Discusses Laura Mulvey's 1975 essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," and the ideas about feminist film theory and psychoanalysis as a critical tool which it raises. Suggests contradiction is the central issue in feminist film theory. Explores definitions of women's cinema. (SA)

Discusses general assumptions, hypotheses, and categories used to study the experiences of women during the Holocaust. Presents excerpts from interviews with three women who survived imprisonment in concentration camps. Argues against the use of cultural feminism as a perspective on the Holocaust and provides a list of questions for further…

Analyzes ambiguities and ambivalences that define competitive and cooperative relationships among academic women, especially those doing feminist scholarship, and urges that the most positive aspects of both be used to help women succeed in male-dominated academia. (LHW)

In this article recent audiovisual materials on women suitable for college level history and social science courses are reviewed. Feminist films oriented toward contemporary issues have been omitted, though some of these are listed in the annotated bibliography. This article would be of interest to anyone concerned with women's studies. (Author/GC)

Presents a critical overview of academic writing on women and folklore, organized in three categories: (1) literature on images of women in verbal folklore, and the role of negative images in shaping attitudes; (2) research on womens' oral genres and performance and female use of folklore; and (3) studies of women as folk performers and artists.…

Although the "self psychology" theories of Heinz Kohut tend to neglect gender, they hold promise for feminist theory because they avoid some problems and limitations of the object-relations theory, especially its conflation of femininity with heterosexuality and apparent closure to historical change. Feminist self-psychology theory, in…

Historical trends of Constitutional inequality are presented in the context of women's movements. The status of women and the struggle for equal rights are negatively affected by conservatism in the executive and judicial branches of government. Recent court decisions have left much room for interpretation with respect to women's rights. (VM)

Discusses the reasons for Black women novelists not allying themselves with White feminists and the differences between the two groups' perspectives. Introduces the term "womanism" to express a philosophy that celebrates Black roots and the ideals of Black life while giving a balanced presentation of Black womandom. (SA)

Social control of women through the normative constructs has the virtue of subtlety. It gives the appearance of nonrestriction and noncontrol, thus reducing the potential for resistance. The "nice girl" construct keeps women out of men's way, while ostensibly keeping them out of harm's way. (Author/GC)

Replicating and updating M. Elizabeth Tidball's 1973 study, this study of 1,307 women achievers corroborates earlier findings that women's colleges produce proportionately more high female achievers than do coeducational schools. Factors that may have contributed to this are discussed. (BJV)

The Woman Suffrage Movement experienced ideological changes so that earlier and later suffragists had different views. Elizabeth Boynton Harbert was one reformer who first criticized female socialization and the system of separate spheres. Later her views became more sentimental and she idealized the traditional role of women. (VM)

Contrasts the narrative strategies of two books, Carol Gilligan's "In a Different Voice" and George Eliot's "The Mill on the Floss." Argues that the narrative voice of both is similar, but Eliot has a clearer realization of the limits imposed on women's voice. Gilligan counsels synthesis of the male and female voice, but Eliot…

Reviews literature on the relationship of gender and science. Identifies four basic approaches: (1) the recovery of forgotten scientific achievements by women; (2) analysis of the history of women's participation in scientific institutions; (3) examination of how science has defined the nature of women; and (4) analysis of the masculinist nature…

Discusses the relationship of the Black contemporary author, Alice Walker, to folklorist Zora Neale Hurston and presents a clarification of the relationship of gender and race in a revised theory of literary influence. Argues that Black women authors sometimes misread literary forbears in order to discover and express a positive matrilineage…

Discusses development of role models for women through experiences of author as a feminist. Women can benefit greatly from models, but must strive to minimize personal, social, and professional conflict in identifying and utilizing them. (AO)