Book description
When hundreds gathered in 1970 for the UK's first women's liberation
conference, a movement that had been gathering strength for years
burst into a frenzy of radical action that was to transform the way we
think, act and live. In the 40 years since then, the feminist movement
has won triumphs and endured trials, but it has never weakened its
resolve, nor for a moment been dull. The Guardian has followed
its progress throughout, carrying interviews with and articles by the
major figures, chronicling with verve, wit and often passionate anger
the arguments surrounding pornography, prostitution, political
representation, power, pay, parental rights, abortion rights, domestic
chores and domestic violence. These are articles that, in essence, ask
two fundamental questions: Who are we? Who should we be?
This collection brings together - for the first time - the very best
of the Guardian's feminist writing. It includes the newspaper's
pioneering women's editor, Mary Stott, writing about Margaret
Thatcher, Beatrix Campbell on Princess Diana, Suzanne Moore
interviewing Camille Paglia, and Maya Jaggi interviewing Oprah
Winfrey; there's Jill Tweedie on why feminists need to be vocal and
angry, Polly Toynbee on violence against women, Hannah Pool on black
women and political power, and Andrea Dworkin writing with incendiary
energy about the Bill Clinton sex scandal.
Lively, provocative, thoughtful and funny, this is the essential
guide to the feminist thinking and writing of the past 40 years - the
ultimate portrait of an ongoing revolution.
Kira Cochrane is the women's editor for the
Guardian
and writes a regular column in the
New Statesman
.
