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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2008. / Document formatted into pages; contains x, 414 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis advisor: Martin Summers / The second wave feminist media, defined as ideological contributions via the written word, played an essential role in the second wave by sharing radical ideologies and bringing women into a feminist consciousness. This study examines the herstory of three groups in Boston at the time: the Second Wave magazine (1971-1983), the Combahee River Collective (1974-1980), and Persephone Press (1976-1983). Each group had different motivations yet remained dedicated to the radical feminist media and various methods of societal upheaval. As a radical feminist magazine, a black feminist organization, and lesbian-feminist publishing house respectively, the women behind the three entities aspired to alter the face of second wave feminism. Each had several commonalities: including a commitment to the feminist media, factionalism and ideological strife, difficulties in balancing beliefs with harsh systemic realities, and a great connection to coalitions and the greater feminism community. The Second Wave, the Combahee River Collective, and Persephone Press may appear conflicting at first glance but shared a great commitment to facing sexist oppression through the written word. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History.

Although previous scholars have addressed the legislative parameters of the Equal Rights Amendment debate in non-ratifying states, analysis of amendment supporters’ rhetoric has been limited. Examining the public and private writings of activists, This thesis presents the argument that pro-ERA coalitions in Georgia addressed the concerns of their opponents and developed rhetoric that deemphasized connections to the radical women’s liberation movement and argued that the ERA would enact legal, rather than social, change. While the educational materials produced by pro-ERA coalitions presented a logical analysis of the amendment’s legal ramifications, the personal discourse of Georgia activists presented an emotional defense of the amendment that has often been overlooked in previous studies.

In this thesis, I will argue that Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973), a United States Supreme Court case originating in Georgia, enabled all women access to abortion, including groups of marginalized women previously denied this right. An examination of the background of Doe uncovers the roles played by Georgia feminists and the medical community. By comparing Doe v. Bolton with the concurrent Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, I will shed light on the history of abortion in America as well as continuing divisions over abortion access in America today.

Despite critics‟ negative appraisal of Lars Von Trier's Antichrist (2009) for its ostensible misogyny, a deep thematic resonance exists between its representation of women as historical victims of patriarchal discourse, and the positive representations of women as Christ-like figures found in his Golden Heart Trilogy (1996/1998/2000). Arguably, it is important to recognize this, because these films together comprise an exercise in cinematic resistance to the narratives of the „backlash‟ against women's rights, thematized by Susan Faludi in her Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women; resistance which is undermined when these films are considered disparate or incongruous.

This qualitative research study used a theoretical framework of third-wave feminism and reader response theory to examine two research questions: How do girls and women relate to the female protagonist in dystopian young adult literature (YAL)? and How are the responses to dystopian YAL similar and different for the targeted teen audience and the adult audience? A group of four teenaged girls and another group of three adult women read and discussed the YAL dystopian text Uglies. For this project, I collected participant journals and transcripts from individual interviews and book club discussions. I selected quotations from each data source that highlighted the participant’s reactions to the protagonist. Data were analyzed in two phases. In phase one, I used discourse analysis, and in phase two I used constant comparative analysis. The analyses revealed that participants from both groups identified with the protagonist’s attempts to improve society, which aligns both groups’ responses with inclusive aspects of third-wave feminism. However, other aspects of feminism were incorporated into their answers as well. The women participants demonstrated a broader societal concern, such as those shared by second wave feminists. The girls, in contrast, were firmly situated within individualist aspects of third-wave feminism. Whereas, the women related to the protagonist on both a personal and broader societal level, the girls related only on a personal level. Findings from this research extend reader response theory by showing that responses to literature are strongly shaped by generational position.

Disagreement over the label "feminist" continues to elicit debate within the feminist movement and in society. Some contemporary feminists see protofeminism in Jacqueline Susann's novels. This work investigates the support Susann's novels offered to the second wave of the feminist movement of the 1960s and the 1970s. A close reading of Susann's best-selling novels, Valley of the Dolls (1966), The Love Machine (1969), and Once is Not Enough (1973) was combined with a study of the author's biography, works by second-wave feminists, and reviews and criticism of the novels. Further evidence was gathered through research of the socioeconomic status of women during relevant periods and viewing the novels from the perspective of the feminist movement's second wave. Placing the novels in their historical and socio-economic context proved that these works did not offer support to the movement. Instead, they advocated women's continued status as oppressed citizens.

Drawing on my own process of entry into local queer, lesbian and feminist public cultures, I argue that a powerful relationship between feminist and lesbian existence can be felt and that this sensibility bears influence on the way queer erotic and politicized identities emerge in relation to one another. These affective links remain frequently unacknowledged and/or are actively repudiated due to popular accounts of feminist genealogy whereby second wave lesbian-feminist positions are rendered fundamentally incompatible with contemporary queer/third wave feminist ones. I challenge this narrative by building on select early articulations of radical lesbian feminism to show that when affirmed consciously, the sense that lesbianism and feminism are interconnected constitutes a “woman-identified experience” and an opportunity to bear witness to the unrealized possibilities of second-wave radical feminism in the present. I conclude that politicized “lesbian” and/or “woman” identification remain indispensable strategic sites from which to observe and confront heteropatriarchy.