Feminism, a Revolution without a Model

Feminisme, una revolució sense model/Feminism, a Revolution without a Model, by Fina Birulés, has been published. The book contains, in Catalan and English, the lecture given at the CCCB by professor Fina Birulés on April 5, 2016, within the course Grrrls! and on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the First Catalan Workshop of Women, considered as the beginning of the “second wave” feminist Catalan movement. The text reflects on the political importance of 1970s Feminism as a movement which placed special emphasis on praxis and freedom, and went beyond the legacy of the ideals of modern revolutionary and emancipatory movements: it politicised some aspects which were so far considered as belonging to private life, it questioned the hierarchy and binary opposition of sexes, and it considered difference and heterogeneity in all fields. Feminism was a creative revolt which aimed to respond to the circumstances and to give rise to new ways of relation and discourse without resorting, however, to any “sacred text”, so that it was more a will of putting oneself at stake and taking the risk of action, rather than a representation of a future society model. “More than a claiming movement”, states Birulés in the text, “feminism was an explosion of freedom.”