Shulamith Firestone

Shulamith Firestone
Firestone c. 1970
Born
Shulamith Bath Shmuel Ben Ari Feuerstein

(1945-01-07)January 7, 1945
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Diedc. August 28, 2012(2012-08-28) (aged 67)
New York City, U.S.
Burial placeWellwood Cemetery West Babylon, NY
NationalityCanadian-American
Education
Notable workThe Dialectic of Sex (1970)

"Airless Spaces" (1998)

"Pour l'abolition de l'enfance" (2002)
Movement
RelativesTirzah Firestone (sister)

Shulamith Bath Shmuel Ben Ari Firestone (born Feuerstein;[1] January 7, 1945 – August 28, 2012)[2] was a Canadian-American radical feminist writer and activist. Firestone was a central figure in the early development of radical feminism and second-wave feminism and a founding member of three radical-feminist groups: New York Radical Women, Redstockings, and New York Radical Feminists. Within these radical movements, Firestone became known as "the firebrand" and "the fireball" for the fervor and passion she expressed towards the cause.[3] Firestone participated in activism such as speaking out at The National Conference for New Politics in Chicago.[4] Also while a member of various feminist groups she participated in actions including protesting a Miss America Contest, organizing a mock funeral for womanhood known as "The Burial of Traditional Womanhood",[5] protesting sexual harassment at Madison Square Garden, organizing abortion speakouts, and disrupting abortion legislation meetings.[6][7]

In 1970, Firestone authored The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution. Published in September of that year, the book became an influential feminist text.[4] The Dialectic of Sex and the ideas presented within it became important in both cyberfeminism and xenofeminism, as her ideas were a precursor for other subjects regarding technology and gender.[8][9] In her writing career Firestone also helped write and edit a magazine called Notes.[4] Her final written text was Airless Spaces written in 1998, which consisted of short stories all relating to her experience with mental illness and schizophrenia.[10]

A documentary called Shulie was created depicting Firestone during her time as a student, and it outlined her journey to becoming a feminist figure and important author.[11] The original documentary featuring Firestone was never released, but a recreation of it was. Firestone struggled with schizophrenia after her retirement from activism and suffered from the illness until her death in 2012.[4]

  1. ^ Fox, Margalit (August 30, 2012). "Shulamith Firestone, Feminist Writer, Dies at 67". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Butnick, Stephanie (August 30, 2012). "Shulamith Firestone (1945-2012)". Tablet Magazine.
  3. ^ Faludi, Susan (April 8, 2013). "Death of a Revolutionary". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Benewick, Robert and Green, Philip (1998). "Shulamith Firestone 1945–". The Routledge Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Political thinkers. 2nd edition. Routledge, pp. 65–67.
  5. ^ "Shulamith Firestone's Women's Liberation action materials from the Redstockings Archives". www.redstockings.org. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hall2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Halbert-J-ICS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Angel-xenofeminism was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Paasonen-Cybernation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference villager was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Brody, Richard (April 10, 2015). "Recreating a Feminist Revolutionary". The New Yorker.