I remember having a conversation on this blog awhile back about feminism. Since then,I have been trying to find the right feminism article or book to share with my readers. The reason for this I assume is that,I do not agree with all feminists and certainly do not feel very close to all who share the same gender as I do. It is because other factors which we study as racial,sexual,class differences,social status,educational status etc. all play a role in the kind of feminist you are allowed to become. Some may say well this is seperatism and will not really be helpful to the cause of pushing for equality or better rights for women. While,to some extent,this may be true,I also feel a need to push for rights and equality for men,nations,races,religions. It is part of a system of thought and feminism is only one part of the issue.

I recently found a book with the text on the net. I would like to share this with my readers and think about the issues it discusses. I will provide my views on the book and comment with other feminist texts I have read in the past and continue to read...

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QUIET RUMOURS

Introduction

The feminist movement that began in the late '60s developed its own organisational form and practice, at the heart of which lay the small group - for example for consciousness-raising - often composed of close friends. From a base of thousands of such groups grew the larger, international movement.

In its early years the feminist movement was notable for its absence of leaders (and led), its decentralism, its federalism - best witnessed in the thousands of magazines, newspapers and pamphlets that wove the movement together - its complete lack of dogma and its denial of any one ideology or line. Lastly, springing from all this, its overall emphasis upon a non-hierarchical movement. It must be pointed out that all these forms of organisation appeared spontaneously without any external direction or preconceived programme.

By the mid '70s most of these principles were in real danger of being forgotten as the movement became dominated by political ideologies, ideologies that some women regarded as essentially male, for example marxism and its many brands. Also the movement began to be directed towards mass and reformist campaigns which were often inherently hierarchical and centrist and of course intended to appeal to the ultimate expression of the patriarchy - the state.

For those feminists already aware of anarchist ideas the dangers of these developments were immediately clear and all too familiar. The anarcha-feminist critique gained popularity and was widely studied. The first English anarcha-feminist groups appeared in 1977 and soon grew to a national network with its own bulletins and newspaper, with two national and several regional conferences. Throughout this period the Black Bear group was busily publishing pamphlets on anarcha-feminism, all of which were extremely popular, going through several reprints and selling in their thousands.

But by 1980 the anarcha-ferninist movement had to all intents and purposes ceased to function. It seems, looking back, rather shortlived. For one thing it faced opposition not only from marxist and reformist feminists but also from the traditional, and male-dominated, anarchist movement, which regarded anarcha-feminists as some kind of threat to its position. Partly because of all this, anarcha-feminists moved away into other areas of activity, particularly the growing anti-nuclear movement.

However, a great demand still exists for the pamphlets first published by Black Bear and so they are now collected together for the first time in Quiet Rumours. Hopefully their reappearance will once again stimulate readers to consider and recognise the value of their arguments.