No Permanent Waves: Recasting Histories of U.S. Feminism

by Nancy A. Hewitt (Editor), Marisela R. Chavez (Contributor), Dorothy Sue Cobble (Contributor)

No Permanent Waves boldly enters the ongoing debates over the utility of the "wave" metaphor for capturing the complex history of women's rights by offering fresh perspectives on the diverse movements that comprise U.S. feminism, past and present. Seventeen essays--both original and reprinted--address continuities, conflicts, and transformations among women's movements in the United States from the early nineteenth century through today.A respected group of contributors from diverse generations and backgrounds argue for new chronologies, more inclusive conceptualizations of feminist agendas and participants, and fuller engagements with contestations around particular issues and practices. Race, class, and sexuality are explored within histories of women's rights and feminism as well as the cultural and intellectual currents and social and political priorities that marked movements for women's advancement and liberation. These essays question whether the concept of waves surging and receding can fully capture the complexities of U.S. feminisms and suggest models for reimagining these histories from radio waves to hip-hop.

Genres: Feminism, History, Nonfiction, American History

472 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[MMelania · Rating 3 out of 5]

really interesting read. it gives an insight on different movements (not that) far from the mainstream white feminism and the new realities emerging in recent years

[Lashonda Slaughter Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This extensive book of essays that all deal with the wave metaphor in feminist history is really fascinating because it completely disregards the idea that women's history goes in waves of central issues without much diversity.... there were women of color active in the pre-civil war united states, there were huge divides over issues like prostitution, welfare, and homosexuality inside the movement and we often do not get that story... Great book.

[l · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complicates the popular understanding of feminist history.

[Mariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The central theme of the collection resonates well- that the “waves” of feminism are more complicated than the traditional narrative of first, second and third usually depicts. I appreciate the way authors incorporate this theme into their individual arguments to effectively prove that the oversimplification of traditional histories obscures more than it contributes. I’m more likely to use the essays that grounded their arguments in historical evidence than theory, which I found tedious in some essays. Still, there’s a lot to work with here in changing how I teach competing and complicated histories of feminism. At times it’s too academic and/or too specific to be really useful in a classroom. Overall, the unevenness of the writing made the whole book a challenge to get through, but the essays that worked permanently shifted my own understanding of this material.

[laura ! · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5) some hits, some relative misses

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's my review for No Permanent Waves.