Letter: Slogging sisters

Linda Bellos
Friday 03 November 1995 00:02 GMT
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From Ms Linda Bellos

Sir: Genevieve Fox is quite right to ask where all the feminists have gone (31 October). The answer is that they remain working away in the unglamorous world of women's aid, rape crisis women's centres, etc. Publishing was and is an important part of feminism but it never was the forefront for black and white working-class women. Whether it was consciousness- raising groups or later Greenham Common, a great deal of work went on that did not include Oxbridge-educated, middle-class women and, what is more, it still does.

For too long a small clique of women have assumed that they could generalise from their own narrow experience and speak for all of us. They have been aided and abetted by their brothers (and husbands) in the media. This is not feminism and it never was.

Feminism is about the liberation of all women, not the career development of the already privileged, although it might include this. All women have some things in common but not all things. If we fail to acknowledge the real differences that exist between us by virtue of our class, race, sexuality, disability, age or religion, we will continue to fail to make the changes that many of us want to see.

Humour might help.

Yours faithfully,

Linda Bellos

London, N4

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