Jewish Feminists
Complex Identities and Activist Lives
How Jewishness and feminism converged in the life histories of twentieth-century activists
Paper – $30
978-0-252-07677-0
Publication Date
Paperback: 12/14/2009
About the Book
Studying American Jewish feminism from the 1960s and '70s, Jewish Feminists examines how second-wave feminist activists retrospectively construct their identities as Jews and how these constructions have changed throughout their lives. Dina Pinsky argues that these Jewish feminists experience a sense of ambivalence as both feminists and Jews as they ask how being Jewish makes them different from other feminists. Drawing from interviews with more than two dozen second-wave feminist Jews, of which five are men, Pinsky describes how these identities sometimes coincide or contrast. The book demonstrates that Jews share a unique relationship to gender, influenced by their experiences and perspectives as Jews. Pinsky adds to the feminist dialogue about cultural difference and intersectionality by exploring the narratives of a group that has long been absent from this discussion.About the Author
Dina Pinsky is an assistant professor of sociology at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania.Reviews
"A well-researched analysis of the complimentary yet sometimes tension-inducing interactions between Judaism, Jewishness, and feminism."--Jewish Book World "Pinsky creates an artful map of shifting Jewish feminist identities over time."--Shofar"Recommended."--Choice
"Pinsky's work introduces the unique cultural experience of Jews into the feminist dialogue with much success. . . . Informative and enjoyable from chapter to chapter."--Contemporary Sociology
Blurbs
"Delightful to read, this book provides an underrepresented perspective in Jewish women's studies and significant evidence about the ways individuals negotiate changes brought about by social movements."--Rebecca T. Alpert, author of Whose Torah? A Concise Guide to Progressive Judaism
"An enjoyable, thoughtful book that connects theoretical questions to the embodied lived experience of Jewish feminists."--Caryn Aviv, coauthor of New Jews: The End of the Jewish Diaspora
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