All American Women

Book excerpt: "Based on the assumption that all women share a common "female experience" much of the twentieth-century feminist theory and writing overlooks the lives of the majority of women in the world. In All American Women, Johnnetta Cole corrects this bias by showing the vast range of attitudes, circumstances, hopes, fears, and struggles of a cross-section of women in the United States today. The only book of its kind, this much-needed work contains writings from authors in numerous fields--including Carol P. Christ, Angela Y. Davis, Yvonne Duffy, Geraldine Ferrarom Elain H. Kim, Audre Lorde, and many others--which probe five major aspects of women's lives: work, families, sexuality and reproduction, religion, and politics. While identifying many of the bonds that unite women, Cole persuasively argues that racial, ethnic, class, and may other differences cannot be wiped away by the notion of "sisterhood." Insightful, necessary, this volume provides a solid foundation for understanding the diverse strands of female experience in America today."--Publisher's description.