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Editorial

Feminisms

by Rick Lewis

What is feminist philosophy, and why should we be interested in it today? Feminism generally seems to have a relatively low profile in society these days. The heroic age of suffragettes chaining themselves to park railings or throwing themselves under racehorses is long gone. At least in the industrial countries of the West, feminism has won great victories – Votes for Women, access to education, property rights, equal opportunities legislation – and moved on to issues which perhaps have a lower public profile. But women still face innumerable real problems in our society and the Spice Girls’ concept of ‘girlpower’ wasn’t exactly a big help; in fact it seemed to consist entirely of trying to convince the rising generation that the main thing was to look cute and that they shouldn’t worry their pretty little heads about more mundane matters. The fashion industry’s conviction that the ideal woman should look like a stick-insect has also added to the sum of human misery by creating an epidemic of eating disorders.

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