Feminist Europe, Preface: Who Is Alice
Reviews and reviewers are sought. The name Alice Schwarzer has become synonymous with feminism in Germany's mainstream media—that is, with feminism as it is popularly defined and, often enough, misunderstood. She needs no introduction to those of us who followed her career from the abortion rights rallies of the early 1970s through the first issue of EMMA in 1977, her passionate anti-pornography campaign PorNO in the 1980s, her participation in countless debates with other journalists and public figures, and her seemingly endless stream of publications.
Probably many women of my generation still have their copies (as I do) of The "Little Difference" and Its Big Consequences. Women on the Subject of Themselves [Der "kleine Unterschied" und seine großen Folgen. Frauen über sich, S. Fischer 1975] and remember the rush of recognition (known as a "click" among American feminists in the 1970s) that came with reading the women's Interviews, protocols, and confessional literature that proliferated at the time.
But Alice Schwarzer also deserves to be better understood by younger generations of feminists and more widely recognized beyond German-speaking countries. That is the purpose of this special focus: to highlight achievements and selected works by this now iconic figure to provide a more accurate and complex picrure. The impact of her work as an activist who planned, organized, and led feminist actions and projects over several decades should be assessed. The book Das bewegte Leben der Alice Schwarzer [The Activist Life of Alice Schwarzer, 1998], reviewed below, provides a starting point for understanding her drive, creativity, and commitment. Other texts included here afford glimpses of her recent activities—you can count on it, she's been busy!
The range of Schwarzer's published work also merits wider attention. Few of her books have been translated into other languages and only one, a homage to her friend and intellectual mentor Simone de Beauvoir, has been translated into English: Simone de Beauvoir Today: Conversations, 1972-82. Trans. Marianne Howarth. London, 1984 (American imprint: After the Second Sex. Conversations with Simone de Beauvoir. New York, 1984). Several of her books about other remarkable individuals are reviewed below: Eine tödliche Liebe [A Fatal Love, 1993], her response to media coverage of the deaths of the Green political figures Gert Bastian and Petra Kelly; her sympathetic yet critical portrait of actress Romy Schneider (1998); and her 1996 biography of Marion Dönhoff, a founding member of and longtime contributor to the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT. The understanding and insight with which she writes about these people whom she knew and admired is a dimension not as readily apparent in her collections of essays assembled and republished for purposes of periodically taking stock and summing up.
Three such books are reviewed below: Der große Unterschied [The Big Difference, 2000], Alice im Männerland [Alice in MrLand, 2002], and Die Gotteskrieger und die falsche Toleranz [The Jihad Warriors and False Tolerance, 2002]. Still another facet of Alice Schwarzer is evident in Liebe Alice, Liebe Barbara [Dear Alice, Dear Barbara, 2005], based on letters between two friends catching up with each other after many years—and having a wonderful time doing it. The special focus concludes with an account of a research visit to the FrauenMediaTurm by American feminist Germanist Monika Moyrer and a review essay on the reception of Schwarzer's latest book Die Antwort [The Answer, 2007].
Like so many of us, Alice Schwarzer is a bundle of so-called contradictions (does anyone really believe that consistency is a human trait?). She is seemingly selfless in her pursuit of causes she believes in, yet also self-promoting as she repackages, reedits, and republishes her earlier writings. She is courageous, even fearless in speaking up about unpopulär causes and in facing critics, yet unyielding when contradicted and re-sentful of would-be allies (especially women) who do not express their support publicly. She has a knack for memorable phrases and pithy commentary but also writes with insight and sensitivity about women from very different walks of life. She calls things as she sees them, yet often stops short of analysis that is worthy of her gifts. She has been criticized for insufficient attention to women in eastem Germany (the former German Democratic Republic), a gap that is all the more disappointing given Schwarzer's long-standing friendship with the uniquely talented GDR writer Irmtraud Morgner (d. 1990). A word often used to describe Schwarzer's Statements is "sweeping" (pauschal). Some criticize her work for being insufficiently nuanced. In fact, her critics are often inspired to articulate a more nuanced analysis themselves, surely a desirable outcome. Could it be that those "sweeping" Statements are a tactic rather than a short-coming? It is hoped that this special focus will inspire many questions for further study of Alice Schwarzer and her work.
Congratulations to Alice Schwarzer, winner ofthe 2008 Ludwig-Börne-Prize.
By Jeanette Clausen, Feminist Europe 2008
