In Woman's Defense (Inscribed)

Inman, Mary

Published by The Committee to Organize the Advancement of Women, Los Angeles, 1940

About this Item

A pioneering and ultimately controversial book written by Communist Party member and women's rights activist [Ida] Mary Inman (1894-1985) analyzing the economic and cultural sources of women s oppression while developing novel insights into the productive labor of housewives. Originally serialized in the West Coast Communist newspaper the Daily World, the book was published in both hardcover and paperback by Inman s Committee to Organize the Advancement of Women and printed and distributed by Mercury Printing Company in Los Angeles. It went through three printings. Although popular among progressives upon its release, Inman s thesis on the economic value of housework faced criticism by some CP leaders with neither side willing to concede. Inman became increasingly bitter and quit the Party in 1941. She published a follow-up book in 1942 called Woman Power followed by a newsletter called Facts for Women (1943-1946), in which she continued to attack the CP s position. Her most vicious attack came in 1949 when she published "Thirteen Years of CPUSA Mis-Leadership on the Woman Question" followed 23 years later by a 66-page letter she sent to CP National Chairman Gus Hall on "Browderism on the Woman Question Today." She died, intractable, in 1985. Trade paperback format, 174 p. Inscribed by the author on the front endpaper in 1960. Some offsetting to the front cover.

Seller Inventory # 12654

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Woman's Defense (Inscribed)
• Publisher: The Committee to Organize the Advancement of Women, Los Angeles
• Publication Date: 1940
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: Third printing.
• Seller catalogs:
  • Socialism & Communism
  • Women's History
  • Labor History