Alice Schwarzer

Alice Schwarzer (born December 3 1942 in Wuppertal) is the most prominent contemporary German feminist. She is founder and publisher of the German feminist journal EMMA.

Biography and positions

As the daughter of a single mother she spent her childhood with her grandparents. In 1969 she started working as a journalist.

From 1970 to 1974 she worked as a freelancer for different media in Paris. At the same time she studied psychology and sociology, amongst others lectured by Michel Foucault. She was one of the founders of the "Feminist Movement" in Paris ("Mouvement de Liberation des femmes", MLF) and also spread their ideas to Germany.

In 1971 she raised public attention for the first time with her project "Frauen gegen den § 218" ("Women against Paragraph 218", which was the German statute that made abortion illegal). In autumn 1971 she released her first book of the same title. She contributed substantially to the abortion debate in Germany, resulting in legalization in 1974. (See Abortion in Germany.)

One of her best known books is "Der kleine Unterschied und seine großen Folgen" ("The little difference and its huge consequences"), which was released in 1975 and made her famous beyond the borders of Germany. It was translated into 11 languages. Since its release, Schwarzer is considered as Germany's best known, but also most controversial contemporary feminist. She is a second-wave feminist representing concepts of feminist equality, similar to Simone de Beauvoir.

One of her goals was the realization of economic self-sufficiency for women. She argued against the law which required married women to obtain permission from their husbands before before beginning paid work outside the home. This provision was removed in 1976.

In January 1977 the first issue of her journal EMMA was published. The next years she concentrated on the work for her journal, serving as chief editor and publisher.

With her PorNo campaign, started in 1987, she advocates the ban of pornography in Germany, arguing that pornography violates the dignity of women, constitutes a form of medial violence against them, and contributes to misogeny and physical violence against women. The ongoing campaign has not seen much success.

From 1992 to 1993 she was host of the TV show "Zeil um Zehn" on German TV channel Hessischer Rundfunk. With her frequent appearances in German TV talk shows she has become an institution on German television.

When her journal EMMA changed to bimonthly release in 1993, she continued to write an increasing number of books, among them one about Petra Kelly and Gert Bastian, and biographies of Romy Schneider and Marion Dönhoff. In total she has released 16 books as a writer, and 15 as publisher.

She campaigned against the law of 2002 that improved the legal situation of prostitutes and fully legalized brothels. She views prostitution as violence against women and favors laws like those in Sweden, where the sale of sexual services is legal but their purchase is not. (See also: Prostitution in Germany.)

In recent years, she has been highly criticial of political Islamism and the position of women in Islam; she favors prohibitions against women in schools or other public settings wearing the Islamic headscarf, which she considers a symbol of oppression. She warns of a creeping islamisation of Europe, leading to an erosion of human rights and especially women's rights.

Criticism

* Some feminists accuse Schwarzer and her publication "EMMA" of the monopolisation of German language feminist discussion, in order to promote her own points of view.
* Others criticised that she accepted the award of the Bundesverdienstkreuz.
* Schwarzers' German language PorNO-campaign, aiming to ban pornography in Germany, and her judgement on female sadomasochism (quote "Female masochism is collaboration!" ["Weiblicher Masochismus ist Kollaboration!" from EMMA Heft 2, 1991 ] ) has often been criticized for implying a state of war between genders.
* Some lesbian activists criticize Schwarzer for publicly encouraging lesbians and gays to come out openly while applying another standard to her own life. Schwarzer herself has never commented on her own sexual orientation. She disapproves of third party outing in general. When she was described as a lesbian in the critical biography of Bascha Mika [ Bascha Mika, "Alice Schwarzer – Eine kritische Biographie", Rowohlt Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-499-60778-6 (unauthorized)] she reacted angrily and denied any comment, indicating her own right for privacy.
* Schwarzer has repeatedly been described as a "showpiece feminist" and covered with malice and mockery by parts of the German media and opponents. Some journalists like Henryk M. Broder and Kay Sokolowsky accuse her of „leftist Antisemitism“ and sympathy towards rightist icons like Leni Riefenstahl [ [http://www.trend.infopartisan.net/trd0399/t120399.html Die Neue Rechte] , konkret-article (German)] .

Awards

*In 1996, she received the German "Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande" (Cross of Merit on ribbon), and in 2005, the "Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse" (Cross of Merit, First class). The Cross of Merit is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany.
*In 2004 she received the "Danubius Prize" for "her passionate fight for the rights of women".
*In December 2004 she was made Knight of the French Legion of Honor.
*On January 15 2005 she received the "Staatspreis" of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
*In 2007 she received the Else Mayer Foundation award.

References

Sources

*cite book | author=Schwarzer, Alice | title=After the Second Sex | publisher=Pantheon | year=1984 | id=ISBN 0-394-72430-5
*cite book | author=Schwarzer, Alice | title=Simone de Beauvoir today: Conversations, 1972-1982 | publisher=Hogarth Press | year=1984 | id=ISBN 0-7011-2784-8

External links

* [http://www.aliceschwarzer.de/ Official homepage] (in German)
*imdb name|id=1266992|name=Alice Schwarzer