In Our Time

November 1, 1999
Here is a gossipy account of women's liberation by a New York journalist who was in the thick of many movement controversies--from the pornography wars to accusations of elitism. A freelance magazine and TV news writer, Brownmiller went to her first women's liberation meeting in the fall of 1968. After her feminist "click," she almost single-handedly redefined Americans' views of rape when she wrote Against Our Will in 1975. Brownmiller chronicles the movement's rise out of civil rights and anti-Vietnam War activism; the heady days of demonstrating at the Miss America pageant, in the offices of Ladies' Home Journal and on the streets; the struggle for abortion rights and to define rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment as discrimination against women; and the rise of feminist newspapers, magazines and publications such as Our Bodies, Ourselves. She also covers writers Marilyn French, Shere Hite and a host of other feminist theorists then on the edge and now part of the mainstream. Her memoir concludes with what she views as the final demise of the radical feminist movement, when feminists started to shred one another in the porn wars of the 1980s. For those seeking a narrative rather than analytical history, Brownmiller offers an enthralling mix of lively stories about her own activities (although she doesn't delve into her own background as much as some readers might wish) and interviews with other participants in one of the most influential social movements of our time. Agent, Frances Goldin.