Outercourse

by Mary Daly

s/t: The Be-Dazzling Voyage Containing Recollections from My Logbook of a Radical Feminist Philosopher
This extraordinary book - the resplendent philosophical autobiography of the world's foremost Radical Feminist philosopher - offers an imaginative chronicle of Momentous Moments in Mary Daly's A-mazing Voyage. Daly sees her work as that of a Pirate Righteously Plundering treasures of knowledge that have been stolen and hidden from women. In this inventive blend of autobiography and visionary philosophy, she reveals her struggles to Smuggle back these treasures and to distinguish them from their mindbinding trappings. As Daly unfolds her Be-Dazzling Voyage, sparkling with true adventure stories and philosophical insights, she invites readers to Time travel with her across the vast Realm of the Subliminal Sea into Four Spiral Galaxies. This is a courageous journey which involves leaping beyond the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual walls of patriarchy and, through the process of Re-membering, coming into the fullness of the Expanding Now. Outercourse brilliantly recounts Daly's debunking of patriarchal thought and blazes new paths to freedom by enabling women to Dis-cover the hidden connections that make Sense of their Lives.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Philosophy, Gender

464 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Mary Daly was an American philosopher, theologian, and one of the most influential yet controversial voices in radical feminism. Raised in a devout Irish Catholic family in Schenectady, New York, she earned degrees in English, religion, theology, and philosophy, including doctorates from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland at a time when few women pursued advanced theological study. Daly joined the faculty of Boston College in 1967, where she taught theology, feminist ethics, and women's studies for more than three decades. Her first major work, The Church and the Second Sex (1968), challenged the Catholic Church's treatment of women while still seeking reform from within. By the early 1970s, however, she had rejected Christianity altogether, arguing that patriarchal religion was incompatible with women's liberation. This shift shaped her later writings, beginning with the landmark Beyond God the Father (1973), followed by Gyn/Ecology (1978), Pure Lust (1984), and Websters' First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language (1987). These books combined philosophy, theology, social criticism, mythology, and inventive language to develop a distinctly feminist worldview that rejected traditional structures of authority. Daly became known for her uncompromising critiques of patriarchy, organized religion, and male-dominated institutions, as well as her belief that language itself could reinforce or challenge oppression. Her teaching career ended in 1999 after a prolonged dispute with Boston College over her refusal to admit men to certain advanced women's studies classes, arguing that women required a male-free environment for open discussion. The conflict led to legal action, a confidential settlement, and her departure from the university, an episode she later recounted in Amazon Grace. Beyond feminist philosophy, Daly advocated ethical vegetarianism, animal rights, and ecological awareness, viewing all forms of domination as interconnected. At the same time, many aspects of her work generated significant criticism. Scholars and activists challenged her writings for essentialist views of gender, insufficient engagement with race, and later comments widely regarded as transphobic. Her disagreements with writers such as Audre Lorde also became defining moments in debates over race and diversity within feminist thought. Despite these controversies, Daly's influence on feminist theology was profound, opening new avenues for women to critique religious traditions and redefine spiritual language. Her ideas inspired generations of feminist scholars while continuing to provoke debate about the limits and responsibilities of radical theory. She remained an active lecturer and writer after leaving academia, speaking internationally on feminism, religion, and philosophy. Mary Daly died in Gardner, Massachusetts, on January 3, 2010. Her papers are preserved in the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, and her writings continue to be studied as major contributions to feminist philosophy, religious criticism, and the intellectual history of twentieth-century feminism.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daly's reflections on her own life are some of the only stories we know about her early childhood and adolescence. It was the first of Daly's books I read, so the re-defining of terms and haphazard capitalization was a sharp learning curve. Daly was an enigmatic personality and her autobiography is incredibly illuminating.

[M. Jorasck · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deep dive into why things are the way they are and how one woman invented new ways of Being at a time the norm considered it impossible for anyone female to become a philosopher.

[fausto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book is really A-mazing, Daly combines her autobiographical accounts with her unique widely-know feminist philosophy. This book really Moves you in a lot of directions Spining a lot of interconected symbols, life experiences and women's culture and thought. Is a must read for understand the Gyn/Ecological Webs that Daly weaved in all her works, specially Gyn/Ecology, Pure Lust and the Wickedary. Truly inspiring and wonderful in all senses! Daly's accounts of her life Ignite the passion for wisdom and Biophilic bonds.

[Atenea Reina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un precioso libro a la vez autobiográfico y filosófico, lleno de expresiones y nuevos conceptos acerca de la realidad de las mujeres, (Ginergia, sabia ancestra,etc) es muy sencillo identificarse con todo lo que va contando , va inventando palabras, habla con las animales que le rodean, una belleza de narración. Nos han socializado en un sistema en el que se diviniza la masculinidad, en el que se nos trata como ciudadanas de segunda, en la farsa del eterno femenino, somos la casta de las tocables, en las religiones con tendencias opresivas y contradictorias. El feminismo radical se trata de la liberación de las mujeres, todas las cuales viven bajo un sistema patriarcal opresivo. Nosotras no tenemos nada que perder, estamos furiosas y orgullosas, es hora de ser radicales, de hacer una alianza cósmica entre nosotras. "Todas las mujeres en el patriarcado se han visto obligadas a asumir el papel de auto-censoras y censoras de las demás" " La rabia no es una etapa, no es algo que se deba superar" "Hay que transformar a las mujeres domesticadas en brujas salvajes" "Una vez que una mujer declara la inmoralidad de los valores patriarcales, se vuelve peligrosa" "El potencial radical de las mujeres pensando libremente es una amenaza"

[Nathalie]

Saw she died this past year...seems like a kooky kinda interesting figure.