Contemporary Feminist Politics: Women and Power in Britain

The political influence of a second wave of British feminism has been apparent since the late 1960s when, apparently spontaneously, a vibrant, radical Women's Liberation Movement burst onto the political scene. But what happened to the feminist movement of the optimistic 1970s during the 1980s? Was it stifled by the political and economic changes associated with Thatcherism, or did it help bring those changes about? Will the 1990s see a new generation of feminists who will not tolerate the conditions under which their mothers work and live?Contemporary Feminist Politics is the first comprehensive account of feminist politics in Britain from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Joni Lovenduski and Vicky Randall trace the movement's accomplishments and defeats over four successive Conservative governments. They argue that its development can only be understood in the context of a rapidly changing social and economic environment and that the movement's deradicalization and apparent decline have in fact been accompanied by a greater involvement with state agencies and the growing presence of feminists in mainstream institutions.The book's central section examines five key areas for feminist politics: political representation and citizenship, equal employment opportunities, reproductive rights and health, motherhood and childcare, and male violence. For all of these it explores both the main preoccupations of feminist theory and important grass-roots developments. It concludes that a feminist-influenced British Women's Movement is a changed but unmistakably significant political force in the 1990s.