Image needed

Naomi Wolf (born November 12, 1962) is an American author, political consultant, and public intellectual. At a relatively young age, she became the literary star of what was later described as the 'third-wave' of the feminist movement. She is also known for her advocacy of progressive politics. If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Third-wave feminism is a term identified with several diverse strains of feminist activity and study beginning in the early 1990s. ... For other uses, see Progressivism (disambiguation). ...

Biography

Wolf was born in San Francisco, California in 1962. Her father, Leonard Wolf, is an author. She attended Lowell High School and debated in regional speech tournaments as a member of the Lowell Forensic Society. She attended Yale University, where she received in 1984 her Bachelor of Arts in English literature; she was a Rhodes Scholar at New College, Oxford from 1985 to 1987. San Francisco redirects here. ... Leonard Wolf is an author, teacher and father of Naomi Wolf. ... Lowell High School (San Francisco) Lowell High School, a public magnet school in San Francisco, is the oldest public high school west of the Mississippi. ... The Lowell Forensic Society, founded in 1892, is the oldest high school speech and debate team in the nation and also the largest organization at Lowell High School in San Francisco, California. ... Yale redirects here. ... A bachelors degree is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years. ... Rhodes House in Oxford, designed by Sir Herbert Baker. ... and of the New College College name New College of St Mary Latin name Collegium Novum Oxoniensis/Collegium Sanctae Mariae Wintoniae Named after Mary, mother of Jesus Established 1379 Sister college Kings College, Cambridge Warden Prof. ...

Wolf was married to the former Clinton speechwriter David Shipley, with whom she has two children, Rosa and Joseph.^[1] The two divorced in 2005. David Shipley is an American journalist. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. ...

Works

The Beauty Myth

In the early nineties, Wolf garnered international public notoriety as a spokesperson of third-wave feminism as a result of the tremendous success of her first book The Beauty Myth, which became an international bestseller.^[2] In the book, she argues that the standards that constitute what is called 'beauty' as a normative value are entirely socially constructed, and the patriarchy determines the content of that construction with the goal of reproducing its own hegemony of authority. Wolf posits the idea of an "iron-maiden," an intrinsically unattainable standard that is then used to punish women physically and psychologicaly for their failure to achieve and conform to it. Wolf criticized the fashion and beauty industries as exploitative of women, but claimed the beauty myth extended into all areas of human functioning. Wolf wrties, "The choice to do whatever we want with our faces and bodies without being punished by an ideology that is using attitudes, economic pressure, and even legal judgments regarding women's appearance to undermine us psychologically and politically." Wolf argues that women were under assault by the "beauty myth" in five areas: work, religion, sex, violence, and hunger. Ultimately, Wolf argues for a relaxation of normative standards of beauty. Third-wave feminism is a term identified with several diverse strains of feminist activity and study beginning in the early 1990s. ... The Beauty Myth, published in 1991, is a book by Naomi Wolf. ... For other uses, see Patriarchy (disambiguation). ... Such styles may change quickly, and fashion in the more colloquial sense refers to the latest version of these styles. ... For beauty as a characteristic of a persons appearance, see Physical attractiveness. ...

In her introduction, Wolf positioned her argument against the concerns of second-wave feminists and offered the following analysis:

Wolf's book became an overnight bestseller, garnering intensely polarized responses not only from the public and mainstream media but among feminists themselves. Second-wave feminist Germaine Greer wrote that The Beauty Myth was "the most important feminist publication since The Female Eunuch,"^[3] and British novelist Fay Weldon called the book "a vivid and impassioned polemic, essential reading for the New Woman."^[4] Porn redirects here. ... Second-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the early 1960s and lasted through the late 1980s. ... Germaine Greer (born January 29, 1939) is an Australian-born writer, broadcaster and retired academic, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the 20th century. ... Dr. Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (born January 29, 1939) is an Australian academic, writer, and broadcaster, who is widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the 20th century. ... Fay Weldon (born September 22, 1931) is a British novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist whose work has been associated with the cause of feminism. ... Look up Polemic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In contrast, feminist Camille Paglia, who published her landmark study Sexual Personae that same year, derided Wolf as unable to perform "historical analysis," and called her education "completely removed from reality."^[5] Her comments touched off a series of contentious debates between Wolf and Paglia in the pages of The New Republic. Camille Anna Paglia (born April 2, 1947 in Endicott, New York) is an American social critic, author and teacher. ... Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson (1990, Yale University Press, 718 pp. ... For other uses, see New Republic. ...

Likewise, feminist Christina Hoff Sommers criticized Wolf for publishing the claim that 150,000 women were dying every year from anorexia.^[6] Sommers claimed that the actual number is closer to 100, a figure which others, such as Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, claimed to be much too low. In the same interview, Sommers stated that Wolf had retracted the figure. It has been suggested that Equity feminism be merged into this article or section. ... Anorexia can refer to: Anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder in which people do not eat correctly due to the obsessive fear of weight gain Anorexia (symptom), the general symptom of decreased appetite Sexual anorexia, a term used to describe a lack of appetite for sex. ... Jennifer Baumgardner is an author and feminist activist. ...

In the mainstream press, The New York Times published a harshly critical assessment of Wolf's work. The review lambasted the book as a "sloppily researched polemic as dismissible as a hackneyed adventure film...Even by the standards of pop-cultural feminist studies, "The Beauty Myth" is a mess." After rejecting her thesis, the review leveled even harsher appraisal of her methodology and statistics, writing, "Ms. Wolf doesn't begin to prove her claims because her logic is so lame, her evidence so easily knocked down...Her statistics are shamefully secondhand and outdated."^[7] In a comparatively positive review, The Washington Post called the book "pursuasive" and praised its "accumulated evidence."^[8] The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C.. It is also one of the citys oldest papers, having been founded in 1877. ...

The End of America

In The End of America Wolf takes a historical look at the rise of fascism, outlining the 10 steps necessary for a state to take control of individuals' lives:

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy.
2. Create secret prisons where torture takes place.
3. Develop a thug caste or paramilitary force not answerable to citizens.
4. Set up an internal surveillance system.
5. Harass citizens' groups.
6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release.
7. Target key individuals.
8. Control the press.
9. Treat all political dissents as traitors.
10. Suspend the rule of law.

The book explains how this pattern was followed in Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy as well as elsewhere, and compares it to the current state of affairs in American Political power since September 11, 2001. Culture of fear is a term proposed in a variety of sociological theses, which argue that feelings of fear and anxiety predominate in contemporary public discourse and relationships, changing how we relate to one another as individuals and as democratic agents. ... Nikolai Getman Moving out. ... Caste systems are traditional, hereditary systems of social classification, that evolved due to the enormous diversity in India (where all three primary races met, not by forced slavery but by immigration). ... A private military company (PMC) provides specialised expertise or services of a military nature, sometimes called or classified as mercenary (soldiers for hire).[1] Such companies are equally known as Private Security Contractors (PSCs), Private Military Corporations, Private Military Firms, Military Service Providers, and generally as the Private Military Industry. ... A closed-circuit television camera. ... This article is about political advocates. ... Arbitrary arrest and detention, or (AAD), is the arrest and detention of an individual in a case in which there is no likelihood or evidence that he or she committed a crime against legal statute, or where there has been no proper due process of law. ... In history and political science, to purge is to remove undesirable people from a government, political party, profession, or from community/society as a whole, usually by violent means. ... Freedom of the Press (or Press Freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... Individual rights Free speech, free press Soap box, Speakers corner (Hyde Park), blog (weblog) prior restraint, censorship, self-censorship, censor Right to assembly Gay rights, Stonewall Feminism, ERA, equal pay, Title IX Famous political dissenters Gandhi Steve Biko Nelson Mandela Martin Luther King, Jr. ... For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation) or Traitor (disambiguation). ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The rule of law, in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law. ...

Other writings

Wolf's later books are Fire with Fire (1993) on politics, female empowerment and women's sexual liberation, Promiscuities (1997) on adolescence and female sexuality, and Misconceptions (2001) on childbirth and the challenges of feminist motherhood. Look up Empowerment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Parturition redirects here. ...

In 2005, Wolf published The Tree House: Eccentric Wisdom from my Father on How to Live, Love, and See, which chronicled her midlife crisis attempt to reclaim her creative and poetic vision and revalue her father's love, and her father's force as an artist and a teacher. "I had turned my face away from the grace of the imagination," she wrote. While the book received positive reviews, it was criticized by Germaine Greer as Oedipal, and as an acceptance of the patriarchy that she (Wolf) had once opposed. Wolf said that she wanted to evolve from feminism and polemics, to get past the "us versus them approach." It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Faith No More. ... Germaine Greer (born January 29, 1939) is an Australian-born writer, broadcaster and retired academic, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the 20th century. ... The Oedipus complex is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud, who was inspired by Carl Jung (he described the concept and coined the term Complex), to explain the maturation of the infant through identification with the father and desire for the mother. ... For other uses, see Patriarchy (disambiguation). ...

In The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot (2007), she compares the steps taken by fascist states in their early years to actions taken by the George W. Bush administration and the U.S. Congress after the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[9] Her argument is summarized in an article published in The Guardian.^[10] The Bush administration includes President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Bushs Cabinet, and other select officials and advisors. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... For other uses, see Guardian. ...

Feminist Positions

Wolf considers herself a liberal feminist, a stance that has attracted criticism from radical feminists who argue that a patriarchal prejudice inheres to democratic liberalism. Liberal feminism is a form of feminism that argues that equality for women can be achieved through legal means and social reform, and that men as a group need not be challenged. ... Radical feminism is a branch of feminism that views womens oppression (or patriarchy) as the basic system of power upon which human relationships in society are arranged. ... Liberalism is an ideology, philosophical view, and political tradition which holds that liberty is the primary political value. ...

Abortion

While staking a qualified pro-choice positions, Wolf published a wrote an article for The New Republic fiercely criticizing contemporary pro-choice rhetoric. She argued that the movement has "developed a lexicon of dehumanization." Wolf urges feminists to accept abortion as murder and defend the procedure within the ambiguity of this moral conundrum. She continues, "Abortion should be legal; it is sometimes even necessary. Sometimes the mother must be able to decide that the fetus, in its full humanity, must die." For other uses, see New Republic. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Wolf finishes her article speculating that in a world of "real gender equality," passionate feminists "might well hold candlelight vigils at abortion clinics, standing shoulder to shoulder with the doctors who work there, commemorating and saying goodbye to the dead."^[11]

Pornography

Departing from the anti-pornography emphasis of such second-wave feminist writers as Andrea Dworkin, Susan Brownmiller, and Catherine Mackinnon, Wolf suggested in 2003 that the ubiquity of Internet pornography tends to enervate the sexual attraction of men toward typical real women. She writes, "The onslaught of porn is responsible for deadening male libido in relation to real women, and leading men to see fewer and fewer women as “porn-worthy.” Far from having to fend off porn-crazed young men, young women are worrying that as mere flesh and blood, they can scarcely get, let alone hold, their attention." Wolf advocates abstaining from porn not on moral grounds, but because "greater supply of the stimulant equals diminished capacity."^[12] Andrea Dworkin speaking to a federal commission on pornography in New York in January 1986 Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26, 1946 – April 9, 2005) was an American radical feminist and writer best known for her criticism of pornography, which she linked with rape and other forms of violence against women. ... Susan Brownmiller (b. ... Catharine MacKinnon (born 7th October 1946) is an American feminist and lawyer. ... For other uses, see Libido (disambiguation). ...

She later followed up on this theme with the assertion that Saturday-night parties with significant alcohol consumption tended toward an increase in one-night stands, which she refers to as "hooking up".^[13] Look up one-night stand in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Sexual Harrassment

In 2004, Wolf wrote an article for New York Magazine accusing acclaimed litery scholar Harold Bloom of sexual harrassment more than two decades earlier. Explaining why she had finally gone public with the charges, Wolf wrote, "I began, nearly a year ago, to try—privately—to start a conversation with my alma mater that would reassure me that steps had been taken in the ensuing years to ensure that unwanted sexual advances of this sort weren’t still occurring. I expected Yale to be responsive. After nine months and many calls and e-mails, I was shocked to conclude that the atmosphere of collusion that had helped to keep me quiet twenty years ago was still intact—as secretive as a Masonic lodge." This article or section needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Harold Bloom (born July 11, 1930) is an American professor and prominent literary and cultural critic. ... Sexual harassment is harassment of a sexual nature, typically in the workplace or other setting where raising objections or refusing may have negative consequences. ...

Reflecting on Yale University's sexual harrassment guidelines, Wolf writes, "Sexual encroachment in an educational context or a workplace is, most seriously, a corruption of meritocracy; it is in this sense parallel to bribery. I was not traumatized personally, but my educational experience was corrupted. If we rephrase sexual transgression in school and work as a civil-rights and civil-society issue, everything becomes less emotional, less personal. If we see this as a systemic-corruption issue, then when people bring allegations, the focus will be on whether the institution has been damaged in its larger mission."^[14] Yale redirects here. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Meritocracy is a system of a government or another organization wherein appointments are made *who* makes the appointments - ultimately, it is the people (all members of the group). ...

Wolf's article drew intense criticism. Slate Magazine wrote, "Both her evidence and her reasoning are deeply flawed...Her gaps and imprecision give fodder to skeptics who think sexual harassment charges are often just a form of hysteria."^[15] Scholar and journalist Laura Kipnis wrote, "The power actually doesn't flow in only one direction in these encounters, nor does the vulnerability...What she's resenting, ironically enough, is the fact that she has power over him."^[16] The New York Observer wrote that she had "expertly microwaved an instant drama, attempting to be a simultaneously avenging and sympathetic angel," and drew attention to the welter of inconsistencies in her account.^[17] New York Press wrote, "Victim feminism has fallen out of fashion—and nobody warned Naomi Wolf about the tanking stocks."^[18] Ethics Scoreboard concluded, "Wolf's actions are dastardly, and violate all standards of fairness, process, and equity."^[19] Categories: Magazines stubs | Microsoft subsidiaries | Websites | The Washington Post ... Laura Kipnis is a cultural and media critic. ... The New York Observer is a weekly newspaper first published in New York City on September 22, 1987 by Arthur L. Carter, a very successful former investment banker with publishing interests. ... New York Press is a free alternative weekly in New York City. ...

In the mainstream press, Wolf attracted similar derision. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "One is left with the unpleasant suspicion that Ms. Wolf wanted to get back into the spotlight and went rummaging in her basket of anecdotes until she found a juicy one to squeeze for publicity."^[20] The Washington Post called for an end to "exaggerated victimhood as embodied by Wolf."^[21] The Washington Post is the largest newspaper in Washington, D.C.. It is also one of the citys oldest papers, having been founded in 1877. ...

Feminist Camille Paglia described herself as "shocked" at the allegations and told the Guardian, "It really smacks of the Salem witch-hunts and all the accompanying hysteria. It really grates on me that Naomi Wolf for her entire life has been batting her eyes and bobbing her boobs in the face of men and made a profession out of courting male attention."^[22] Camille Anna Paglia (born April 2, 1947 in Endicott, New York) is an American social critic, author and teacher. ... Several newspapers go by the name of Guardian: The Guardian, a British newspaper founded in 1821 as the Manchester Guardian, which took its current title in 1959. ...

Political consultant

Wolf was involved in Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election bid, brainstorming with the president's team about ways to reach "soccer moms" and other female voters.^{[citation needed]} William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... In North American social, cultural and political discourse, soccer mom (and less used soccer dad for the male equivalent) refers broadly to a demographic group of middle- or upper-middle class women with school-age children. ...

During Al Gore's unsuccessful bid for the presidency in the 2000 election, Wolf was hired as a consultant to target female voters, reprising her role in the Clinton campaign. Wolf's ideas and participation in the Gore campaign generated considerable media coverage and criticism. According to a report by Michael Duffy in Time, Wolf was paid a monthly salary of $15,000 "in exchange for advice on everything from how to win the women’s vote to shirt-and-tie combinations." This article was the original source of the widely reported claim that Wolf was responsible for Gore's "three-buttoned, earth-toned look." The Duffy article did not mention "earth tones." The Time article and others also claimed that Wolf had developed the idea that Gore is "a beta male who needs to take on the alpha male in the Oval Office".^[23] This article is about the former Vice President of the United States. ... The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between the Democratic candidate Al Gore versus the Republican candidate of George W. Bush. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... An alpha male or alpha female is the individual in the community to whom the others follow and defer. ... The Oval Office from above in 2003, during the administration of George W. Bush. ...

In an interview with Melinda Henneberger in the New York Times, Wolf denied ever advising Gore on his wardrobe. Wolf herself claimed she mentioned the term "alpha male" only once in passing and that "it was just a truism, something the pundits had been saying for months, that the vice president is in a supportive role and the President is in an initiatory role...I used those terms as shorthand in talking about the difference in their job descriptions." The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... The term Pundit has multiple meanings: A pundit or pandit, in the culture of India, is a master of traditional religious poetry and/or traditional music. ...

Selected books

• The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women (1990) ISBN 0060512180
• Fire with Fire (1994) ISBN 0449909514
• Promiscuities: The Secret Struggle for Womanhood (or a Secret History of Female Desire) (1998) ISBN 0449907643 ISBN 0099205912 ISBN 0517454475
• Misconceptions (2001)
• The Tree House (2005)
• The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1933392790

Notes

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Naomi Wolf's blog in the Huffington Post
• American Freedom Campaign Naomi Wolf's pro-democracy website
• The Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership Women's leadership organization co-founded by Naomi Wolf
• Interview by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!, November 28, 2007 (video & audio links, and print transcript)
• 2007 Feature Interview with Naomi Wolf ('The End of America') on The Alcove with Mark Molaro
• Critical Resources: Naomi Wolf
• Naomi Wolf talks about "The End of America"