Lynne Segal
Encyclopedia
Lynne Segal is an Australia
n-born, British
-based socialist feminist
academic and activist, author of many books and articles, and participant in many campaigns, from local community to international. She has taught in higher education in London, UK since 1970, at Middlesex Polytechnic
from 1973. In 1999 she was appointed Anniversary Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies at Birkbeck, University of London
, where she now works in the School of Psychosocial Studies.
Segal was born in Sydney
, and studied psychology at Sydney University
, obtaining her PhD in 1969, while immersed in the anti-authoritarian milieu of the Sydney Libertarians (known as 'The Push
'), and has always remained within the libertarian wing of Left politics. She emigrated to London in 1970 and for the next decade her main energies went into grass roots politics in Islington
, North London, helping to set up and run a women's centre, an alternative newspaper, the Islington Gutter Press, and supporting anti-racist politics. It was a decade in which the extra-party Left was on the ascendant, but divided structurally and ideologically.
In 1979, the three friends, Segal, Sheila Rowbotham
and Hilary Wainwright
wrote Beyond the Fragments, arguing for broader alliances among trade unionists, feminists and left political groups. Its argument quickly won a large following leading to a major conference in Leeds
, Yorkshire, in 1980 and a second edition in 1981. In 1984, publisher Ursula Owen invited her to join the Virago
Advisory Board and write an appraisal of the state of feminism, resulting in her first book, Is the Future Female? Troubled Thoughts on Contemporary Feminism (1987). This book reached a broad audience, with its questioning of gender mythologies, whether of women’s intrinsic virtues, or men’s inevitable rapaciousness, which had been appearing in the work of many popular feminist writers in the 1980s.
Reflecting her socialist feminist milieu, Segal argued that feminists always needed to confront the ubiquitous negation of the 'feminine', but women’s battles could neither be reduced simply to battles with men, nor solved purely by revaluing the ‘feminine’. All Segal’s consequent books have argued for a more inclusive form of Left-feminism, arguing for a more compassionate and egalitarian world. Her next book, Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities, Changing Men (1990) rejected the equation of 'male sexuality' with 'male violence', noting the complexity of forces generating very differing patterns of masculinity across time and place. Discussing the volatile fluidity of sexual experience, the same theoretical perspectives appeared in Straight Sex: The Politics of Pleasure (1994). There she deconstructs the notion of male activity and female passivity that underpin normative understandings of heterosexuality, and serve to shore up the language and practices of male dominance. In 2007 Segal published Making Trouble: Life and Politics, a Political Memoir covering her generation of post-war activists, pondering what has become of their politics in the grimmer, more divided world of the 21st century.
Segal is the daughter of Iza and Reuben Segal, who were both medical doctors. Her brother Graeme is a mathematician, her sister Barbara a baroque dancer. She has a son, Zimri Segal, working in design technology. Segal has lived in Islington, North London since she arrived from Sydney. Since 2000, she has worked, as a secular Jew, with Jews for Justice for Palestine, Independent Jewish Voices
and Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (FFIPP) engaged in efforts to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and create a just peace between Israel and Palestine.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based socialist feminist
Socialist feminism
Socialist feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses upon both the public and private spheres of a woman's life and argues that liberation can only be achieved by working to end both the economic and cultural sources of women's oppression...
academic and activist, author of many books and articles, and participant in many campaigns, from local community to international. She has taught in higher education in London, UK since 1970, at Middlesex Polytechnic
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
from 1973. In 1999 she was appointed Anniversary Professor of Psychology and Gender Studies at Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
, where she now works in the School of Psychosocial Studies.
Segal was born in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, and studied psychology at Sydney University
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, obtaining her PhD in 1969, while immersed in the anti-authoritarian milieu of the Sydney Libertarians (known as 'The Push
Sydney Push
The Sydney Push was a predominantly left-wing intellectual sub-culture in Sydney from the late 1940s to the early '70s. Well known associates of the Push include Jim Baker, John Flaus, Harry Hooton, Margaret Fink, Sasha Soldatow, Lex Banning, Eva Cox, Richard Appleton, Paddy McGuinness, David...
'), and has always remained within the libertarian wing of Left politics. She emigrated to London in 1970 and for the next decade her main energies went into grass roots politics in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, North London, helping to set up and run a women's centre, an alternative newspaper, the Islington Gutter Press, and supporting anti-racist politics. It was a decade in which the extra-party Left was on the ascendant, but divided structurally and ideologically.
In 1979, the three friends, Segal, Sheila Rowbotham
Sheila Rowbotham
Sheila Rowbotham is a British socialist feminist theorist and writer.-Early life:Rowbotham was born in Leeds, the daughter of a salesman for an engineering company and an office clerk From an early age, she was deeply interested in history...
and Hilary Wainwright
Hilary Wainwright
Hilary Wainwright is a British socialist and feminist, best known for being editor of Red Pepper magazine.-Personal life:Hilary Wainwright's father was the Liberal MP Richard Wainwright, and her brother, Martin, is the Northern Editor of The Guardian, to which she occasionally contributes.She...
wrote Beyond the Fragments, arguing for broader alliances among trade unionists, feminists and left political groups. Its argument quickly won a large following leading to a major conference in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Yorkshire, in 1980 and a second edition in 1981. In 1984, publisher Ursula Owen invited her to join the Virago
Virago Press
Virago is a British publishing company founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil to publish books by women writers. Both new works and reissued books by neglected authors have featured on the imprint's list....
Advisory Board and write an appraisal of the state of feminism, resulting in her first book, Is the Future Female? Troubled Thoughts on Contemporary Feminism (1987). This book reached a broad audience, with its questioning of gender mythologies, whether of women’s intrinsic virtues, or men’s inevitable rapaciousness, which had been appearing in the work of many popular feminist writers in the 1980s.
Reflecting her socialist feminist milieu, Segal argued that feminists always needed to confront the ubiquitous negation of the 'feminine', but women’s battles could neither be reduced simply to battles with men, nor solved purely by revaluing the ‘feminine’. All Segal’s consequent books have argued for a more inclusive form of Left-feminism, arguing for a more compassionate and egalitarian world. Her next book, Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities, Changing Men (1990) rejected the equation of 'male sexuality' with 'male violence', noting the complexity of forces generating very differing patterns of masculinity across time and place. Discussing the volatile fluidity of sexual experience, the same theoretical perspectives appeared in Straight Sex: The Politics of Pleasure (1994). There she deconstructs the notion of male activity and female passivity that underpin normative understandings of heterosexuality, and serve to shore up the language and practices of male dominance. In 2007 Segal published Making Trouble: Life and Politics, a Political Memoir covering her generation of post-war activists, pondering what has become of their politics in the grimmer, more divided world of the 21st century.
Segal is the daughter of Iza and Reuben Segal, who were both medical doctors. Her brother Graeme is a mathematician, her sister Barbara a baroque dancer. She has a son, Zimri Segal, working in design technology. Segal has lived in Islington, North London since she arrived from Sydney. Since 2000, she has worked, as a secular Jew, with Jews for Justice for Palestine, Independent Jewish Voices
Independent Jewish Voices
For the Canadian group see Independent Jewish Voices . For the Australian group see Independent Australian Jewish Voices.Independent Jewish Voices is an organization launched on 5 February 2007 by 150 prominent British Jews such as Nobel laureate Harold Pinter, historian Eric Hobsbawm, lawyer Sir...
and Faculty for Israeli-Palestinian Peace (FFIPP) engaged in efforts to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and create a just peace between Israel and Palestine.
External links
- Lynne Segal's Birkbeck home page
- Dave Hill "The truth about men and women", Guardian Unlimited Interview Dec 11, 2000
- John Barker Review of Making Trouble, 3:AM Magazine3:AM Magazine3:AM Magazine is a literary magazine, which was set up as 3ammagazine.com in April 2000 and is edited from Paris. Its editor-in-chief since inception has been Andrew Gallix, a lecturer at the Sorbonne ....
, 2007