This book examines nursing's feminist consciousness as the profession has developed and evolved over time. The interrelationship between the status of nursing and the status of women in patriarchal society is analyzed. Nursing's struggle to overcome its oppression and gain increased autonomy and political power is considered from an historical perspective. Early leaders in the profession, such as Florence Nightingale, Lavinia Dock, and Lillian Wald, are analyzed with regard to their social reform, political, and feminist activities. Nursing's support for the Equal Rights Amendment and its...