This timely-indeed overdue-book incisively addresses the central concern of Western feminists for the past quarter century. Challenging the orthodoxy of intersectionality, Zack proposes a relational essentialism that explains women's commonality without denying diversity or inequality. Her book is clear, bold, erudite-and fun to read.

Alison M. Jaggar, University of Colorado, Boulder

As the politics of identity threaten to leave feminists fragmented, Naomi Zack develops a brilliant and timely argument for a universal definition of woman. She carefully steers us clear of the false generalizations made about women in the past, while urging women to demand the revaluation of their unpaid labor.

Cynthia Willett, Samuel Candler Dobbs professor of philosophy, Emory University; coauthor, "Uproarious: How Feminists and Other Comic Subversives Speak Truth"