cover image American Women in the Nineties: Today's Critical Issues

American Women in the Nineties: Today's Critical Issues

. Northeastern University Press, $14.95 (288pp) ISBN 978-1-55553-150-8

This collection of 13 academic essays aims, with mixed success, to address issues facing women and strategies for resolving them. Kathleen B. Jones, considering the foreign policy sphere, argues that in order to improve the lot of women in the world, citizenship should be redefined as ``civic-minded world protection,'' but her major strategy is merely to encourage citizens to be ``responsible world travelers.'' Ruth B. Mandel offers a survey of women in politics that unfortunately ignores the gains of female candidates in 1992. An essay on abortion, by Nancy E. Adler and Jeanne M. Tschann, concentrates on psychological issues--particularly charges from pro-life forces that abortion leads to psychological trauma--rather than legal or legislative strategies. Most intriguing is Madeleine Kahn's inclusive approach to the pornography debate; while acknowledging the concerns that drive feminist censors, she argues for a renewed commitment to using other tools to fight sexual abuse. Other issues addressed include homelessness, AIDS and sexual harassment. Matteo is associate director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University. (Apr.)