Writings about Feminism

A recent rant on the IWW's Writing Discussion list lamenting the popularity of writing wherein violence against women provided the central dynamic provoked this response from Carter Jefferson, who said the ...

... "rant, which included a good deal of sense in my opinion, along with some hopes that aren't likely to be realized anytime soon, made me focus on something I've wondered about lately.

"The feminist movement of the 1970's came about to a large extent as a response to one book: The Feminine Mystique, which had as much impact on politics and social mores as did Silent Spring in another area. Yet it's been years since any book that could be labelled "feminist" has aroused much interest. Recently, Jessica Valenti published a book about attracting the modern women who spurn the title of feminist to join the fight. From the review in Salon, I doubt that it will amount to much.

"But what's keeping others from writing serious books about the current not entirely satisfactory status of women? The scholarly field of Women's Studies, which barely existed thirty years ago, thrives in academia. Excellent books on the history of the woman's struggle have been published, but of course they don't sell many copies. And in a few years new books about the suffrage fight will be coming out--women only got the vote in 1920, in case anyone has forgotten.

"Where is the Betty Friedan of today? "