Mary Daly

Pamela Fletcher
October 4, 2007
Joelle Ryan
WS200
Blog Entry #2
Mary Daly

Mary Daly is a self-described “Radical Elemental Feminist” born in 1928 in New York.
She is a relatively controversial Feminist who refused to allow men into some of her classes of Feminist Ethics, Patriarchy and Theology which she served as an instructor at Boston College for 33 years, from 1967-1999. She believed that the presence of men inhibited class discussions. This has dubbed her by some as a 2nd Wave Feminist because of her support and insistence on “Women’s Only” groups.

Starting in 1968 and going into the early 70’s, she wrote a couple of groundbreaking books (The Church and the Second Sex, 1968 and Beyond God the Father, 1973) speaking out on patriarchy and the church (specifically the Catholic Church) which she felt was oppressive to women. Her aggressiveness and discrimination of men in her class were the key factors in her “forced” early retirement from Boston College in 1999. Her book Amazon Grace, 2006 details the events and legal proceedings of her out of court settlement with Boston University.

She has lectured at over 300 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada during the past 36 years and she continues to be available for speaking engagements.
Although I had never heard of her, she is such a monumental presence in the feminist world. She clearly has dedicated her entire life, and many would say crossing many lines, in order to free all women from oppression. She continues to do so, even now, despite her age. I feel she has taught me that even an uphill battle is worth the fight, and although I may suffer for my views, if it will help others in the long run than it is a challenge worth taking.

There are many different resources available to learn more of Mary Daly, such as:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Daly
www.marydaly.net
http://www.archive.org/details/KDVS_The_Fringe_4-5-06 (audio interview)

Also, she has written the following books which give insight on her beliefs:
The Church and the Second Sex
Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation
Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism
Pure Lust: Elemental Feminist Philosophy
Websters' First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language Conjured in Cahoots with Jane Caputi.
Outercourse: The Be-Dazzling Voyage
Quintessence... Realizing the Archiac Future: A Radical Elemental Feminist Manifesto
Amazon Grace: Re-Calling the Courage to Sin Big