Revolutionary Feminists: The Women’s Liberation Movement in Seattle
Barbara Winslow
Duke University Press, £22.99

LIKE most of the liberation movements of the period we call the 1960s, the women’s liberation movement seems a shadow of its former self. 

In a manner similar to those other movements, the politics of what’s known as second-stage feminism have shifted rightward. This is in part due to the non-stop attacks on women’s rights by the right-wing patriarchal forces in the United States — from the Catholic church hierarchy to the Republican Party and its adherents. 

Equally important, though, is the fact that the liberal wing of mainstream US politics has yet to make many women’s rights legally protected in a way that prevents the reactionaries from curtailing those rights. Instead, issues crucial to women’s liberation like reproductive rights and pay equity tend to be reduced to Democratic talking points during elections.