Competition: A Feminist Taboo?

Why is it so hard for women to talk about competition? As the editors of this original anthology state: "Feminists have long been fiercely critical of male power games, yet we have often ignored or concealed our own conflcits over money, control, position, and recognition. It is time to end the silence." The book opens with Letty Cottin Pogrebin's essay "Competing with Women" from the 1972 debut issue of Ms. Part Two exposes the reality of competition in daily life-in academia, in the corporate world, in athletics, in the family, and in cross-class and cross-cultural relationships. Part Three offers feminist answers to the questions "How do we obliterate competition-or find ways to make it benign or useful-or replace it with other idealogies and behavior?" Other contributors include Evelyn Fox Keller, Helene Moglen, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Tono McNaron, Erika Duncan, Tvonne, Maria Cristina Lugones, and Elizabeth V. Spelman.