Feminism, public and private Conceptualizations of public and private have always been central to the politics of second-wave feminism. The slogan “the personal is political” implied that private life was often the site, if not the cause, of women's oppression. In 1974, some authors of Woman, culture and society (Lamphere and Rosaldo 1974), one of the founding texts of academic feminism, stated that the universal cause of women's oppression lay in their confinement to the domestic sphere. Since then anthropologists have modified and complicated their assertions about the private. 1 Many other scholars have turned to the problem of the meaning of public. Joan Landes's anthology represents an important stage in this development. Landes divides the book into four parts. Part I, “The Public/Private Distinction in Feminist Theory,” begins with the book's oldest essay, “Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?” by Sherry Ortner, originally published in Woman, Culture and Society (Lamphere and Rosaldo 1974). Also appearing in this section are "Citizenship with a Feminist Face: The Problem of Maternal Thinking" by Mary Dietz, a critique of Jean Bethke Elshtain, and "Towards an Agonistic Feminism," a defense and "radicalization" of Hannah Arendt by Bonnie Honig.Seyla Benhabib's "Models of Public Space" outline two important themes: 1) the fact that the division between public and private has always been and, in her opinion, should always remain open to negotiation and 2) the need to consider and criticize the work of the German philosopher Jürgen Habermas. "All struggles against oppression in the modern world begin with the redefinition of what was previously considered 'private,' not public, ... middle of paper ... has done a great service in bringing These previously published essays together they are all inspiring; many are truly excellent. Yet I wonder: where is the private in this analysis: what are its functions, its advantages and its distinctive advantages? what might be the dangers of legitimizing a particular, embodied political presence (and multiple, boisterous publics) As I conclude this review, President Clinton has been impeached for a private act made public, and the most public act of all, the bombing of another country, has raised little debate. These events should force us to re-confront our conceptualizations of the public and the private, as well as our presence and role in public life to which this volume contributes. significant contribution, continues.