Literature for Women’s Liberation
Literature for Women’s Liberation 
At a certain point in 2005 i realized that adding new titles to my Literature Section was a process of diminishing returns – i had so much up already that each title was in a sense camouflaged by the others. Â It was (is!) difficult to go through the whole list, when the mix was getting so eclectic. This was in fact exacerbated by the fact that i like so may of my titles so much – it felt like they weren’t being given an opportunity to shine in the light they deserved. As an initial step in trying to fix this problem, here is my first “Subject” section – a list of the books, pamphlets and videos i distribute that pertain directly to Women’s Liberation. Please don’t et me wrong – these books also offer lots of information and insight about all kinds of other issues (gender, imperialism, racism, radical history, to name a few), but what they have in common is that they all pertain in one fairly obvious way or another to the specific experiences and resistance of women. Remember, to order anything from my website, you must email me a list of what you would like as well as your mailing address – i accept PayPal, US or Canadian checks or money orders. All prices in US funds.
Elsewhere on this Site
Learning to Love the Patriarchy – NOT!
Complete Radical Literature Rack
Feminist Buttons
Anarchism: the Feminist Connection, by Peggy Kornegger.Peggy Kornegger was an editor of the American feminist magazine The Second Wave . The text of this pamphlet – now an anarcha-feminist classic – first appeared as an article in the spring ’75 issue of Second Wave . 34 pages. $2.50 
The Arcane of Reproduction – Housework, Prostitution, Labor and Capital, by Leopoldina Fortunati. While I cannot honestly recommend this book, i am sure it will be of interest to some. I suspect part of the problem is in the translation, and an original text that was probably laden with jargon – or pehaps it is simply like a friend said: “Steeped in the canon.” The thing is that even after scratching through the verbiage, i’m left with the feeling that maybe just maybe even if it were written in plain language, i would still not agree with Fortunati’s argument. That said, given how we often continue to not pay enough attention to questions of unwaged labour, including housework, and the continuing dearth of analysis of the role of prostitution in making capitalism tick, it is always nice to see someone trying to grapple with these questions. I’m halfway through the book now, so i may rewrite this when i get to the end… 176 pages  $12.00
As Nature Made Him, by John Colapinto, read by Howard McGillin. The story of David Reimer who’s botched circumcision as a baby resulted in him living the first 14 years of his life as a girl. Yet at age 14, he makes the decision to live life as a male. David’s early life was used as the example that gender identity was based on physical biology/nurture, whereas Reimer’s decision to reject Dr John Money’s insistence that he “conveniently” become female has been embraced by the trans-community as an example of individual gender freedom being more important than theories from the “experts”. AUDIO BOOK – Remaindered Regular Retail Price: $24.00 Kersplebedeb Price: $15.00 
Assata, by Assata Shakur. ritThis captivating book by Black Liberation Army fugitive Assata Shakur (s/n JoAnne Chesimard) gives the feel for the context and substance of revolutionary Black politics in the 1960s and 70s, not to mention a personal account of the extent of political repression in America. Wten following her escape from prison in 1979 (she now lives as a political refugee in Cuba). For more information about Assata Shakur, click the icon to your right. $14.95 
Breaking the Walls of Silence, AIDS and Women in a New York State Maximum-Security Prison, by the AIDS Counseling and Education Programme. In New York State in the 1980s, one in five women entering prison was infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Those pegged as carriers were ostracized by others fearful that the deadly disease could spread in any number of ways in close quarters. At the maximum-security prison Bedford Hills, a group of women banded together with the support of their superintendent to launch a peer-counseling and education program called ACE. This is their story. (Interesting to note that both Judy Clark and Kathy Boudin were involved in this project.) Hardcover 336 pages – RemainderedRetail Price: $29.95 Kersplebedeb Price: $6.00 
Caliban and the Witch – Women, the Body and Primitive Accumuluation, by silvia Federici. This is the book that pushed me to start carying stuff from Autonomedia. The origins of capitalism and patriarchy, not as “necessary stages” or “progressive” developments, but as counter-revolutionary cancers fomented centuries ago by Europe’s feudal ruling class to neutralize the struggles of the oppressed. A very thought-provoking read that deals with some very important, and much-neglected, questions. 285 pages $15.95 
Coming of Age, A New Afrikan Revolutionary, by Safiya Asya Bukhari. From the introduction: “Read ‘Coming of Age’ and become aware of the path taken by one New Afrikan woman as her youthful search for the “amerikkan dream” led her to conscious participation in the New Afrikan Independence Movement: to the Black Panther Party; the Black Liberation Army; to capture and imprisonment as a New Afrikan Prisoner of War. The story which describes the coming of age of Comrade-Sister Safiya is but one page from the book of New Afrikan life. This page describes the conditions which have led others before Sister Safiya to realize that decisions must be made, so that We become part of the solution to our problem.” A reprint authorized by Spear & Shield Publications. $1.50 
Death by Crystal, A Johannah Wilder Mystery, by Agnes Bushell. A man has been found dead, killed with a large amethyst crystal, in the studio of a gay activist and artist. In their search for evidence that will keep the studio owner out of jail, our lesbian detective duo confront drug enforcement agencies, criminal syndicates and the cops. Set in the author’s home state of Maine – a detective novel for radicals. 149 pages $9.00
Direct Action, by Ann Hansen. This is an autobiographical account of Direct Action, or the Vancouver Five: five members of the West Coast Canadian anarchist scene who went underground in the 1980s to carry out armed actions against an arms manufacturer, a sex shop that specialized in hardcore pornography, and a hydro substation. Hansen spent seven years in prison after her capture by the State. 493 pages. $15.00 US
Free Women of Spain, by Aillen O’Carrol. This is the text of a talk given by a member of the (anarchist) Workers Solidarity Movement in July 1995 . This talk assumes a certain knowledge of the Spanish Revolution of 1936. 15 pages. $1.75 
Free Women of Spain: Anarchism and the Struggle for the Emancipation of Women, by Martha A. Ackelsberg. Cowards don’t make history; and the women of Mujeres Libres (Free Women) were no cowards. Courageous enough to create revolutionary change in their daily lives, these women mobilized over 20,000 women into an organized network during the Spanish Revolution to strive for community, education, and equality for women and the emancipation of all. Militants in the anarcho-syndicalist CNT union, Mujeres Libres struggled both against fascism, the state, and reaction; and the less than supportive attitudes and concerns of their male comrades. Martha Ackelsberg writes a comprehensive study of Mujeres Libres, intertwining interviews with the women themselves and analysis connecting them with modern feminist movements. This new edition includes additional research Ackelsberg carried out for the Spanish language edition, together with a brand new introduction written in the light of the new social movements, and resurgence of anarchism, post-Seattle. 287 pages $20.00 
Jailbreak out of History – the rebiography of Harriet Tubman , by Butch Lee. This is a new, book form, edition of a text previously published in pamphlet form. This is a major biographical study, which refutes the standard “American” version of Harriet Tubman’s life. At a time when violence against women of color is at the center of world politics, uncovering the censored story of one Amazon points to answers that have nothing to do with government programs, police, or patriarchal politics. 90 pages. $7.00
Marriage and Love, by Emma Goldman. Anti-marriage rant by Amerikkka’s most famous anarchist. $1.00 Â
Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan, by Melody Ermachild Chavis with foreword by Alice Walker. A slightly hagiographical biography of Meena, founder and martyr of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, who have opposed the Taliban, the United States invasion and the  current mosaic of warlords, fundamentalists and gangsters in power in Afghanistan. Hardcover, 208 pagesRetail Price: $19.95Kersplebedeb Price: $10.00 
Men, Sexism and the Class Struggle , by Men Against Sexist Shit. $2.50 Â
The Military Strategy of Women and Children , by Butch Lee. Lays out the need for an autonomous and independent women’s revolutionary movement, a revolutionary women’s culture that involves not only separating oneself from patriarchal imperialism, but also in confronting, opposing, and waging war against it by all means necessary. Of particular interest is the Lee’s critique of reformist “feminism”, and her examination of how genocide, colonialism and patriarchy are intertwined, not only historically but also in the present. 116 pages. $12.00 US
Night-Vision: Illuminating War and Class on the Neo-Colonial Terrain , by Butch Lee and Red Rover. Clearly written from the same pespective as Bottomfish Blues, this book does away with much of the latter’s shrill tone and replaces it with cutting-edge theory. Unfortunately I have noticed that many people take a look at the title and decide that this is one of those boring academic books. Nothing could be farther from the truth: this is kick-ass feminism as good as it gets. $14.95 
Quiet Rumours: An Anarcha-Feminist Reader , edited by the Dark Star Collective. From consciousness-raising groups to hair-razing punk rockers, here’s a fascinating window into the development of the women’s movement, in the words of women who moved it. These classic essays span the century, providing welcome context for feminism as part of a larger politics of liberation and equality. Critical analysis and biting polemic, whether it’s Emma Goldman’s attack on the suffrage movement or the debates of Second Wave feminists of the 1970s, connect the dots to show not just how anarchism influenced feminism, but how feminism changed the political landscape around it. Dark Star/AK Press co-publication. $15.00 
Revolutionary Women Stencils, by Tui. Stencil-drawings and short biographies of twelve revolutionary women. From Harriet Tubman and Louise Michel to Leila Khaled and Emma Goldman – and also women like Lucia Sanchez Saornil and Eva Rickard who North American comrades may be less familiar with…. 25 pages $2.00 US 
SCUM Manifesto, by Valerie Solanas. Wonderful call for the overthrow of the government, elimination of the money system, and the destruction of the male sex. A truly awesome polemic from the woman who shot Andy Warhol. An essential text. Includes a biography of the author by Freddie Baer. (BTW “SCUM” stands for Society for Cutting Up Men) 58 pages $6.00
Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton , by Diane Wood Middlebrook. In the days before “transgender” was a word, Billy Tipton defied the odds and lived life as a man, marrying five times and fathering several children, despite the fact that he had been born female. This book is valuable as one of the few biographical sources about Tipton, but should be taken with a grain of salt as the author implausibly, and somewhat insultingly, insists that Tipton would not have identified as a man, but as a woman disguing herself in order to be able to make it in a man’s world. Nevertheless, i carry this title as its one of the few sources of information about this man, who many consider a FTM pioneer. Softcover, 326 pages, RemainderedRetail Price: $14.00Kersplebedeb Price: $6.00
Take Back Your Life: A Wimmin’s Guide to Alternative Health Care, by Alicia Non Grata. Originally published by the Profane Existence anarcho-punk collective, this is an excellent practical DIY Guide – from healing common infections of the vagina and bladder to menstruation, birth control and an understanding of AIDS. 12 pages saddle stitched letter sized pages. $1.50 
Tales from the Clit, edited by Cherie Matrix. From intimate sexual experiences and physical perception through to the academic arena, this ground-breaking volume documents women’s POSITIVE thoughts, uses, and desires for, with, and about pornography. Essays include such diverse topics as how the authors discovered porn, what it means to a blind and deaf woman, running a sex magazine, starting a sex shop, and what the contributors would actually LIKE to see. Contributors include: Deborah Ryder, Jan Grossman, Sue Raye, Linzi Drew, Annie Sprinkle, Tuppy Owens, Lucy Williams, Nettie Pollard, Avedon Carol, Scarlet Harlot and Caroline Bottomley. The volume was compiled by Feminists Against Censorship. 144 pages $13.95
Targets of Hatred: Anti-Abortion Terrorism , by Patricia Baird-Windle and Eleanor J. Bader. A history of anti-abortion violence in Canada and the United States, as well as legislative attacks on reproductive freedom, between 1980 and 2001. Hardcover 396 pages, RemainderedRetail Price: $17.95 Kersplebedeb Price: $8.00
Three Into One: The Tripple Oppression of Racism, Sexism, and Class, by Klaus Viehmann. Paper Street Publishers (POB 14541, Richmond, VA 23221) have done the English-speaking left a great service by publishing this pamphlet – an exceptionally important document from the German revolutionary left. Written by Klaus Viehmann in 1990 – when he was a political prisoner incarcerated as a result of his involvement in the anti-imperialist Revolutionary Cells – this essay serves as a revolutionary introduction to what in North America is now often termed anti-oppression theory. Includes addenda written in 1991 and 1993. 36 pages $3.75 US
The Vancouver 5, armed struggle in Canada , by Jim Campbell. In 1981 and 1982 several bombings (against a hydro sub-station, an arms manufacturer and three pornographic video stores) were carried out in Canada under the banner of Direct Action and the Wimmin’s Fire Brigade. When five members of the Vancouver anarchist scene were arrested for these attacks they became known as the Vancouver Five – this is an account of the politics and practice, successes and errors of the Five and their supporters. 20 pages $2.00  
The Voltairine de Cleyre Reader, edited by A.J. Brigati. Writings by an early twentieth centuy anarchist who was born into poverty and plagued by it her entire life, educated by nuns in a convent school, chronically ill, the survivor of a nearly successful assassination attempt, and dead at a tragically early age… in the words of Emma Goldman “by sheer force of will [she] pulled herself out of a living grave… turned her face to the sun, perceived a great ideal and determinedly carried it to every corner of her native land.” 251 pages $16.95
Wild Poppies, a poetry jam across prison walls. This poetry CD was created across razor wire, prison bars and censored phone lines. It is a gathering of 27 poets/activists celebrating the work of Marilyn Buck, who has spent more than 20 years in US prisons for her anti-imperialist politics and actions. Marilyn recites from behind prison walls. Sonia Sanchez, Dennis Brutus, Genny Lim, devorah major, Carlos Quiles, Jean Stewart, Akwasi Evans, Uchechi Kalu, Mitsuye Amada and Chrystos read Marilyn’s poetry and their own, mixed with music. Tributes from Amiri Baraka and Kwame Ture. 46 tracks. 70 minutes. Pure poetry in motion. $12.00
Women in the Zapatistas; a short compilation of texts relating to the experiences of women in the EZLN. 24 pages $3.00 
Women, Development and Labor of Reproduction: Struggles and Movements, edited by Mariarosa Dalla Costa & Giovanni F. Dalla Costa. An international, feminist anti-capitalist look at reproductive politics. Contributors include Silvia Federici and George Caffentzis. Remaindered – 197 pages $7.50
Working Women and their Organizations , by Joyce Maupin. A reprint of this 1974 publication by the Union Women’s Alliance to Gain Equality, an organization of union and non-union women organized to fight sex discrimination on the job, in unions, and in society. A history of women in the U.S. trade union movement. 33 pages saddle stitched  $2.50
The World Split Open, by Ruth Rosen. The dustjacket says: “Weaving together ten years of archival research and interviews, Rosen turns the complicated history of the women’s movement into a compelling and coherent narrative. Written with vigor and grace, she has created the balanced, meticulously documented, and evocative history that we expect from a distinguished scholar and activist. With uncompromising integrity, The World Split Open challenges us to understand how the women’s movement has forever altered our lives and why the revolution is far from over. This is extraordinary achievment and long awaited history will attract men and women, entice educators and students, beguile movement veterans, and captivate those who came of age in the wake of this revolution.” With nice pictures! Softcover 480 pages, Remaindered Retail Price: $15.00 Kersplebedeb Price: $7.50 Videos & DVDs
Freedom Archives
Charisse Shumate: Fight For Our Lives. Charisse Shumate was a life term prisoner incarcerated for 16 years at the Central California Women’s Facility for defending herself against an abusive partner. A co-founder of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, she championed the cause of battered women when no one else was rallying to their support, and later stepped forward to be the lead plaintiff and prisoner spokesperson in the class action lawsuit challenging the medical neglect and abuse of women prisoners (aptly named Shumate v. Wilson). She died of complications from sickle cell anemia, cancer and hepatitis C in 2001. This 37-minute video was created in collaboration with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and focuses on Shumate’s life and the lives of women in California State prisons. It includes amazing prison interviews as well as materials from State Senate hearings on conditions for women in the California State Prison System and historical video footage of Charisse and her family. Available on both DVD and VHS 37 minutes – $20.00  
Self Respect – Self-Defense & Self-Determination , featuring in conversation Mabel Williams and Kathleen Cleaver, introduced by Angela Davis. Mabel Williams, with her late husband Robert F Williams (author of Negroes With Guns), met with Malcolm X, Ho Chi Minh, Che Guevara and Mao Tse Tung to help internationalize support for the Black Liberation Movement. Kathleen Cleaver was Communications Secretary and the first woman Central Committee member of the Black Panther Party, also lived in exile, gathering worldwide support for the BBP. These two inspiring women of the sixties Black liberation struggle share their personal experiences – resisting the KKK and police repression, forced exile and their international experiences in Third World nations – And how their history relates to the struggle today. Moderated by Rachel Herzing of Critical Resistance, and introduced by Angela Davis. VHS 72 minutes. $20.00
Prairie Fire Organizing Committee
Engendering Colonialism: The Effect of 100 Years of U.S. Colonialism on Women in Hawai’i, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines. An educational history created by the Prairie Fire Organizing Committee. We live in a world where both old and new forms of U.S. colonialism co-exist, and both depend on the exploitation of women. Locating the origins of U.S. colonialism abroad in the thefy of Native American lands by European settlrs and the conquest of northern Mexico in 1848, it goes on to examine the effect on U.S. expansionism on women, and how women ae resisting the effects of colonialism. VHS 40 minutes – $20.00 US
Vegan Bums – Mirha-Soleil Ross and Mark Karbusicky
Vegan Bums videos deal with issues of prostitution, transsexuality and animal rights from an unapolegetically in-your-face perspective. As well as distributing these videos, i also have a few interviews with Mirha Soleil Ross up on my website:
- “Queer Rights – Animal Rights” , from Vegan Voice magazine
- “No White Gloves on Mirha-Soleil Ross” , from TRADE: Queer Things
- “Yapping Out Loud for Animals and Prostitutes” , from Animal Voices Radio (CIUT 89.5FM)
G-Sprout, by Mark Karbusicky and Mirha-Soleil Ross. A cyberspace encounter turns into a trans-polysexus-vegan-docu-porno featuring urban veggie-lovers speaking out on dating, intimacy and sex in a meat-centered culture. 12 minutes VHS. $10.00 
Gendertroublemakers, by Mirha-Soleil Ross (aka Jeanne B.) and Xanthra Mackay. What happens when two transdykes get sick of non-transsexuals uninformed representations of their sexualities and their lives? They grab their 8mm home video camera, their last two hundred bucks, and come up with an uncompromising in-your-face flick about their shitty relationships with gay men and their unabashed attraction to other transsexual women. $20.00 
I Would Have Never Known; a conversation with Peter Dunnigan (1997). A conversation with Toronto community activist and female-to-male transsexual Peter Dunnigan. He speaks openly about addiction, recovery, sexuality and life as a gender outcast. More than an educational tool for a general audience, this video is a call for transsexuals, both female-to-males and male-to-females, to unite, heal and resist. 25 minutes. $20.00 
JournĂ©e Internationale de la TranssexualitĂ© (1998). Every year, l’Association des Transsexuel-le-s du QuĂ©bec organizes, in collaboration with the CafĂ© ClĂ©opatre, an evening of transsexual pride. Entitled “JournĂ©e Internationale de la TranssexualitĂ©,” the event is an opportunity for several generations of transsexual women to get together, recognize the involvement of many in their community, and pay tribute to a few figures of their history. French with English subtitles. 38 minutes. $20.00 
Mirha-Soleil Ross’ Gut-Busting Ass-Erupting and Immoderately Whorish Compilation Tape. Includes excerpts from her most illustrious transsexual prostitute and sex-related performance and video work; nicluding Chroniques (1993), An Adventure in Tucking (1993), Dysfunctional (1997), The Sexual Healing Power of the Popcorn Goddess (1998), Tales from the Derriere (1999), Auntie Janou (2000), Bridge It Taylor: RRReal Feminist! (2001), G-SPrOuT! (2002). 30 minutes. $20.00 
Yapping out Loud. On May 1st 2002 transsexual sex worker and performance artist Mirha-Soleil Ross delivered a series of blows in monologue form at anti-prostitution discourses and campaigns, detailing the way they impact, often tragically, on prostitutes’ working conditions and lives. This is a video recording of the event that took place at the 519 Community Centre in Toronto. To read an interview with Ms. Ross about this video (amongst other things!) please click here . 74 minutes. $20.00 Books & Videos Like all the rest of my merchandise, the best way to order any of these is to email me !
Elsewhere on this Site
Learning to Love the Patriarchy – NOT!
Complete Radical Literature Rack
Feminist Buttons
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