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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What potential effect can feminism have on the family, in the author's view?
(a) It can help maintain the traditional structure of the Western family.
(b) It can draw attention away from the family towards more important things.
(c) It can undermine family stability.
(d) It can transform the family in very positive ways.

2. According to the author, what does society often teach women about what it means to be a woman?
(a) That to be female is to be important.
(b) That to be a woman is easier than being a man.
(c) That to be female is to be a victim.
(d) That women should be silent.

3. In general, the title of Chapter 1, "Black Women - Shaping Feminist Theory," relates to which of the following ideas?
(a) Black women can create their own feminist theory; they do not need to participate in the broader movement.
(b) It doesn't relate to any of the aforementioned ideas.
(c) Black women's lives can serve as raw material for white women when they create feminist theory.
(d) Black women are important in shaping the feminist movement and broadening the previously limited perspectives in feminism.

4. From which position (or perspective) does the author claim to write in her analysis of feminism and its social manifestations?
(a) From a religious perspective.
(b) From an elite position.
(c) From a foreign perspective.
(d) From the margins.

5. What question does the author raise about the desire for equality with men?
(a) When will men decide to share their power?
(b) Why do women want equality with men?
(c) How come more women don not see the value in imitating male models of power?
(d) There are degrees of "equality" within the male gender, so with which men are women supposed to want equality?

6. How does the author see feminism and the family?
(a) She believes that the traditional family structure is fine the way it is and feminists should not try to change it.
(b) Her definition of feminism is one that is pro-family.
(c) She thinks feminists that reject the family completely are justified in doing so.
(d) She feels ambivalent about the relationship between the two.

7. Why does the author spend time talking about the relationship between feminism and the family?
(a) She wants to dispel anti-family myths and propose a definition of feminism from within that takes the family unit as the foundation of a compassionate society.
(b) She believes that it will help attract more men to the movement.
(c) She is tired of being accused of ignoring this important issue.
(d) She is determined to promote the traditional family structure.

8. How does the author describe feminism in the U.S.?
(a) As a collective Marxist movement.
(b) As a bourgeois ideology based on liberal individualism.
(c) As a radical revolution.
(d) As a separatist movement.

9. In the Preface to the second edition (2000), how does the author describe the original reception of her book?
(a) It was rejected by mainstream feminists.
(b) Women of color claimed it focused mostly on white women so they rejected it.
(c) It started a riot.
(d) It was embraced by all feminists for its thought-provoking content.

10. What can happen to women in light of the social views about their gender?
(a) Women can absorb these views and manifest them in their lives in negative ways.
(b) Women can simply imitate men and these views will not affect them.
(c) Nothing happens to women; they are not influenced by social attitudes.
(d) There is no proof that social attitudes affect individual choices.

11. How does the author view the concept of personal freedom?
(a) It is grounded in preserving the patriarchal, capitalist, individualist status quo.
(b) It is an honorable and uplifting concept.
(c) It runs the risk of promoting sexual infidelity.
(d) It promises to be an idea around which the feminist movement can rally.

12. According to the author, who originally defined "sisterhood" in the feminist movement?
(a) University professors.
(b) The middle class white women at the forefront of the movement.
(c) Young female college students in sociology classes.
(d) Working class women.

13. What did she notice about white female students at the time?
(a) They were at college in order to find husbands.
(b) They were afraid to look at each other in class.
(c) They were very excited about creating community and being together.
(d) They were not very smart.

14. What are some of the biggest challenges to sisterhood?
(a) Unfair business practices.
(b) There used to be challenges but they have lessened.
(c) Racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism.
(d) Global warming, politics, and religion.

15. What is the author's contention about the feelings that defined sisterhood?
(a) She thinks they have a lot to do with insecurity around men.
(b) She finds them to be unjustified.
(c) Actually, she does not see anything wrong with them.
(d) She suggests that they support sexist, patriarchal attitudes towards women.

Short Answer Questions

1. What would this change in language suggest?

2. For the author, what must happen to feminism in order for it to have "a revolutionary, transformative impact on society"?

3. For the author, what perspective really changed the direction of feminist thought?

4. Which definition of feminism does not work, according to the author?

5. What does it ultimately mean for the author when women behave like white men?

(see the answer keys)

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