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Varieties of Feminism: German Gender Politics in Global Perspective. By Myra Marx Ferree. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012. Pp. 320. Paper $24.95. ISBN 978-0804757607.
In this excellent comparative study, Ferree contrasts feminism in Germany and the United States to illuminate the differences between the two. With a particular eye to intersectionality (gender and race, gender and class), she uses the successes of one country's feminism to draw attention to where the other could yet succeed or must still grow. Ferree states early on that the point of the book is not to determine the success of the women's movement in either country or the degree to which it is feminist. In the end, however, she seems to regard feminism in Germany as more successful for this moment, as it is influencing policy (particularly when inspired by other EU member countries) while American feminism is on the defensive against conservative forces mobilized against, for example, women's reproductive rights.
Ferree begins her book by outlining the fundamental differences between German and American feminism. She says, "Germany's feminism is premised on political assumptions that stress social justice, family values, and state responsibility for the common good." This is in contrast to the United States, where "liberal individualism and equal rights" are privileged (2). As a result of these two very different politi- cal orientations, feminism in Germany came to be more closely aligned with class issues, while US feminism allied itself with issues of race. This significant difference underscores the divergent trajectories of these two varieties of feminism, and Ferree returns to this throughout her analysis.
The first two chapters establish Ferree's approach to the material. Chapter 1 lays the theoretical...