Feminist Theory
Radical Feminism

Mary Daly (1928-present)
b. Schenectady, NY Oct. 16, 1928

Daly bio from the Wickedary

Daly bio

Bibliography of Daly's work

Creative Quotations by Daly

equityfeminism on Daly's retirement

Mary Daly Gyn/Ecology
 

Made her career in the Religious Studies Department at Boston College
– problems with her promotion to full prof – now suit, retirement situation

 
Style of the book?  How is it different from other “academic” texts you read?

Patriarchy has stolen our cosmos and returned it in the form of Cosmopolitan magazine and cosmetics (5)!!!

          also p. 20 – mother as suburban housewife, daughter as “liberated” cosmo girl

 what cosmos??  what is she talking about?

 She’s deliberately trying to be different – invent her own way, feminist way of

dis-covering information

hyphenates – to recall earlier meanings, to make us think about meanings

e.g. re-search

to invent new meaning or

to re-cover  or  reveal an older one

the-rapist, stag-nation

Capitalizes – sometimes when referring to society wide institution

e.g. Deep Background – where the truth about women’s power/status has receded to – where it waits to be re-discovered by Furious Furies

 
refuses to capitalize – church, christianity, etc. 

p.8 – erasure;

reversal;

false polarization;

divide and conquer – token women

         men as gynocologists

          as soul doctors (priests and gurus)

          as mind doctors (psychiatrists, ad-men, academics)

          as body doctors (physicians and fashion designers)

Words she’s re-claimed

glamour –p. 4 – a mgic spell – power of withches – now disempowered to refer only to physical appearances – glamourous = the ultimate expression of conventional “beauty”

Hag – p. 14-15

Old English – “female demon, fury, harpy – evil or firghtening spirit, ugle or evil looking women;

later – wild eyed – “an intractable person, especially a woman reluctant to wooing****”

Crone

Spinster – p. 3 (and 392-94)

one who makes her living by spinning – woman who lives alone – woman independent of men!!

spinning – metaphor for journey – discovery – writing, creativity – in contrast to male linear thinking,

Lesbian

**29 – read first paragraph

only women are unable to name their oppressors –

she embraces this

Anti-androcrat, A-mazingly Anti-male, Furiously and Finally Female

p. 7 bunnies, bitches, beavers, squirrels, chicks, pussycats, etc.

women as animals –

men as animals??  stud!!!!!

Points out tragic ironies like *5 “Free Spirit” as a name for bras and girdles!!