Table of Contents
Acknowledgements, 1976
Preface to the 2019 edition
Statement of the Argument
1 Introduction
1.1 Power
1.2 Oppression
1.3 Domination
1.4 Institutions
2 Things Peculiar to Women’s Oppression
2.1 Heterosexuality
2.2 Rape
2.3 Romantic Love
3 Strategies
3.1 Separatism
3.2 Lesbian Feminism
3.3 Critiques of Separatism and Responses
Afterword
Reviews
PEN member Susan Hawthorne - always brilliant
—PEN Melbourne Centre
In Defence of Separatism is a powerful lesbian feminist manifesto. It was written by Susan Hawthorne in 1976, when the second wave of feminism was in full flow, as the thesis of her Honours degree in Philosophy. And now – over four decades later – it is more relevant than ever before.
Her work is a must-read for any lesbian figuring out feminist politics.
— In Defence of Separatism Review – A Fierce Lesbian Feminist Manifesto By Claire Heuchan December 10, 2019.