Dismantling the Master's House: The Predicament of Feminist Publishing and Writing Today

Abstract

Tracing the early connections between feminist publishing and the women's movement in a somewhat nostalgic mode before going on to note the decline in the feminist publishing trade today, we encounter the paradoxical situation in which this decline is marked by the rapid and significant spread of women's studies in the academy, the large number of feminist writings that are now being published by mainstream publishing houses, and the major impact of the women's movement upon governments' and international bodies' policies worldwide. Because of the commitment that feminist presses have towards feminist causes, we believe that feminist publishing is an activity that must retain its 'autonomy and solidarity' in order to retain its political potential.