Women Transforming Politics

by Cohen, Cathy J.; Jones, Kathleen B.; Tronto, Joan C.

• ISBN13: 9780814715574
• ISBN10: 0814715575
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-08-01
• Publisher: New York Univ Pr

Summary

This exciting collection not only documents the varied organizing experiences of women in American politics, it provides original and provocative analyses of the challenge owmen present to mainstream ideas of political representation, the role of the state, and the nature of power. The scope and depth of this volume are remarkable, and the prose lucid enought to make this bookd widely accessible. A must-read for all interested in women's political empowerment.--Urvashi Vaid, author ofVirtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian LiberationThis innovative book illustrates both the complexity of women's activism and how that activism must transform our understanding of politics. It is an invaluable resource for the courses in U.S. politics and political participation that, at the same time, introduces the work of exciting young scholars.--Martha Ackelsberg, Smith CollegeExpanding the boundaries of conventional political studies,Women Transforming Politicsprovides perspectives and analyses which are vital for a truly democratic society.--Joy James, author ofResisting State ViolenceandTranscending the Talented TenthAs the largest political constituency in the United States, women present a radical challenge to the foundations of our political system. The integration of women into political life fundamentally changes the nature of American politics, necessitating a reassessment of the definition of politics, the nature of political action and the purpose of public life.Women Transforming Politics: An Alternative Readerredefines the field of women and politics. By displacing the experiences of white, middle and upper class elite women as central, this volume brings to light the lives and actions of poor and working class women, women of color, and others defined as marginal. Covering topics as diverse as community organizing by South Asian women in New York, the governing styles of Chicana/Latina elected officials in California, the labor struggles of working-class women in Tennessee, the participation pattern of poor African-American women in Ohio, and the challenge of reproductive and sexual rights in international feminist politics, each essay provides a new and more expansive way to think about politics.Contributors representing a wide range of professions including political science, sociology, history, law, grassroots organizing and cultural work challenge us to expand the range of experiences and acts considered political. Combining classic essays by renowned figures with groundbreaking work by a new generation of scholars, the publication ofWomen Transforming Politicswill change forever the study of politics in the United States.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: Women Transforming U.S. Politics: Sites of Power/Resistance	1	(14)
CATHY J. COHEN
KATHLEEN B. JONES
JOAN C. TRONTO
ONE Politics, Economics, and Culture: How Women Live	15	(172)
1 Women of Color in the Eighties: A Profile Based on Census Data	15	(32)
TAMARA JONES
ALETHIA JONES
2 "Working Men" and "Dependent Wives": Gender, "Race," and the Regulation of Migration from Mexico	47	(15)
DOREEN J. MATTINGLY
3 On the Marriage Question	62	(22)
JACQUELINE STEVENS
4 American Sweatshops 1980s Style: Chinese Women Garment Workers	84	(10)
PETER KWONG
5 Women, Work, and the Politics of Fetal Rights	94	(13)
RACHEL ROTH
6 The Wage Effects of Sexual Orientation Discrimination	107	(16)
M. V. LEE BADGETT
7 Fighting the Violence against Our Sisters: Prosecution of Pregnant Women and the Coercive Use of Norplant	123	(13)
SUZANNE SHENDE
8 Cultural Survival and Contemporary American Indian Women in the City	136	(15)
JENNIE R. JOE
DOROTHY LONEWOLF MILLER
9 Policing the Black Woman's Body in an Urban Context	151	(16)
HAZEL V. CARBY
10 Fade to White: Racial Politics and the Troubled Reign of Vanessa Williams	167	(20)
SARAH BENET-WEISER
TWO Consciousness Raising, Cultural Politics, and Grassroots Organizing	187	(156)
11 Education, Cultural Rights, and Citizenship	187	(18)
RINA BENMAYOR
ROSA M. TORRUELLAS
12 Exemplars of Indigenism: Native North American Women for De/Colonization and Liberation	205	(18)
M. A. JAIMES
GUERRERO
13 Latina Women and Political Consciousness: La Chispa Que Prende	223	(15)
CAROL HARDY-FANTA
14 Ritual and Sacrifice at Tailhook '91: A Documentary Exhibition and Political Action	238	(18)
FRANCES K. POHL
15 No Cultural Icon: Marisela Norte	256	(13)
MICHELLE HABELL-PALLAN
16 Feminisms of the Diaspora Both Local and Global: The Politics of South Asian Women against Domestic Violence	269	(15)
SANDYHA SHUKLA
17 The Marginalized Uses of Power and Identity: Lesbians' Participation in Breast Cancer and AIDS Activism	284	(18)
ANDREA DENSHAM
18 Winning Action for Gender Equity: A Plan for Organizing Communities of Color	302	(22)
RINKU SEN
19 Transforming Democracy: Rural Women and Labor Resistance	324	(19)
EVE S. WEINBAUM
THREE Participation, Electoral Politics, and Movement Building	343	(156)
20 Negotiating and Transforming the Public Sphere: African American Political Life in the Transition from Slavery to Freedom	343	(34)
ELSA BARKLEY BROWN
21 From Three-Fifths to Zero: Implications of the Constitution for African American Women, 1787-1870	377	(10)
MAMIE E. LOCKE
22 Assimilating or Coloring Participation? Gender, Race, and Democratic Political Participation	387	(11)
JANE JUNN
23 Gender, Participation, and the Black Urban Underclass	398	(14)
YVETTE ALEX-ASSENSOH
KARIN STANFORD
24 Breaking Barriers to Representation: Chicana/Latina Elected Officials in California	412	(23)
PAULE CRUZ TAKASH
25 Relative Privilege? Reconsidering White Women's Participation in Municipal Politics	435	(12)
BARBARA A. CROW
26 Election Systems and the Representation of Black Women in American State Legislatures	447	(9)
R. DARCY
CHARLES D. HADLEY
JASON F. KIRKSEY
27 Nothing Distant about It: Women's Liberation and Sixties Radicalism	456	(21)
ALICE ECHOLS
28 Organizational Mobilizations, Institutional Access, and Institutional Change	477	(22)
DEBRA C. MINKOFF
FOUR Pitfalls, Paradoxes, and Futures of Feminist Politics	499	(90)
29 Crime and Justice: Paradoxes for Theory and Action	499	(20)
KATHLEEN DALY
30 Smashing Icons: Disabled Women and the Disability and Women's Movements	519	(22)
MARIAN BLACKWELL-STRATTON
MARY LOU BRESLIN
ARLENE BYRNNE MAYERSON
SUSAN BAILEY
31 Presenting the Blue Goddess: Toward a National Pan-Asian Feminist Agenda	541	(8)
SONIA SHAH
32 Beyond Racism and Misogyny: Black Feminism and 2 Live Crew	549	(20)
KIMBERLE WILLIAMS CRENSHAW
33 Spiraling Discourses of Reproductive and Sexual Rights: A Post-Beijing Assessment of International Feminist Politics	569	(20)
ROSALIND P. PETCHESKY
Contributors	589	(4)
Permissions	593	(2)
Index	595