Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History Of American Women's Movements

Description

Eschewing the conventional wisdom that places the origins of the American women's movement in the 1960s, Feminism Unfinished traces the beginnings of this social movement to the 1920s and rewrites a century of American women's history. Challenging the contemporary "lean-in", trickle-down feminist philosophy, the authors demonstrate that the post-Suffrage women's movement focused on the exploitation of women in the workplace as well as on sexual rights. The authors revise the "wave" vision of feminism, which suggests breaks and divisions within media-driven "waves". Showing how history has obscured activism by working-class and minority women, Feminism Unfinished provides a much-needed corrective.

Reviews

Hooray for Cobble, Gordon, and Henry, who have written the women's history we ve been waiting for. Their vivid picture of working women acting together women who were brave, funny, and fierce is just what we need today when the voices of working people are rarely heard and the power of collective action rarely acknowledged. --Karen Nussbaum, executive director of Working America"

Author description

Dorothy Sue Cobble is the Distinguished Professor of History and Labor Studies at Rutgers University. Linda Gordon is the University Professor of History and the Humanities at New York University. Astrid Henry is the Louise R. Noun Chair of Women's Studies at Grinnell College.