This is where you will complete your peer review exercise. Please use the following template to fill out your review.
Guiding questions:
The lead reflects some of the new content added. While it does mention The Dialect of Sex, it doesn't mention the influence of this work on other feminist movements, like cyberfeminism or the Women's Liberation Movement, or that the work is still relevant in the 21st century in university courses. The introductory sentence is true, but could include more detail. A better introductory sentence might be "Shulamith 'Shulie' Firestone was a Canadian-American radical feminist, activist, and writer." Additionally, the lead refers to "second-wave feminism." An easy way to improve this statement is perhaps to insert a reference to the notion of six feminist waves, which can be found in Tjitske Akkerman and Siep Stuurman's article on eclass. The lead does not briefly describe the article's major sections, with the sections on early life, education, mental illness, and death and legacy notably absent. The other sections are perhaps too briefly summarized, with a very short and simple overview of her involvement in some radical feminist group and her most influential work. Overall, I appreciate that this is only a first draft and that the lead will likely be the last section you update!
Guiding questions:
The section on the Dialectic of Sex mentions the synthesis of the theories of "Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Reich, Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, and Simone de Beauvoir into a radical feminist theory of politics," but doesn't elaborate on how these thinkers influenced the ways of thinking of the time. For instance, according to https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/15/death-of-a-revolutionary , the whole work was dedicated to Simone de Beauvoir, an extremely significant feminist whose book "The Second Sex" is still influential today. To make this section more neutral, you might include other theorists' perspectives on Firestone's idea about the equality of the sexes. Additionally, presenting a wide variety of conflicting perspectives and responses would demonstrate why Firestone is and was considered a radical feminist. Additionally, Firestone was also directly and indirectly connected to several other feminists, like Chude Pam Allen, Carol Giardina, and Ti-Grace Atkinson through the Radical Feminist Movement.
Although Firestone is most clearly connected to radical feminism, but other scholars have also connected her to xenofeminism ( http://www.parrhesiajournal.org/parrhesia31/parrhesia31_konior.pdf). Some research might show how Firestone is also connected to the Reproductive justice movement and the bra burning movement. Additionally, like queer theorists who advocate for the acceptance of a family model with two same-sex parents, Firestone has her own theory for the acceptable family structure, so there is a small connection there as well!
The article might also benefit from a section on religion, other than what is included in the early life section. Religion seems to be a common factor in feminism, and personally, as a Jewish person, I find a lack of connection to Jewish feminism in many conversations about feminism. I'm not sure what the connection would be, other than her outright rejection of religion, but maybe you can find something?
Finally, I've found some other cool events that Firestone took part in that haven't been mentioned in the article yet: (see https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/15/death-of-a-revolutionary)
- 1969: organized the first abortion protest in America
- organized a 'Burial of Traditional Womanhood'
- held an "ogle-in" to make men the subjects of the female gaze in public (a reversal of the 'male gaze')
- She was also connected to the National Organization for Women
Guiding questions:
Overall, the article is not entirely neutral in tone, as a large part of the article is devoted to radical feminism. More explanation about why this position was controversial, possibly utilizing other feminist schools of thought, would do much to neutralize the tone of the article. So far, the article really frames Firestone's work as controversial without providing conflicting perspectives to explain why some people would view it as controversial. Does that make sense?
Guiding questions:
All of the content is cited, and there is a significant number of diverse resources (including several journal articles), most of the links I tried work, and the sources are current.
Guiding questions:
The content is well-written. There are no spelling or grammatical errors, it is concise and easy to read, and it is well-structured.
Guiding questions: If your peer added images or media
If the draft you're reviewing is a new article, consider the following in addition to the above.
Guiding questions:
The added information significantly fills in the content gaps of the original article. The information is credible, well-organized, and well-written. There could be some more information added, as I've detailed above, but overall, the article is very thorough. The biggest improvement would be addressing conflicting perspectives on feminism and Firestone to ensure the neutrality of the article, and ensure that the article doesn't unintentionally frame Firestone as an obviously controversial person. Other than that, the lead could use some updating, but I'm sure this step is best saved for last. Lastly, you might also choose to add some pictures!
This is where you will complete your peer review exercise. Please use the following template to fill out your review.
Guiding questions:
The lead reflects some of the new content added. While it does mention The Dialect of Sex, it doesn't mention the influence of this work on other feminist movements, like cyberfeminism or the Women's Liberation Movement, or that the work is still relevant in the 21st century in university courses. The introductory sentence is true, but could include more detail. A better introductory sentence might be "Shulamith 'Shulie' Firestone was a Canadian-American radical feminist, activist, and writer." Additionally, the lead refers to "second-wave feminism." An easy way to improve this statement is perhaps to insert a reference to the notion of six feminist waves, which can be found in Tjitske Akkerman and Siep Stuurman's article on eclass. The lead does not briefly describe the article's major sections, with the sections on early life, education, mental illness, and death and legacy notably absent. The other sections are perhaps too briefly summarized, with a very short and simple overview of her involvement in some radical feminist group and her most influential work. Overall, I appreciate that this is only a first draft and that the lead will likely be the last section you update!
Guiding questions:
The section on the Dialectic of Sex mentions the synthesis of the theories of "Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Reich, Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, and Simone de Beauvoir into a radical feminist theory of politics," but doesn't elaborate on how these thinkers influenced the ways of thinking of the time. For instance, according to https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/15/death-of-a-revolutionary , the whole work was dedicated to Simone de Beauvoir, an extremely significant feminist whose book "The Second Sex" is still influential today. To make this section more neutral, you might include other theorists' perspectives on Firestone's idea about the equality of the sexes. Additionally, presenting a wide variety of conflicting perspectives and responses would demonstrate why Firestone is and was considered a radical feminist. Additionally, Firestone was also directly and indirectly connected to several other feminists, like Chude Pam Allen, Carol Giardina, and Ti-Grace Atkinson through the Radical Feminist Movement.
Although Firestone is most clearly connected to radical feminism, but other scholars have also connected her to xenofeminism ( http://www.parrhesiajournal.org/parrhesia31/parrhesia31_konior.pdf). Some research might show how Firestone is also connected to the Reproductive justice movement and the bra burning movement. Additionally, like queer theorists who advocate for the acceptance of a family model with two same-sex parents, Firestone has her own theory for the acceptable family structure, so there is a small connection there as well!
The article might also benefit from a section on religion, other than what is included in the early life section. Religion seems to be a common factor in feminism, and personally, as a Jewish person, I find a lack of connection to Jewish feminism in many conversations about feminism. I'm not sure what the connection would be, other than her outright rejection of religion, but maybe you can find something?
Finally, I've found some other cool events that Firestone took part in that haven't been mentioned in the article yet: (see https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/15/death-of-a-revolutionary)
- 1969: organized the first abortion protest in America
- organized a 'Burial of Traditional Womanhood'
- held an "ogle-in" to make men the subjects of the female gaze in public (a reversal of the 'male gaze')
- She was also connected to the National Organization for Women
Guiding questions:
Overall, the article is not entirely neutral in tone, as a large part of the article is devoted to radical feminism. More explanation about why this position was controversial, possibly utilizing other feminist schools of thought, would do much to neutralize the tone of the article. So far, the article really frames Firestone's work as controversial without providing conflicting perspectives to explain why some people would view it as controversial. Does that make sense?
Guiding questions:
All of the content is cited, and there is a significant number of diverse resources (including several journal articles), most of the links I tried work, and the sources are current.
Guiding questions:
The content is well-written. There are no spelling or grammatical errors, it is concise and easy to read, and it is well-structured.
Guiding questions: If your peer added images or media
If the draft you're reviewing is a new article, consider the following in addition to the above.
Guiding questions:
The added information significantly fills in the content gaps of the original article. The information is credible, well-organized, and well-written. There could be some more information added, as I've detailed above, but overall, the article is very thorough. The biggest improvement would be addressing conflicting perspectives on feminism and Firestone to ensure the neutrality of the article, and ensure that the article doesn't unintentionally frame Firestone as an obviously controversial person. Other than that, the lead could use some updating, but I'm sure this step is best saved for last. Lastly, you might also choose to add some pictures!