Kirkus Review
Richly illustrated, engagingly written history of second-wave feminism and successor movements from the 1960s to the present.As Morris (Women's History/George Washington Univ. and Georgetown Univ.; Sappho's Bar and Grill, 2017, etc.) and Withers (Sociology/Univ. of Bristol; Feminism, Digital Culture and the Politics of Transmission, 2015, etc.) write, the women's liberation movement that developed alongside other countercultural political movements was predominantly Western and mostly "white-dominated." They trace an early milestone to a conference in Oxford, England, held in late February 1970, the first women's liberation conference in Britain, which articulated certain goalsimportantly, "consciousness raising," "a tool that enabled women to unlock knowledge that had been historically overlooked by male-dominated politics and culture." The conference was important, but it had predecessors in such things as feminist protests at the 1968 Miss America pageant, which decried "an image that oppresses in every area in which it purports to represent us," and the publication of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex and Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. The political movement spread to embrace parallel movements on the part of women of color, with representatives such as Angela Davis in the U.S. and Olive Morris in the U.K. Other milestones included the publication, in 1971, of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective of Our Bodies, Ourselves, which, the authors note, sold 240,000 copies in its first newsprint edition and many more in a more conventional trade format, touching off an interest in self-care and health activism. "Through politicizing the female body," Morris and Withers note, "the women's movement constructed new political and territorial boundaries." Other pathways to liberation included lesbian collectives, women's publishing houses and book fairs, publications such as the pioneering Ms. magazine, music, and performance art. Later allied movements included women's campaigns against nuclear weaponry, for equal pay, and the like. The authors note ongoing concerns among post-second wave activists, including "slut shaming" and access to information.Essential for students of women's rights and popular political movements in the modern era and an inspiration for future actions. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This collection of essays, firsthand accounts, photos, and posters is equal parts highly readable prose and collector's item. Morris, a women's-studies professor, and Withers, a cultural theorist, have gathered critical components of the history of women's resistance and presented them here for careful consumption. The language of the text is extremely informative and well researched. The authors are clear from the beginning that theirs is the narrative of the women's-rights movement as it has been experienced in the U.S. and the UK, to avoid alienating other global initiatives. The images and media included range from campaign buttons to festival posters to inspirational artwork, all of which strengthen the power of the corresponding text. The book is divided into sections, the topics of which range from workplace equity to health care to sexuality to music. The authors stress the importance of an intersectional movement and urge readers to reach beyond their own biases as women or allies. Their book is a love letter to all the radical fighters who have come before.--Eathorne, Courtney Copyright 2018 Booklist
Choice Review
Morris (gender and women's studies, Berkeley) and Withers (fellow, Univ. of Sussex, UK) provide a thematic history of the women's movement in a text that is part visual anthology and part textbook. Despite largely focusing on feminist manifestations in the US and Britain, the authors take pains to incorporate international sources and events, most significantly through their inclusion of an array of visual sources--such as stamps, posters, flyers, and buttons--from countries including South Africa, Russia, China, Australia, Greece, and Belgium. The authors begin by discussing the movement and how it was mobilized, the movement's political and ideological commitments, and feminism's strong ties to the Civil Rights Movement and activism by women-of-color. Next, the authors tackle women's reclamation of the physical and mental treatment of the body, sexuality and lesbian feminism, culture and the workplace, publishing and media, music and the arts, and the antiwar and antinuclear proliferation debates. They close with a discussion of the radicalization and fragmentation of the movement and the implications for the education of the next generation of feminists. Including a foreword by Roxane Gay, this text provides an excellent and engaging introduction to the feminist movement. Summing Up: Essential. Public, general, and undergraduate levels/libraries. --Samantha Leigh Vandermeade, Arizona State University
Library Journal Review
Historian Morris (The Disappearing L) and cultural theorist Withers (Feminism, Digital Culture, and the Politics of Transmission) have collaborated on a wonderfully browsable book that introduces the politics, practices, and playfulness of mid-20th--century feminist activism in the West. The coauthors, sometimes individually and sometimes in a unified voice, provide a -narrative that synthesizes and -contextualizes key issues while also pulling out specific campaigns, organizations, and individuals as examples and touchstones. Nine thematic chapters explore facets of women's liberation between the 1960s through the 1980s, including black sisterhood, sexuality and lesbian feminism, reproductive rights, domestic violence, women and work, publishing, media and music, antiwar activism, and environmentalism. A tenth chapter brings feminist activism into the 21st century. While focused on Anglo-American activism, the authors widen their lens to include activists from across Europe as well as placing Western movements in global context. VERDICT Much like a museum exhibition, this collection uses accessible text and rich visual materials that invite readers to explore in a nonlinear fashion. It will appeal to both those deeply familiar with the topic as well as beginners of this influential moment in feminist history.-Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook, Massachusetts Historical Soc. © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.