Read more
Feminism Backwards is part memoir, part documentary. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement Rosita Sweetman gleefully recalls the triumphs - and the tribulations - of trying to drag a reluctant Ireland into the 20th Century, crucially, re-appraising Chains or Change the IWLM's famous pamphlet, detailing what life was like for women in 1970s Ireland - appalling.
Feminism Backwards is also a howl of despair at how women have been treated worldwide down through the centuries, and how misogyny and sexual repression got such a stranglehold on Ireland. Having a survived a marriage break up Rosita re-found her feminism sadly buried, along with her chutzpah. She passionately believes feminism is not about blaming men, or pushing a few women to the top so they can be 'she-men' for the patriarchy. It's about creating a world fit for everyone.
About the author
Born into a big political/legal family in Dublin Rosita began writing when she was 10. She's worked as a journalist with the Irish Press, the Irish Times, the Sunday Independent, as a 'runner' and secretary at BBC TV in London, and as a research assistant on RTE TV in Dublin. She has published three best selling books, On Our Knees (1972), On Our Backs, Sexual Attitudes in a Changing Ireland (1979) and a novel Fathers Come First (1974) recently re-published by the Lilliput Press (2015). In 2004 she co-produced an allergy cookbook with her children Chupi and Luke, What To Eat When You Can't Eat Anything. She is a critic for the Irish Times, the Sunday Independent, and the Dublin Review of Books. Having a survived a marriage break up Rosita re-found her feminism sadly buried, along with her chutzpah. She passionately believes feminism is not about blaming men, or pushing a few women to the top so they can be 'she-men' for the patriarchy. It's about creating a world fit for everyone. Of everything she has created her two adult children Chupi and Luke are way and above the most precious.
Summary
Feminism Backwards is part memoir, part documentary. A founding member of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement Rosita Sweetman here gleefully recalls the triumphs and the tribulations of trying to drag a reluctant Ireland into the 20th Century.
