 |
 |
Store: An Independent Institute Book
FREEDOM, FEMINISM, AND THE STATE
Edited by
Wendy McElroy
Foreword by
Lewis Perry
Feminism is not a new political force; its origins can be traced back to the abolitionist movement before the Civil War. Fighting to end slavery, women became conscious of their own legal disabilities. From these anti-statist roots, the women’s movement eventually divided over such issues as sex, the family, and war.
McElroy’s book traces individualist feminism from those early roots until the present day. Her research demonstrates that in vital issues from sex and birth control to business and science, government has been the real obstacle in preventing women from achieving personal freedom and equal rights.
This book discusses such controversies as individualism and socialism in the feminist tradition, economic freedom and the role of women, and the contemporary differences between mainstream and individualist feminism. Through McElroy’s work and those of a distinguished group of contributors, this book issues a ringing call for women to recapture their individualist heritage.
Detailed Summary |
| |
|
Contributors
Voltairine de Cleyre, Ellen Batelle Dietrick, Barbara Ehrenreich, Jean Nethke Elshtain, Deidre English, Emma Goldman, Angeline and Sarah Grimké, Lillian Harman, Angela Heywood, Ezra Heywood, Lynn Kinsky, Suzanne LaFollette, Rose Wilder Lane, Bertha Marvin, Wendy McElroy, Rosalie Nichols, Sharon Presley, Lysander Spooner, Lucy Stone, and Joan Kennedy Taylor.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: The Roots of Individualist Feminism in 19th Century America
- Section I: Government and Women
- Chapter 1: Human Rights Not Founded on Sex
- Chapter 2: Liberty and American Traditions
- Chapter 3: Give Me Liberty
- Chapter 4: Antigone’s Daughters
- Chapter 5: Government is Women’s Enemy
- Section II: Women and Sex
- Chapter 6: Irrelevancies
- Chapter 7: Prostitution
- Section III: Women and Family
- Chapter 8: Marriage Contract
- Chapter 9: Legal Disabilities of Women
- Chapter 10: The Speech of Polly Baker
- Chapter 11: Some Problems of Social Freedom
- Section IV: Women and Birth Control
- Chapter 12: Body Housekeeping
- Chapter 13: The Persecution of Moses Harman
- Chapter 14: Abortion
- Section V: Women and Work
- Chapter 15: Are Feminist Business Capitalistic?
- Chapter 16: The Economic Position of Women
- Chapter 17: Protective Labor Legislation
- Chapter 18: Women and the Rise of the American Medical Profession
- Section VI: Women and Church
- Chapter 19: Cardinal Gibbon’s Ignorance
- Section VII: Woman’s Suffrage
- Chapter 20: A Right to Make Laws?
- Chapter 21: Perpetual Vassalage
- Section VIII: Women and War
- Chapter 22: Patriotism—A Menace to Liberty?
Praise for Freedom, Feminism, and the State “Freedom, Feminism and the State is an exciting collection of hitherto unknown feminist works. Wendy McElroy’s introduction clearly shows the important place individualistic feminism occupied in the pioneering years of the feminist movement. McElroy’s analysis helps explain why so many women feel non-committal toward the modern feminist movement. Freedom, Feminism and the State is must reading for anyone concerned with the freedom of women.” —JENNIFER ROBACK MORSE, Senior Fellow, Acton Institute
“Freedom, Feminism and the State is a superb reader, a lone offset to the assumption in most feminist thinking that the Daddy State can save women.” —DEIRDRE MCCLOSKEY, Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago
“No one who reads Freedom, Feminism and the State can ever doubt again that women have been oppressed by men who have teamed up with the state powers of the day to keep women down. Here, moreover, is eloquent testimony to the equality of the sexes throughout our history in these intelligent essays by female philosophers, moralists, individualists.” —ANNE B. ZILL, Director, Women’s Campaign Fund
“Freedom, Feminism and the State is an important contribution to, and clarification of, the often confused debate on the rights of women and the source of their oppression.” —HUMANE STUDIES REVIEW
“To read Freedom, Feminism and the State is to receive a treasure chest of personal letters from the past from women struggling to attain equality and wholeness. The collection provides unique insights into the heritage and origins of the feminist movement and highlights problems that remain unresolved by feminists today. In addition, the government-generated oppression of women receives careful treatment, including suggestions for far-reaching and fundamental reforms. I recommend this book to anyone concerned with the problems women face as a subjugated majority.” —REBECCA SHIPMEN, Chairperson, Human Services Department, Massasoit Community College
“Freedom, Feminism and the State is a provocative challenge to contemporary feminist orthodoxy.” —NEW DIRECTIONS FOR WOMEN
“Freedom, Feminism and the State is based on the premise that we must think seriously about individualism and political power . . . . For feminists, the disastrous strategies and floundering of political leadership ought to provoke a re-examination of goals and principles.” —LEWIS PERRY, former editor, Journal of American History; John Francis Endowed Chair in History, St. Louis University About the Editor Wendy McElroy is a Research Fellow at The Independent Institute. Her other books include The Independent Institute volume, Liberty for Women: Freedom and Feminism in the Twenty-first Century; plus Sexual Correctness; The Reasonable Woman: A Guide to Intellectual Survival; Dissenting Electorate: Those Who Refuse to Vote and the Legitimacy of Their Opposition; XXX: A Woman’s Right to Pornography; Queen Silver: The Godless Girl; and Liberty 1881-1908: A Comprehensive Index. Ms. McElroy was Series Editor for Knowledge Products’ popular audio-tape series, The World of Philosophy, The World’s Political Hot Spots, The United States at War, and The United States Constitution, and she authored the scripts for Vindication of the Rights of Woman and The Liberator, Civil Disobedience, and Discourse on Voluntary Servitude in the Audio Classics Series. A weekly columnist for FOX News.com, she is a contributing editor to several periodicals, the author of numerous articles in various magazines and scholarly journals, and the editor of the popular feminism site, .
|
|
 |
|
