de Gouges’ 1791 trea- first-century authors who chronicle which is itself one of only a handful tise challenged the new government’s women’s participation in the French of books devoted exclusively to de assumption that universal rights ap- Revolution. Certainly, interest in this Gouges, is an attempt to rescue the plied only to men. Finally, Chapter 4 subject is not new. Over the last three revolutionary activist from historical explores letters and editorials covering decades, academics, biographers, and obscurity. de Gouges’ experiences in the last two women’s historians have explored years of her life. women’s political, social, and mili- Drawing on de Gouges’ writings tary participation in the revolution; and a limited number of secondary Inspired by the women of Paris they have assessed how the revolution works, Mousset offers a clear, chrono- who, in 1993 (the bicentennial of transformed women’s roles within the logical narrative of de Gouges’ life from the Terror and of de Gouges’ execu- family and within organized religion; her early childhood in Montauban to tion), demanded that French authori- and they have examined women’s ex- her execution in Paris in 1793. The ties move de Gouges’ remains to the clusion from active citizenship despite book consists of four chapters. The nation’s most hallowed necropolis, the the revolution’s promise of universal first is devoted to de Gouges’ personal Panthéon,3 Mousset echoes the call to rights.2 Although the books under re- life and is peppered with fascinating venerate de Gouges alongside France’s view emerge from three separate fields tidbits about her proclivities and habits “greatest men.” Her book is well-writ- of inquiry — biography, history, and (her love of animals and her obsession ten, accessible to a broad audience, and literary criticism — each revisits these with cleanliness, for example). The rich in the reproduction of de Gouges’ important themes by celebrating the second chapter focuses on de Gouges’ writings. However, some of the book’s ideas and actions of notable revolution- activities in Paris and introduces read- strengths are also its major weaknesses. ary women. ers to her fictional works. The third Although written for a general audi- In Women’s Rights and the French and, by far, most useful chapter for ence, the text frequently references Revolution: A Biography of Olympe de undergraduate teaching investigates de names and events without supplying Gouges, French author and photog- Gouge’s involvement in the revolution, sufficient context for understanding
Page Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Book Reviews
dents will appreciate the reproduction agitator Pauline Léon; the rehabilitated of large excerpts from de Gouges’ writ- courtesan Théroigne de Méricourt; and ings; however, it is disappointing that the virtuous middle-class schoolgirl Mousset offers them with no analysis Madame Récamier (neé Juliette Ber- and little contextualization. Signifi- nard). Moore’s chapter titles connote cantly, this lack of critical commentary, each woman’s changing position in rev- along with Mousset’s tendency to ro- olutionary society; for example, Manon manticize de Gouges as “our heroine” Roland is Chapter 5’s “Républicaine,” (p.14), suggests that the author may Chapter 8’s “Femme Politique,” Chap- be a bit blinded by her own feminist ter 11’s “Prisonnière,” and chapter 13’s agenda and that the field of women’s “Victime.” Moore relies on this system history within contemporary France of labels to demonstrate the myriad continues to encourage triumphalist ways that women participated in and narratives of women’s lives.4 Remi- niscent of the “her-story” narratives authored by American feminists in the 1970s and 1980s, Mousset’s biography rightly asserts the centrality of woman to the historical canon. But like earlier her-story authors, Mousset too reads their importance. For example, when woman’s experiences in isolation and setting up the economic crisis that offers an overly optimistic interpreta- incited contempt for the king, she tion of de Gouges. mentions Jacques Necker’s “restric- tive policies,” but fails to explain what Olympe de Gouges plays only a they were or even to identify Necker minor supporting role in Lucy Moore’s as the king’s finance minister (p.22). history, Liberty: The Lives and Times Furthermore, she does not carefully of Six Women in Revolutionary France. date events, and this deficiency makes Rather than read women into the his- it difficult for readers to follow her oth- tory of that period, Moore interprets erwise straightforward chronology. Stu- the revolution through the experiences of six women who “illuminate differ- ent aspects of the period” (p.xxvii). Importantly, these women represent different classes, age groups, political viewpoints, and levels of involvement “were each transformed by their experi- in revolutionary activity. Although the ences during the revolution” (p. xxvii). narrative progresses chronologically Like Mousset, Moore draws on a from May 1789 to April 1811, each of rich collection of primary source ma- the book’s nineteen chapters recounts terials: novels, memoirs, letters, and primarily the individual experiences of newspaper accounts. She also relies, just one of the women under investiga- however, on secondary scholarship, tion. At least three non-consecutive which enables her to craft a more syn- chapters are devoted to each of the thetic and comprehensive account of six featured women: the aristocratic women’s experiences. centrist and twenty-something novelist Moore cleverly charts the trajec- Germaine de Staël; the eighteen-year- tory of the revolution through the old socialite and Jacobin Thérésia de personal histories and revolutionary Fortenay; the thirty-seven-year-old activities of her subjects. In different Manon Roland, Girondin wife of a civ- ways, each woman took advantage of il servant; the sans-culotte activist and the opportunities that the revolution
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page Book Reviews offered. The well-connected daughter experiences of six radically different tual inadequacies and promulgated the of Jacques Necker, Germaine de Staël, women and to read the revolution idea that women who acted outside the promoted her political interests by through their eyes — in short, to ele- confines of their physiological nature gathering France’s most important vate the experiences of these women to were desensitized, unfeminine, and politicos in her salons; she saved the those of the experiences of the “greatest ultimately deviant” (p.11). De Gouges lives of many of her aristocratic friends men.” and Roland challenged these prevailing by cultivating personal relationships views of female nature and used their with revolutionary leaders. During the Moore crafts an engaging nar- writing to influence public opinion Girondin or moderate phase of the rative, but undergraduates are likely to — activities that distinguished them revolution, Manon Roland used her find it difficult to follow. For example, from other women and made them influence over her husband, secretly each chapter focuses on one woman, worthy of remembrance alongside authoring his official correspondences but because the text is chronological, history’s “greatest men.” and using the guise of domesticity to other women are often mentioned, eavesdrop on his professional meetings, so it is difficult to keep all of the -in Although the first two chapters to forward her own political agenda. dividual stories straight. Instructors contextualize these women among Théroigne de Méricourt “renounce[d] will appreciate the detailed accounts other female revolutionaries and frame her life as a kept woman” (p. 50) and of each woman’s experiences and may their ideas within eighteenth-century reinvented herself as an outspoken ad- excerpt them for lectures on women in scientific and medical discourses of vocate of universal rights. She eagerly the revolution; however, they will be femininity and deviance, the focus of joined the March on Versailles in 1789, disappointed by the work’s reliance on Beckstrand’s book is on the textual attended meetings of the National As- older scholarship (only 21 of the 130 strategies that de Gouges and Roland sembly daily, taught provincial children secondary sources cited were published used to challenge gender norms. In to sing revolutionary songs, spoke at after 1990) and by its lack of theoreti- Chapters 3–7, Beckstrand explores Jacobin Clubs, and, dressed entirely in cal rigor. each woman’s writings (de Gouges’ male garb, subverted paternal authority The greatest weakness of this book plays, novels, and political works; at every turn. As the revolution radical- is that, despite compelling evidence, Roland’s correspondence and personal ized, so too did the activities of Pauline Moore does not attempt a gender journals) to show how both women Léon and her comrades in the Society analysis of the revolution; nor does she used writing to construct themselves of Revolutionary Republican Women. systematically question the relationship as autonomous subjects. Despite their Although initially less engaged in poli- between women and rights with which shared objectives however, each writer tics, both Thérésia de Fortenay and her subjects so passionately grappled. employed vastly different strategies in Madame Récamier benefitted from Although she is attentive to the histori- her textual self-creation. The brazenly their connections to prominent male cal context of her subjects, Moore, like independent de Gouges openly chal- figures; both would emerge asfemme Mousset, is more interested in celebrat- lenged gender norms and launched célèbres during the Directory. ing the lives of exceptional women what Beckstrand calls a “self-conscious than in critically evaluating their con- feminist movement” (p.11), while the The fascinating stories of these tributions to the revolution. seemingly deferential Roland wrote un- women and Moore’s lucid prose make der the cover of domesticity to subvert Liberty an engrossing read. The addi- The most recent of the books the feminine ideal by portraying herself tion of user-friendly maps, illustra- under review, Lisa Beckstrand’s Deviant as the epitome of it. Careful analysis of tions, and appendices that include a list Women of the French Revolution and the these strategies provides, according to of secondary figures and a translation Rise of Feminism, offers a close textual Beckstrand, “a better understanding of of important words and phrases make analysis of the writings of Olympe de the ideological shifts concerning gen- the book accessible to readers unfamil- Gouges and Manon Roland. Intended der ideology during the late eighteenth iar with the French Revolution. The for an academic audience, Beckstrand’s century” and reveals how these women greatest strength of the work is Moore’s theoretically informed work examines shaped “the ideology that informed the ability to weave together the lives and how eighteenth-century theories of Revolution” (p.14). female nature “focused on the female body as the locus of women’s intellec-
Page Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Book Reviews
Beckstrand offers a fresh and so- of the book could easily be condensed 2. Examples include Suzanne Desan, phisticated interpretation of the works and worked into the succinct introduc- The Family on Trial in Revolutionary of de Gouges and Roland. Her critical tion. Finally, Beckstrand’s last chapter France (Berkeley: University of Cali- analysis of primary source material is title promises to explore de Gouges’ fornia Press, 2004); Olwen Hufton, convincing and beautifully argued. and Roland’s “legacies for the twenty- Women and the Limits of Citizenship Especially illuminating are the com- first century,” yet the bulk of the chap- in the French Revolution (University parisons she draws between de Gouges’ ter recounts each woman’s trial and of Toronto Press, 1992); Lynn Hunt, and Roland’s texts and works penned execution; only two brief paragraphs The Family Romance of the French by their male contemporaries: Manon are allotted to feminism in the twenty- Revolution (New York: Routledge, used Rousseau’s autobiographical writ- first century. Given the recent flurry 1992); Joan B. Landes, Women and the ing to compose her own (pp.50–51), of academic publications devoted to Public Sphere in the Age of the French and de Gouges’ “Declaration” mimics French Parity Law and to questions of Revolution (New York: Cornell Univer- the National Assembly’s document female citizenship, Beckstrand could sity Press, 1988); and Joan W. Scott, (Chapter 5). By juxtaposing these texts, make a convincing case for Roland “French Feminists and the Rights of Beckstrand brilliantly demonstrates and de Gouges as predecessors to con- ‘Man’: Olympe de Gouges’ Declara- how these women engaged ideas about temporary feminism.5 Instead, eager tions,” History Workshop Journal v. 28, gender and nature as they evolved to venerate her subjects, she ultimately no. 1 (1989), pp.1–21. within liberal politics. Undergraduates marshals too little evidence to make in literature departments will find these that connection successfully. 3. Because de Gouges is buried in a comparisons particularly beneficial communal grave, moving her remains because they illustrate the rich pos- Despite their tendency toward to the Panthéon would be impos- sibilities opened up through careful triumphalism, all of these books draw sible; however, an interment ceremony textual analysis. Students of women’s attention to some of the French Rev- would have important symbolic impli- studies and history will appreciate olution’s most prolific but overlooked cations. In 2007, presidential candidate them because they gesture to broader female participants and thus make Ségolène Royal again requested that de themes and trends in the evolution of important contributions to the field of Gouges’ remains be moved. eighteenth-century gender ideology. women’s history and to the history of These strengths notwithstanding, the revolution. All three would be ap- 4. Françoise Thébaud, “Writing Wom- analytical problems arise when Beck- propriate additions to undergraduate en’s and Gender History in France: A strand attempts to assign motive to the courses in history, women’s studies, and National Narrative?” Journal of Women’s authors (for example, claiming that Ro- literature; however, each would serve a History, v. 19, no. 1 (Spring 2007), land had to position herself within do- different purpose. Mousset’s biography pp.167–172. mestic ideology to prove her innocence of Olympe de Gouges could be as- and save herself from the guillotine) signed in its entirety, whereas Moore’s 5. Lynn Hunt, Inventing Human and when she attempts to read these and Beckstrand’s work would be more Rights: A History (New York: Norton & women against twentieth-century femi- effective as excerpts or integrated into Co., 2007); and Joan W. Scott, Parité: nists and theorists (i.e. Hélène Cixous lecture material. Individually these Sexual Difference and the Crisis of and Edward Said). These problems books celebrate the achievements of French Universalism (Chicago: Univer- speak to the fundamental weakness revolutionary women; collectively they sity of Chicago Press, 2005). of Beckstrand’s text: she takes many answer de Gouges’ call to position the analytical leaps that threaten to under- names of exceptional women alongside [Holly Grout is an assistant professor of mine her sharp textual discussions. For those of history’s “greatest men.” European history at the University of example, her discussions of historical Alabama. She teaches courses in women’s significance fall flat because rather than Notes history and modern France. Her cur- use her compelling textual analysis rent research project is entitled “Beauty to problematize women’s historical 1. Cited in Sophie Mousset, Women’s Marks: The Production, Practice, and relevance, she plugs in fragments of Rights and the French Revolution: A Performance of Femininity in France, information culled from secondary Biography of Olympe De Gouges (New 1880–1939.”] sources. In fact, the first two chapters Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2007), p.49.
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page Professional Reading Collecting, Preserving, and Sharing Women’s History
by Phyllis Holman Weisbard
Saskia E. Wieringa, ed., TRAVELING HERITAGES: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON COLLECTING, PRESERVING AND SHARING WOMEN’S HISTORY. Amsterdam: Aksant Academic Publishers, 2008. 307p. bibl. ill. $34.95, ISBN 978- 9052602998.
“Paper, to some extent, is patient, but bits and bytes are not” (p.42).
How does an archivist deal with lost), to the miraculous discovery of Another chapter explains why material that is “born digital”? That’s the papers in Russia in 1992 and their there is so little documented yet on just one of the many contemporary is- return to the archive in 2003. The feminism and women’s movements sues discussed in this volume of essays, IIAV has a dual mission — to be “both in Eastern Europe, highlighting in which was generated by a day-long sev- a repository for historical material and particular the fact that the move- entieth-birthday celebration and semi- a dynamic, activist organization work- ments are tainted by association with nar at the International Information ing to ensure that answers to questions either the Communist past or West- Centre and Archives for the Women’s about women’s history and the position ern foreign domination or both. The Movement (IIAV) and edited by the of women in society are available and author, Francisca de Haan, calls for IIAV’s director. The titleTraveling Her- accessible” (http://www.iiav.nl/eng/ more projects like the Biographical itages is meant to convey movement — iiav/index.html) — and is actively Dictionary of Women’s Movements and the migration histories (physical and engaged in exploring how to meet (or Feminisms: Central, Eastern, and South mental) both of the donors and visitors perhaps adjust?) that historical and Eastern Europe, Nineteenth and Twen- to the IIAV and of the shifting “truth contemporary mission in the twenty- tieth Centuries (which she co-edited), claims and concepts” whose heritage(s) first century.1 for a regional database directory of and views of history are sought and women’s archival resources, and for preserved. The essays focus on prac- The other essays in the first part more digitization of primary sources, tices, projects, and ongoing challenges of the volume focus on history. Chap- including the reports of congresses of of the IIAV in particular, but they are ter 2 takes up the legacy of colonialism international women’s organizations. In generalizable to any archive. This book as seen from the vantage point of Susan a subsequent essay in the volume, Tilly should definitely be consulted by archi- Legêne, a long-term curator in the Tro- Vriend of the IIAV mentions the re- vists, historians, librarians, and others penmuseum, who describes both a neg- ports as a category under consideration concerned with the record of women’s ative example of de-contextualized Ko- for digitization. lives and endeavors, both past and rean clothing pieces and a recent well- present, because choices made today thought-out project that focused on Vriend’s contribution, devoted will determine what future generations the unique culture (especially in songs) to new media, is in the second part of have at their disposal. of people originally from Bihar and the book. She describes how the IIAV The IIAV’s interesting and dra- Uttar Pradesh, India, who migrated has embraced electronic resources and matic history is outlined by Francisca first to (then Dutch-owned) Suriname moved beyond physical collecting. de Haan and Annette Mevis in the and later to the Netherlands. Legêne As she says, “A digital library is not first chapter, from the founding of the asks for more projects like that one, simply a digital copy of its physical organization in 1935 by Jewish activist which connects personal memories to collection” (p.112). To my mind, one Rosa Manus and colleagues, through a collective history through what are of the most useful e-projects the IIAV her deportation and murder by the Na- sometimes intangibles — “language, has undertaken is to capture and store, zis and the expropriation and removal songs, poetry, lifestyle, photographs, electronically, issues of women’s news- to Germany of her papers and those musical principles, recipes and systems letters, magazines, and other online of others (where they were presumed of knowledge” (p.61).
Page 10 Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Professional Reading periodicals. (To date, some 606 titles with those who say that immigrants are Editors of feminist periodicals are included. See http://www.iiav. best engaged by exhibits when they can will want to absorb writer Manu Büh- nl/scripts/wwwopac.exe?&DATABAS see themselves reflected in the displays. ring’s take on the feminist magazine as E=digitaletydschriften&Pe=x&SRT1 She notes that first-generation Bangla- an empowerment tool — and perhaps =ti&LANGUAGE=0.) Although there deshi women were very stimulated by nothing else in the volume. She writes are important digital serial preserva- an exhibit at the Women’s Library that from her experience as a writer for the tion projects afoot in the U.S., such as featured British suffrage banners made Dutch periodical Lover (Dutch for LOCKSS and Portico, their focus is on with embroidery and appliqué; some foliage and also a shortened form of academic journals. The IIAV project made their own banners in response. literatuurover zicht, meaning a list of is unique in covering women’s grass- recent publications), which the IIAV roots publications. Another novel and The third section of the book, publishes. Young Dutch women today proactive IIAV project mentioned by “Identity, Citizenship, and Archives,” do not identify as feminists or with the Vriend, and described in more detail in includes two essays on immigrant and feminist tradition, Bühring says. This a later chapter by Kloosterman, is the multicultural issues, plus chapters is an all-too-familiar plaint in feminist development of high-school curricula on creating a pan-European feminist circles outside the Netherlands as well. on women’s history and women’s issues forum, an oral history of the Second But maybe the Lover editorial board’s using gaming technology. Wave video project, academic femi- decision to put feminism literally “un- nism, nationalism, and the high-school dercover” will be a useful one to others The importance of visual mate- curriculum project mentioned above. — they removed “feminism” from the rial is tackled in two essays. Anna In any book of this type that con- magazine’s cover, although the orienta- Honigh uses a case study of a single centrates on one institution, there is tion of the magazine hasn’t changed. photograph of two Dutch women oys- bound to be some overlap in content Secondary school teachers and others ter-industry workers, from among the from essay to essay, and by this third interested in how and what is transmit- IIAV’s 20,000 images, as a springboard section it is quite apparent. Rosa Ma- ted as history can glean insights both to discuss what goes into analyzing nus has come up in several chapters, from the Kloosterman article on the visual material from a feminist perspec- as have the importance of visuals, the IIAV’s work in secondary education tive. Grietje Keller and Josien Pieterse need to expand collecting to more than and from Maria Grever’s closing essay, describe their videographic process in “white women’s history,” particularly in which she interrogates the teaching interviewing Dutch leaders of Second for immigrant women, without “other- of national canons and offers instead a Wave feminism. They see the camera as ing” them, and references to online framework from a global perspective, an ally in recording women’s life histo- developments. This is not much of a “based on crucial turning points in his- ries instead of as an obtrusive barrier. burden to the reader, as such interrela- tory that includes the national history Not all articles are about the IIAV tionships are inevitable and the empha- of the country that students live in” or Dutch women’s resources. Antonia sis changes. Some readers may simply (p.299). Byatt covers media projects in the want to browse through the numerous The volume does not necessarily Women’s Library in London. In con- striking photographs throughout the “need” the article by Clare Hemmings junction with the British Library, the volume. Many are likely to pick and on academic feminism; it does not Women’s Library archives periodic choose from among the chapters rather relate very directly to the work of “col- snapshots of women’s organizations’ than read straight through. Archivists lecting, preserving, and sharing wom- websites (to see what’s been archived wishing to document the lives of en’s history,” and from the perspective thus far, search for “women” or “femi- minority women should read Marjet of North American readers, it rehashes nis*” at http://www.webarchive.org. Douze and Twie Tjoa’s description of two shopworn debates among women’s uk). Another project addressed the the successful collaboration between studies scholars: autonomous women’s lives of individuals. A combination the IIAV and three immigrant orga- studies departments versus integration of oral history interviews and photo- nizations in creating an interactive of feminist research into all parts of graphs has documented the lives of website (“Her History” http://www. the curriculum, and women’s studies women living in the ethnically diverse haargeschiedenis.nl) that features the versus gender and sexuality studies. (older Jewish, newer Bangladeshi and results of archival research and oral his- However, her examples from Europe Somali) neighborhood surrounding the tory. and elsewhere cast a different light on Women’s Library. But Byatt takes issue the issues and make for an interesting
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 11 Professional Reading read. For example, she mentions the ideas and resources to help the United ing for any individual or library with influence of external funding sources, Nations solve global problems,” states interests in women’s history, migration, including equal opportunity agencies the Foundation’s website (http://www. Dutch women, the application of new in Spain and Finland and international unfoundation.org/). media to old and new resources, and support for thirty-two independent Another funder that caught my the meanings of feminism today. women’s studies centers in India. And eye: “Mama Cash” — which I must the debate between “women” and admit I first misread as “Mama Cass,” Note “gender” plays out differently based on perplexing though that was, since language — she cites Finnish, where the lead singer of The Mamas and 1. After the book appeared and this “‘woman’ already has multiple mean- the Papas died in 1974. According to review was written, the IIAV has done ings, both biological and cultural” Marjet Douze and Twie Tjoe’s chapter just that, through a name change to (p.276). on the cultural heritage of women in Aletta: Institute for Women’s His- multicultural Dutch society, Mama tory, new URL (http://www.aletta. Some interesting funding sources Cash was one of the funders of the nu/aletta/eng, for the English lan- are mentioned but not particularly launching of a website that provided guage version), and sharpened mission elaborated on in various chapters. I was a portrait of the cultural heritage of statement: “Aletta’s mission is to share already aware that the Women’s Library three immigrant groups to the Neth- knowledge and information about in London received several million erlands: Surinamese, Moroccan, and women’s history and women’s posi- pounds (£4.2 million to be exact) from Dutch East Indian (p.204). Later in tion in society as widely as possible. the Heritage Lottery Fund to purchase the volume, Gisela Dütting and Joanna We also work to expand this body of a site for its library. But I was unaware Semeniuk refer to Mama Cash as an knowledge and to promote further that Ted Turner funded an internation- international women’s fund, based in research about women and women’s al information-sharing project, head- the Netherlands, that hosted a 2004 history. This is how Aletta contributes quartered at the IIAV, that reported on meeting of European feminist activists to securing women’s rights and em- the results of the Beijing Platform for that resulted in the European Feminist powering all women.”
Miriam Greenwald
Page 12 Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) E-Sources on Women and Gender
The Sloan Work and Family Research Career Center Links (http://www.womentechworld.org/ Network at Boston College (http://wfnetwork.bc.edu) links.htm) include lists of websites for women, minorities, specializes in the interaction between the workplace and and girls in technology, along with a selection of listservs. families, and offers resources for audiences that include researching students, academics, policymakers, “workplace The busy but useful AskPatty site (http://www.askpatty. practitioners,” journalists, and individuals trying to navigate com/) provides a wealth of automotive advice directed the give-and-take of family and work in their own lives. at women who may find themselves lost in the male- Included on the site is a “topic page” called Gender and dominated and often intimidating world of car buying Use of Workplace Policies, compiled by Sarah Morrison and and maintenance. The site’s CEO, Patty DeVere, currently Christina Matz-Costa (http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/topic. the president of the Women’s Automotive Association php?id=28), which focuses on how the use of family- International, strives to provide a safe environment in focused workplace policies and programs is affected by which women can ask any questions they may have about gender, parental and household roles, and perceptions of their cars. AskPatty includes a “Certified Female Friendly what it means to be a “good worker.” Morrison and Matz- Location Search” for dealers, service centers, and tire centers, Costa include links to relevant statistics, Sloan-sponsored as well as ratings and recommendations. There are also studies, and written interviews from the Sloan site, as well podcasts, a blog, and resources about insurance and new car as resources for teachers and trainers and a list of suggested purchases. readings. Audio and video resources are also presented. At the American Library Association’s 2009 conference With an advisory board made up of women from Africa, in Chicago, the program for the Women’s Studies Section India, and South America, the gender cc website of the Association of College & Research Libraries was (http://www.gendercc.net) is a “response to the growing on “Gaming, Film, and Ephemera: Women’s Studies public attention to climate change, and the increasing need and Academic Collections.” A Bibliography of for information about women’s perspectives and gender Web Sources on Women and Gaming, aspects in climate change policies and measures.” The compiled by Anne Odom, was given out at the program site serves as a platform for organizations and experts on and is available on the Web in both pdf (http://libr.org/ gender and climate change worldwide to come together wss/conferences/2009programGamingBibliography. and share knowledge and resources, as well as a place for pdf) and html (http://libr.org/wss/conferences/ those who wish to become involved to find information 2009programGamingBibliography.html) formats. This and take action on climate issues such as agriculture, energy, short bibliography includes mainstream sites for women health, migration, tourism, and transport, among others. and lesbian gamers, as well as more specialized resources for There are links to case studies and further reading, as well statistics about gender in gaming and the status of women as UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on and minorities in the gaming industry. Climate Change) conferences and statistics. The mission of theB rave New Foundation (http:// Those looking for professional women’s organizations www.bravenewfoundation.org) is “to champion social in technology should consult the resource- justice issues by using media to inspire, empower, motivate rich WomenTechWorld at http://www. and teach civic participation that makes a difference.” The womentechworld.org. The site describes itself as “the foundation has released the fifth part ofRethink Afghanistan national on-line home for women technicians to connect (http://rethinkafghanistan.com), a documentary on with each other” and includes everyone from computer the American war in Afghanistan. Part V, “Women of engineers and software designers to tool makers and Afghanistan” (available along with Parts I–IV and a new Part construction managers, and beyond. There are stories and VI at http://rethinkafghanistan.com/videos.php) focuses photos of women technicians listed by occupation, as well on the toll of war on Afghani women, highlighting how the as community-building resources and career mentoring. The U.S. military efforts and occupation have not “liberated” the
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 13 E-Sources on Women & Gender burqa-clad women featured in so many pre-war newscasts, Magazine covers from the tabloids to Time force us but have actually taken a disproportionately negative toll on to ask ourselves, Is Seeing Believing? This site their lives. The eleven-minute segment describes the history (http://www.frankwbaker.com/isbmag.htm) shows that of American involvement in the country and explains how the answer is no, or at least that it should be. It provides that history has led to oppression that is in many cases worse examples and explanations of recent airbrushing and digital than that of women alteration scandals, under the Taliban. from singer Kelly The streaming video Clarkson’s weight includes interviews on the cover of Self with Afghani women Magazine to the from the Revolutionary lightening of Beyonce’s Association of the skin in L’Oreal ads, Women of Afghanistan and beyond. The site (RAWA) and the Afghan also provides links to a Women’s Network. New York Times story (Also of note: the on the retouching done complete documentary for magazines, and an will be available on ABC photo slideshow DVD in October 2009.) of doctored covers.
Battered “The Global Women’s Media Protective Monitoring Strategies, by Project is the Sherry Hambly and Miriam Greenwald largest and longest contributor Andrea longitudinal study Bible, is a thirteen-page paper that takes “a holistic approach on the representation of women in the world’s media. to understand battered women’s protective strategies, It is also the largest advocacy initiative in the world on reviewing a wide range of strategies used by women to changing the representation of women in the media. It is cope with numerous threats posed by battering, not just unique in involving participants ranging from grassroots the threat of bodily harm.” At http://new.vawnet.org/ community organizations to university students and category/Documents.php?docid=1872, Hambly writes researchers to media practitioners.” The World Association about the many “invisible” strategies women in abusive for Christian Communication’s (WACC) “Who Makes situations employ to protect not only their bodies, but their the News?” website at http://www.whomakesthenews. children, their emotional well-being, and their dreams and org provides a background of the GMMP meetings held aspirations. The document is also available in pdf http://( in 1995, 2000, and 2005, as well as access to the reports new.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/AR_BWProtStrat. produced from each one. The next meeting will take place in pdf) and html (http://new.vawnet.org/category/Main_ November of 2009. Doc.php?docid=1872) formats. Compiled by Elzbieta Beck
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American Women’s The documents make up about changes over time, with a personal tone Movement two-thirds of the book. Some are to and simple eloquence. be expected in this type of compila- The ten “questions for consider- Nancy MacLean, THE AMERICAN tion: prominent organizational purpose ation” at the end of the book might WOMEN’S MOVEMENT, 1945– statements, as well as essays by oppo- generate useful discussion in the con- 2000: A BRIEF HISTORY WITH nents of the movement. Most of the text of a course, but are too simplistic DOCUMENTS. Boston, MA: Bedford documents, however, are less familiar for this broad, although brief, history. /St. Martin’s, 2009. 198p. bibl. index. and somehow more evocative. They That format might be more useful for pap., $14.95, ISBN 978-0312448011. provide an almost intimate view of the some of the other, more narrowly fo- lives of women throughout this era and cused titles in the Bedford Series. The Reviewed by Carrie A.L. Nelson will be meaningful to readers new to book’s detailed index and chronology this story as well as to those for whom will help readers interested in particular As a window into the evolving powerful memories will be triggered. names or events to find related docu- status of women in the second half of Unfortunately, not every docu- ments within the volume. the twentieth century, this “brief his- ment included adds value to the text. tory with documents” is a remarkable Some of the materials that represent [Carrie A.L. Nelson is an academic achievement. In fewer than 200 pages, particular subgroups make unique librarian at the University of Wiscon- MacLean draws readers into the stories statements and tell parts of the story sin–Madison and holds a master’s degree of this era and reveals the diversity and that might otherwise be unheard; in American civilization from the Uni- intensity of the controversies associated but the set of readings from Chica- versity of Pennsylvania.] with the women’s movement. nas (1971), Socialists (1972), Black This book, part of the Bedford Feminists (1974), Christian Feminists Series in History and Culture, is not a (1976), more radical Black Feminists Arab Women Writers traditional reference source to be used (1977), Asian Pacific American Wom- to answer a specific question, locate a en (1979), and South Asian Women Radwa Ashour, Ferial J. Ghazoul, & key document, or learn about all the (1989) begins to feel like an attempt Hasna Reda-Mekdashi, eds. (trans. by critical events and people of this time. at token representation rather than a Mandy McClure), Arab Women Rather, it is meant to be a supplement meaningful addition to the reader’s un- Writers: A Critical Refer- to more comprehensive resources. derstanding. ence Guide, 1873–1999. Cairo, In the introductory section, Ma- As do many of the other docu- Egypt: American University in Cairo cLean provides a context for the docu- ments, the final one, “A Day Without Press, 2008. 526p. $59.50, ISBN 978- ments that follow, with sweeping de- Feminism,” by Jennifer Baumgartner 9774161469. scriptions of historical phases and their and Amy Richards (2000), commu- resulting impact on women: the Red nicates a powerful message in simple Reviewed by Leigh Younce Scare, post-war economic pressures terms. It is from a pair of women, in various cultural communities, civil both born in 1970, who imagine what It is not widely known that Arab rights organizing, and the Civil Rights their lives would be like if the status of women have been writing and publish- Act. She artfully conveys the relation- women had frozen in the year of their ing since well before World War I. In ship between the growing women’s birth. In this case, MacLean’s choice fact, one of the most distinguished movement and an increasing cultural emphasizes the qualities that make poets to appear before or during the openness about sex and sexuality, the the entire text so successful: both this emergence of Islam was Al-Khansa, rising voice of the gay community, selection and the book as a whole con- and the spread of information about vey intensely significant and sweeping women’s health.
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 15 New Reference Works who was born in the seventh century focus on women’s liberation or the TheEncyclopedia of Gender and C.E. into a noble and powerful fam- Arab women’s movement, it is obvious Society provides several routes for ily famous for its heroism in battle, its that Arab women would not have con- research. The index is very complete expressiveness in language, and its tal- tributed to literature without a push — excellent for finding short answers ent for writing poetry. In the centuries for the rights of women and a fight for to specific topics. Articles range from that followed, numerous female writers their education. As a women’s stud- ABANTU for Development to Yin Yang. emerged as novelists, journalists and ies librarian, I treasure this guide as a (“Abantu” means “people” in several poets. These women were pioneers in reference tool, both for myself and for African languages; this organization the effort to “escape the bonds of the the students and faculty whose research was founded by African women in enclosed home and enter the public is focused on Arab women’s contribu- London). The shorter articles provide sphere” (p.4). tions to literature. the straightforward, factual type of in- This guide does not focus on formation one would expect to find in women’s liberation or the Arab wom- [Leigh Younce is an instruction/refer- such a source. en’s movement; rather, it is “an effort ence librarian at Auburn University and Indepth study is aided by a reader’s to delineate the literary output of Arab serves as the women’s studies liaison.] guide that lists fourteen broad subject women in the modern period, from the categories citing all the articles relevant last two decades of the nineteenth cen- to each category. A list of further read- tury to the end of the twentieth centu- Gender ings at the end of each article provides ry” (p.4). The essays cover the progres- a key to additional sources of informa- sion of Arab women’s writing over the Jodi O’Brien, ed., ENCYCLOPEDIA tion (articles, books and even websites past 120 years in specific geographical OF GENDER AND SOCIETY. Los if available). See also references at the areas, including Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Angeles: Sage, 2009. 2 vols. 976p. in- end of each entry lead from one article Sudan, Iraq, Palestine and Jordan, Arab dex. $350.00, ISBN 978-1412909167. to several others to create a good over- North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula view of a topic. For instance, the article and the Gulf, and Yemen. Each essay is Reviewed by Rita K. Roemer on Wonder Woman referred to other comprehensive, offering valuable his- articles, such as “Media and Gender torical background about each country Gender made the news when Hill- Stereotypes,” “Rosie the Riveter,” and in the respective area. This information ary Clinton ran for Democratic nomi- “Superheroes,” from which I gained was helpful in understanding why in nee in the 2008 U.S. presidential elec- some insight into gender symbols and countries like Yemen, Arab women tion. However, the only mention of her media cultural influences. writers emerged later in the twentieth in the 2009 Encyclopedia of Gender and This encyclopedia has amazing century. Each essay chronicles writers Society is a single sentence in the article breadth as well as depth. Scope is from the founding generations to the “National Women’s Political Caucus” worldwide, covering gender issues in appearance of the novel, poetry, short (v.2, p.600; the NWPC endorsed her Africa, China, India, the Middle East, story, drama, autobiography, and fic- candidacy). and other areas as well as the tradi- tion. My initial foray into this set led tional Western focus. Longer articles An additional feature of this guide to an immediate discovery. As a lay called “framing essays” delve into the is a set of extensive bibliographies of reader of gender studies, I was under research and social aspects of those top- works by Arab women in English, the mistaken assumption that gender ics. A few of these indepth entries, such French and Arabic. These include the only became a prominent societal issue as “Media and Gender Socialization,” writings of twelve hundred authors on rare and unique occasions (like the went too deep for me; I had some dif- from the last third of the nineteenth Clinton example above). However, as ficulty understanding it all. Then again, century through 1999 (p.11). editor Jodi O’Brien explains in her in- I am not an expert in gender studies. A guide to contemporary Arab troduction, “gender is everywhere and Overall and most importantly, the women writers is hard to come by. The influences every aspect of society” (p. articles made me think, and I found progression of these women in modern xxix). Delving into this set opened my them very accessible to a lay reader. In literature was enlightening. Although eyes to the pervasive role gender plays addition, they shook up my perspec- the purpose of this work was not to in all of our lives and has played glob- tive on what I thought I knew. For in- ally throughout time.
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stance, the entry “Children’s Literature, What makes this book stand out is Ellen Bosman & John P. Bradford (ed. Gender Images In” presented a differ- the breadth of its scope and the steady by Robert B. Ridinger), GAY, LESBI- ent view of several books I had either hand the authors bring to mundane AN, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGEN- read myself or read aloud to children. and controversial topics alike. Many DERED LITERATURE: A GENRE TheEncyclopedia of Gender and So- other books in LGBT studies address GUIDE. Westport, CT: Libraries ciety provides a wealth of current infor- one or several of these topics, but few Unlimited, 2008. 440p. bibl. index. mation on society through the “gender provide such a solid introduction to $60.00, ISBN 978-1591581949. lens” (p. xxix), in a manner conducive the full range of the LGBT experience. to exploring and learning. In addition, emotionally charged top- Reviewed by Sarah VanGundy ics, such as censorship and the causes [Rita K. Roemer works in Central Tech- of homosexuality, are presented with a As Jessamyn West once said, nical Services (CTS) in the University of refreshing level of objectivity that does “Fiction reveals truths that reality Wisconsin–Madison Memorial Library. not require readers to take sides. Fur- obscures.” Anyone who has ever felt She also edits the online Technical Op- thermore, an even balance of coverage marginalized or different, only to rec- erations Manual for CTS.] is maintained for each of the letters of ognize themselves and their experiences “LGBT,” a welcome turn in a body of in a good book, knows how important literature that has focused primarily on finding the right book at the right time LGBT Studies gays and lesbians. can be. While each chapter provides a sol- This volume from the Genreflect- Deborah T. Meem, Michelle A. Gib- id overview of its topics, the references ing Series can help librarians and read- son, & Jonathan F. Alexander, FIND- embedded in each chapter are the true ers connect with books that reveal the ING OUT: AN INTRODUCTION gems for reference librarians. Diverse truths they seek. It fills a major gap in TO LGBT STUDIES. Los Angeles: and expansive, the references turn pre- readers’ advisory literature by focusing Sage Publications, 2010. 462p. $48.95, viously challenging searches for LGBT on literature for adults that is “writ- ISBN 978-1412938655. information into one- or two-step ten by GLBT authors, or with GLBT processes that both librarians and their protagonists or themes” (p.3). Public Reviewed by Kari D. Weaver patrons will appreciate. The book’s librarians are the most obvious audi- index is superb, but Finding Out’s one ence for this reference work, but school Given the current societal atten- flaw is its glossary, which is too short and academic librarians serving GLBT tion to and debate over issues of the and contains some definitions too el- populations will also find it a valuable LGBT community, this book has ar- ementary for the intended audience. A resource. rived at an opportune time. Billed as a deeper discussion of some of the topics Part I consists of three chapters; textbook, Finding Out is clearly aimed would have also made the book even the first introduces the topic, the sec- at undergraduates and their instructors, more useful to a wider variety of disci- ond provides a comprehensive history but it may be most useful as a refer- plines, but this is a small quibble. of gay and lesbian literature, and the ence work in the majority of academic Finding Out is one book that can third covers collection development library collections. be recommended with confidence to and readers’ advisory issues related to The authors ofFinding Out ad- librarians, faculty, and patrons alike. GLBT literature. I found Part I to be dress LGBT studies through the lenses Its broad scope, excellent references, the most useful part of the book, as of four primary topics: history, politics, and even-handed approach make it a it contextualizes this broad category literature and the arts, and the media. first-rate addition to every library serv- of fiction in a very coherent way and Those four sections are then subdivided ing a community interested in LGBT points to excellent resources for further into chapters, making the volume easy studies. information. to use. Each chapter offers a substantial Part II lists works of fiction, bi- list of readings and references to sup- [Kari D. Weaver is an information lit- ography, and drama, selected accord- port the content — from Plato’s Sym- eracy librarian at Wartburg College in ing to the following criteria: award posium to the research of Alfred Kinsey Waverly, Iowa. She is the liaison librar- status (mostly GLBT awards), GLBT to modern films, blogs, literature, and ian to the business administration, com- content, availability, publishing date art — as well as suggested discussion munication arts, English, and women’s questions for reflection and further studies departments.] exploration.
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 17 New Reference Works
(mostly after 1969), English language Politics cific countries, the fact that only one publication, age appropriateness for chapter is dedicated to all the Middle adults (books of teen interest are indi- Joyce Gelb & Marian Lief Palley, Eastern and North African countries is cated with a “teen” symbol), and racial eds., WOMEN AND POLITICS a great weakness, especially since all the and cultural diversity. Literature by AROUND THE WORLD: A COM- other countries included are treated in- and about lesbian and bisexual women PARATIVE HISTORY AND SUR- dividually. There are many differences is particularly well represented. Many VEY. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, in the political and economic circum- women may appreciate the books in- 2009. 657p. $195.00, ISBN 978- stances of women in such countries as cluded for their frank explorations of 1851099887. Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Afghani- broad issues of gender construction stan, and it would be useful to have and identity. Reviewed by Nancy M. Lewis these countries covered separately. And The listings are organized into the general overview of education, in chapters, each focused on a particular Politics. Some will say this is a its section covering the U.S.A., would genre or type of literature, including subject not to talk about in polite soci- benefit from the inclusion of the expe- Classics, General Fiction, Coming ety. But many others will tell you that riences of women of different races. Out, HIV/AIDS and Other Health discussing politics is a vital first step to There are other works that provide Issues, Historical Fiction, Romance, making important changes in women’s similar coverage, such as Women’s Roles Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror Fic- lives. and Statuses the World Over (2006), tion, Mystery and Crime, Comics and Women and Politics Around the which covers sixteen countries not in Graphic Novels, Drama, and Life Sto- World highlights the important con- this set, and the Greenwood Encyclope- ries. Each chapter begins with a defini- nections between women’s political and dia of Women’s Issues Worldwide (2003), tion of the genre or category, descrip- economic participation and improve- which covers most countries; but nei- tion and characteristics of the genre, a ments in women’s status. In the first of ther of those provides the depth that section on issues for the readers’ advi- the two volumes, editors Gelb and Pal- this one does. It is of note, though, sor, and a note on organization. ley have gathered a talented group of that Women and Politics Around the Part III is an extensive, par- scholars to provide overviews of issues World covers only two African coun- tially annotated bibliography of useful that affect women and cut across na- tries, while Women Political Leaders in books, journals, databases, Internet tions, including political development, Africa (2008) provides similar depth resources, publishers, and articles, fol- economic development, microfinance, for most countries on the continent. lowed by an author/title index and education, globalization, sexual rights, Women and Politics Around the a subject index. Most of the book’s reproductive health, breastfeeding, World provides thoughtful, scholarly, layout is very intuitive, but I found the child care, trafficking, and violence. and accessible analysis, much of which organization of titles within the chap- In the second volume, equally impres- is not easily located elsewhere in such ters a bit confusing because it varies sive scholars provide entries with both breadth. I highly recommend this title from chapter to chapter. historical and current perspectives on for any institutions with undergraduate On the whole, this book admi- women’s political and economic status programs in women’s studies, political rably provides one of the first (if not in twenty-one individual countries. science, or international affairs. the first) comprehensive readers’ advi- This dual approach is very effec- sory reference works focused on adult tive, providing useful country-specific [Nancy M. Lewis is the women’s studies GLBT literature. I highly recommend analysis as well as in-depth background librarian and head of reference for the this title to librarians and readers inter- on transnational issues. It is surpris- Raymond H. Fogler Library, as well as ested in understanding and exploring ing, however, that the overview volume adjunct faculty in women’s studies, at the this category of literature. does not include a chapter on the en- University of Maine.] vironment, especially given the impact [Sarah VanGundy is a reference and on women of deforestation, agricul- instruction librarian at Purchase tural practices, and limited access to College, State University of New York, in water resources. In the volume on spe- Purchase, NY. She is the library’s subject selector for anthropology, new media, and lesbian and gay studies.]
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Science Fiction adult fantasy and science fiction; nota- ble feminist science fiction and fantasy Robin Anne Reid, ed., WOMEN IN conventions and awards; women’s con- SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTA- tributions to fandom movements; and SY. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2009. the depiction of girls in fantasy and 2 vols. 748p. bibl. index. $249.95, science fiction texts and media. ISBN 978-0313335891. The second volume includes more than two hundred alphabetically ar- Reviewed by Sharon Ladenson ranged entries covering a wide variety of critical concepts and authors. The How do race, class, gender, and entries here are more concise than the age shape the themes of fantasy and essays in the first volume, but they are science fiction texts? What are women’s also informative and clearly written. major contributions to the develop- This volume begins with the complete ment of fantasy films during the list of the alphabetically ordered en- nineteenth and twentieth centuries? tries, followed by another list group- How are girls and girlhood depicted in ing them by topic (such as “Fans and science fiction and fantasy media? De- Fandom,” “Ethnicity and Race,” and veloped for general readers, Women in “Visual Media,” among others). Vol- Miriam Greenwald Science Fiction and Fantasy is an effec- ume 2 also includes an extensive (yet tive reference guide for finding answers selected) bibliography of more than Sex Work to these and many other questions. two hundred scholarly sources, includ- Historical and international in ing bibliographies, reference books, Melissa Hope Ditmore, ed., Ency- scope, the two-volume encyclopedia and theoretical and critical works. clopedia of Prostitution provides extensive and readable back- The text is readable and engaging, and Sex Work. Westport, CT: ground on a wide range of topics and and the authors include appropri- Greenwood Press, 2006. 2 vols. 782p. media. Historical overview essays in the ate background and clearly define all bibl. index. $225.00, ISBN 978- first volume explore medieval mytho- concepts and terminology. Boldface 0313329685. logical influences and nineteenth- text provides effective cross-references century fiction and poetry; chapters throughout each volume. For example, Reviewed by Michelle M. Martínez focusing on twentieth-century science the entry on author Margaret Atwood fiction and fantasy novels, short fiction, appropriately describes the subject of Sex sells, and this time the product genre poetry, film, comics, and televi- her critical work, The Handmaid’s Tale, is worth buying. TheEncyclopedia of sion follow. Separate chapters cover as a dystopia. The termdystopia ap- Prostitution and Sex Work (a two-vol- fantasy and science fiction themes in pears in bold, directing the reader to an ume set) is the first reference work of diverse media, such as music, gaming, entire entry called “Dystopias.” Both its kind, successfully bringing together and anime and manga. The first vol- the essays in the first volume and the 341 entries about prostitution world- ume also explores various theoretical, entries in the second include selected wide, with a heavy focus on the United social, and literary science fiction and lists of suggested readings. As a unique, States and a user-friendly format and fantasy topics, such as the development well-researched, and clearly written timeline for easy reference. Other ency- of sexual identities; intersections of reference tool, Women in Science Fiction clopedias focus on sex, rather than on race, class, age, and gender; the chang- and Fantasy is highly recommended for prostitution and sex work, as a main ing nature of female characters and college and university library collec- subject. Appendices at the end of the heroes; fantasy and the development of tions. second volume include historical ac- feminist spirituality; and the impact of counts, poems and lyrics, documents women’s status in the scientific com- [Sharon Ladenson is the gender studies by sex workers, and legal documents munity on science fiction. Additional and communications librarian at Michi- essays focus on the social and historical gan State University.] development of children’s and young
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 19 New Reference Works and commentary referred to in the enlightening scholars, researchers, and immune diseases to violence against work or important to the topic. A laypeople on this important subject. women, and four chapters on general selected bibliography of print and non- Remaining entirely neutral while topics such as nutrition and pain. Each print sources precedes a lengthy and discussing sex, sex work, and prostitu- chapter describes a disease (e.g., Type well-organized index. tion is a difficult thing to do — these 2 diabetes), a category of disease (e.g., Entries from “Abolition” to “Zola, topics evoke strong reactions, often blood disorders), or a health issue (e.g., Émile” range in depth and focus and negative ones, among the general pregnancy), along with risk factors, cover a wide array of topics. Each of public. Positive articles that enlighten symptoms, and treatments; but the fo- the alphabetically arranged entries of- readers about the pain, suffering, and cus is on learning what steps a woman fers suggestions for further reading injustice done to those in this field of can take to improve her own health and, if pertinent, cross-references to work go a step further to dispel myths and health care. Full-color pictures, other entries. Also accompanying cer- and misinformation and help previ- charts and diagrams, and direct and tain entries are sidebars giving informa- ously silenced voices to be heard. This jargon-free language help to provide tion from primary resources, as well as encyclopedia is an absolutely essential easy-to-understand information. Each black-and-white images that enhance reference work, especially for those chapter ends with a section called the text. The intelligent and interesting academic libraries that support wom- “One Woman’s Story,” an account of entries cover arts and culture; concepts, en/gender studies, sociology, human how one woman dealt with the disease such as free love and misogyny; crime; sexuality, psychology, and other related under discussion, and another called health and medicine; institutions and courses of study for undergraduates “For More Information,” which pro- organizations; legal issues and statutes; and beyond. vides contact information and websites people, such as Jack the Ripper and for a variety of pertinent medical insti- Phryne, a famous Greek courtesan; [Michelle Martínez has an M.A. in tutes, associations, and foundations. “personnel and phenomena,” such as English & an M.S. in library science. The Healthy Womanis provided pimps and white slavery, respectively; She is currently a reference librarian and by the Office on Women’s Health to places and eras; and religion, from English & literature bibliographer at the promote health equity for women and ancient times to the present. Each Newton Gresham Library on the campus girls by motivating behavior change volume begins with a topical list of the of Sam Houston State University.] through the dissemination of health entries. Finally, there is biographical information. Although a bibliogra- information about the editor, advi- phy, broken down by category, and a sors, and contributors so that users can comprehensive index make the volume omen s ealth know who put this resource together W ’ H useful as a reference tool, the indi- and what sort of authority they have vidual consumer is the target audience. Office on Women’s Health, U.S. either in the field generally or on the Women of all ages would benefit from Department of Health and Human particular topic about which they using this guide to get basic informa- Services, THE HEALTHY WOMAN: wrote. It’s worth noting that the advi- tion on maintaining a healthy lifestyle A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR ALL sors include Jo Doezema, sex worker and dealing proactively with health AGES. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Gov- and board member of the Network issues. Recommended for personal use ernment Printing Office, 2008. 518p. of Sex Work Projects (NSWP); Helen and small consumer-health collections. bibl. index. pap., $24.95, ISBN 978- Self, legal scholar and feminist activist; 0160771835. and Priscilla Alexander, co-founder and [Diane Bruxvoort is the associate dean coordinator of the National Task Force for collection services at the University of Reviewed by Diane Bruxvoort on Prostitution. Houston Libraries.] Prostitution and sex work are In this clearly written guide for still taboo subjects in just about every women who wish to take charge of society. This encyclopedia will help their own health, the DHHS Office mitigate the stereotypes and blatant on Women’s Health takes the reader negativity that surround sex issues by through nineteen chapters on specific health problems, ranging from auto-
Page 20 Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) New Reference Works
Women’s History (and offer very specific examples of teaching women’s history for the first how to do this), beyond the traditional time and those who have not done Carol Berkin, Margaret S. Crocco, “contribution” approach, which usually so regularly. These overviews are not & Barbara Winslow, eds., CLIO IN entails an isolated lecture or reading merely dry chronologies — they chal- THE CLASSROOM: A GUIDE FOR assignment about a few famous ladies lenge assumptions and ideas about TEACHING U.S. WOMEN’S HIS- and the vote. According to the intro- women that have been taught in his- TORY. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford Univer- duction, “[W]omen’s history should do tory classes. For example, in Chapter sity Press, 2009. 318p. index. $24.95, more than add women to traditional 2, “Women in Nineteenth-Century ISBN 978-0195320138. male stories. Ultimately it changes America,” Cindy R. Lobel attacks the the story of the American past, chal- myth of the isolated plantation mistress Reviewed by Nina Clements lenging facile conclusions reached by and contrasts her tasks and responsi- leaving out half the population” (p.4). bilities with those of women slaves who Judging by the eighteen essays in These essays also readily acknowledge lived on the same property. In some this well-organized ways, these chapters volume, Clio, the are the foundation muse of history, of the book — they must have been are informative extraordinarily and also serve as practical. Theory examples of teach- and practice con- ing by comparison, verge in Clio in the a practice encour- Classroom, which aged throughout the is indeed, as its book. subtitle proclaims, Part II, “Con- a guide for teach- ceptualizing Issues ers and students in U.S. Women’s of women’s history History,” addresses in both K-12 and popular concepts higher education. and themes that But it’s also much, have emerged in much more. It is U.S. women’s histo- a primer on U.S. ry, such as medicine, women’s history, Miriam Greenwald sexuality, and radi- a meditation on calism. These nine feminist and cooperative learning prac- the impossibility of a single narrative chapters use case tices in the classroom, and a history of of women in U.S. history and aim to studies to offer in-depth perspectives as the development of women’s history present a multitude of suggestions for well as many teaching strategies. Many as a discipline in the U.S. Designed incorporating these voices into the offer suggestions for framing these con- for teachers and students of women’s classroom. cepts and incorporating them into the history (novices and veterans alike), The book is divided into four parts classroom. For example, in Chapter 4, it provides practical suggestions and that could stand independently, al- “Conceptualizing U.S. Women’s His- inspiration to instructors in a variety though the essays echo and respond to tory through the History of Medicine,” of settings, including instructional each other so effectively that the book Rebecca Tannenbaum suggests that librarians. Many of the ideas found as a whole is greater than the sum of its “when teaching the colonial era in a here would be helpful to teachers of parts. Notes are conveniently listed at survey or early America class, the histo- U.S. history survey courses as well as the end of each essay for ease of use. ry of childbirth is particularly effective courses that focus on specific aspects of Part I, “Three Eras of U.S. in addressing issues of social control, women’s history. Women’s History,” is a succinct review social hierarchy, and dissent” (p.78). The essays in this book propose a of women’s history from the colonial Jennifer Scanlon, writing about con- new way of teaching women’s history era. This is especially helpful for those sumerism in Chapter 7, urges teachers
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 21 New Reference Works and students to resist “the dichotomy gogy. Chapter 14, “Teaching Women’s issues in U.S. women’s history” in Part of women as historical actors, engaged History with Visual Images,” by Tracy II and the teaching and learning strate- in consumer culture’s activities, and Weiss, successfully explains the peda- gies of Part III seems artificial. This is women as passive recipients of the gogy of using images in the classroom, an extremely small quibble, however. messages of manufacturers, advertisers, while offering very specific assignments “Teachers can better prepare and the men in their individual lives” and strategies for classroom activities. students for the twenty-first cen- (p.124). She offers ideas for classroom Weiss’s approach is certainly “student- tury,” writes Mary E. Frederickson in activities designed to help students centered,” a theme throughout the Chapter 12, “by giving them access locate the “absent women” in women’s book (p.7). The essays in this section to a history that is as complex and magazines and advertisements (p.128). are simply good pedagogy — they interconnected as the society in which Although this book’s essays focus could be employed by any history they live and work” (p.201). Clio in the explicitly on women’s history rather teacher. What’s more, the notes include Classroom is an attempt to do just that. than gender history, they do discuss the many examples of Web-based primary This book will be a valuable resource triumvirate of race, class, and gender. sources and lesson ideas that can be to any instructor who teaches women’s Erica Ball argues in Chapter 9 that in used to supplement existing syllabi. history. Although it is specific to U.S. order to integrate the stories of women Part IV, “What We Know (and women’s history, many of the pedagog- and other “invisible” groups into the Don’t Know) About Teaching Women’s ical approaches and suggested resources narrative of U.S. history, “historians History,” is perhaps the weakest part of could be incorporated into a variety of and teachers must pay attention to the book and contains only a single es- instructional settings. the ways race, class, and gender work say: “What Educational Research Says together,” which is something that this about Teaching and Learning Women’s [Nina Clements works as a librarian and book as a whole accomplishes (p.150). History.” Essentially: not much. End- technology consultant at Kenyon College Even more to the point, she provides ing with this call for more educational and lives in Gambier, Ohio.] an example of how to do this with a research saps some of the power of classroom discussion addressing media the book, the strength of which lies in coverage of the 2008 presidential elec- the application of strategies and tech- Women’s Rights tion and the media’s insistence that niques. women supported Clinton and African Slightly more than nine pages Lenora M. Lapidus, Emily J. Martin, Americans supported Obama (p.150). of “Additional Resources,” including & Namita Luthra, THE RIGHTS This type of discussion is designed to books, journal articles and book chap- OF WOMEN: THE AUTHORITA- help students realize “that categories of ters, and websites, follow the essays. TIVE ACLU GUIDE TO WOMEN’S identification like race, class, and gen- Many of the websites are collections of RIGHTS, 4th ed. New York: New York der [are] neither competing nor addi- primary sources and are current — an University Press, 2009. 412p. $75.00, tive, but instead, thoroughly integrated excellent resource for both subject li- ISBN 978-0814752302; pap., $19.00, into an individual’s overall sense of brarians and classroom instructors. ISBN 978-0814752296. self” (p.150). This work includes the occasional Part III, “Teaching and Learn- generalization, difficult to avoid in a Reviewed by Sherri L. Barnes ing Women’s History: Strategies and volume that moves across so much Resources,” is the strongest and most space and time. Although the introduc- When I agreed to review the useful section. Like the chapters in Part tion acknowledges the impossibility fourth edition of this handbook, my II, the five here are case studies, but of being completely comprehensive, first thought was of the recently passed with a more explicit emphasis on peda- it might have been helpful if the book (January 29, 2009) Lilly Ledbetter Fair gogy and teaching tools. The authors of had included case studies about women Pay Act of 2009, which extends the these essays tell their readers what they who are not white or African Ameri- statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit tried, what worked, and what didn’t can. Introductions to each of the book’s claiming pay discrimination. Since this — it has the feel of a friendly conversa- parts would also be helpful, especially particular women’s rights issue (follow- tion or conference roundtable on peda- for those who plan/need to use this ing the Supreme Court case Ledbetter v. book as a reference. In some ways the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 550 U.S. distinction between “conceptualizing 618 [2007]) was so recently resolved, you won’t find coverage of it in this
Page 22 Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) New Reference Works volume. The ACLU Women’s Rights — the Equal Protection Clause of the headings were used in cases where there Project, which is responsible for the Fourteenth Amendment. is a long string of page numbers after a guide, focuses on “enforcing rights that Student researchers will find sig- main heading. are already established ... [and] expand- nificant coverage of other trendy topics The ACLU’s guiding principle is ing interpretations of laws so as to pro- within these chapters. For instance, that “an informed citizenry is the best vide greater protection” (p.xvi). legal information related to women guarantee that the government will Nonetheless, coverage of one offenders, including the parental and respect individual liberties” (p.ix). The of the fundamental areas in which reproductive rights of incarcerated authors state accordingly that they women have been fighting for equality mothers, is covered in the chapter on “hope that this book will help to pro- — employment — is substantial in this the criminal justice system, as is infor- vide basic information about the legal book, with one of the eleven chapters mation about illegal sex work. Same- principles applicable to this area of law devoted to “Employment: Discrimina- sex and transgender issues related to and will, as well, suggest arguments tion and Parenting Issues.” Some of the marriage, civil unions, and domestic that you might make on your own be- other chapters are “Education,” “Vio- partnerships are addressed in the chap- half to secure your rights” (p.xii). Giv- lence Against Women,” “Reproductive ter on family law. The authors are also en its purpose and audience (general), Freedom,” “Family Law,” “The Crimi- aware of the roles that race, class, and the strengths of this handbook are that nal Justice System,” “Housing,” and citizenship play in the realization of it is enormously practical and acces- “Public Accommodations and Private rights for all women. sible. Even the brief description of the Clubs.” Chapters new to this edition Each chapter is set up in a ques- court system is extremely easy to un- are “Trafficking and Forced Labor of tion-and-answer format, and subhead- derstand. I’d recommend it not just for Women Workers” and “TANF [Tem- ings are included as appropriate (e.g., academic and public libraries, but also porary Assistance for Needy Families]/ “Adoption” is a subsection within for personal libraries, especially if there Welfare.” The first chapter, “Constitu- “Family Law”). There are extensive are young women in the household. tional Rights: Equal Protection,” pro- cited references to case law and other vides a wonderful overview of the legal primary sources. Unlike the previous [Sherri L. Barnes is the feminist studies framework within which many chal- edition, this one has an index, al- librarian at the library of the University lenges to gender inequality are raised though it would be more useful if sub- of California, Santa Barbara.]
Miriam Greenwald
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 23 Periodical Notes
[Note: See our online quarterly publication, Feminist Peri- among HIV/AIDS Infection in Women, Water Distribu- odicals: A Current Listing of Contents, for information about tion, and Global Investment in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa,” more than 150 women-related journals: http://womenst. by Nghana Lewis; “Resistance Begins at Home: The Black library.wisc.edu/publications/feminist-periodicals.html.] Family and Lessons in Survival and Subversion in Jim Crow Mississippi,” by Stephen A. Berrey; and “‘Well I just gener- ally be[e]s the president of everything’: Rural Black Women’s ew or ewly iscovered eriodicals N N D P Empowerment through South Carolina Home Demonstra- tion Activities,” by Carmen V. Harris. BLACK WOMEN, GENDER & FAMILIES. 2007– . Editor: Jennifer F. Hamer. Publisher: University of Illinois FILMS FOR THE FEMINIST CLASSROOM. 2009– . Press in collaboration with the African American Studies Founding editor: Deanna Utroske. Editorial collective: and Research Program. Peer-reviewed. ISSN: 1935-2743. Ariella Rotramel & Julie Ann Salthouse. Hosted by the Frequency: 2/yr. Subscriptions: individuals, print only, Rutgers-based editorial offices ofSigns: Journal of Women in $35.00; students, print only, $15.00; institutions, print only, Culture and Society. Online at http://www.signs.rutgers. $70.00; institutions, online only (through Project MUSE), edu/ffc_home.html. Email: [email protected]; U.S. $70.00; print + online, $84.00. Outside U.S., $10.00 mail: c/o SIGNS, Rutgers University, 8 Voorhees Chapel, 5 postage. Single issues: $15.00. Subscribe at http://www. Chapel Drive, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. press.uillinois.edu/journals/bwgf/subscription.html “FFC publishes film reviews that provide a critical as- “BWGF emphasizes the study of Black women, gender, sessment of the value of films as pedagogical tools in the families, and communities. The journal welcomes research feminist classroom. Interviews with directors and producers and theoretical submissions in history, sociology, anthropol- of feminist film are also included in FFC issues. FFC en- ogy, social psychology, education, economics, political sci- deavors to become a dynamic resource for feminist teachers.” ence, and English that are framed by Black Women’s Studies What a fabulous resource! Inaugural issue 1.1 (Spring perspectives and a policy or social analysis. Interdisciplinary, 2009), in thirteen reviews, offers feminist critiques of twen- comparative, and transnational studies of the African Dias- ty-one films, ranging from “sleeper hit”Slumdog Millionaire pora and other women, families, and communities of color (Fox Searchlight) to the locally produced Living on the Fault are also encouraged.” Line, Where Race and Family Meet (Community Family Me- Volume 1, Number 1 (Spring 2007) focused on “The dia of Montpelier, Vermont), as well as works from Women State of Black Women’s Studies,” with the following ar- Make Movies, Cinema Guild, THINKFilm, Seventh Art, ticles: “African American Women and Their Communities Media Education Foundation, AfroLez Productions, and in the Twentieth Century: The Foundation and Future of others. Each article makes insightful suggestions for discuss- Black Women’s Studies,” by Darlene Clark Hine; “Build- ing the reviewed film(s) in the classroom. Promised in 1.2 ing a Home for Black Women’s Studies,” by Elizabeth (Fall 2009): “An interview with Abigail Disney, producer Cole & Nesha Z. Hanniff; “Where’s the Violence? The of Pray the Devil Back to Hell (dir. Gini Reticker, 2008), a Promise and Perils of Teaching Women of Color Stud- film about the Liberian women who successfully organized ies,” by Grace Chang; “Popular Sentiments and Black to end a civil war and whose impact on Liberian politics Women’s Studies: The Scholarly and Experiential Divide,” includes helping bring about the election of President El- by Catherine Squires; and “Love and Violence/Maternity len Johnson-Sirleaf. Also featured are reviews of Joy Nash’s and Death: Black Feminism and the Politics of Reading Fat Rants, Tillie Olsen — A Heart in Action, Barbie Nation, (Un)representability,” by Sara Clarke Kaplan. Dreamworlds 3, and Girls Rock! The Movie.” Proposals for The most recent issue (Volume 3, Number 1, Spring future reviews are invited. 2009) offers perspectives on “Rural Women, Children, and Families of Color in U.S. and Global Communities,” GIRLHOOD STUDIES: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY including these: “Rural Women and the Varieties of Black JOURNAL. 2008– . Editors-in-chief: Claudia Mitchell & Politics in Bahia, Brazil,” by Stephen Selka; “An Issue of Jacqueline Reid-Walsh (co-founder & co-editor Jacqueline Environmental Justice: Understanding the Relationship Kirk “was killed in an attack in Afghanistan on August 13, 2008, just as [the] inaugural issue of the journal was to go to
Page 24 Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Periodical Notes
press”). Publisher: Berghahn Journals. ISSN: 1938 (print), as a look through a couple of issues of this professional jour- 1938-8322 (online, through IngentaConnect). Frequency: nal makes clear; for instance, in just the two examined here 2/yr. (one issue published in Volume 1, 2008; two issues in (Winter 2008 and Spring 2009), there is information about Volume 2, 2009; double issue planned for Volume 3, 2010). pregnancy and posture, post-partum restrengthening of “The mission of the journal is to bring together con- abdominal muscles, urinary incontinence, pelvic pain, men- tributions from and initiate dialogue among perspectives strual and menopausal problems, breast reconstruction after ranging from medical and legal practice, ethnographic in- mastectomy, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and sexual quiry, philosophical reflection, historical investigations, liter- function. And although the journal is meant for a profes- ary, cultural and media research to curriculum design and sional PT audience, a book review in one issue led to my policy-making. Topics addressed within the journal include personal purchase of Age-Perfected Pilates, which the reviewer girls and schooling, girls and feminism, girls and sexuality, recommended for the general population. girlhood in the context of Boyhood Studies, girls and new media and popular culture, representation of girls in differ- Kültür ve Siyasette Feminist Yaklaşımlar ent media, histories of girlhood, girls and development.” (FEMINIST APPROACHES IN CULTURE AND The late Jackie Kirk was involved with others in es- POLITICS). 2006– . ISSN: 1307-0932. Published tablishing schools for girls in Afghanistan at the time of in Istanbul. In Turkish only, online at http://www. her death, which is reported to have been caused “by the feministyaklasimlar.org/. Taliban in an ambush on their car.” The journal is planning, for 2010, a special double issue in Kirk’s honor. The three LATINITAS MAGAZINES. 2003– . Co-founders: Alicia issues published so far cover vast territory, as this sampling Rascon & Laura Donnelly. Free; online only at http://www. of article titles shows: “Learning to Lead: Challenging Girls latinitasmagazine.org. in Rural Chinese Schools,” by Heidi Ross & Lei Wang; “To “Latinitas is a non-profit organization focused on in- Laugh or Not to Laugh? Performing Girlhood through Hu- forming, entertaining, and inspiring young Latinas to grow mor,” by Dafna Lemish & Shiri Reznik; “Listening to Youth: into healthy, confident, and successful adults.” Students at The Experiences of Young Women in Northern Uganda,” the University of Texas at Austin came up with the idea in by Jenny Perlman Robinson; “Coming of Age with Proc- 2002 and formed first a campus organization and then the tor & Gamble Beinggirl.com and the Commodification of non-profit corporation. Two digital periodicals were started Puberty,” by Sharon R. Mazzarella; “Nobody, Somebody, in 2003 and 2004, respectively: LATINITAS: THE FIRST Everybody: Ballet, Girlhood, Class, Femininity and Com- DIGITAL MAGAZINE MADE FOR AND BY YOUNG ics in 1950s Britain,” by Mel Gibson; “The Embodiment LATINAS (http://www.latinitasmagazine.org/girls/), of Friendship, Power, and Marginalization in a Multi-Eth- for the middle-school set, and TEEN LATINITAS: THE nic, Multi-Class Preadolescent U.S. Girls’ Peer Group,” by FIRST MAGAZINE BY AND FOR LATINA TEENS! Marjorie Harness Goodwin; “Living in a Hybrid Material (http://www.latinitasmagazine.org/teens/). Currently in World: Girls, Ethnicity and Mediated Doll Products,” by the “Her Story” column of the girls’ magazine is a short pro- Angharad N. Valdivia; “Girl Photographers Take Us into file of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor; in the teen Their Bedrooms,” by Maureen St. John Ward. magazine, there’s a somewhat longer article about her, with quotes from college students and more focus on the contro- JOURNAL OF WOMEN’S HEALTH PHYSICAL versies surrounding her nomination and approval. There’s THERAPY. 1976(?)– . Editor-in-chief: Nancy C. Rich. a lot more in each periodical, with some overlap between Official publication of the Section on Women’s Health them. of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Publisher: Orthopaedic Section of APTA. ISSN: 1556-6803. TRIVIA: VOICES OF FEMINISM. 2004– . Editor: Lisa Frequency: 3/yr. Subscriptions: included in membership Weil. Web publisher: Susan Kullmann. Frequency: 2/yr in the Section on Women’s Health; nonmembers: $70.00 intended (once or twice per year so far). Free; online only; in U.S.; $75.00 elsewhere (airmail). Section on Women’s http://www.triviavoices.net. Health, APTA, P.O. Box 327, Alexandria, VA 22313; Origins of the title: “TRIVIA, deriving from ‘tri-via’ website: http://www.womenshealthapta.org/pubs/journal. (crossroads), was one of the names of the Triple Goddess. cfm Recognizing that what is of primary importance in women’s Is physical therapy a feminist issue? It’s certainly a field in which women’s concerns can be very different from men’s,
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 25 Periodical Notes
lives tends to be relegated to the margins of patriarchal his- from Lebanon. Issue 3 lacks a stated theme, but covers the tory and thought, dismissed as ‘trivial,’ we conceive TRIVIA: Christian Right in New South Wales, Indonesia’s anti-por- Voices of Feminism as a place at the crossroads where women’s nography bill, pole dancing, and Sophie Taylor’s ten-day ideas can assume their original power and significance.” silent retreat at a meditation center. “Women of Color Speak The original, print incarnation of this periodical was Out” is the title of Issue 4, which looks at anti-Muslim sen- Trivia: A Journal of Ideas, which ran from 1982 to 1995; timent in Australia, the everyday life of women who wear tables of contents from those issues are archived on the cur- the hijab, and the feminist history of Islam; and Issue 5 takes rent site, and the back issues can be ordered. Every issue of on reproductive choice, gender-motivated violence, war, and the new version is available on the website. men’s roles in feminism. Partial contents of Issue 9, Spring Equinox, March 2009 (“Thinking about Goddesses”): “Vulture Medicine” and “Augury,” poems by Deena Metzger; “When Hens Were Special Issues of Periodicals Flying and God Was Not Yet Born,” by Luciana Percovich; “Canoeing our Way Back to the Divine Feminine in Taíno AFRICAN AND ASIAN STUDIES v.7, no.4, 2008: Spirituality,” by Marianela Medrano-Marra; “Goddess is Special issue: “Researching African Women and Gender Metaformic,” by Judy Grahn; “What is Goddess? Towards Studies: New Social Science Perspectives.” Editor: Tukumbi an Ontology of Women Giving Birth…,” by Nané Ariadne Lumumba-Kasongo. Publisher: Brill. ISSN: 1569-2094 Jordan; “Song of Lilith,” by Liliana Kleiner. (print); 1569-2108 (electronic). The website provides detailed submission guidelines. Partial contents: “African Women Scientists and the Pol- “We publish feminist writing in the form of literary essays, itics of Location: The Case of Four Sierra Leonean Women experimental prose, poetry, translations, and reviews. We Scientists,” by Josephine Beoku-Betts; “African Women in encourage women writers to take risks with language and the New Diaspora: Transnationalism and the (Re) Creation forms so as to give their ideas the most original and vital of Home,” by Mary Johnson Osirim; “Collective Activism: expression possible. Our larger purpose is to foster a body of The Domestic Violence Bill becoming Law in Ghana,” by rigorous, creative and independent feminist thought.” Akosua Adomako Ampofo; “Outras Vozes: Women’s Writings in Lusophone Africa,” by Kathleen Sheldon & Isabel P.B. WO! MAGAZINE. 2006–2007. Editor: Anna Greer. Five Fêo Rodrigues; “Facing Challenges and Pioneering Feminist issues; free; online only; http://wo-magazine.com/. and Gender Studies: Women in Post-colonial and Today’s “Wo! Magazine is an experiment in alternatives to the Maghrib,” by Fatima Sadiqi; “Senegalese Women and the current women’s magazines in Australia. It is a feminist proj- Cyber Café: Online Dating and Aspirations of Transnational ect intent on creating and providing something interesting Migration in Ziguinchor,” by Emilie Venables; “‘Bottom that isn’t focussed on commercial mass culture and giving Power’: Theorizing Feminism and the Women’s Movement women hang ups about their bodies and sexuality... Wo! ex- in Sierra Leone (1981–2007),” by Lynda R. Day; “Analys- plores both global and Australian issues and will have a focus ing Males in Africa: Certain Useful Elements in Consider- on alternative cultures and current affairs. What Wo! isn’t is ing Ruling Masculinities,” by Kopano Ratele; “Changing gossip, celebrity-focussed, does-he-love-me, weight-obsessed Women’s Exclusion from Politics: Examples from Southern drivel.” Africa,” by Amanda Gouws. Production seems to have stalled or stopped completely in 2007, but the five issues published are still there to be COMMUNICATION REVIEW v.11, no.3, July 2008: read. Partial contents: in Issue 1 (“Raunch”), “Naomi Kazzi Special issue: “Feminist Media Studies and the Sexuality laments the proliferation of American pop culture raunch, Debates” (related to follow-up on the Barnard Conference infiltrating televisions and magazines all over Australia”; on Women, 1982) Issue editors: Andrea Press & Arlene “Kim Powell visits Sydney’s annual Sexpo and finds that for Stein. Publisher: Taylor & Francis. ISSN: 1071-4421 all our talk of sexual liberation, mainstream sexual mores (print); 1547-7487 (online). aren’t so risqué”; news about HIV: “Women are fast becom- Partial contents: “Looking Backward: Barnard and its ing the face of an epidemic which is spiralling out of control Legacies,” by Lynn Comella; “Updating the Sex ‘Wars’: in Papua New Guinea.” Issue 2 is a “travel special,” with Political Challenges to Liberationism,” by Carla Freccero; stories from travels in Kenya, China, and Ireland, and news “Stray Thoughts on Transgender Feminism and the Barnard Conference on Women,” by Susan Stryker; “Slow Love,” by Lisa Henderson; “Pornographic Permutations,” by Angela
Page 26 Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Periodical Notes
McRobbie; “Sexual Politics from Barnard to Las Vegas,” by Rolandsen Agustin; “Enhancing the Substantive Representa- Barbara Brents; “Porn and Me(n): Sexual Morality, Objec- tion of Women: Lessons from Transitions to Democracy,” by tification, and Religion at the Wheelock Anti-Pornography Georgina Waylen. Conference,” by Chris Boulton; “The Necessary Revolution: Sex-Positive Feminism in the Post-Barnard Era,” by Carol SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY Supplement Queen & Lynn Comella. from Spindel Conference 2007, Volume 46, 2008: “Global Feminist Ethics and Politics.” Supplement editor: Sarah JOURNAL OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS SARC Supple- Clark Miller. Publisher: Department of Philosophy, ment No. 5, November 2008: “California Substance Abuse University of Memphis. ISSN: 0038-4283. Journal Research Consortium 2007: A Focus on Women.” Supple- information and supplement table of contents online at ment editors: Beth Rutkowski, Thomas Freese, & Richard http://philosophy.memphis.edu/sjp/sjp.htm Rawson. Publisher: Haight Ashbury Publications. ISSN: Partial contents: “Military Intervention and the Ethics 0279-1072. Table of contents and sample article available at of Care,” by Virginia Held (Comments: “Military Interven- http://www.journalofpsychoactivedrugs.com/Tableofcon- tion in Two Registers,” by Bat-Ami Bar On); “Advocacy, Ne- tents/sarc5.html gotiation, and the Politics of Unknowing,” by Lorraine Code Partial contents: “From Generic to Gender-Responsive (Comments: “In Search of Tanzania: Are Effective Epistemic Treatment: Changes in Social Policies, Treatment Services, Practices Sufficient for Just Epistemic Practices?” by Kristie and Outcomes of Women in Substance Abuse Treatment,” Dotson); “Multiplicity, Inbetweenness, and the Question by Christine E. Grella; “Bar Patronage and Motivational of Assimilation,” by Mariana Ortega (Comments: “Multi- Predictors of Drinking in the San Francisco Bay Area: plicitous Subjectivity and the Problem of Assimilation,” by Gender and Sexual Identity Differences,” by Karen Trocki Ann Ferguson); “Recognition in Redistribution: Care and & Laurie Drabble; “Tobacco-Related Practices and Poli- Diversity in Global Justice,” by Carol C. Gould (Comments: cies in Residential Perinatal Drug Treatment Programs,” by “Care and Human Rights in a Globalized World,” by Serena Martha A. Jessup & Yeonsu Song; “Women and Addiction: Parekh); “Theory to Practice and Practice to Theory? Lessons A Trauma-Informed Approach,” by Stephanie S. Coving- from Local NGO Empowerment Projects in Indonesia,” by ton; “Childhood Adverse Events and Methamphetamine Christine M. Koggel (Comments: “Philosopher’s Contri- Use Among Men and Women,” by Nena Messina et al.; bution to the Empowerment of Local Practitioners: A Re- “Substance Abuse Among Native Hawaiian Women in the sponse to Christine Koggel’s ‘Theory to Practice and Practice United States: A Review of Current Literature and Recom- to Theory?’” by Ranjoo Seodu Herr). mendations for Future Research,” by Van M. Ta & TeChieh Chen. Transitions Parliamentary Affairs v. 6, no. 3, July 2008: Spe- cial issue: “The Descriptive and Substantive Representation Three volumes of the IRISH FEMINIST REVIEW were of Women.” Issue editors: Karen Celis & Sarah Childs. published from 2005 to 2007 by what was then the Wom- Publisher: Oxford University Press Journals. ISSN: 0031- en’s Studies Centre (WSC) at the National University of Ire- 2290. Available online to licensed users through ProQuest land, Galway; and the Review was “the only feminist journal Research Library and Social Sciences Full Text. published on the island” at that time. The WSC has since Partial contents: “Women ‘Leaders’ in Local Govern- been transformed into the Global Women’s Studies Pro- ment in the UK,” by Catherine Bochel &Hugh Bochel; gramme, and the Irish Feminist Review seems to have ceased “The Downside of Gender Quotas? Institutional Constraints publication; but its three volumes are distributed as books on Women in Mexican State Legislatures,” by Par Zetter- — with ISBNs — by Syracuse University Press. See http:// berg; “Critical Acts without a Critical Mass: The Substantive www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu/subject/nui-gal- Representation of Women in the Turkish Parliament,” by way-women-studies-centre.html for ordering information. Ayse Gunes Ayata & Fatma Tutuncu; “‘Is the Mere Presence The tables of contents for Volumes 1 and 2 are still listed at of a Strong Female Candidate Enough to Increase the Sub- http://www.nuigalway.ie/womens_studies/publications/ stantive Representation of Women?’” by Rainbow Murray; irishfeministreview.html. “Civil Society Participation in EU Gender Policy-Making: Framing Strategies and Institutional Constraints,” by Lise Compiled by JoAnne Lehman
Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Page 27 Items of Note
The Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) JTMwFcIQK8PIJcILJZMGKfLVLcPUH. All orders are has released a new report entitled DATE RAPE free of charge, but a donation of $1.00 per report and $.25 CASES AMONG YOUNG WOMEN AND THE per companion guide is recommended for orders of 25 or DEVELOPMENT OF GOOD PRACTICES FOR more. Donate online at https://www.kintera.org/site/ SUPPORT AND PREVENTION, which summarizes c.kwKXLdPaE/b.80228/k.E2AA/Donate_Now/apps/ka/ the findings of its transnational investigation on date rape sl/singlepledgebasket.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=80228&en among young women students in Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, =dlKTI6MKI9IQJ5NMJgKULgN6IoIZJhMYKmJ2JdM Malta, and Lithuania. The report provides case studies as OKgK3IsK or by check to the Breast Cancer Fund at 1388 well as statistical research data on the unwanted sexual Sutter St., Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94109. experiences of violence and date rape that exist in young women’s relationships within all participating countries. A SURFACING: SELECTED PAPERS ON RELIGIOUS second level of the report includes recommendations for FUNDAMENTALISMS AND THEIR IMPACT ON specific national strategies and policies to address not only WOMEN’S SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH the prevalence of date rape, but also the general lack of AND RIGHTS, an anthology from the 2007 ARROW awareness among young people, relevant authorities, and (Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women) NGOs. This report is available as a free PDF download at symposium, discusses the impact of Catholic, Hindu, http://www.medinstgenderstudies.org/?p=1356. To order and Islamic religious fundamentalism on Asian-Pacific a printed copy, contact director Susana Pavlou via email at women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. This [email protected]. collection of papers is available from ARROW for US$5 (plus $5 postage), either by email at [email protected] Sandra Steingraber’s THE FALLING AGE OF PUBERTY or by mail at Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for IN U.S. GIRLS: WHAT WE KNOW, WHAT WE NEED Women, No.1 & 2, Jalan Scott, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala TO KNOW is a comprehensive report of the published Lumpur, Malaysia. Find information about all of ARROW’s scientific literature on the timing of puberty in U.S. girls. publications at the center’s website: http://arrow.org.my/ The report focuses on such topics as pubertal development home/. (in particular, the onset of menstruation, and also the beginning of breast development and the appearance The sixteenth edition of the NARAL Pro-Choice America of pubic hair) and outlines nutritional, psychosocial, Foundation report, WHO DECIDES? THE STATUS and environmental factors that contribute to the onset OF WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IN THE of puberty. A companion ADVOCATE’S GUIDE is UNITED STATES, grades all fifty states (from +A to F) also available, providing a few of the key findings and on their laws related to reproductive health care, offering recommendations of the full length report. The full recent statistics, trends analysis, and a section on NARAL’s report is available as a free PDF download at http://www. “Prevention First” initiative. (Wisconsin, by the way, gets breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b= a D+ from NARAL. Find out why.) Also included is an 3291891. To order a printed copy of the full report, the overview of current state and federal laws in addition to companion advocate’s guide, or both, fill out the online political opinions of key elected officials. The full report request form at http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/ is available online at http://www.prochoiceamerica. c.kwKXLdPaE/b.2668373/k.91E/Falling_Age_of_ org/choice-action-center/in_your_state/who-decides/. Puberty_Report_Order_Form/apps/ka/ct/contactus. To request a printed copy, email WhoDecides@ asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=2668373&en=9rLLJUPuF5JI ProChoiceAmerica.org.
Compiled by Melissa A. Young
Page 28 Feminist Collections (v.30, no.3, Summer 2009) Books Recently Received
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN’S LITERATURE. PLAYING WITH THE BOYS: WHY SEPARATE IS NOT Mitchell, Angelyn and Taylor, Danille K., eds. Cambridge EQUAL IN SPORTS. McDonagh, Eileen and Pappano, University Press, 2009. Laura. Oxford University Press, 2008. ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CONTEMPORARY LGBTQ THE POWER OF SHAKTI: 18 PATHWAYS TO IGNITE LITERATURE OF THE UNITED STATES. Nelson, THE ENERGY OF THE DIVINE WOMAN. Prakasha, Emmanuel S., ed. Greenwood, 2009. Padma Aon. Destiny Books, 2009. FAIRY TALES REIMAGINED: ESSAYS ON NEW SIDE DISHES: LATINA AMERICAN WOMEN, SEX, RETELLINGS. Bobby, Susan Redington, ed. McFarland, AND CULTURAL PRODUCTION. Fitch, Melissa A. 2009. Petro, Patrice, ed. Rutgers University Press, 2009. FEMINIST PEDAGOGY: LOOKING BACK TO MOVE UNDERSTANDING FEMINISM. Bowden, Peta and FORWARD. Crabtree, Robbin D. and others, eds. Johns Mummery, Jane. Acumen, 2009. Hopkins University Press, 2009. WOMEN’S FICTION AUTHORS: A RESEARCH GENDER AND INTERNATIONAL AID IN GUIDE. Vnuk, Rebecca. Libraries Unlimited/ABC-CLIO, AFGHANISTAN: THE POLITICS AND EFFECTS OF 2009. INTERVENTION. Abirafeh, Lina. McFarland, 2009. WOMEN’S ROLES IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY GETTING REAL: CHALLENGING THE AMERICA. Smith, Merril D. Greenwood, 2008. SEXUALISATION OF GIRLS. Reist, Melinda Tankard, ed. WOMEN WHO KILL MEN: CALIFORNIA COURTS, Spinifex (Australia), 2009. GENDER, AND THE PRESS. Bakken, Gordon Morris GUILTY AT BIRTH: A TRUE STORY. Roman, Noama and Farrington, Brenda. University of Nebraska Press, 2009. Malva. iUniverse, 2009. HARD TIME AT TEHACHAPI: CALIFORNIA’S FIRST WOMEN’S PRISON. Cairns, Kathleen A. University of New Mexico Press, 2009. JESUS GIRLS: TRUE TALES OF GROWING UP FEMALE AND EVANGELICAL. Notess, Hannah Faith, ed. Cascade; distr. Ingram, 2009. LESBIAN ROMANCE NOVELS: A HISTORY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS. Betz, Phyllis M. McFarland, 2009. LGBTQ AMERICA TODAY: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA. Hawley, John C., ed. Greenwood, 2009. THE LITTLE DATA BOOK ON GENDER 2009. The World Bank Fix, Richard et al., comps. 2009. MISSING BODIES: THE POLITICS OF VISIBILITY. Casper, Monica J. and Moore, Lisa Jean. New York University Press, 2009. MOISTURE OF THE EARTH: MARY ROBINSON, CIVIL RIGHTS & TEXTILE UNION ACTIVIST. Buss, Fran Leeper, ed. and comp. University of Michigan Press, 2009. MUSLIM WOMEN REFORMERS: INSPIRING VOICES AGAINST OPPRESSION. Lichter, Ida. Prometheus, 2009. THE NEW WOMAN. Jurgensen, Lynn and others, eds. ABC-CLIO, 2009.
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