The Big Push

This is a manual for taking us to the finishing line of gender equality. Without understanding the incredible tentacles of patriarchy and its reinventions, we are destined to fight old battles as well as new ones. A jolt of new energy for longstanding feminists and a «must read» for our new generations.' – Helena Kennedy, QC

Decades of feminist campaigning have resulted in real advances, and yet patriarchy relentlessly continues to thrive.

Cynthia Enloe pulls back the curtain on patriarchy to reveal not only the blatant sexism we can all identify, but also the insidious persistence of particular forms of masculinity and authoritarianism in daily life.

These diverse and illuminating essays – which take as their starting point experiences from her own life and those of women from around the world – explore the resilience of patriarchal beliefs and values, and identify the unwitting nature of our complicity. She shows how, simply by noticing, questioning and crafting fresh feminist concepts, we can update our resistance and challenge patriarchy's self-perpetuating core.