Diana EH Russell

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Diana EH Russell (born November 6, 1938 in Cape Town , South Africa ; † July 28, 2020 in Oakland , California ) was a US-based sociologist , feminist author and activist who has written numerous books and articles on sexual violence against women. Her texts dealt with topics such as rape , murder of women , incest and pornography . In 1986 she was awarded the C. Wright Mills Prize for her book The Secret Trauma . In 2001 she received the Humanist Heroine Award from the American Humanist Union. In 1976 she co-organized the first international tribunal on violence against women in Brussels.

Life

Childhood and Adolescence in South Africa

Russell grew up in Cape Town. Her father was South African, the mother was from Great Britain and had lived in South Africa since they were married. Russel grew up with six siblings and had a twin brother. After completing her bachelor's degree from the University of Cape Town, she moved to the UK at the age of 19.

Academic training in the UK and USA

In London, Russell studied social sciences and administration at the London School of Economics. Her original goal was to become a social worker. In 1961 she passed her diploma with distinction and was awarded a prize as the best student on the course. In 1963 she moved to the United States to take part in an interdisciplinary doctoral program at Harvard University. Her focus was on sociology and studies on revolutions.

Fight against apartheid in South Africa

Russell was active in the movement against apartheid in South Africa. In 1963 she became a member of the Liberal Party in South Africa founded by Alan Paton, the author of Cry the Beloved Country . Russell and other members of her party were arrested during a peaceful protest in Cape Town. Russell and other party members concluded that nonviolent action against the brutality and repression of the state was pointless. Russell joined the African Resistance Movement (ARM), an underground revolutionary movement against apartheid. The group's strategy was to blow up and sabotage government property. Russell was part of the group only temporarily, risking a possible ten-year prison sentence.

Teaching

Russel married an American psychologist in 1968 who taught at the University of San Francisco in California. She became an assistant professor of sociology at Mills College in 1969. As one of the first teachers in the USA, she offered a Women`s Studies seminar. In the 22 years that she worked at Mills College, she conducted many more feminism seminars and thus shaped the curriculum.

death

She died in Oakland, California on July 28, 2020 at the age of 81.

research

Rape and other forms of sexual violence and exploitation against women have been the focus of Russell's research and publications. In her 1975 book, The Politics of Rape , she suggested that rape should be viewed as a demonstration of socially established masculinity rather than deviant social behavior. She also wrote about marital rape, child sexual abuse, and sexualized harassment in the workplace. In 1986 Russell published one of the first scientific studies on incestuous abuse of children and the trauma associated with it. She received the 1986 C. Wright Mills Award for her book The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls and Women .

In 1993 Russell published an anthology on pornography entitled Making Violence Sexy: Feminist Views on Pornography . In her 1994 book Against Pornography: The Evidence of Harm , she put forward the thesis that pornography encourages men to rape and increases the number of cases.

International Tribunal on Violence Against Women

After two years of networking with other feminists, Russell organized the first international tribunal on crimes against women in 1976 in Brussels, Belgium. During the four-day conference, women from many countries shared their personal experiences with various forms of violence and oppression because of their gender. 1,500 participants from 33 countries took part in the tribunal. The women's “charges” encompassed all areas of society. In her opening speech, Simone de Beauvoir said : “I applaud the International Tribunal as the first step in the radical de-colonization of women.” Belgian feminist Nicole van de Ven and Russell published a documentary on the conference in 1976 entitled Crimes Against Women: The Proceedings of the International Tribunal .

Redefinition of the term femicide

In 1976, Russel defined the term femicide as “the killing of women by men because they are female.” At the International Tribunal, she reported numerous incidents of fatal violent crimes committed against girls and women from different cultures around the world. Russell tried to use the term femicide politically. So she wanted to draw attention to the misogyny that, in her opinion, underlies these acts of violence. In connection with such acts, gender-neutral terms such as murder do not make sense. In order to do justice to extreme crimes against women, it must be made clear that they are " hate crimes ", similar to racially motivated murders . Femicides are "deadly hate crimes, an extreme manifestation of male dominance and sexism". The term was only partially established in the USA, while it is more common among feminists in Latin American countries such as Mexico , Guatemala , Costa Rica , Chile , and El Salvador .

Publications

Books

Essays

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Diana Russell's biography on her website , accessed April 9, 2014
  2. ^ Chronology of Diana Russell's political activities , accessed April 9, 2014
  3. ^ Fallce la histórica feminista Diana Russell. Retrieved August 2, 2020 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ New Wave in the West ?, Federal Agency for Political Education , accessed on April 9, 2014

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Russell, Diana EH
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African-American sociologist, feminist writer, and activist
DATE OF BIRTH November 6, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Cape Town , South Africa
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 2020
Place of death Oakland , California