Dear Sisters: Dispatches From The Women's Liberation Movement [Paperback]

Rosalyn Baxandall (Author), Linda Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 17, 2001 | ISBN-10: 046501707X | ISBN-13: 978-0465017072

Today's women are so comfortable in their authority that they often forget to credit the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s for paving the way—from the kitchen to the boardroom, from sexual harassment to self-defense, from cheerleading on the sidelines to playing center on the team. Distinguished scholars and active participants in the movement, Linda Gordon and Rosalyn Baxandall have collected a colorful array of documents—songs, leaflets, cartoons, position papers—that illustrate the range of people, places, organizations, and ideas that made up the movement. Dear Sisters chronicles historical change in such broad areas as health, work, and family, and captures the subtle humor, unceasing passion, and overwhelming diversity that defined the women's liberation movement.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Although the title and subtitle of this outstanding collection pretty much say it all, readers will be delighted to have these leaflets, essays, op-ed pieces, cartoons ("Wonder Woman with a Speculum" is especially fetching), and other essential and/or ephemeral documents of the women's liberation movement, dating from about 1968-1977. Much of the work collected and commented on here was collaborative or anonymous (almost all of it has been preserved by chance), and it has also been substantially abridged to make room for as much material as possible. Nevertheless, it supports a vivid picture of the hope, defiance, and giddy enthusiasm that characterized the women's movement in those years. The section on women's health--in which feminists have made such enormous strides--is especially cheering. --Regina Marler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Middle-aged feminists will greet with delight this wide-ranging compilation of original documents from 1968 to 1977, the days of "maximum grassroots participation in the women's movement." Two distinguished historians have gathered these articles, leaflets, position papers, drawings, and cartoons to record the thinking of myriad feminist groups overlooked by historians because of the difficulty in locating documents often written collectively or anonymously and circulated by samizdat. (Originals are now in the New York University library, available to the public.) The authors introduce the collection with an essay placing the movement in historical perspective, and each entry has its own brief introductory annotation. The documentsDmost have been abridgedDare arranged in broad topical areas, and the diversity of perspectives is admirable. Although there is some overlap with Radical Feminism: A Documentary Reader, edited by Barbara Crow (New York Univ., 2000), Crow's focus on longer theoretical pieces will serve a scholarly audience, while Baxandall and Gordon's work will attract a larger public readership. Most libraries will want this volume.DCynthia Harrison, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (May 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 046501707X
• ISBN-13: 978-0465017072
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The feminist movement....a look back in time. December 7, 2000

By R. Ellis

Format:Hardcover

As a fifty-one year old woman who was at one time the epitome of the radical feminist, reading Dear Sisters was a revelation. We really have come a long way, baby. This was a look back at a time that has obviously mellowed in my memory with age. The extreme view point of many of the writings came as a surprise to me, even though I was in the forefront of the movement at the time and most certainly entertained opinions that were no less extreme or radical. I reflect now that in spite of obvious arenas still lacking in parity, women today have much more power, autonomy and equality on most fronts than thiry years ago. Women in positions of authority are not only common today, but accepted and seldom considered an oddity. In spite of the failures to pass the ERA, it is hard to find much support today for keeping women from their just due. Dear Sisters is a facinating reminder that this was not always the case. In spite of the fact that some of the articles included in this book hit me as not just extreme, but also somewhat silly, it is a great historical reference. I would recommend this book not just to other aging feminists like myself, but to the young women of today who may not recognize how dramatically different times were for their mothers. This book will give them a guided tour through the struggle that brought us where we are today.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Primer November 5, 2002

By "stenerin1"

Format:Paperback

Excellent and well-selected look at the Women's Liberation Movement from those that lived it and made it, offering a glimpse into a time that has gone and cannot return. Sometimes we forget how far we've actually come and how much good the movement has already done, but DEAR SISTERS reminds us of the strides of those in the past, so that we may be inspired for the future. Sometimes angry, sometimes hilarious and sometimes foolish, DEAR SISTERS never makes the mistake of being boring. Subtitled "Dispatches From the Women's Liberation Movement," it offers just that - dispatches from the women on the front lines of the movement from its infancy to well up into the late 90s, telling their story through their own vibrant, unforgettable words and images.

DEAR SISTERS is not COMPLETELY exhaustive; the well-heeled feminist will notice obvious skips over black sheep like Valerie Solanas, who is now the redheaded stepchild of the movement. But as a primer, and a document of the times, there is hardly anything better.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful Exposition April 16, 2004

By Conan the Librarian

Format:Hardcover

'Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women's Liberation Movement' is a potent collection of compelling and profound feminist literature. Rosalyn Fraad Baxandall has compiled a formidable anthology of writing from myriad leaders, both past and extant, who have shaped the movement's history and continue to affirm its relevance. The text is as varied as the authors' experiences, and never once does it lose its focus. For me, Gloria Steinem's minimalist contribution epitomizes the argument and foreshadows the positive influence of today's political correctness. On page 67, Ms Steinem writes;

'Traditional literature has for too long been the primary source for stereotyping women's roles. For years, men have been reciting the following nursery rhyme as if it were a mantra designed to maintain the staus quo:

Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.

It is now time to rewrite the facile rhyme and expose the fallacious reason:

Why should Polly put the kettle on?
Why not Pedro, Chang, Habib or John?
Gender stereotyping's past and gone,
We'll ALL make tea.

So Pedro, put the kettle on,
And Chang, you wear the lace apron,
And Habib, butter Polly's scone,
And John, you pour the tea.

And if Polly wants a second cup,
Then guys, YOU fill the kettle up.
And when it's boiled we all can sup;
Ah, sweet equali-tea.'

I was so impressed with this book that I bought two copies - one for each eye.