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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What notion about women and power do both sexist and traditional feminist culture share?
(a) That women should not be in positions of power.
(b) That women experience and wield power differently from men.
(c) That motherhood is a woman's right of passage.
(d) That women do not understand money.

2. What change in attitudes towards work does the author propose in Chapter Seven.
(a) From a purely money-oriented activity to an activity that enables, and enriches, life.
(b) From a male-dominated sphere to a woman-dominated sphere.
(c) Society needs to discourage too much focus on work.
(d) People need to try new career paths.

3. How did early (upper middle class, white) feminists regard work?
(a) They felt it was less important than education.
(b) They saw it as an added burden to the childcare they were already doing.
(c) Work outside the home was equated with freedom from male oppression.
(d) They wanted to work but did not want to compete with men in the professions.

4. What opinion does the author express regarding the connection between early feminist concepts of sexual liberty and the movement to end sexual oppression?
(a) She does not express an opinion but promises to discuss them together in a later book.
(b) They are very closely related.
(c) She feels they should not be the target of conservative thinkers.
(d) They are not the same thing.

5. In the author's opinion, how did early feminists view violence against women?
(a) In a way, they echoed patriarchal ideas that men had inbred aggressive tendencies and women had submissive and nurturing tendencies.
(b) They thought that gender was not really at play in problems of violence.
(c) They frowned on discussing violence at all.
(d) They saw men as corrupt and women as innately innocent.

6. How is the long and painstaking process of change experienced by societies like the United States?
(a) As foreign, unappealing, and frustrating.
(b) As boring.
(c) As relatively easy.
(d) As frustrating but entertaining.

7. What was the early feminist belief about creating change according to the author?
(a) That demanding necessary change and pointing out areas for that change would be enough to make it happen.
(b) That armed resistance was the only way to achieve true change.
(c) It would happen once women took over the media.
(d) That change would not take place for another generation.

8. Which one of the following ideas is not mentioned by the author in her discussion of how feminist-oriented change can actually come about?
(a) An understanding of the socio-political systems that give rise to and perpetuate sexist attitudes.
(b) Armed struggle.
(c) A concerted and sustained effort to change sexist attitudes in men.
(d) A concerted and sustained effort to change sexist attitudes in women.

9. What has happened as a result of the form taken by the majority of feminist writing?
(a) Many women have seen the writing as impractical.
(b) More women have been attracted to the movement.
(c) Many uneducated women have been excluded.
(d) Younger women have been able to relate to feminist writing with more ease.

10. Overall, what is the author's approach to presenting feminist ideas in this book?
(a) In general, she focuses on more recent developments in feminism.
(b) Usually she presents early feminist ideas, points out their failings, and proposes alternatives.
(c) She presents male stereotypes about women then proceeds to refute them.
(d) She presents other people's work but rarely discusses her own ideas.

11. In the author's view, what is the result, or effect, of some successful feminists' particular relationship with power?
(a) It destroys less powerful women's chances.
(b) It makes men extremely jealous.
(c) It perpetuates the very sexism they claim to strive against.
(d) It reverses gender roles in a positive way.

12. Why did many lower/middle class and/or non-white women respond to early feminist views on work as they did?
(a) They hoped to create strategies for career advancement.
(b) They felt that the work they wanted would never be available.
(c) They were already working and new it was not the ideal situation that others imagined.
(d) They wanted to be included in the movement.

13. For the author, what activity would be most likely to help spread feminism and its goals to a wider cross section of women?
(a) Promoting literacy.
(b) Printing more pamphlets.
(c) Buying ad space on television.
(d) Holding town hall events.

14. In the author's view, how did early feminists understand work, i.e what did they identify as successful work?
(a) It was identified with creative expression.
(b) It was identified with capitalist, patriarchal standards of success (money and power).
(c) They did not yet have a clear view of what made work successful.
(d) It was understood as related to traditionally feminine tasks.

15. The title of Chapter Twelve, "Feminist Revolution: Development through Struggle," refers to which of the following ideas?
(a) That the feminist movement must struggle for the benefit of developing countries.
(b) The feminist revolution will only be won via armed struggle.
(c) That feminist-oriented change is achieved through perseverance and hard work.
(d) Feminists create change by holding serious debates.

Short Answer Questions

1. What observations does the author make about women and the practice of violence?

2. Why does society-the U.S. in particular-have this kind of reaction to the process of change?

3. How did many lower/middle class and/or non-white women respond to this view of work?

4. In her discussion of attitudes towards sexuality, what common problem does the author say that women and gay men share?

5. What do these accepted beliefs about motherhood manifest for the author?

(see the answer keys)

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