"Contemporary feminism and its concerns are rooted in a history stretching over at least two centuries. Feminism explores this history in a range of countries spanning the world. It asks: does 'feminism' exist? Or are the differences among feminists today so great that we should speak of 'feminisms'? The book looks at the challenge made by feminists to prevailing ideas about a 'woman's place', the complex relationship between equality and difference, women's solidarity and the relationship between feminism and other social and political reform movements."--Book cover.