Sisterhood, Interrupted: From Radical Women to Grrls Gone Wild (Paperback)

by Deborah Siegel (Author), Jennifer Baumgardner (Foreword) "On February 15, 1969, the day I was born, the newly formed women's liberation movement launched its national attack on domesticity..." (more)
Key Phrases: third wavers, second wavers, older feminists, New York, New Left, Betty Friedan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"My hope is that after reading this book, you will have a deeper sense of many of the stories that make feminist history and philosophy, and you will use them to continue to figure out what feminism means to you."--from the foreword by Jennifer Baumgardner
 
"Siegel has her finger on the pulse of one of the main issues concerning women today: generational infighting around the unfinished business of feminism. It's an issue that concerns everyone—whether or not they use the f-word."--Catherine Orenstein, author of Red Riding Hood Uncloaked
 
"Sisterhood, Interrupted tells the history of conflicts within feminism without demonizing or blaming. Siegel conveys the excitement of feminism, then and now. She offers an informed and sympathetic perspective on the second wave that will help younger readers understand what it was like to be part of a movement that planned to change the world. And her framing of contemporary feminism will shape future conversations. Her explanations of what's happening now--the significant trends and controversies within the movement--provide a clarity that's lacking in the work of many feminist authors, from any generation. I couldn't put the book down."--Alison Piepmeier, co-editor of Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century
 
"Someone should make a t-shirt for Deborah Siegel that says, 'This is what a feminist historian looks like'...a thorough and engaging narrative."--Merri Lisa Johnson, author of Jane Sexes It Up

 

"A] fascinating new book . . . [a] thorough history of the infighting that has gone on within the feminist movement." --Huffington Post

 

"A very good book about how modern feminism has fared across the
generational divide. It's a helluva yarn." --New York Observer

 

"[M]ost serious...and satisfying." --Library Journal

 

"Siegel packs substantial material into 170 pages, and the result is a succinct history perfect for introductory college courses or for women wanting to learn more about various permutations of feminism. In revisiting its history, Siegel reclaims “the f-word,” and invites her readers to do so along with her.” --On Campus with Women

 

"Sisterhood, Interrupted is authoritative, informative, and fast-moving, making it perfect summer reading for anyone ready for an original and optimistic perspective on the women's movement and how to bridge the ideological gap between younger and older feminists. This book is also required reading for anyone interested in getting feminism out of its current rut, and (re)organizing women for change." --Mothers Movement Online

"With a readable, engaging style, Siegel takes feminist history, the good, the bad, and the vicious, and tells us what happened and why we should care. Her very careful, nuanced, play-by-play account of the early years and struggles of the second wave feminist movement, as well as documentation of the third wave's origins and modern incarnations, is vital in an era when women are constantly pitted against each other, whether it's young vs. old, stay at home moms vs. working moms, feminists vs. non-feminists, etc. Siegel doesn't shy away from the truly bitter divides that cropped up in the second wave. . . and in doing so brings needed attention to the causes women were and are fighting for." - Rachel Kramer Bussel, Lusty Lady

 

Product Description

Contrary to clichés about the end of feminism, Deborah Siegel argues that younger women are reliving the battles of its past, and reinventing it--with a vengeance. From feminist blogging to the popularity of the WNBA, girl culture is on the rise. A lively and compelling look back at the framing of one of the most contentious social movements of our time, Sisterhood, Interrupted exposes the key issues still at stake, outlining how a twenty-first century feminist can reconcile the personal with the political and combat long-standing inequalities that continue today.

See all Editorial Reviews

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Product Details Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (June 12, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 140398204X ISBN-13: 978-1403982049 Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,313 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #67 in  Books > Nonfiction > Women's Studies > History #98 in  Books > Nonfiction > Women's Studies > Feminist Theory

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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First Sentence:
On February 15, 1969, the day I was born, the newly formed women's liberation movement launched its national attack on domesticity. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
third wavers, second wavers, older feminists, radical feminist movement, lavender menace, radical feminist groups, radical women, new feminism, feminism today

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, New Left, Betty Friedan, Miss America, Gloria Steinem, United States, African American, White House, Rebecca Walker, Supreme Court, Carol Hanisch, Robin Morgan, Susan Brownmiller, Anita Hill, Kate Millett, City Hall, Hillary Clinton, New Right, San Francisco, Amy Richards, Andy Warhol, Atlantic City, Germaine Greer, Naomi Wolf, Sisterhood Is Powerful

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7 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful, Detailed Insight Into Feminism Past and Present, June 26, 2007 By  Rachel Kramer Bussel "Cupcakes Take the Cake ... (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)       With a readable, engaging style, Siegel takes feminist history, the good, the bad, and the vicious, and tells us what happened and why we should care. Her very careful, nuanced, play-by-play account of the early years and struggles of the second wave feminist movement, as well as documentation of the third wave's origins and modern incarnations, is vital in an era when women are constantly pitted against each other, whether it's young vs. old, stay at home moms vs. working moms, feminists vs. non-feminists, etc. Siegel doesn't shy away from the truly bitter divides that cropped up in the second wave (and, one could probably argue, were passed down from the first wave and its predecessors, though Siegel limits herself to the 1950's and beyond), and in doing so brings needed attention to the causes women were and are fighting for. Her point is not that younger feminists should simply be more educated, or older feminists more tolerating, but that infighting is as old as feminism and is, perhaps, good for it in that it helps the movement grow, stretch, change, and evolve. Siegel also tackles why feminism is still important, even if "feminism" is becoming increasingly hard to define, for feminists and non-feminists. It's this very erasure and confusion over the word, its history, and its motives that Siegel unpacks so well. She doesn't necessarily want readers to identify with either the "mothers" or "daughters" here, but to gain a clearer picture of who is in each group and what their main gripes with each other are (as well as areas where they've bonded and interacted). The idea that "conflict has long been feminism's lifeblood," along with the need for the more radical and more mainstream strands of a social movement, are ideas that Siegel presents with scholarly yet accessible detail that revisits some of the high (and low) points of second wave feminism, and also explores the various strands of anti-feminism that have sprung up since then. Some of her examples seem reaching; when she writes, "At the dawn of the new millennium, it was no longer simply a battle between feminists but between older and younger women more broadly," going on to cite The Devil Wears Prada, Chore Whore, and The Second Assistant, I'm not really sure how or where this fits in since these aren't books about feminism and if the idea is that women shouldn't criticize their female bosses or portray them as equally as heinous as male bosses, that seems like a reverse kind of chauvinism. (The example of Citizen Girl hits much closer to home.) To my reading, this is part of a larger conflation of pop culture and "feminism," whereby anything that happened on, say, Sex and the City, is The Truth For Women. While I think art and fiction and television do reflect reality, they are not exact replicas and should not be taken as such. This leads me to my larger question, which is whether a book like this is speaking to or only trying to reach self-described feminists or a larger audience, the "I'm not a feminist but..." person or (gasp!) even men. I think a lot of what Siegel discusses re: the third wave is in fact about women who don't necessarily need or want labels (including, at times, the feminist one) and how they do or don't relate to "feminism," and though I would definitely call myself a feminist, I often feel that the label is often used as some sort of arbitrary litmus test flung about at random rather than anything concrete. It seems like anyone who publicly calls herself a feminist can, in an instant, be dismissed by other self-identified feminists with some form of "You think you're a feminist, but you're not." Which is precisely as old an argument as the ones Siegel describes, bringing us, again full circle. Siegel's impassioned argument in favor of a "truce" between the mothers and daughters of feminism is worth reading even if you think you know the whole story. Even if (or especially if) you grew up reading Sisterhood is Powerful. Siegel delineates the various branches of feminism (then and now) and by getting down to the nitty gritty (accusations of feminists being sellouts or, conversely, too radical), she makes it okay to discuss these issues reasonably, rather than simply vociferously. 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars building a tenuous bridge , September 16, 2007 By  Feminist Review blog "various writers" (worldwide) - See all my reviews As if we needed more proof of the very existence of feminism - and how it has been interpreted through the mainstream culture - Deborah Seigel has handed us a history lesson wrapped in a hot pink love letter. In her nonfiction book, Sisterhood Interrupted, Seigel imparts that not only has feminism had its mis-steps, it's fallen clear away from its foundation. But maybe that foundation needs a shake. Don't misunderstand me: Seigel's words aren't an attack on the "f-word." Rather, she's building that tenuous bridge between the young and seemingly unmotivated, feminists and their burnt-out mothers. As a 26-year-old, self-identified woman in America, I can look around and see where the American feminist movement has failed my generation more than I can see it's successes, at times. And that's where Seigel makes her best historical point. I, with all my privilege, have the power of choice based on the historical outcomes of the movement. And I have feminists - past and present - to thank for that choice. Sisterhood Interrupted is a quick and exciting read; Seigel exposes knowledge on where (and why) the movement split, between the more highly profiled Betty Freidan and Gloria Steinem, as well as the justification for retiring some words, like, "sisterhood." "But now I realize that sisterhood is phony. Even when there's consensus, there isn't," says Amy Richards, co-author of ManifestA, in a conversation with Seigel. "I think younger women have a better sense that it is a big façade." This 'façade' is not a backlash, or an attempt to dis-empower feminism, it's just a reality of the movement. We're not sisters based on gender alone or simply based on feminist history. I believe opening the discussion to a few things that have been deemed `sacred' isn't such a terrible thing at all. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Amen for the Sisterhood, November 8, 2007 By  PunditMom (The shadow of the nation's capital) - See all my reviews As a 100% feminist, I was really excited to read Sisterhood Interrupted. For anyone who has wondered what happened to the feminist movement, this book is a great history that tracks how change was ignited by an intrepid "girl" reporter in the 1960s who went undercover as a waitress at the infamous Playboy Club in New York City through to today's generation of women who aren't sure whether to embrace the '"f" word or not, or what it really means. Divided into two sections, "Mothers" and "Daughters," Siegel traces, among other things, the efforts of Betty Friedan to make feminism a cause that wives and mothers in the heartland could relate to and examines Friedan's own frustrations at the time she was president of NOW about why more women weren't embracing efforts to open doors for increased opportunities. As one of the many beneficiaries of all the groundwork my "sisters" did to enable my own opportunities, I was fascinated to read about their questions about how best to pursue their quest for equal rights. Ask my parents, and they'll tell you that there was never any question that I would be a full-fledged feminist with a capital "F" -- a girl from a small rural town who wanted to major in political science, vote as soon as I turned 18, and who was determined to take on whatever challenges came my way. I thank all the Glorias and Bettys who went before me for making that possible. And I'm happy to say the little apple didn't fall far from the tree. The other day my daughter asked me to explain why there was a picture of a globe on my T-shirt with the caption, "Women. We'll Settle for Half." "Why don't we already have half?" she asked, with a look on her face that signaled she could not even comprehend a world where she girls weren't equal to boys. I hope for my daughter's sake the Sisterhood continues to grow and thrive. But it's clear from the history that Siegel has traced in her book, there's still some serious work to be done. As Siegel sums it up, we need to put an end to feminist infighting -- about who's doing things the right way or the wrong way -- and call a truce if we're to continue making any progress at all: "Younger women need older feminists to understand that for a women's movement to continue to move forward, it will require updating and reinvention. At the same time, younger women need to stop blaming older ones and ditch old stereotypes about the second wave that preclude them from rallying around common themes." And to that I say, Amen.		Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars You may also want to read... If you are looking for the conspiracy theory behind feminism, you may also want to read 'Cruel Hoax' by Henry Makow, PhD. Read more Published 8 months ago by A. Fatorehchi 5.0 out of 5 stars Brain Candy for the Thinking Woman This book is simply delicious - Sisterhood, Interrupted truly is brain candy for the thinking woman. Read more Published 19 months ago by M. Thakor 4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for first foray into Feminist History This is a perfect book for the lay audience or a lower division undergraduate class at the university. Read more Published 23 months ago by J. Aragon 5.0 out of 5 stars Gloria Steinem wore a bunny outfit First wave, second wave, third wave, feminist, postfeminist, Ms., Bust, the personal is political, fish, men, and bicycles... Read more Published on July 9, 2007 by Daphne Uviller Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (June 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140398204X
• ISBN-13: 978-1403982049
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,313 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #67 in	Books > Nonfiction > Women's Studies > History
  #98 in	Books > Nonfiction > Women's Studies > Feminist Theory

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful, Detailed Insight Into Feminism Past and Present, June 26, 2007

By	Rachel Kramer Bussel "Cupcakes Take the Cake ... (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

With a readable, engaging style, Siegel takes feminist history, the good, the bad, and the vicious, and tells us what happened and why we should care. Her very careful, nuanced, play-by-play account of the early years and struggles of the second wave feminist movement, as well as documentation of the third wave's origins and modern incarnations, is vital in an era when women are constantly pitted against each other, whether it's young vs. old, stay at home moms vs. working moms, feminists vs. non-feminists, etc. Siegel doesn't shy away from the truly bitter divides that cropped up in the second wave (and, one could probably argue, were passed down from the first wave and its predecessors, though Siegel limits herself to the 1950's and beyond), and in doing so brings needed attention to the causes women were and are fighting for.



Her point is not that younger feminists should simply be more educated, or older feminists more tolerating, but that infighting is as old as feminism and is, perhaps, good for it in that it helps the movement grow, stretch, change, and evolve. Siegel also tackles why feminism is still important, even if "feminism" is becoming increasingly hard to define, for feminists and non-feminists. It's this very erasure and confusion over the word, its history, and its motives that Siegel unpacks so well. She doesn't necessarily want readers to identify with either the "mothers" or "daughters" here, but to gain a clearer picture of who is in each group and what their main gripes with each other are (as well as areas where they've bonded and interacted). The idea that "conflict has long been feminism's lifeblood," along with the need for the more radical and more mainstream strands of a social movement, are ideas that Siegel presents with scholarly yet accessible detail that revisits some of the high (and low) points of second wave feminism, and also explores the various strands of anti-feminism that have sprung up since then.



Some of her examples seem reaching; when she writes, "At the dawn of the new millennium, it was no longer simply a battle between feminists but between older and younger women more broadly," going on to cite The Devil Wears Prada, Chore Whore, and The Second Assistant, I'm not really sure how or where this fits in since these aren't books about feminism and if the idea is that women shouldn't criticize their female bosses or portray them as equally as heinous as male bosses, that seems like a reverse kind of chauvinism. (The example of Citizen Girl hits much closer to home.) To my reading, this is part of a larger conflation of pop culture and "feminism," whereby anything that happened on, say, Sex and the City, is The Truth For Women. While I think art and fiction and television do reflect reality, they are not exact replicas and should not be taken as such.



This leads me to my larger question, which is whether a book like this is speaking to or only trying to reach self-described feminists or a larger audience, the "I'm not a feminist but..." person or (gasp!) even men. I think a lot of what Siegel discusses re: the third wave is in fact about women who don't necessarily need or want labels (including, at times, the feminist one) and how they do or don't relate to "feminism," and though I would definitely call myself a feminist, I often feel that the label is often used as some sort of arbitrary litmus test flung about at random rather than anything concrete. It seems like anyone who publicly calls herself a feminist can, in an instant, be dismissed by other self-identified feminists with some form of "You think you're a feminist, but you're not." Which is precisely as old an argument as the ones Siegel describes, bringing us, again full circle.



Siegel's impassioned argument in favor of a "truce" between the mothers and daughters of feminism is worth reading even if you think you know the whole story. Even if (or especially if) you grew up reading Sisterhood is Powerful. Siegel delineates the various branches of feminism (then and now) and by getting down to the nitty gritty (accusations of feminists being sellouts or, conversely, too radical), she makes it okay to discuss these issues reasonably, rather than simply vociferously.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars building a tenuous bridge , September 16, 2007

By	Feminist Review blog "various writers" (worldwide) - See all my reviews

As if we needed more proof of the very existence of feminism - and how it has been interpreted through the mainstream culture - Deborah Seigel has handed us a history lesson wrapped in a hot pink love letter. In her nonfiction book, Sisterhood Interrupted, Seigel imparts that not only has feminism had its mis-steps, it's fallen clear away from its foundation. But maybe that foundation needs a shake.

Don't misunderstand me: Seigel's words aren't an attack on the "f-word." Rather, she's building that tenuous bridge between the young and seemingly unmotivated, feminists and their burnt-out mothers. As a 26-year-old, self-identified woman in America, I can look around and see where the American feminist movement has failed my generation more than I can see it's successes, at times. And that's where Seigel makes her best historical point. I, with all my privilege, have the power of choice based on the historical outcomes of the movement. And I have feminists - past and present - to thank for that choice.

Sisterhood Interrupted is a quick and exciting read; Seigel exposes knowledge on where (and why) the movement split, between the more highly profiled Betty Freidan and Gloria Steinem, as well as the justification for retiring some words, like, "sisterhood." "But now I realize that sisterhood is phony. Even when there's consensus, there isn't," says Amy Richards, co-author of ManifestA, in a conversation with Seigel. "I think younger women have a better sense that it is a big façade." This 'façade' is not a backlash, or an attempt to dis-empower feminism, it's just a reality of the movement. We're not sisters based on gender alone or simply based on feminist history. I believe opening the discussion to a few things that have been deemed `sacred' isn't such a terrible thing at all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amen for the Sisterhood, November 8, 2007

By	PunditMom (The shadow of the nation's capital) - See all my reviews

As a 100% feminist, I was really excited to read Sisterhood Interrupted.

For anyone who has wondered what happened to the feminist movement, this book is a great history that tracks how change was ignited by an intrepid "girl" reporter in the 1960s who went undercover as a waitress at the infamous Playboy Club in New York City through to today's generation of women who aren't sure whether to embrace the '"f" word or not, or what it really means.

Divided into two sections, "Mothers" and "Daughters," Siegel traces, among other things, the efforts of Betty Friedan to make feminism a cause that wives and mothers in the heartland could relate to and examines Friedan's own frustrations at the time she was president of NOW about why more women weren't embracing efforts to open doors for increased opportunities.

As one of the many beneficiaries of all the groundwork my "sisters" did to enable my own opportunities, I was fascinated to read about their questions about how best to pursue their quest for equal rights.

Ask my parents, and they'll tell you that there was never any question that I would be a full-fledged feminist with a capital "F" -- a girl from a small rural town who wanted to major in political science, vote as soon as I turned 18, and who was determined to take on whatever challenges came my way. I thank all the Glorias and Bettys who went before me for making that possible.

And I'm happy to say the little apple didn't fall far from the tree.

The other day my daughter asked me to explain why there was a picture of a globe on my T-shirt with the caption, "Women. We'll Settle for Half."

"Why don't we already have half?" she asked, with a look on her face that signaled she could not even comprehend a world where she girls weren't equal to boys.

I hope for my daughter's sake the Sisterhood continues to grow and thrive. But it's clear from the history that Siegel has traced in her book, there's still some serious work to be done.

As Siegel sums it up, we need to put an end to feminist infighting -- about who's doing things the right way or the wrong way -- and call a truce if we're to continue making any progress at all:

"Younger women need older feminists to understand that for a women's movement to continue to move forward, it will require updating and reinvention. At the same time, younger women need to stop blaming older ones and ditch old stereotypes about the second wave that preclude them from rallying around common themes."

And to that I say, Amen.