Why do friendships matter so much to women?

In this book, feminists from a range of disciplines assess current thinking about friendship and question how understandings of friendship relate to our everyday experiences. Though the book as a whole unashamedly celebrates female friendships, this is not a simple celebration. What expectations do we have of friendship? What happens when friendships fail? How has feminism affected women's friendships?

This book will act as an exciting introduction to women's studies, as the writers examine ideas of women's friendships in relation to key concepts in feminist theory. It includes original research that will be of interest to both students and academics. But, importantly, the book is also accessible to women who want to buy it for what it ultimately is - a statement on the importance and vitality of friendships between women, and a reminder that for many, their inspirations, achievements, pleasures and successes are the result of the support, stimulation and strategies for survival that friendship can provide.

This book is now out of print.

UK readers are able to borrow a copy from the national Library system, and you are welcome to visit the The Women's Library in London or the Centre for Women's Studies, University of York to read the book in situ. (Please contact the Centre for Women's Studies before making a special trip; address as Raw Nerve).

CONTENTS

Editorial Introduction

Jane Montague and Ali Andrew

Friendship, Auto/biography and the Academy

Juliet Betts and Shantu Watt

‘Joy in the Struggle Itself’: A Friendship across the Racial Divide

Katherine Side

Making and Breaking Women's Friendships in Feminist Theory

Laura Potts

Sisterhood: Part of the Pretend Family?

Ruth A Symes

‘My Constant Correspondent and Friend’: The Letters of Maria Edgeworth and Rachel Mordecai Lazurus, 1815-1838

Heloise Brown and Krista Cowman

Exploring Suffragette Friendships

Judy Giles

Maid and Mistress: Narratives of Friendship in Accounts of Domestic Service

Vicki Bertram

Problems with (Girl)friends? Contemporary Women Poets and Tensions in Female Friendship

Ann Kaloski with Francesca da Rimini and Sue Thomas

‘She says she’s a woman’: Feminine Friendships in Virtual Reality

Jackie Scott-Mandeville

The Personal is Academic: A Different Pattern