Alice Schwarzer

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

Contents

1 Biography 2 Awards 3 Criticism 4 References 5 External links

Biography

As daughter of a single mother she spent her childhood with her grand parents. 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" (lit. Women against § 218). In autumn 1971 she released her first book of the same title. One of her best known books is "Der kleine Unterschied und seine großen Folgen", which was released in 1975 and made her famous across the borders of Germany. It was translated in 11 languages. Since its release, she is considered as Germany's best known, but also most disputed contemporary feminist. She is a second-wave feminist representing concepts of feminist equality, similar to Simone de Beauvoir.

In January 1977 the first issue of her journal EMMA was published. The next years she concentrated on the work for her journal. From 1992 to 1993 she was host of the TV show "Zeil um Zehn" on German TV channel Hessischer Rundfunk . When her journal changed to bimonthly release in 1993, she continued to write an increasing number of books, among them biographies of Petra Kelly, Gert Bastian and the life of Marion Dönhoff . With her frequent appearances in German TV talk shows she has become an institution on German television.

In total she has released 16 books as a writer, and 15 as publisher.

Awards

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 country of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Criticism

Some feminists accuse her 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. Certain parts of the media, and critics of feminism in general, tend to ridicule her as prominent feminist representant.

References

• Schwarzer, Alice (1984). Simone de Beauvoir today: Conversations, 1972-1982. Hogarth Press. ISBN 0-70-112784-8.

External links

• Official homepage (in German)