ABSTRACT
This book explores the experiences and personal statements of pro- and anti-movement women. It is an attempt to understand how and why it is that some women choose feminism and some reject it. As a feminist myself, I felt baffled by the strength of feeling expressed by antifeminist women and felt I could not really understand why this emerged and how two groups of women could be so apparently different on issues of such importance to them both. I feel that women divided are women isolated, alone and powerless. This book aimed to get feminists and antifeminists to clarify their position in relation to the women’s movement now, and to relate it to their personal lives and experiences. During this process I have kept in mind Adrienne Rich’s comments:
But it is pointless to write off the antifeminist woman as brainwashed, or self-hating, or the like. I believe that feminism must imply an imaginative identification with all women . . . and that the feminist must, because she can, extend this act of the imagination as far as possible. (1980, p. 71)
