3.5 stars

I really liked learning more about feminism in various countries and eras, so this book was really quite interesting to me. Unfortunately, because the book tries to cover so much, it doesn't go into depth on any point and the chapter structure also didn't always work for me.

Lucy Delap’s accessible and compelling Feminisms: A Global History does not attempt the impossible task of writing a complete global history of feminism, but instead, picks up on a series of themes in feminist history, ranging from ‘dreams’ to ‘dress’ to ‘actions’, and draws from modern feminist activists and movements to explore how feminist thought and action was shaped internationally. Delap deliberately uses the term ‘feminisms’ rather than feminism to emphasise the multiplicity of women’s movements across the globe, and also frames this as ‘mosaic feminism’ – women may have been using some of the same inherited pieces, but they formed different patterns. And indeed, the very first chapter emphasises that one big problem for contemporary feminism might be the inability to accommodate disagreement, citing feminist philosopher Iris Marion Young: ‘we need to wake up to the challenge of understanding across difference rather than keep on dreaming about common dreams’. Not all the activists Delap writes about would even have called themselves feminists, but they still contributed to a wider history of political action that centred women’s needs.

What I found so valuable about Delap’s approach to writing about global feminisms was that non-Western feminisms are not treated simply as an ‘add-on’ to more familiar Western histories – we aren’t simply told that there were also feminist activists and organisations elsewhere. Instead, Delap illuminates how African, Latin American and Asian feminists transformed feminist thought and challenged Western priorities. The Bengali writer Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain published her utopian text Sultana’s Dream in 1905, which depicted ‘Ladyland’, a world where women and men could interact as equals through ‘sacred’ relations that had no sexual connotations; this envisaged women’s liberation through ‘the abandonment of sexual links to men’, a vision that we might more commonly associate with ‘political lesbianism’ in Britain and the USA in the 1970s. In the early twentieth century, there was also an active Chinese feminist movement, with women in some Chinese provinces gaining the vote by 1912, well ahead of many Western counterparts, and the word nannü starting to be used to indicate a ‘sexed system of social organisation’, or something like what we might call patriarchy. Meanwhile, the Egyptian activist Huda Sha’arawi organised women in the 1919 protests against British rule; her decision to unveil in public in 1923 was celebrated by Europeans, but Sha’arawi herself did not see this as particularly important, and, in fact, mocked ‘the veil of ignorance’ that Western women wore, unable to see Egyptian women clearly because of orientalist stereotypes.

Delap also shows how ideas were exchanged, translated and repurposed in global contexts. The famous US second-wave feminist text Our Bodies, Ourselves (1970), which encouraged women to look after their health and celebrate their sexuality, was reproduced and reworked in different settings. In Bulgaria, it was retitled Our Body, Ourselves, to emphasise individualism after the fall of the communist state, whereas in Latin America the text was framed with more of a focus on traditional community settings. The phrase ‘the personal is political’, coined by US feminist Carol Hanisch, was influenced both by the Black Power practice of ‘telling it like it is’ and Hanisch’s reading of French feminist Claudie Broyelle’s Half the Sky (1973), which stressed the autonomy of women in Communist China to voice and act on their emotions through the Maoist idea of ‘speaking bitterness’. (Broyelle wrote a follow-up to this work in 1980, admitting it had been a ‘day-dream’ as reports of the violent oppression of women in China continued to emerge.) However, Feminisms does not just trace the histories of familiar Western touchstones but introduces new ones, such as the memorable phrase used by Japanese activist Kishida Toshiko in 1883, who publicly spoke of her anger at how women had to live their lives in close confinement, saying that raising daughters in such an environment was like ‘trying to grow flowers in salt’.

Feminisms is primarily concerned with the intersections of gender, race and class rather than sexuality or gender identity, although it does touch on the issues faced by lesbians and trans women who tried to engage with second-wave feminism in the 1970s and 1980s. Delap writes briefly about how sex and gender might have been understood more fluidly in certain African countries before colonialist binaries were imposed, citing the work of Ifi Amadiume and Oyèrónké Oyěwùmí. Amadiume has argued that age hierarchies were more important than gender hierarchies in the organisation of some African societies, allowing women to adopt more powerful roles such as ‘female husband’. However, it is obviously impossible to cover everything in a single book, and I had the sense that Delap had been led by the priorities of many of the activists she considers, who, especially in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, were often focused on colonial or class oppression. In 1975, Bolivian tin miner’s wife Domitila Barrios de Chúngara confronted the US feminist Betty Friedan at a meeting in Mexico City, which revealed the perceived gulf between their ideas of feminism: Barrios de Chungara was an experienced union activist who worked alongside men, and thought gringa feminism was ‘a lesbian-dominated war against men’. (Friedan had actually been instrumental in banning lesbians from the US National Organisation for Women’s New York chapter in 1970, so likely shared this hostility).

Obviously, a book like this can never be more than a starting-point for the huge histories it touches upon, but this is an incredibly thought-provoking take on some of the questions we should be asking when we think about global histories of feminism.

Review – Feminisms: A Global History by Lucy Delap

Feminisms: A Global history is a historical overview and analysis of the many ideas, spaces, people and fights feminism has fought all around the world. Right from the beginning, Delap convinced me by signaling that the feminisms she would be looking at would not be confined to white feminism, but include perspectives from everywhere, like Japan, China, Russia, Spain, Brazil, England, USA, Egypt or Russia. From Black and Chicana Feminisms, to socialist and imperialist feminism, from the good to the bad; Delap covers it all, giving the reader ample of information and great examples to explain the differing theories and ideas.
Despite being an academic text (she cites her sources!), Delap’s style is very accessible, easy to understand and lively. Writing a book about such a complex and interwoven topic in such a clear way is no easy task, so I really compliment Delap on being concise and informative, yet entertaining and easy to follow.

The book is divided into eight chapters: Dreams, Ideas, Spaces, Objects, Looks, Feelings, Actions and Songs; each looking at feminist history from a specific perspective. For example, in Chapter 1 she discusses the literary utopia of feminists, such as Gilman and Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, who both imagined a feminist utopia at pretty much the same time, yet with wildly different interests. Gilman is decidedly white and marked by colonialist ideas of racial purity and eugenics, something Delap sadly doesn’t discuss in her book. I would have loved for Delap to be more critical of Gilman, who espoused white supremacist ideas in her novel, especially because Gilman is referenced many times throughout the book, making a more accurate and critical perspective all the more pertinent.

While Delap is not critical enough of Gilman, she doesn’t fail to be critical of other feminist thinkers and ideologies, also highlighting shortcomings, contradictions and comparing differing ideas. She also makes it very clear that feminist issues are also always issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, education, nationality and other socio-political markers.

The only shortcomings this book really has is that Delap is sometimes not critical enough, as with Gilman, or superficial in summarising certain topics. For example, she talks about feminist discourse in Cadiz, Spain, and how the ideas developed there were “socialist”, yet she doesn’t explain how or why they were socialist beyond calling them “socialist”. I’m not saying she’s wrong but it is curious because as far as I can say, these ideas were developed before industrialisation and Marx’ writings, so she would need to explain what makes these feminist ideas “socialist” in a time when that word did not exist yet. I was also sad about how quickly she summarises such a fascinating and obscure topic like feminist ideology in Cadiz at the beginning of the 19th century and would’ve loved to read more about it. Sadly, the topic is dealt with in a few sentences.
I also liked when she talks about Chinese feminism, which is a topic that is too often ignored by Western/white women and I would’ve loved to read more. However, since Delap properly cites her sources, I was able to look at the notes and find books for my personal TBR.

I also love how each chapter looks at different angles and the many ways feminism can impact our lives. Chapter 3 looks at the importance of space. Of course, Delap mentions Wolff, whose A Room of One’s Own explained the importance of having a room to think and create for women. Certainly, money plays an important role in having access to a room devoted for one’s own leisure and thinking and the needs of middle- to upper-class women was different to working class. Furthermore, otherwise marginalised women had even less access to a private room.

Delap’s greatest strength – the depth and width of the feminisms she covers, from a global and intersectional perspective – is also her weakness, as she has to cover a lot of ground and sadly, oftentimes remains superficial or gives very short summaries to be able to include as much material as possible. I also think that she could’ve been a bit more critical of certain feminists and feminist ideas, like Gilman.
By no means am I saying that this is a bad book because it’s not. It’s a great introduction, well-written, informative and entertaining, and it leaves you hungry for more. She does a great job at synthesising the many forms of feminisms into a coherent narrative and I never felt lost while reading. She’s a capable writer and academic, able to lead you from one point to the next. With a few edits, this could be a formidable book, but it’s still very good. If you want to learn more about the history of feminisms, feminist thoughts, some key persons and the various interconnected spheres of feminist work, this is definitely the book for you.

I was thrilled to be approved by NetGalley for an early peek at this book and couldn't wait to start reading. I wasn't disappointed. It takes a sweeping look at feminism, using examples from around the world. Should be required reading,

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How has feminism developed? What have feminists achieved? What can we learn from the global history of feminism? Feminism is the ongoing story of a profound historical transformation. Despite being repeatedly written off as a political movement that has achieved its aim of female liberation, it has been continually redefined as new generations of women campaign against the gender inequity of their age. In this absorbing book, historian Lucy Delap, who has a particular interest in gender and feminist history, challenges the simplistic narrative of 'feminist waves' - a sequence of ever more progressive updates ­- showing instead that feminists have been motivated by the specific concerns of their historical moment. Drawing on an extraordinary range of examples from Japan to Russia, Egypt to Germany, Delap explores different feminist projects to show that those who are part of this movement have not always agreed on a single programme. This diverse history of feminism, she argues, can help us better navigate current debates and controversies.

Feminism’s origins have often been framed around a limited cast of mostly white and educated foremothers, but the truth is that feminism has been and continues to be a global movement. For centuries, women from all walks of life have been mobilizing for gender justice. As the last decade has reminded even the most powerful women, there is nothing “post-feminist” about our world. And there is much to be learned from the passion and protests of the past. Delap looks to the global past to give us a usable history of the movement against gender injustice—one that can help clarify questions of feminist strategy, priority and focus in the contemporary moment. Rooted in recent innovative histories, the book incorporates alternative starting points and new thinkers, challenging the presumed priority of European feminists and ranging across a global terrain of revolutions, religions, empires and anti-colonial struggles.

In Feminisms, we find familiar stories—of suffrage, of solidarity, of protest—yet there is no assumption that feminism looks the same in each place or time. Instead, Delap explores a central paradox: feminists have demanded inclusion but have persistently practised their own exclusions. Some voices are heard and others are routinely muted. In amplifying the voices of figures at the grassroots level, Delap shows us how a rich relationship to the feminist past can help inform its future. This is a fantastic, comprehensive and completely fascinating guide to feminisms and the way in which the fight for equality between the sexes is being fought simultaneously across the world, albeit some countries are farther ahead in their progressive journey than others. Delap's passion for research and the ability to make a complex book feel simple and accessible to even a newcomer, who perhaps stumbles upon this as an introduction, is quite remarkable.

As an award-winning authority on the subject, the author has produced a magnificent nonfiction piece which ostensibly draws on the past to infuse today's activists with a sense of purpose and inspiration. Many thanks to Pelican for an ARC.

In this of all years, this is a much-needed trot through of the history of feminism. Here, for example, the reader will discover the origin of, and the different meanings given to terms like “patriarchy”, why feminists have always placed special significance on spaces, and the views and concerns of prominent feminists on women as consumers.

A special strength of this book is the effort it makes to present the feminisms in different continents, the reader will be exposed to the ideas of Japanese, Brazilian, Nigerian, and Indian, feminists among many others.
An essential read with some good illustrations.

A wonderful and unique look at feminism, I was hooked by this book from the very start, counting myself as a feminist I was so eager to read this. I loved the fact this looks at feminism globally rather than just the westernised ideal and focused on everyone, how your idea of feminism may not be another’s. It’s an enlightening read and definitely needs to be widely available, I’d hope schools and libraries would buy this.its well presented, the author has a wonderful accessible and inclusive writing style. A must read for all.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I've read many books about feminism and they look at issues at home. However, this book talked about global feminism. We sometimes don't realise that the experiences we face are shared from women around the world.

For me feminist ideas, books and experiences are something I am intimately familiar with. From educational and classic texts to YA and adult fantasy following strong female characters. As well as LGBT romances and both taking charge of their own lives and choices. To me feminist isn't a one size fits all box, it is about choice and choosing your future, your dreams, and the people you love and surround yourself with.

One thing covered by this book was the highlight that feminism is a global problem, it is so easy to see your own issues and the issues of your friends and forget (or worse, ignore) the experiences of women globally. The information in this book in enlightening in this sense, inspiring me to take action. The images included really humanise the problem where the text is just not able.

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I received an ARC of this book via Pelican and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Description

How has feminism developed? What have feminists achieved? What can we learn from the global history of feminism?

Feminism is the ongoing story of a profound historical transformation. Despite being repeatedly written off as a political movement that has achieved its aim of female liberation, it has been continually redefined as new generations of women campaign against the gender inequity of their age.

In this absorbing book, historian Lucy Delap challenges the simplistic narrative of ‘feminist waves’ – a sequence of ever more progressive updates ­- showing instead that feminists have been motivated by the specific concerns of their historical moment. Drawing on an extraordinary range of examples from Japan to Russia, Egypt to Germany, Delap explores different feminist projects to show that those who are part of this movement have not always agreed on a single programme. This diverse history of feminism, she argues, can help us better navigate current debates and controversies.

My thoughts

Feminism isn’t a concept I’m unfamiliar with. It’s something I’ve been aware of for a long time and formed the basis of a lot of the essays I wrote as part of my degree. I’m no stranger to a feminist text and, in fact, I’m not afraid to say I enjoy reading them. My knowledge of feminism stems from people like Virginia Woolf, Mary Woolstonecraft and Simone de Beauvoir (to name a few!). Of course, Delap takes what I already knew – and thought I knew about feminism – and presents it in an incredibly interesting way, managing to change how I thought of this.

Considering the sheer amount of non-fiction “source texts” I’ve had handed to me throughout my education, I worried a little bit that this would be like the books teachers made us read – so chocked full of information you can virtually feel your eyes glaze over when you’re reading. Whilst it was full of rich details, facts and figures, it definitely wasn’t boring.

Delap draws on extraordinary examples from Japan to Russia, Egypt to Germany. As someone who’s on ever seen or read about feminist movements in America and the U.K., it was great to read different perspectives and learn about diverse histories as well.

Another thing I liked, though it seems pretty simple to say, was the use of pictures. Whilst the actual text was factual and compelling, I loved seeing images of various women through the book.

I think the only bad thing I can say is I wanted more images. Sometimes things felt too wordy so I could’ve done with pictures to break things up nicely.

Feminisms will be published 27th August 2020.