Getting Equal: The history of Australian feminism

by Marilyn Lake

What woman today would accept losing her job or her nationality on marriage? What mother would accept that she had no custody rights to her children? Who would deny women the right to equal pay and economic independence?

Women today enjoy freedoms unimagined by their mothers and grandmothers - the result of over 100 years of feminist activism in this country.

Getting Equal is the first full-length history of the movements - and their feisty, ebullient, determined leaders - who fought for women's political and economic rights, sexual and drinking rights, the right to control their bodies and their destinies.

Getting Equal provides new understandings of women's activism and new perspectives on Australian politics: it shows that feminists were leading theorists of citizenship and the welfare state and outspoken advocates of Aboriginal rights and international law.

But the goal of equality has also proved problematic: participating in the world on men's terms has reinforced the masculine standard as the norm.

In this path-breaking and lively study, leading historian Marilyn Lake challenges common misconceptions and offers new interpretations of a politics that has swung between an emphasis on women's difference from men and a demand for the same rights as men. It is her hope that a knowledge of the complexity of the past will enable us to be more clear-sighted about what remains to be done.

Genres: Feminism, History

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 10, 1999

About the author

Marilyn Lake, AO, is Professorial Fellow in History at the University of Melbourne.

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the early 1900s Australian feminists rejected ‘men’s parties and platforms’ in favour of lobbying, petitioning and canvassing to shape policy. Feminists were respectable ‘Nation builders’ upholding morality. Women were a part of a ‘sisterhood too long seperate by class, race or other prejudices’ that were bound together by shared experiences and an interest in fighting against male dominated society. The main antagonism was men vs women. Fast forward to the 1970s liberation movement with its radical language and tactics, talk of revolution, anarchism, etc. The two periods seem worlds apart.

The politics of feminism can be articulated in conservative or radical ways. Throughout these changes, the core of feminist politics remained the same. Although feminists have won important reforms, the problem is there was rarely if ever a clear idea of how to actually liberate women. Without looking to the working class, the other force to look to is the state. All of the movements basically ended up as women auxiliaries to parliament and with a lot of people scratching their heads.

This is quite a decent book, I learnt a lot. Marilyn Lake is a feminist.. Lake refers to ‘Labor men’ (as in the Labor party) as if they represent all working class men which is annoying. I really like the chapters on the women’s liberation movement. It just seems absolutely nuts and things went to shit pretty quick. lol

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great piece of research, writing and perspective. It's all about perspective. Many pieces of writing about this topic, I feel, neglect to place the actions, decisions, protests, losses and wins into the context of the time and environment. This book certainly brings much of the history of Australian Feminism into focus and consequently reminded me of how to think critically and not only anecdotally. It is a piece of writing I will continue to return to and appreciate the perspective it can give my reflections, thoughts and opinions about being female in Australia today and what my past experiences have been influenced by.

[Jennifer Rolfe]

Reading this helped me to think about my history within the feminist movement. Marilyn Lake is such a great writer. This book flowed. I just wished her conclusion was longer.