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Women of Ideas: And What Men Have Done to Them
Book by Spender, Dale
800 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
16 people are currently reading
797 people want to read
About the author
Dale Spender
40 books56 followersDale Spender (born 1943) is an Australian feminist scholar, teacher, writer and consultant.
Spender was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, a niece of the crime writer Jean Spender (1901–70). The eldest of three, she has a younger sister Lynne, and a much younger brother Graeme. She attended the Burwood Girls High School, in Sydney. In her youthful days she was a Miss Kodak girl. In the later half of the 1960s she also taught English Literature at Dapto High School. She started lecturing at James Cook University in 1974, before going to live for a while in London and publishing the book Man Made Language in 1980.
She is co-originator of the database WIKED (Women's International Knowledge Encyclopedia and Data) and founding editor of the Athene Series and Pandora Press, commissioning editor of the Penguin Australian Women's Library, and associate editor of the Great Women Series (United Kingdom).
She is the author of a witty literary spoof, The Diary of Elizabeth Pepys, 1991 Grafton Books, London, a feminist critique of women's lives in 17th Century London, purportedly written by Elisabeth, the wife of Samuel Pepys.
Today Spender is particularly concerned with intellectual property and the effects of new technologies: in her terms, the prospects for "new wealth" and "new learning". For nine years she was a director of Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) in Australia and for two years (2002–2004) she was the chair. She is also involved with the Second Chance Programme, which tackles homelessness among women in Australia.
Spender was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, a niece of the crime writer Jean Spender (1901–70). The eldest of three, she has a younger sister Lynne, and a much younger brother Graeme. She attended the Burwood Girls High School, in Sydney. In her youthful days she was a Miss Kodak girl. In the later half of the 1960s she also taught English Literature at Dapto High School. She started lecturing at James Cook University in 1974, before going to live for a while in London and publishing the book Man Made Language in 1980.
She is co-originator of the database WIKED (Women's International Knowledge Encyclopedia and Data) and founding editor of the Athene Series and Pandora Press, commissioning editor of the Penguin Australian Women's Library, and associate editor of the Great Women Series (United Kingdom).
She is the author of a witty literary spoof, The Diary of Elizabeth Pepys, 1991 Grafton Books, London, a feminist critique of women's lives in 17th Century London, purportedly written by Elisabeth, the wife of Samuel Pepys.
Today Spender is particularly concerned with intellectual property and the effects of new technologies: in her terms, the prospects for "new wealth" and "new learning". For nine years she was a director of Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) in Australia and for two years (2002–2004) she was the chair. She is also involved with the Second Chance Programme, which tackles homelessness among women in Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 23, 2013
Reading the history book Women of Ideas is like hanging out with a witty friend who is a font of information about intellectual and activist women in American and British history since the seventeenth century. Spender’s style is conversational rather than academic, and at the same time it’s obvious that she’s an authority on the topic. I never previously heard or read of many of the women described in this book.
It is important to keep in mind that this is a Second Wave book, from the 1980s. The author has rather more vitriol toward men in general than a Third Waver would have, and she’s extremely skeptical about the existence of males who are genuinely feminist. However, this is first and foremost a history book, and she shows how men—whether relatives, husbands, politicians, or critics—have attempted to keep down brilliant women who are a threat to patriarchy. I wish the book covered women of color more, though she does include black American women such as Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells. Also as a Second Waver, Spender writes from an assumption of gender binary, but the up side to this is that she emphasizes the difference between female experience and values and male experience and values in the context of patriarchal society.
Women of Ideas describes, in addition to specific women in history, movements and organizations (that’s why I call it a history book rather than a collective biography). She writes about women who were openly feminist authors, women who were feminist activists, and women who were both. The reader will want to read more by and about the women Spender describes. Overall, the book is a delightful and informative read.
It is important to keep in mind that this is a Second Wave book, from the 1980s. The author has rather more vitriol toward men in general than a Third Waver would have, and she’s extremely skeptical about the existence of males who are genuinely feminist. However, this is first and foremost a history book, and she shows how men—whether relatives, husbands, politicians, or critics—have attempted to keep down brilliant women who are a threat to patriarchy. I wish the book covered women of color more, though she does include black American women such as Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells. Also as a Second Waver, Spender writes from an assumption of gender binary, but the up side to this is that she emphasizes the difference between female experience and values and male experience and values in the context of patriarchal society.
Women of Ideas describes, in addition to specific women in history, movements and organizations (that’s why I call it a history book rather than a collective biography). She writes about women who were openly feminist authors, women who were feminist activists, and women who were both. The reader will want to read more by and about the women Spender describes. Overall, the book is a delightful and informative read.
October 25, 2013
I read this years ago and found it informative and very upsetting. I'm surprised to see reviewers describe it as "delightful." I found it painful to read about the many women who had done amazing things and then see a backlash against them in their lifetimes or a generation or two later.
January 13, 2014
A must read.
Took me a long time because this is a long book, but it covers the history of women and the problems of patriarchy.
If everyone could have read this book two hundred years ago, it might have had some influence on our chances of survival, which are currently nil.
Dale Spender understood the problem in 1982, as many women had previously, but all were ridiculed or even erased from history so that men could continue to destroy the earth.
Reading this even as the planet is engulfed with radiation from Fukushima, with many more nuclear power plants soon to melt down, because capitalism decrees that no matter how unsafe they may be, they cannot be shut down as long as they remain profitable, I have to wonder if there might have been a different outcome had female critics of "progress" and "civilization" not been silenced.
We'll never know.
I have no actual statistics, but I believe that at most, 25% of humanity is better off now than in the Stone Age, while at least 75% are worse off. That may look like progress to the fortunate few, but not to anyone with a shred of empathy or compassion.
Took me a long time because this is a long book, but it covers the history of women and the problems of patriarchy.
If everyone could have read this book two hundred years ago, it might have had some influence on our chances of survival, which are currently nil.
Dale Spender understood the problem in 1982, as many women had previously, but all were ridiculed or even erased from history so that men could continue to destroy the earth.
Reading this even as the planet is engulfed with radiation from Fukushima, with many more nuclear power plants soon to melt down, because capitalism decrees that no matter how unsafe they may be, they cannot be shut down as long as they remain profitable, I have to wonder if there might have been a different outcome had female critics of "progress" and "civilization" not been silenced.
We'll never know.
I have no actual statistics, but I believe that at most, 25% of humanity is better off now than in the Stone Age, while at least 75% are worse off. That may look like progress to the fortunate few, but not to anyone with a shred of empathy or compassion.
April 23, 2013
Reading the history book Women of Ideas is like hanging out with a witty friend who is a font of information about intellectual and activist women in American and British history since the seventeenth century. Spender’s style is conversational rather than academic, and at the same time it’s obvious that she’s an authority on the topic. I never previously heard or read of many of the women described in this book.
It is important to keep in mind that this is a Second Wave book, from the 1980s. The author has rather more vitriol toward men in general than a Third Waver would have, and she’s extremely skeptical about the existence of males who are genuinely feminist. However, this is first and foremost a history book, and she shows how men—whether relatives, husbands, politicians, or critics—have attempted to keep down brilliant women who are a threat to patriarchy. I wish the book covered women of color more, though she does include black American women such as Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells. Also as a Second Waver, Spender writes from an assumption of gender binary, but the up side to this is that she emphasizes the difference between female experience and values and male experience and values in the context of patriarchal society.
Women of Ideas describes, in addition to specific women in history, movements and organizations (that’s why I call it a history book rather than a collective biography). She writes about women who were openly feminist authors, women who were feminist activists, and women who were both. The reader will want to read more by and about the women Spender describes. Overall, the book is a delightful and informative read.
It is important to keep in mind that this is a Second Wave book, from the 1980s. The author has rather more vitriol toward men in general than a Third Waver would have, and she’s extremely skeptical about the existence of males who are genuinely feminist. However, this is first and foremost a history book, and she shows how men—whether relatives, husbands, politicians, or critics—have attempted to keep down brilliant women who are a threat to patriarchy. I wish the book covered women of color more, though she does include black American women such as Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells. Also as a Second Waver, Spender writes from an assumption of gender binary, but the up side to this is that she emphasizes the difference between female experience and values and male experience and values in the context of patriarchal society.
Women of Ideas describes, in addition to specific women in history, movements and organizations (that’s why I call it a history book rather than a collective biography). She writes about women who were openly feminist authors, women who were feminist activists, and women who were both. The reader will want to read more by and about the women Spender describes. Overall, the book is a delightful and informative read.
June 9, 2012
This book is inspirational. The introduction pulls you in with its premise: why have more people not heard about many intelligent, accomplished, influential and inspirational women? Spender proceeds to detail the lives and ideas of these women and the way they've been written out of history through cruel critiques, personal attacks and rewritings. It's a wonderful encyclopaedic book and one that easy to dip in and out of, to read and come back to. If you want to find out about the women who've brought us to where we are today, this is the book to start with.
Want to read
December 27, 2016* Understanding Oppression: Women's Rights (Then and Now)
Women of Ideas: And What Men Have Done to Them by Dale Spender | This is a study of women's thoughts and ideas spanning three centuries. The author contends that men have removed women from literary and historical records and deprived women of the knowledge of their intellectual heritage. This book is an attempt to redress the balance. #womensrights #socialscience
Women of Ideas: And What Men Have Done to Them by Dale Spender | This is a study of women's thoughts and ideas spanning three centuries. The author contends that men have removed women from literary and historical records and deprived women of the knowledge of their intellectual heritage. This book is an attempt to redress the balance. #womensrights #socialscience
April 28, 2022
An excellent book outlining the work, ideas, theories of women over 3 centuries - work that has been silenced and forgotten, and had to be reinvented. Very powerful and so necessary for women's freedom from patriarchy
July 8, 2007
A must.
January 3, 2024
One of the most important books I have ever read.
April 19, 2024
Groundbreaking. Changed my life.
December 3, 2020
One of the most important books I have ever read.
Currently reading
May 27, 2012a book to dip in and out of ... very inspiring
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews