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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the author view women's desires and attempts to be like white men?

2. Were there ever alternate reactions to black women's efforts to participate in the early feminist movement, and if so what were they?

3. The author states that most women would like to be like ________________.

4. In the Preface to the first edition (1984), what general theme does the author present?

5. The author opens the Preface to the first edition of the book with a description of which group and its experiences in life?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the author want to change feminist language from "I am a feminist" to "I advocate feminism"?

2. In Chapter Three, "The Significance of the Feminist Movement" how does the author describe her understanding of feminism and the family?

3. How does the title of Chapter One, "Black Women - Shaping Feminist Theory," relate to the content of the chapter?

4. Are there tensions around female heterosexuality within the feminist movement?

5. Compare the Preface to the second edition with Ch. 12: What similarities do you see regarding the author's vision for the future of the feminist movement? List two to three examples.

6. In the author's view, are feminists ambivalent about power?

7. Describe the particular perspective that the author offers throughout her work. What position does she claim to write from and why?

8. Overall, what do Chapters Two and Three develop for the reader with regard to feminism?

9. Describe the author's discussion of early feminist attitudes towards men.

10. Describe the author's personal experiences with feminists from the same background as Friedan. How did they initially respond to her attempts to contribute to the conversation around feminist theory?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Essay on Ch. 6: Consumerism.

Analyze how resisting consumerism is, in the author's view, a positive manifestation of women's alternative uses of power. Please include quotations from the book to support your argument.

1) Begin by defining consumerism.

2) What kind of system does consumerism support, according to the author?

3) How does the author advise women to deal with consumerism? What strategies of resistance can they use?

4) Following the author's analysis, how is resisting consumerism a positive manifestation of women's alternative use of power?

5) Do you feel that consumerism distracts us from more important things? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Essay on Ch. 9: Violence and the media.

Fighting violence against women has been one of the mainstays of the feminist movement since it's inception. One of the forms this has taken more recently, has been to address the problem through looking at media images that display violence against women.

1) The author claims that men and women are desensitized to violence. What are the repercussions of this phenomenon and how does she explain it?

2) In what ways does the media make violence against women seem normal? for example, by makig it sexually appealing, or associating it with love, etc.

3) Discuss several examples from film and other media, such as fashion magazines or video games, in which you have noticed images of violence against women. Analyze your examples.

4) Have you seen signs in the media that violence against women is discouraged? Discuss your examples.

Essay Topic 3

Essay on Ch. 9: Women and war.

In Ch. 9 the author discusses the nature of violence against women and the phenomenon of violence in general. She uses war as an example of how women, too, demonstrate a capacity for violence. In your essay, think about the connection between traditional beliefs about gender and the author's analysis of women and war. Use quotations by the author to support your argument where necessary.

1) Discuss the author's position on how war is an example of women's capacity for violence.

- How do women support war?

- Does women's support for war, and their encouragement of male family members to go to war, seem to come from and reinforce traditional beliefs about men's and women's natures (e.g. aggressive, nurturing, etc.), whether innate or culturally learned?

2) Is condoning war the same as condoning violence? What can you gather about the author's views on war? Following the author's thinking, is war an example of using violence as a form of social control?

3) Does encouraging women (and gay men) to participate in the military and in war promote social equality?

4) If violence is a manifestation of hierarchy and power, what do women have to gain or lose from participating in war?

(see the answer keys)

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