A classic work of feminist scholarship, Ain't I a Woman has become a must-read for all those interested in the nature of black womanhood. Examining the impact of sexism on black women during slavery, the devaluation of black womanhood, black male sexism, racism among feminists, and the black woman's involvement with feminism, hooks attempts to move us beyond racist and sexist assumptions. The result is nothing short of groundbreaking, giving this book a critical place on every feminist scholar's bookshelf.

Collected studies explore sexual equality and inequality in various societies and provide a foundation for social change.

The pioneering anthology Home Girls features writings by Black feminist and lesbian activists on topics both provocative and profound. Since its initial publication in 1983, it has become an essential text on Black women's lives and writings. This edition features an updated list of contributor biographies and an all-new preface that provides a fresh assessment of how Black women's lives have changed-or not-since the book was first published. Contributors are Tania Abdulahad, Donna Allegra, Barbara A. Banks, Becky Birtha, Julie Carter, (...) Cenen, Cheryl Clarke, Michelle Cliff, Michelle T. Clinton, Willie M. Coleman, Toi Derricotte, Alexis De Veaux, Jewelle L. Gomez, Akasha (Gloria) Hull, Patricia Jones, June Jordan, Audre Lorde, Raymina Y. Mays, Deidre McCalla, Chirlane McCray, Pat Parker, Linda C. Powell, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Spring Redd, Gwendolyn Rogers, Kate Rushin, Ann Allen Shockley, Barbara Smith, Beverly Smith, Shirley O. Steele, Luisah Teish, Jameelah Waheed, Alice Walker, and Renita Weems. (shrink)

Third World, Second Sex brings together women's organizations from over 20 Third World countries giving voice to their own experiences and perspectives. This important book reflects, as a result, the accelerating pace of women's struggles in countries as diverse as India and El Salvador, Oman and Mauritius, Chile and Zimbabwe. The issues these women face include their role in national liberation movements and armed struggles; the need, or otherwise, for an autonomous women's movement in Third World Countries; and the changing (...) position of women after a revolutionary transition. They also give accounts of specific feminist campaigns against malviolence, against company exploitation, and in the area of women and health. This book reveals how Third World women are confronting traditional male-dominated structures with courage and initiative. The experiences of this new generation of women's movements can contribute to an understanding among other Third World women of their problems and how to analyse and solve them. It also adds a rich new dimension to women's perspectives elsewhere in the world. A useful listing of women's organizations worldwide is also included. (shrink)

Fourteen provocative papers on the oppression of women in capitalist countries, along with three articles on the subordinate position of women in two communist countries, Cuba and China. These important, often path-breaking articles are arranged in five basic sections, the titles of which indicate the broad range of issues being considered: Introduction; motherhood, reproduction, and male supremacy; socialist feminist historical analysis; patriarchy in revolutionary society; socialist feminism in the United States. The underlying thrust of the book is toward integrating the (...) central ideas of radical feminist thought with those pivotal for Marxist or socialist class analysis. (shrink)