Alice Schwarzer
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Alice Schwarzer (born December 3, 1942 in Wuppertal) is arguably the most prominent contemporary German feminist. She is founder and publisher of the German feminist journal EMMA.
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[edit] Biography
As the daughter of a single mother she spent her childhood with her grandparents. In 1969 she started working as a journalist.
From 1970 to 1974 she worked as a freelancer for different media in Paris. At the same time she studied psychology and sociology, amongst others lectured by Michel Foucault. She was one of the founders of the Feminist Movement in Paris (Mouvement de Liberation des femmes, MLF) and also spread their ideas to Germany.
In 1971 she raised public attention for the first time with her project "Frauen gegen den § 218" (Women against Paragraph 218, which was the German statute that made abortion illegal). In autumn 1971 she released her first book of the same title. One of her best known books is "Der kleine Unterschied und seine großen Folgen" (The Little Difference and its Huge Consequence), which was released in 1975 and made her famous beyond the borders of Germany. It was translated into 11 languages. Since its release, she is considered as Germany's best known, but also most disputed contemporary feminist. She is a second-wave feminist representing concepts of feminist equality, similar to Simone de Beauvoir.
In January 1977 the first issue of her journal EMMA was published. The next years she concentrated on the work for her journal. From 1992 to 1993 she was host of the TV show "Zeil um Zehn" on German TV channel Hessischer Rundfunk. When her journal changed to bimonthly release in 1993, she continued to write an increasing number of books, among them biographies of Petra Kelly, Gert Bastian and the life of Marion Dönhoff. With her frequent appearances in German TV talk shows she has become an institution on German television.
In total she has released 16 books as a writer, and 15 as publisher.
[edit] Awards
In 2004 she received the "Danubius Prize" for "her passionate fight for the rights of women".
In December 2004 she was made Knight of the French Legion of Honor.
On January 15, 2005 she received the Staatspreis of the German federal country of North Rhine-Westphalia.
[edit] Criticism
- Some feminists accuse her and her publication EMMA of the monopolisation of German language feminist discussion, in order to promote her own points of view.
- Others criticised that she accepted the award of the Bundesverdienstkreuz.
- Schwarzers' German language PorNO-campaign, aiming to ban pornography in Germany, and her judment on female sadomasochism (quote "Female masochism is collaboration!"[1]) has often been criticized for implying a state of war between genders.
- Some lesbian activists criticize Schwarzer for publicly encouraging lesbians and gays to come out openly while applying another standard to her own life. Schwarzer herself hasn't commented on her own sexual orientation until today. She disapproves of third party outing in general. When she was described as a lesbian in the critical biography of Bascha Mikas[2] she reacted angrily and denied any comment indicating her own right for privacy.
- Schwarzer has repeatedly been described as a "showpiece feminist" and covered with malice and mockery by parts of the German media and opponents. Some journalists like Henryk M. Broder and Kay Sokolowsky accuse her of „leftist Antisemitism“ and sympathy towards rightist icons like Leni Riefenstahl [3].
[edit] References
- ^ "Weiblicher Masochismus ist Kollaboration!" from EMMA Heft 2, 1991
- ^ Bascha Mika, Alice Schwarzer – Eine kritische Biographie, Rowohlt Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3499607786 (unauthorized)
- ^ Die Neue Rechte, konkret-article (German)
[edit] Sources
- Schwarzer, Alice (1984). After the Second Sex. Pantheon. ISBN 0-394-72430-5.
- Schwarzer, Alice (1984). Simone de Beauvoir today: Conversations, 1972-1982. Hogarth Press. ISBN 0-7011-2784-8.
[edit] External links
- Official homepage (in German)
- Alice Schwarzer at the Internet Movie Database
