Women on the defensive

"Sylvia Bashevkin traces the fate of the women's movements in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain through the bitter ideological and policy battles of the 1980s. Her compelling analysis explodes some widely held beliefs about women and women's movements under the conservative leaderships of Ronald Reagan, Brian Mulroney, and Margaret Thatcher. By identifying the policies and goals held in common by feminists in all three countries and following their collision courses with conservative policies of the three administrations, Bashevkin is able to document setbacks and, surprisingly, some progress. Women on the Defensive is unique in that it looks at the trajectory of women's movements not only through governmental and legal practices but also through the words of women activists, who have their own stories to tell about feminism in the 1980s. Bashevkin combines individual voices with policy initiatives to provide the first complete picture of the recent past and uncertain future of contemporary feminism."--BOOK JACKET.