Women and Fascism

Despite its popular perception as a predominantly male and misogynist movement, Fascism has, on several occasions, proved able to win large numbers of women both as voters and members. Martin Durham addresses this paradox by dispelling the myth that Fascism uniformly upheld anti-feminist policies that favored keeping women in the home to breed the master race. Women and Fascismanalyses the rise of women in fascist organizations across Europe from the early twenties to the present, with examples from Germany, Italy and France. The author offers valuable new perspectives on fascist attitudes to women both as voters and members, from their relationship to fascist policies on reproduction and eugenics, to their roles as fundraisers, marchers, leaders and even combatants.