This first major study of feminist theory, revised and updated here in its fourth edition, now takes the reader into the twenty-first century.It addresses the basic question, "What is feminism?'' by outlining the various strands of feminist theory: liberal, cultural, Marxist-socialist,Freudian, and radical. This fourth edition brings the discussion up-to-date, integrating the developments in feminist theory that have emerged in thelast two decades, such as ecofeminism, multiculturalism, postmodernism, and global feminismincluding new material since the publication of thethird edition (2000).