Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations [Paperback]

Carol J. Adams (Editor), Josephine Donovan (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0822316676 | ISBN-13: 978-0822316671 | Publication Date: November 14, 1995 | Edition: 1

Animals and Women is a collection of pioneering essays that explores the theoretical connections between feminism and animal defense. Offering a feminist perspective on the status of animals, this unique volume argues persuasively that both the social construction and oppressions of women are inextricably connected to the ways in which we comprehend and abuse other species. Furthermore, it demonstrates that such a focus does not distract from the struggle for women’s rights, but rather contributes to it.
This wide-ranging multidisciplinary anthology presents original material from scholars in a variety of fields, as well as a rare, early article by Virginia Woolf. Exploring the leading edge of the species/gender boundary, it addresses such issues as the relationship between abortion rights and animal rights, the connection between woman-battering and animal abuse, and the speciesist basis for much sexist language. Also considered are the ways in which animals have been regarded by science, literature, and the environmentalist movement. A striking meditation on women and wolves is presented, as is an examination of sexual harassment and the taxonomy of hunters and hunting. Finally, this compelling collection suggests that the subordination and degradation of women is a prototype for other forms of abuse, and that to deny this connection is to participate in the continued mistreatment of animals and women.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is an outstanding collection. The authors write expertly on the surprisingly intimate relation between attitudes toward animals and women in our culture. From reading their work on pornography, the treatment of ‘laboratory’ animals, hunting, wife-beating, and factory farming I have learned a tremendous amount. This superbly edited volume makes an important contribution to the cause of animal and human liberation."—Jane Tompkins, Duke University

About the Author

Carol J. Adams is a writer and a professional consultant on issues of sexual harassment and sexual violence. She is the author of several books, including The Sexual Politics of Meat and, most recently, Neither Man nor Beast.

Josephine Donovan is Professor of English at the University of Maine, Orono. She is the author of many books, including Feminist Theory and the editor of Feminist Literary Criticism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press Books; 1 edition (November 14, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822316676
• ISBN-13: 978-0822316671
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory. It's been called "ground-breaking" and "pioneering" (interesting how our description of books draws from our invasive relationship to the land). Many say it is an underground classic, which I guess means that lots of people know and love it, but it goes unnoticed by the dominant media. Of course, when it first came out, that was slightly different. Then, right-wing reviewers held it up as the latest example of academic excess and political correctness, which was funny to me, because I am not an academic. I used to teach a course I developed at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University on "Sexual and Domestic Violence: Theological and Pastoral Issues" -- but very infrequently. Basically, for as long as I have been an adult, I have been an advocate, an activist, someone trying to figure out how do we transform this d*#! world that is built on inequality.

I have published more than 100 articles in journals, books, and magazines on the issues of vegetarianism and veganism, animal advocacy, domestic violence and sexual abuse. I am particularly interested in the interconnections among forms of violence against human and nonhuman animals, writing, for instance, about why woman-batterers harm animals and the implications of this (it's in my book Animals and Women). Besides advancing scholarship and developing theory in the area of interlocking oppressions, I have created a series of books that address the vegetarian/vegan experience: Living Among Meat Eaters: The Vegetarian Survival Guide, Help! My Child Stopped Eating Meat! and The Inner Art of Vegetarianism.

I've worked to bring back into print Howard Williams's nineteenth-century classic text on vegetarianism, The Ethics of Diet. I have contributed prefaces to important vegetarian, vegan, and animal defense books and discovered an eighteenth-century vegetarian work that had never entered the vegetarian tradition.

Because I am so deeply moved by my relationship with animals, I have authored books of prayers for animals for both adults and children.

I am excited that the 20th anniversary edition of The Sexual Politics of Meat will be published next February.

I also write about literary topics, including two "Bedside" books: one on Frankenstein and one on Jane Austen. I am finishing a memoir on caregiving and reading.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let's look at the words we use., May 8, 2009

By 

Beverly J. Stevens "Speechless" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (Paperback)

This book is eye-opening. If we call a woman a pig, are be being verbally abusive to the woman, the pig, or both? The book helps us understand the psycological roots of violence: violence and male dominance (i.e., the spiritual hunter). The author draws many correlations throughout the book. This is not a quick read for the thinking person but an excellent study in human thought, words, and actions throughout our society, relating to women. Whether or not we agree with what is written here, we will certainly give it some thought.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prompt shipping, June 2, 2010

By 

L. Hughes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations (Paperback)

Shipping was prompt and condition was fair. I do not remember any mention of notes being written in the margins on the description of this book. I am quite happy with them in any case but would want to be aware beforehand.