Contemporary Feminist Theory and Activism

Wendy Lynne Lee's ""Contemporary Feminist Theory and Activism: Six Global Issues"" explores six issues that are vital to a vibrant and meaningful feminist movement. Among these are included: the economic disparity and entrenched gender inequality of global markets; the role played by technology in our conception of reproductive rights, sexual identity, and gender; the rise of religious fanaticism; and, the relationship between our conceptions of gender, nonhuman animals, and the environment. Lee's specific aims are twofold; first she sets out to demonstrate the relevance of feminist theorizing to issues that may seem less directly about the status and emancipation of women but that, she argues, are vital to forming connections with other important 21st century movements. Second, she endeavors to show how a feminist approach to crafting these connections can shed light on relationships between issues, for example, the relationship between environmental damage and the economics/politics of reproductive technologies, or the relationship of oppression of human beings and our treatment of nonhuman animals. Ultimately, Lee argues that a feminist theorizing adequately equipped to confront the issues of a young but changing century offers hope to a future that presents challenges both different and daunting compared to those of the past. Inspired by Marxist, critical theory, phenomenological, and post-structuralist analyses, ""Contemporary Feminist Theory and Activism"" seeks to draft a model for a reinvigorated feminism whose practical vitality and theoretical sophistication can provide foundational support to the 21st century's emancipatory movements. This title includes such contents as: Introduction - The Future(s) of Feminism; Sexual Identities - Institutionalized Discrimination, Medical/Technological Possibility, and the (Slow) Death of Binary Nature; Reproductive Technology and the Global Exploitation of Women's Sexuality; Economic Disparity and the Global Market - Institutionalized Inequality; The Culture Industry, The Conceptual Economy of Difference, and the Allure of Religion - Feminist Discourses of Resistance; Religious Fundamentalism, Terrorism, and the 'New' Anti-Feminism; Ecological Feminism - A Critical Praxis for The Future as Now; and, Epilogue - Life as Activism.