Inessential Woman [Paperback]

Elizabeth V. Spelman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 1990

"Spelman uses her considerable erudition and analytical abilities to bring white, middle-class feminist theorists and their profoundest critics closer together."
-The Women's Review of Books

"An energetically thoughtprovoking contribution to current developments in feminist theory."
-The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Much of mainstream feminism focuses on white, middle-class women. Spelman, in what PW termed "a brilliant, scholarly rethinking of feminist thought," traces the roots of this tendency to ignore the interplay of racial, class, cultural and ethnic differences among oppressed women.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Spelman (philosophy, Smith) has developed a closely written, detailed, and (regrettably) repetitive treatise criticizing many feminist writers for their failure to transcend what she calls "the legacy of western philosophy": Whereas Aristotle and Plato denied the essential sameness among all humans, she says, these writers insist on an essential sameness among women, which results in denial of important differences, generalizes from the white, middle-class-American experience, and neglects to adequately acknowledge that of minority and Third World women. Taking examples from writers as diverse as Mary Daly, Shulamith Firestone, and Simone de Beauvior, Spelman accuses feminists of insisting that sexism affects all women alike--a statement sure to elicit controversy. For academic collections.
- Beverly Miller, Boise State Univ. Lib., Id.
Copyright 1989 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: 240 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (March 31, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807067458
• ISBN-13: 978-0807067451
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,112,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Professor Spelman is a great read, a great person!, May 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Inessential Woman (Paperback)

I read excerpts from this book for a Feminist philosophy class I took last semester at Mount Holyoke College. Now I am taking a class with professor Spelman and she is enthusiastic and wonderful and absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend her writings. Although I can't give much than a surface review of this book as I've only read a couple of essays from it, but I highly recommend you look into it. That class blew me away because it was my first REAL encounter with feminism. It is so wonderful to be exposed to this stuff. In fact, it's essential. As a woman it spoke to me, but I still wish there were more male feminists out there. Feminism needs to lose its bad rap and men need to realize it's a humanist way of being.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Professor Spelman is a great read, a great person!, May 1, 2002

By 

Ardnaxela "Ardnaxela" (SLC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inessential Woman (Paperback)

I read excerpts from this book for a Feminist philosophy class I took last semester at Mount Holyoke College. Now I am taking a class with professor Spelman and she is enthusiastic and wonderful and absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend her writings. Although I can't give much than a surface review of this book as I've only read a couple of essays from it, but I highly recommend you look into it. That class blew me away because it was my first REAL encounter with feminism. It is so wonderful to be exposed to this stuff. In fact, it's essential. As a woman it spoke to me, but I still wish there were more male feminists out there. Feminism needs to lose its bad rap and men need to realize it's a humanist way of being.