BEYOND INTELLECTUAL SEXISM

by Joan I.--Ed. Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 1976

This is a collaborative compendium of papers by 21 women scholars eminent in their fields--from neurobiology to French literature, from political science to physical education--all of whom are applying feminist awareness, at varying depths, to the content, the methods, or the deepest paradigms of their disciplines. These are academies who have become aware (in editor Roberts' case, stridently so) not only of the blatant discrimination against women in the academy, but of the thoroughness with which male-biased assumptions shape the actual structures of thought. Women thinkers' task, to discover and uproot these warping assumptions, is a great intellectual adventure, but one of which this book is, alas, a spotty example. Some essays duplicate material already redundantly available elsewhere: a paper asserting the importance of birth control and summarizing the available methods, or one analyzing statistics on women's participation in the job market. Others provide highly interesting, well-marshaled information, like individual essays on the disparity between egalitarian ideals and actual sex roles in Sweden, China, and the Israeli kibbutz. But only a few of the papers--on literary criticism, psychology, political science, social-work education--are truly innovative in their radical analysis of ""masculist"" thought structures and their attempts to pioneer alternative feminist or androgynous patterns. Extensive bibliographies make this a valuable resource for women's-studies programs; it is also, however, a revealing core-sample of that inchoate and still chaotic discipline.

Pub Date: June 18, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McKay

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION