Reclaiming a Woman’s Place in a Patriarchal World
by Dr Ann E Russell
Dr Ann Russell combines personal stories and research to create this compelling book about patriarchy and its persistence in the western world in the 21st Century. From a uniquely Australian perspective, Russell discusses how patriarchy has negatively impacted her personally and society in general and explores its provenance and the reasons for its perpetuation. She then proposes ways that society can reduce the pervasiveness of patriarchy and move forward into a cleaner, greener, kinder and more liveable world for everyone.
This book deals with the current and ongoing problems caused by patriarchy as seen from the perspective of an older Australian woman. Dr Ann E Russell explores the influence of patriarchy on her own life and examines its provenance and perpetuation. Like many first wave feminists, Dr Russell places the sources of patriarchy firmly western society's adherence to Christian mores, something that she is very familiar with given her churched upbringing. Russell discusses her own separation from the church and discusses the need for everyone to do likewise in order to rid ourselves of patriarchy, the Neoliberalism it nourishes and save the planet.
Dr Ann E Russell is a creative professional with a passion for nature, creativity and women's rights.
Ann creates and writes from her rural residential property on the North West outskirts of Brisbane, Australia. She is intensely interested in the ‘other’ and consequently tends to work with liminal spaces caught just outside ‘real’ existence, on the peripheries of our perception, both in her art and her writing. She is trying to undo our understanding of the world and our existence in it as linear and rational; drawing heavily from nature to investigate and disrupt stereotypes in contemporary society. Ann’s work indicates our spiritual and psychic connection to and interactions with plants, animals, earth, water and sky. Although brought up in the Christian Church, she now sees herself as Agnostic, and seeks meaning from the world around her, particularly the magic she finds in the natural world.