Shulamith Firestone
Radical feminist writer and co-founder of key second-wave groups.
Shulamith Firestone was a Canadian-born American radical feminist writer and activist, recognized as a key figure in the early development of second-wave feminism. She co-founded three influential organizations: New York Radical Women, Redstockings, and New York Radical Feminists. Within these movements, she was sometimes called "the firebrand" and "the fireball." In 1967, she spoke at the National Conference for New Politics in Chicago, and the following year she organized a symbolic event called "The Burial of Traditional Womanhood" and participated in the Miss America protest. She also protested sexual harassment at Madison Square Garden, organized abortion speakouts, and disrupted abortion legislation meetings. In 1970, Firestone published *The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution*, which became a foundational text in feminist theory. The book argued that women’s oppression stems from their biological capacity for pregnancy and childbirth, and she advocated for advanced reproductive technologies to free women from that role. Her ideas later influenced cyberfeminism and xenofeminism. Firestone also contributed to and helped edit the feminist magazine *Notes*. After retiring from activism, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Her final published work, *Airless Spaces* (1998), is a collection of short stories based on her experiences with mental illness. A documentary titled *Shulie* was made about her, though the original version featuring Firestone was never released; a recreation was later produced.
- field
- Radical feminism, writing, activism
- known_for
- Founding radical feminist groups; author of The Dialectic of Sex
Verified Timeline
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Shulamith Bath Shmuel Ben Ari Feuerstein
- Birth Date
- 1945-01-07
- Birth Place
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Death Date
- 2012-08-28
- Death Place
- New York City, U.S.
- Burial Place
- Wellwood Cemetery West Babylon, New York
- Education
- Washington University / Art Institute of Chicago (BFA)
- Movement
- Radical feminism / Second-wave feminism
- Notable Works
- The Dialectic of Sex (1970)
- Relatives
- Tirzah Firestone (sister)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Shulamith Firestone co-founded New York Radical Women, Redstockings, and New York Radical Feminists. In *The Dialectic of Sex* (1970), she wrote: "[T]he end goal of feminist revolution must be, unlike that of the first feminist movement, not just the elimination of male privilege but of the sex distinction itself: genital differences between human beings would no longer matter culturally." Firestone's work emerged within second-wave feminism in the 1960s. Radical feminists like Firestone viewed patriarchy as a "transhistorical phenomenon" prior to or deeper than other sources of oppression, "not only the oldest and most universal form of domination but the primary form" and the model for all others.
Reader's Guide
Firestone's *The Dialectic of Sex* is a foundational radical feminist text. Radical feminists locate the root cause of women's oppression in patriarchal gender relations, as opposed to legal systems (as in liberal feminism) or class conflict (as in Marxist feminism). Firestone's work argued that genital differences should not matter culturally or politically, while maintaining that women's special role in reproduction should be recognized and accommodated without penalty in the workplace. The influence of radical-feminist politics on the women's liberation movement was considerable. Redstockings co-founder Ellen Willis wrote in 1984 that radical feminists "got sexual politics recognized as a public issue," created second-wave feminism's vocabulary, helped to legalize abortion in the US, "were the first to demand total equality in the so-called private sphere" ("housework and child care ... emotional and sexual needs"), and "created the atmosphere of urgency" that almost led to the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Did You Know?
- Firestone wrote in *The Dialectic of Sex* that the end goal of feminist revolution should be eliminating the sex distinction itself, not just male privilege.
- Radical feminists like Firestone viewed patriarchy as the oldest and most universal form of domination, serving as the model for all other forms of oppression.
- Ellen Willis credited radical feminists with creating second-wave feminism's vocabulary and helping to legalize abortion in the US.
- Radical feminists were the first to demand total equality in the so-called private sphere, including housework, child care, and emotional and sexual needs.
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