One Of The Things Women Want...

is to speak for ourselves, not to have men speaking for us. And so, if you want to learn about Feminism, or What Women Want, or the history of women's oppression unto the present day, I would suggest that you turn to some of the many fabulous resources where women write, speak, blog, their own experiences and philosophies, resources long available in libraries, magazines, and gatherings on our own front porches, in our own living rooms, but now also available on the web.

Clicking on the above logo will take you to the official site for Saturday's celebration of International Women's Day, where you will find videos of women around the world speaking about this occasion, among many other things. I'd like to provide here a small compendium of other links for readers wishing to engage in further exploration of the topic of What Women Want (something men endlessly seem unable to really figure out). If you'd like to know what women want, read some women, how about? The Feminist Majority is as good a place as any to start your journey, and their Gateway page will provide you with links to a ton of other feminist resources. I was a very young woman during the Second Wave of feminism, and it was the National Organization of Women and MS Magazine that set my feet on the path of feminist exploration. I'm a much older and crankier woman (happy as can be that Bitch is the new Black) presently, but I'm very glad that both of those institutions are still around and going strong. Check them out, still relevant as all get out.

In addition to those tried and true resources, we now have a new generation of women blogging their lives and the politics thereof. Start with the amazing Echidne of the Snakes, who, among other things, has an awesome blogroll that can keep you rolling through many more women's thoughts and postings. Move on to Feministe, then to Feministing, similar names, but in no way identical sites. Katha Pollitt's blog could follow, for a glimpse into the mind of a woman who always marches to her own drum. Best of all, I give you Estelle Freedman's (Edgar E. Robinson Professor in U.S. History at Stanford University) indispensable No Turning Back: The Feminist Resource Site, where you can soak up all the feminist history and theory you might be looking for. Freedman has an impressive pedigree, and her site might have more to offer you than Michael Parenti could imagine. Freedman's book of the same title is available as a Ballantine paperback, with a companion book of original documents, The Essential Feminist Reader, available from Random House. So, okay, y'all? Get on out there and find it out for once and for all: What DO We Women Really Want?

Technorati Tags: feminist blogs, feminism, International Women's Day, women's history, women's voices

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