Sondra Farganis's insightful volume revisits feminist philosophy's turbulent beginnings and explores some of the myriad political and social factors influencing its development during the past three decades. From the equality movement of the 1960s and 1970s, through the women's standpoint work of the 1970s and 1980s, culminating with the postmodernist examination of different women and women's groups today, the author considers the crucial interactions between feminism and the greater women's movement. Discussing not only the commonalities but the differences among women of various clutures and experiences, she recounts four of the most controversial, women-centered court cases of recent years, identifying elements of feminist theory and how they affected - or were affected by - the social and political contexts in which they occurred.