Feminism

South African writer Diana Russell. Russell has written several books on subjects such as rape and sexual abuse against women. Russell's new book, "Lives of Courage," profiles 24 women in South Africa who have fought against apartheid. The book also examines sex issues in South Africa. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Author Linda P. Brown is co-author of "Birthbond: Reunions between Birthparents and Adoptees--What happens After." In the 1960's BROWN gave up her own daughter for adoption. The book is based on interviews with 30 birthmothers -- from a variety of backgrounds -- who were reunited with their adult children. And it looks at the challenges these mothers face after the reunion. "Birthbond" is published by New Horizon Press, Far Hills, N.J. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Commentator Patsy McLaughlin (mc-LOFF-lin) reflects on advertising's "Breck" girl becoming the "Breck" woman. McLaughlin will speak with this year's Breck model, Pamela Chew.

British novelist Margaret Drabble. She made a name for herself in the early 60's as one of the first woman writers to make domestic life the focus of her novels. But after the publication of "The Middle Ground" in 1980, Drabble took a seven-year break from fiction to concentrate on revising "The Oxford Companion to English Literature." Since then she has published two more novels, "The Radiant Way" and "A Natural Curiosity," which reflect a shift in focus to more external, societal concerns.

Writer Valerie Miner. Her work has been praised for it's uncommon honesty and intensity. Miner focuses on a group of people she finds overlooked in American literature: the working class. Her books include "All Good Women," "Blood Sisters," and "Winter's Edge." Her new book, "Trespassing," is a collection of stories which span the globe and examine the quiet shifts in relationships or in an individual's sense of self.

Mystery writer Mary Wings. Wings' novels draw on the familiar hard-boiled detective genre, but her heroine is a lesbian-feminist detective named Emma Victor. Wings new book is titled "She Came in a Flash."

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums from Los Angeles groups. The first is the debut album from Mary's Danish, a band that Ken says combines the roughness of punk with a sense of melody and humor. The other is the latest solo album from Don Henley, a former member of the Eagles.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan looks back at Ex-Wife a 1929 novel by Ursula Parrott that has recently been re-printed. Corrigan finds many of the issues of contemporary feminism wrapped up in this story of a flapper who tries an "open" marriage.

Feminist writer Barbara Wilson (sometimes Barbara Sjoholm). She's a co-founder of the feminist publishing house, Seal Press. She also writes detective novels whose heroine is a lesbian feminist detective. Her latest novel, The Dog Collar Murders, offers a humorous look at the debates between the S&M and anti-porn factions of the feminist community.

The feminist scholar looks at how women in dual-career partnerships are often responsible for most of the unpaid domestic work. Hochschild joins Fresh Air to discuss why men don't share this labor equally with their partners, and the toll this inequity takes on working women.

Rich's writing has been deeply political, but her recent poetry explores more personal themes. She joins Fresh Air to discuss her coming out as a lesbian, the difference between her poetry and the poetry written by men, and why she's reluctant to speak publicly about her personal life, despite being an autobiographical writer.

Though the garment may be a century old, fashion columnist Patricia McLaughlin says bras still have a long way to go in terms of fit and comfort.

Gail Pheterson is a feminist academic who edited a new book, called A Vindication of the Rights of Whores. Former sex worker and founder of Call Off Your Old and Tired Ethics (COYOTE) Margo St. James wrote the introduction. They join Fresh Air to talk about the international movement to gain legal protections for prostitutes.

The writer published her first story she was 35; her first novel came out nine years later. Her latest book, Silver, is about marriage, domesticity and suburban life.

Contrary to many other feminist activists, Bright believes that the anti-pornography movement discourages women from exploring their sexuality and developing what she calls an "erotic literacy." She edits the S&M-themed magazine On Our Backs, which revels in fantasies that are at once controlled and dangerous.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone says that recent advertisements, TV shows, and theater betray a cultural shift toward a new traditionalism that debases feminism and expects women to return to conventionally feminine roles.

Rather than simply include more women artists into the canon, Nochlin believes art critics and historians should rethink the way artistic greatness has been constructed in such a way that has prevented women from achieving a particular model of success. Her new book about this topic is called Women, Art, and Power.

Feminist writer Susan Brownmiller wrote a fictionalized account of the Sternberg-Nussbaum child abuse and murder case, case called Waverly Place. She joins Fresh Air to discuss why she avoided writing a true crime book, as well as the sociology of domestic abuse.

That student was Fresh Air's critic-at-large Laurie Stone. Stone studied with the feminist writer at Barnard. She was excited by Millet's enthusiasm for art and literature, and was emboldened by Millett's sincere belief in Stone's own potential.

Willis is known for taking on diverse topics ranging from rock music, pornography, and domesticity. Now in her 40s, she is raising a child with her partner -- an arrangement, she admits, resembles the nuclear family in all but name. Willis is the senior editor at the Village Voice.