Kate Millett
American feminist writer and activist, author of *Sexual Politics*.
Kate Millett—writer, artist, educator, and activist—was a key figure in second-wave feminism. She made history as the first American woman to earn a first-class honors degree from Oxford University, studying at St Hilda’s College. Her most famous work, *Sexual Politics* (1970), grew out of her doctoral dissertation at Columbia University. According to journalist Liza Featherstone, Millett’s efforts helped make possible things that had once seemed out of reach: legal abortion, greater professional equality between women and men, and a new degree of sexual freedom.
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1934, Millett was raised in an Irish Catholic household and attended parochial schools. Her father, an engineer and alcoholic, beat her and abandoned the family when she was fourteen, leaving them in genteel poverty. Her mother worked as a teacher and insurance saleswoman. Millett earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Minnesota in 1956, graduating magna cum laude, before a wealthy aunt funded her Oxford education. After Oxford, she taught English at the University of North Carolina but left mid-semester to study art. In New York, she worked as a kindergarten teacher while learning sculpture and painting, then moved to Japan, where she studied sculpture, had her first solo show, and taught English at Waseda University. Returning to New York in 1963, she taught at Barnard College from 1964, where she sought to give women critical tools to understand patriarchal society. Her radical views and a critical report on Barnard led to her dismissal in 1968. That same year, she entered Columbia University’s graduate program, completing her dissertation in 1969 and earning her doctorate in 1970. Millett also taught at Bryn Mawr College and the University of California, Berkeley, and was active in the peace, civil rights, and anti-psychiatry movements. In 1971, she began buying property near Poughkeepsie, New York, which became the Women’s Art Colony and Tree Farm, later the Millett Center for the Arts. She came out as a lesbian in 1970, then as bisexual later that year. She was married to sculptor Fumio Yoshimura from 1965 to 1985, and later to Sophie Keir until her death in 2017. Her later books include *The Politics of Cruelty* (1994), on state-sanctioned torture, and *Mother Millett* (2001), about her relationship with her mother. Between 2
- born
- September 14, 1934
- died
- September 6, 2017
- field
- Feminist writer, educator, artist, activist
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Sexual Politics (1970), second-wave feminism, activism for women's rights and me
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Kate Millett was born on September 14, 1934, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to James Albert and Helen Millett. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota in 1956 with a BA in English literature. A wealthy aunt paid for her education at St Hilda's College, Oxford, where she earned a first-class honors degree in English literature in 1958, becoming the first American woman to do so. She completed her doctoral dissertation at Columbia University in September 1969 and was awarded her doctorate, with distinction, in March 1970. Millett taught at Waseda University, Bryn Mawr College, Barnard College, and the University of California, Berkeley. She was married to sculptor Fumio Yoshimura from 1965 to 1985, and later, until her death in 2017, she was married to Sophie Keir. Millett came out as a lesbian in 1970, the year *Sexual Politics* was published, but late in the year she came out as bisexual.
Reader's Guide
Kate Millett's significance lies in her foundational role in second-wave feminism through her book *Sexual Politics*, which articulated a theory of patriarchy and gender oppression. Journalist Liza Featherstone credited Millett's efforts with helping achieve "legal abortion, greater professional equality between the sexes, and a sexual freedom." Millett's activism extended to human rights, peace, civil rights, and anti-psychiatry movements. Her later works include *The Politics of Cruelty* (1994), about state-sanctioned torture in many countries, and *Mother Millett* (2001), a book about her relationship with her mother. Between 2011 and 2013, she won the Lambda Pioneer Award for Literature, received Yoko Ono's Courage Award for the Arts, and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. Her legacy includes the Millett Center for the Arts, established in 2012 from the Woman's Art Colony in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Did You Know?
- Kate Millett was the first American woman to be awarded a degree with first-class honors after studying at St Hilda's College, Oxford.
- Her book *Sexual Politics* (1970) was based on her doctoral dissertation at Columbia University.
- Millett came out as a lesbian in 1970, but later that year she came out as bisexual.
- In 1979, Millett and Sophie Keir traveled to Tehran, Iran, to work for Iranian women's rights and were detained overnight before being put on a plane to Paris.
- Between 2011 and 2013, Millett won the Lambda Pioneer Award for Literature, received Yoko Ono's Courage Award for the Arts, and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
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