The 1890s was the peak of the American bicycle craze, and consumers, including women, were buying bicycles in large numbers. Despite critics who tried to discourage women from trying this new sport, women took to the bike in huge numbers, and mastery of the bicycle became a metaphor for women’s mastery over their lives. Spurred by the emergence of the “safety” bicycle and the ensuing cultural craze, women’s professional bicycle racing thrived in the United States from 1895 to 1902. For seven years, female racers drew large and enthusiastic crowds across the country, including Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, and New Orleans—and many smaller cities in between. Unlike the trudging, round-the-clock marathons the men (and their spectators) endured, women’s six-day races were tightly scheduled, fast-paced, and highly competitive. The best female racers of the era—Tillie Anderson, Lizzie Glaw, and Dottie Farnsworth—became household names and were America’s first great women athletes. Despite concerted efforts by the League of American Wheelmen to marginalize the sport and by reporters and other critics to belittle and objectify the women, these athletes forced turn-of-the-century America to rethink strongly held convictions about female frailty and competitive spirit. By 1900 many cities began to ban the men’s six-day races, and it became more difficult to ensure competitive women’s races and attract large enough crowds. In 1902 two racers died, and the sport’s seven-year run was finished—and it has been almost entirely ignored in sports history, women’s history, and even bicycling history. Women on the Move tells the full story of America’s most popular arena sport during the 1890s, giving these pioneering athletes the place they deserve in history. Purchase the audio edition.

Women on the Move: Body, Memory and Feminity in Present-day Transnational Diasporic Writing explores the role of women in the current globailized era as active migrants. the authors have brought together a collection of essays from scholars in diaspora, migration and gender studies to take a look at the female experince of migration and globalization by covering topics such as vulnerability, empowerment, trauma, identity, memory, violence and gender contruction, which will continue to shape contemporary literature and the culture at large.

This is the inside story of the National Women's Conference held in Houston in 1977. Although the federally funded meeting was featured on the cover of Time magazine twice, participant Gloria Steinem now describes it as "the most important event nobody knows about." In fact, the International Women's Year (IWY) Conference was America's most democratic, representative, and inclusive congress of citizens in our history. Conference delegates had been elected by 150,000 women at open meetings in every state and territory where they discussed the range of barriers to women's full equality, debated solutions, and proposed remedies. Anti-feminists also had their say. Despite heated disagreements over issues such as the ERA, abortion, lesbian rights, child care, and other hot topics of the day, the Houston delegates united to approve a National Plan of Action to achieve full equality for all women. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of that unique gathering, the high water mark of the "Second Wave" of American feminism, Shelah Leader and Pat Hyatt draw on their personal files and notes from their days on the staff of the IWY National Commission to share their behind-the-scenes account of how a very diverse group of Republican and Democratic feminists achieved consensus in the face of determined opposition from political and religious conservatives. Since that landmark event, there has been marked progress in many aspects of women's lives, but a number of key goals in the IWY Plan of Action remain unfulfilled. As American politics and popular culture have grown more polarized, sexist, and toxic, it became clear to Leader and Hyatt that they were compelled to share their eyewitness story of "American Women on the Move." The book's final chapter assesses what strides have been made, what's yet undone, and lessons learned.

"This is a fascinating ethnography about young Khmer women moving to the city to work in the garment factories, in prostitution, and as street sellers. The author makes good use of new theoretical approaches in anthropology that focus on negotiation and creativity in situations of rapid change. The result is not only a welcome new book on post-war Cambodia but an important addition to the literature on women, migration, and labor in Southeast Asia and the world." —Judy Ledgerwood, Northern Illinois University Khmer Women on the Move offers a fascinating ethnography of young Cambodian women who move from the countryside to work in Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh. Female migration and urban employment are rising, triggered by Cambodia’s transition from a closed socialist system to an open market economy. This book challenges the dominant views of these young rural women—that they are controlled by global economic forces and national development policies or trapped by restrictive customs and Cambodia’s tragic history. The author shows instead how these women shape and influence the processes of change taking place in present-day Cambodia. Based on field research among women working in the garment industry, prostitution, and street trading, the book explores the complex interplay between their experiences and actions, gender roles, and the broader historical context. The focus on women involved in different kinds of work allows new insight into women’s mobility, highlighting similarities and differences in working conditions and experiences. Young women’s ability to utilize networks of increasing size and complexity allows them to move into and between geographic and social spaces that extend far beyond the village context. Women’s mobility is further expressed in the flexible patterns of behavior that young rural women display when trying to fulfill their own "modern" aspirations along with their family obligations and cultural ideals.

This is an innovative and wide-ranging edited collection which brings women clearly into view, reflecting their disproportionately high numbers within migrating populations. Spanning four centuries, its contents are culturally diverse but address some important common themes and questions. Beginning with a useful survey of women in migration studies in early modern Europe, subsequent chapters explore the following topics: the exile experiences in Europe, firstly of English Brigittine nuns, and secondly of Catholic Gentlewomen displaced by the English Reformation; the dual national identities of a French woman moving to America during the revolutionary period; the lives of two women preachers moving to an American city with a large migrant population in the mid 20th century; and finally, autobiographical narratives of Islamic women exiled in body and/or mind from their countries of origin in the late twentieth century. The authors and editors consider the significance of spirituality amongst women migrants, address the difficulties of generalising from individual experiences and consider issues raised by a particular focus on elite women. The focus on personal narratives crosses disciplinary boundaries making it a valuable resource for students and researchers interested in migration history, autobiography, personal narratives, social history and gender and women’s studies.

The Abolition Of Untouchability Set In Motion The Most Profound Reordering Of Social Relations In India. Both The State And The Society In The Country Were Keen To Take Effective Steps Of Freeing One Seventh Of The Indian Population From Its Age Old Shackles And To Bring Them In The Mainstream Of National Life. In The First Three Decades Of Independence All Moves In This Regard Were Subsumed Under The Term Social Welfare. Later They Become Part Of The Development Process. In The Nineties Of The Last Century The Discourse On Development Of Dalits Was Taken Over By The Term Empowerment. This Study Tries To Explore The Change Process Among The Dalit Women In Bihar. Efforts Have Been Made To Identity Some Of The Prime Movers Of Change In The Context Of Women In The State. Throughout This Work, The Concept Of Empowerment Has Been Used As The Prime Goal. Towards The End, The Consiraints In This Process Have Been Identified And Some Suggestions Have Been Made As The Agenda For Future Action. It Is Still A Long Way To Go Both The State And Society Have To Alter Their Strategies To Accelerate The Whole Process.

Includes lists of members of the association.