XIV Forum

show the gendered nature of discursive power games, discussing the contrib- utions of Lute Irigaray, Mary Daly and Michele le Doeuff to the understanding of sexual difference and politics.

Silent Sisters: An Ethnography of Homeless Women by Betty G Russell; Taylor & p'rancis, 1991. UKfl8 pb, 140 pp. This book describes what homelessness is like for women and the extent to wh,ich female homelessness is gender-based. It tells what their lives are like and what their point of view is, both towards themselves and mainstream society. Because female homelessness is a serious social problem and is still poorly understood, the author describes the world of these women not only as an exercise in cultural analysis, but also with the intention of providing understanding which may help to improve their situation or alleviate their problems. Contents: Introduction; Actions and Attitudes; The Tramp Versus the Bag Lady; The Paths to Homelessness; Daily Life; Self-Images and Dreams; A Matter of Gender; References; Appendices.

From Routledge (London and New York), two companion volumes on Feminist Knowledge, edited by Sneja Gunew. A Reader in Feminist Knowledge (1991, Hb UK&O, pb UKE12.99) is an anthology of redent writings in feminism which looks at some areas of feminist struggle. The book is divided into sections on Feminist Knowledge: critique and construct; Feminist Knowledge and Women's Studies; male theories of power; feminism and subjectivity, philosophy; psychoanalysis and feminism; biology and feminism; religion; Radical Feminism; and Socialist Feminist Interventions. Among many others, contributors include: Bell Hooks, Linda Gordon, Renate Klein, Robyn Rowland, Janice Raymond, Ruth Bleier, Charlotte Bunch, Helene Cixous, Elizabeth Grosz, Barbara Taylor, Diane Bell, Jackie Huggins, Mary Daly and Lute Ingaray. Its companion volume, Feminist Knowledge: Critique and Construct (1990) is a collection of newJsm, mainly from the viewpoint of postmodernism, although radical and socialist.feminisms are also represented. The book considers the contributions made by feminist writings to developments in post-structuralism and postmodernism and examines how recent theories and writings in turn have influenced feminist history. Contributors include: Elizabeth Grosz on tlContemporary theories of power and subjectivity", and on ttPhildsophylt; Robyn Rowland and Renate D Klein on "Radical Feminism: Critique and Construct"; md Louise C Johnson on "Socialist Feminisms". MK

Changing Perceptions - Writings on Gender and Development, edited by Tina Wallace with Candida March; Oxfam Publications 1991; ~~356; UKc8.35 + 65p postage. Women's needs and abilities are too often disregarded by development planners, and "women's projects" are themselves unhelpful if they reflect gender stereotypes. Changing Perceptions explores the debate on gender and development and discusses some of the policy changes required if women are to have a greater say in the development process. Articles from Peggy Antrobus, Diane Elson, Caroline Moser, Ann Whitehead and others include personal test- imony, case studies and notes, as well as theoretical articles on gender and development. Published to celebrate the first five years of work by Oxfam's Gender and Development Unit, this book should be read by all with a concern that development assistance should empower the poorest. (Available from Oxfam Publications, PO Box 120, Oxford, OX2 7FA, UK.)

McGill-Queen's University Press for The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), 1991. pp 237. Women and Well-Being, edited by Vanaja Dhruvarajan. The importance of a concern for women's well-being cannot be overemphasized.