"The connection between feminism and nonviolence is not that both are so nice and humane compared to patriarchy and violence. It is that both are so potent, with the same kind of power, that they have the potential to turn the violent, patriarchal system over and give birth to something healthier in its place." - Betsy Wright
"Reweaving the Web of Life" is a collection of essays, poems, letters, an interview, memoirs, biographies and more, written by over 50 women and 2 men that make and reflect on the connections between feminism and nonviolence. The views and experiences expressed are diverse, including an open letter to Gandhi questioning his views regarding rape, an essay discussing the interplay between sunpower and moonpower, a proposal to limit and maintain the male population of the planet to 10%, an interview with one of the most prominent names in both nonviolence and feminism, Barbara Deming, and a poem from a Native American about a nuclear reactor accident at Idaho Falls. Taken as a whole, this anthology stands as a catalyst for dialogue between people interested in two disciplines that up to the point of its publication had been separated more by vocabulary than by the views and actions pertaining to each. The metaphor of reweaving fits appropriately in the title as myriad threads of intellect, emotion, and action are strewn together into a cohesive and heterogeneous whole that promotes an openness in approaching ideas that are still being developed.
Citation Information:
McAllister, P. (1982). Reweaving the web of life: Feminism and nonviolence. Philadelphia, PA: New Society.
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