Mieke Bal is one of Europe's leading theorists and critics. Her work within feminist art history and cultural studies provides a fascinating alternative to prevailing thinking in these fields. The essays in this collection include Bal's brilliant analyses of the:
Myth of Rembrandt
Imagery of Vermeer
Baroque of Caravaggio
Neo-Baroque of David Reed
Culture of the museum
Visual representation of rape
Closet in Proust
Bal brings a keen visual sense to these studies, as well as an understanding of how literature represents visuality and how the ethics and aesthetics present within museums affect the cultural artifacts displayed.
In his engaging commentary, eminent art historian Norman Bryson shows how Bal's original approach to the interdisciplinary study of art and visual culture has had wide- reaching influence.

This book examines the enactment of gendered in/equalities across diverse Cultural forms, turning to the insights produced through the specific modes of onto-epistemological enquiry of embodied performance. It builds on work from the GRACE (Gender and Cultures of Equality in Europe) project and offers both theoretical and methodological analyses of an array of activities and artworks. The performative manifestations discussed include theatre, installations, social movements, mega-events, documentaries, and literary texts from multiple geopolitical locales. Engaging with the key concepts of re-enactment and relationality, the contributions explore the ways in which in/equalities are relationally re-produced in and through individual and collective bodies. This multi- and trans-disciplinary collection of essays creates fruitful dialogues within and beyond Performance Studies, sitting at the crossroads of ethnography, event studies, social movements, visual studies, critical discourse analysis, and contemporary approaches to textualities emerging from post-colonial and feminist studies.

To mark the 200th anniversary of Mary Wollstonecraft's death, this book brings together contributions which capture an important and continuing moment in feminist scholarship and practice. They range from interdisciplinary readings of Wollstonecraft's texts to historical explorations of later feminist movements to interpretations of the politics of gender in key parts of the world today. The book reflects a convergence of feminist theory, scholarship, and practice.

The book's themes include the roles of imagination, reason, and romance in sexual politics; the problems of forming feminist identities; the tensions between ideas of equality or common humanity; and differences of sex, class, and race power. These make it required reading for anyone engaged in current feminist analysis.

Gloria E. Anzaldua, best known for her books "Borderlands/La Frontera" and "This Bridge Called My Back", is often considered as one of the foremost modern feminist thinkers and activists. As one of the first openly lesbian Chicana writers, Anzaldua has played a major role in redefining queer, female and Chicano/a identities, and in developing inclusionary movements for social justice. In this memoir-like collection, Anzaldua's powerful voice speaks clearly and passionately. She recounts her life, explains many aspects of her thought, and explores the intersections between her writings and postcolonial theory. Each selection deepens our understanding of an important cultural theorist's lifework. The interviews contain clear explanations of Anzaldua's original concept of her work and her subsequent revisions of these ideas; her use of the term "new tribalism" as a disruptive category that redefines previous ethnocentric forms of nationalism; and what Anzaldua calls "conocimientos" - alternate ways of knowing that synthesize reflection with action to create knowledge systems that challenge the status quo. Highly personal, these interviews, arranged and introduced by AnaLouise Keating,

This book analyzes the political transformations in black women's socially engaged community-based political work in England in the late twentieth century. It situates these shifts alongside Britain's political economy and against the discourse and deployment of blackness as a political imaginary in which to engage in struggles for social justice.

This exciting book is an innovative and creative critique of the theories and practices of feminism, arguing that it still matters in the 21st century. Written by a mother and daughter authorial team, the book presents a dialogue across generations and reinstates a politics of difference and the importance of the category of 'woman'.

This annotated bibliography, a volume in the Greenwood series, Bibliographies and Indexes in Religious Studies, provides access to the numerous writings, from the 1960s through the 1990s, on feminism and Christian tradition. Major feminist theologians and sociologists are represented. As a guide to further research, this cross-disciplinary approach presents themes and issues in both a historical and a topical framework. An extensive overview of feminism in relation to the women's movement, women's studies, sociology and American religion introduces the literature and provides a historical context for the nearly one thousand entries that follow.

Cross-referenced throughout, the literature is presented in six thematic categories that include introductory and background materials, feminism and the development of feminist theology, topical literatures in feminist theology, feminism and womanist theology, religious leadership of women, and responses and recent developments. Separate author, subject, and title indexes complete the volume.

Film maker and feminist thinker Trinh T. Minh-ha is one of the most powerful and articulate voices in independent filmmaking. In her writings and interviews, as well as in her filmscripts, Trinh explores what she describes as the 'infinite relation'of word to image. Cinema Interval brings together her recent conversations on film and art, music and language, life and theory, with Homi Bhabba, Deb Verhoeven, Annamaria Morelli and other critics. Together these interviews offer the richest presentation of this extraordinary artist's ideas and visions. Extensively illustrated in colour and black and white, Cinema Interval covers a wide range of issues, many of them concerning 'the third term' or the 'space between'- between viewer, maker and film; image, sound and text; or else, between different sets of fictions, different forms of blindness and lucidity; between love and resistance. While discussing the films' perspectives on the shifting realities of China and Vietnam, the interviews also expand on the roles played by such concepts as residue, resonance, repetition, indirectness and foreignness in the creative proces. The complete scripts of Trinh's films Shoot for the Contents and A Tale of Love are also included. Cinema Interval will be an essential work for readers interested in contemporary film art, cultural politics, feminist thought and postcolonial studies.

In this text, the author Philippa Berry rewrites critical perceptions of death in Shakespeare's tragedies from a feminist perspective. Drawing on feminist theory, postmodern thought and queer theory, Berry challenges existing critical notions of what is "fundamental" to Shakespearean tragedy. She argues that there is a figurative rejection of death as terminus, which owes more to pagan thought than Christian. Through a close reading of the main tragedies, Berry discovers a sensuous and meditative Shakespearean discourse of materialism. Her theoretical and textual insights into the properties of matter, time, the soul, and the body now have relevance to contemporary debates about time and matter in science and philosophy.

'It is absolutely brilliant, I think every woman should read it' PANDORA SYKES, THE HIGH LOW 'My wish is that every white woman who calls herself a feminist will read this book in a state of hushed and humble respect ... Essential reading' ELIZABETH GILBERT All too often the focus of mainstream feminism is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. Meeting basic needs is a feminist issue. Food insecurity, the living wage and access to education are feminist issues. The fight against racism, ableism and transmisogyny are all feminist issues. White feminists often fail to see how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersect with gender. How can feminists stand in solidarity as a movement when there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? Insightful, incendiary and ultimately hopeful, Hood Feminism is both an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux and also clear-eyed assessment of how to save it.

In this introductory text for A level students and undergraduates, Jane Pilcher covers the main issues debated about women in Britain today. Subjects covered include:

* women and gender: sociological perspectives
* education and training
* women and paid work
* household work and caring
* love and sexuality
* crime and punishment
* politics and participation.

Providing a clear sociological analysis of central debates and an introduction to the main theoretical arguments as well as including discussions of further areas of interest, such as women and the media, and the body, this text will provide an invaluable resource for all students in sociology and womens studies and will be of interest to all those wishing to know more about contemporary society in Britain.

Feminising the Market discusses the role of the European Community, in particular the Single European Market, and shows how it is having an important impact on women's working lives. As well as documenting women's employment throughout Europe, the book addresses issues of key importance for women in Europe. These include how the European Community has developed policies that positively benefit women, the way that women are influencing change at the European level, and the impact that this is having at the national level.

In reading The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex, you'll quickly discover that the steps toward love and happiness are as easy as 1, 2, 3, and maybe even 4 or 5. And you'll find that if your own lesbian relationship lies outside the "traditional monogamous couple" model, you're definitely not alone. You'll explore many multifaceted and multifarious love relationships, each one applicable to your own liking, if you so choose. You'll find successful models of relationship styles--regardless of your own orientation--from cover to cover, and you'll discover the pleasing polyphony in the many, many female voices of authorities on love and love relationships.Whereas other similar studies project the limited view of one or two authors, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader calls upon a broad scope of writers, professional women and academics alike. You'll see that outside the gay rights movement that currently pushes for a traditional, monogamous marriage model of gay couplehood, there lies pleasing multiplicity in the arms and hearts of lesbians worldwide. Specifically, this collection offers: "first person" articles--stories that describe a variety of lesbian experiences relating to multiple lovers in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s "how-to" articles--descriptions of the various polyamorous relationship configurations, including ways of dealing with jealousy"theoretical" pieces--the history of multiple relationships, the social implications of practicing a love style other than monogamous coupling, and safer sex considerationsMuch, much more than a book on personal satisfaction, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader also focuses on the social implications of this love phenomenon, bringing it into a more inclusive circle of discussion for lesbians, educators, and students of sociology and sexology. You'll find satisfaction in seeing the love so many lesbian women have achieved by not mimicking the "marriage model" of living.

In reading The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex, you'll quickly discover that the steps toward love and happiness are as easy as 1, 2, 3, and maybe even 4 or 5. And you'll find that if your own lesbian relationship lies outside the "traditional monogamous couple" model, you're definitely not alone. You'll explore many multifaceted and multifarious love relationships, each one applicable to your own liking, if you so choose. You'll find successful models of relationship styles--regardless of your own orientation--from cover to cover, and you'll discover the pleasing polyphony in the many, many female voices of authorities on love and love relationships.Whereas other similar studies project the limited view of one or two authors, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader calls upon a broad scope of writers, professional women and academics alike. You'll see that outside the gay rights movement that currently pushes for a traditional, monogamous marriage model of gay couplehood, there lies pleasing multiplicity in the arms and hearts of lesbians worldwide. Specifically, this collection offers: "first person" articles--stories that describe a variety of lesbian experiences relating to multiple lovers in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s "how-to" articles--descriptions of the various polyamorous relationship configurations, including ways of dealing with jealousy "theoretical" pieces--the history of multiple relationships, the social implications of practicing a love style other than monogamous coupling, and safer sex considerations Much, much more than a book on personal satisfaction, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader also focuses on the social implications of this love phenomenon, bringing it into a more inclusive circle of discussion for lesbians, educators, and students of sociology and sexology. You'll find satisfaction in seeing the love so many lesbian women have achieved by not mimicking the "marriage model" of living.

In this major new book, renowned art historian Griselda Pollock makes a compelling intervention into a debate at the very centre of feminist art history: should the traditional canon of the Old Masters be rejected, replaced or reformed? What difference can a feminist approach to art history make?
Differencing the Canon moves between feminist re-readings of modern masters - Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Manet - and the canonical artists of feminist art history Artemisia Gentileschi and Mary Cassatt. Pollock asks both how women read and what might be different about art made by a woman. Pollock unpacks the representation of culturally resonant female figures in a range of texts, from Manet's depiction of the model Jeanne Duval in his painting Olympia, to Charlotte Brontë's Lucy Snowe, artists representations of Cleopatra and Angela Carter's Black Venus. She argues that it is not enough simply to read as a woman; we must also acknowledge the differences between women shaped by racist and colonial hierarchies.

This book aims to fill an important gap in feminist literature. In so doing, it addresses critical issues in feminist research around women, sport, physical activity and PE. All too frequently, women's presence in the sporting arena is marginalised and rarely are women's experiences heard and analysed. Drawing on a diversity of women's perspectives and theoretical standpoints, this book focuses upon the neglected process of research with women about 'sport'. All contributors to this collection have drawn on their research to illuminate and illustrate the dilemmas and issues involved in researching women's lives.

The first fully-fledged ethnography on health-related issues to come out of contemporary Vietnam, this study of women's lives in a rural commune in Vietnam's Red River delta examines the impact of Vietnam's ambitious family planning policy on the health and lives of rural women.

This book is organized around the personal struggles of ten extraordinary French women activists: Eugenie Niboyet, Eugenie Foa, Suzanne Voilquin, Josephine Bachellery, Pauline Roland, Jeanne Deroin, Elisa Lemonnier, Desiree Gay, Adele Esquiros, and Marie Noemie Constant. Ranging in age from 52 to 20 in 1848, coming from different economic backgrounds, these women share a common quest to be included in the economic and political rights won by the revolt against the July Monarchy. Banding together in the face of exclusion from the right to work guaranteed to all men in February 1848, they write petitions to the Provisional Government, and create the first daily feminist newspaper, "La Voix des femmes." The newspaper is a forum for their demands: midwives who demand to be paid as civil servants, domestic workers who demand support while unemployed, teachers who demand opportunities for higher education and for higher wages. The right to vote and the right to divorce are debated in the newspaper. Seeking to widen their support, Niboyet and her cohort launch a political club, Le Club de femmes, which is ridiculed in the satiric press. The women activists of 1848 do not withdraw from the public sphere. They form workers' associations. Deroin and Roland are imprisoned for their activism. All continue to work for women's rights as teachers, writers, and artists. The women of 1848 inspire successive generations of women to continue their struggle.

Everybody knows a Chauvo-Feminist... The 2017 #MeToo movement was a flagship moment, a time which empowered women to share their stories of sexual harassment and abuse in a spirit of solidarity and in demand of change. But have some men simply changed tactics? Acclaimed author Sam Mills investigates the phenomenon of the chauvo-feminist, the man whose public feminism works to advance his career, whilst his private self exhibits age-old chauvinistic tactics. Through testimonies and her own experience, Mills examines the psychological underpinnings of the chauvo-feminist, exploring questions of modern relationships, consent, and emotional abuse and asks how we might move beyond 'trial by Twitter' to encourage an honest and productive dialogue between men and women. Sam Mills is the author of numerous books, including The Quiddity of Will Self (Corsair, 2013), and recent memoir of love, madness and caring The Fragments of My Father (Fourth Estate, 2020).

The Victorian debate on marriage, motherhood and women's rights to an independent life reflects the impact the women's movement had on the formation and transformation of public opinion. The marriage debate was also about the New Woman, the "fin-de-siecle" representation of the feminist. This anthology contextualizes key feminist texts and ideas by connecting them to the public response they received. The first volume focuses on Mona Caird's "The Morality of Marriage" and the widespread controversy it provoked. The second volume widens the debate between feminists, traditionalists and anti-feminists by linking the public discourse on marriage and divorce to the controversy of the New Woman, a debate initiated and sustained by Sarah Grand's writings. The third and fourth volumes are concerned with New Woman fiction, providing selected reading from feminist and anti-feminist works, and reproducing the media debate on morality in literature. The fiction is taken from the writings of: Emma Brooke, Mona Caird, Gertrude Dix, Lady Florence Dixie, Emma Hepworth Dixon and George Egerton.

In pointing to the way in which women have been historically represented (or left out altogether) and the reality of women's lives, feminist performance makes the histories, lives and desires of women visible, as this volume of plays from the 1990s aims to illustrate. Historical focus is shared by all three plays in this volume, as is the stylistic challenge which they offer to the "malestream" version of history. In "Walking on Peas", Erika Bloch takes the "hidden", unknown historical lives of women who cross-dressed and joined the army as its subject. Foursight Theatre has made looking at history through "the eyes of women such as Eva Braun, Pope Joan, Mae West and Ulrike Meinhof" a key focus of their work. Their group devised a one-act play on Mary Tudor and Queen Elizabeth I, "Bloody Mary and the Virgin Queen". Julie Wilkinson's "Mrs. Beeton's History of the World" fuses the "great" and the "ordinary" by representing Mrs Beeton in juxtaposition with the figure of her working-clas maid, Caroline.

The symbol of the shifting categories of gender and sexuality, the New Woman epitomized the spirit of the fin-de-siècle. This monograph offers an interdisciplinary approach to the growing field of New Woman studies by exploring the relationship between the first-wave feminist literature, the 19th-century women's movement and female consumer culture. The book places the debate about femininity, feminism, and fiction in its cultural and socio-historical context exploring New Woman fiction as a genre, whose emerging theoretical discourse prefigured concepts central to second-wave feminist theory.