Kate Millett (1934-2017) was an American writer, theorist, and artist, a major figure of second-wave feminism. Her essay “Sexual Politics” (1970), drawn from her doctoral thesis, became a founding text of feminist studies.
Kate Millett(1934 — 2017)
Kate Millett
États-Unis
5 min read
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born in 1934 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States
- Published “Sexual Politics” in 1970, a major theoretical work of feminism
- Active member of the women's liberation movement and the National Organization for Women (NOW)
- Published “The Loony-Bin Trip” (1990) about her experience of psychiatric confinement
- Died in 2017 in Paris
Works & Achievements
Founding essay of feminist studies that analyzes “patriarchy” as a political system of domination; a worldwide bestseller.
Documentary film in which three women tell the story of their lives to the camera, illustrating the idea that “the personal is political.”
Experimental, taboo-free autobiography about her private life and her sudden fame.
A collection of testimonies and analyses on prostitution, giving voice to the women directly involved.
An investigative book about a horrific news story, in which she examines cruelty and the violence inflicted on young girls.
An autobiographical account of her psychiatric confinement and her critique of psychiatry.
A memoir devoted to her aunt and to her own coming of age as a young woman and an artist.
Anecdotes
In 1970, Kate Millett appeared on the cover of Time magazine, which dubbed her “the Mao Tse-tung of the Women's Liberation Movement.” This sudden fame made her uncomfortable: she was wary of the idea that a single person could embody an entire collective movement.
Her most famous book, “Sexual Politics” (1970), was in fact her doctoral dissertation defended at Columbia University. Rare for an academic thesis, the book sold tens of thousands of copies and became a worldwide bestseller.
Before becoming a theorist, Kate Millett was a sculptor and spent time in Japan, where she exhibited her work. Throughout her life, she continued to create artistic installations alongside her writing.
In 1979, she traveled to Iran just after the revolution to support Iranian women who were protesting against the mandatory wearing of the veil. The authorities of the new regime quickly expelled her from the country.
Late in her life, she founded a colony for women artists on a Christmas tree farm she ran in New York State, blending farming, art, and feminist activism.
Primary Sources
Coitus cannot be regarded as an act isolated from the context of human relations; it is woven into the much larger fabric of relationships of which it is but the concentrated summary.
An autobiographical narrative in which Millett candidly lays bare her life, her bisexuality, and the contradictions of her sudden fame following the success of Sexual Politics.
A personal account of her psychiatric confinement and her refusal of treatment, in which she denounces the way society locks away those deemed “different.”
Key Places
Birthplace of Kate Millett, where she grew up in a Catholic family of Irish descent.
University where she defended the doctoral thesis that became *Sexual Politics*. She also taught literature there.
Manhattan neighborhood where she lived and set up her artist's studio, at the heart of the intellectual and activist scene.
Iranian capital where she traveled in 1979 to support women protesting against the mandatory veil, before being expelled.
City where Kate Millett died in 2017, during a trip with her partner.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Sexual Politics (La Politique du mâle)
1970
Flying (En vol)
1974
The Prostitution Papers
1973
The Basement
1979
The Loony-Bin Trip
1990
A.D.: A Memoir
1995
