Yes, there are many examples of women getting physical in pursuit or defense of political goals. On the plus side, there were the women who fought for the Spanish Republic -- particularly in Barcelona, but elsewhere too. On the negative (but highly entertaining) side, there were the women of the Weather Underground, in particular Bernadine Dohrn, who affected a macho guerrilla stance during the Days of Rage and afterward, a stance that was beautifully captured by Kirkpatrick Sale in his book "SDS", and rather salaciously described by Peter Collier and David Horowitz in a Rolling Stone piece on the demise of Weather.
Of course there were the Manson women, but I never really liked their politics.
DP
>
>
>> > A few women do play the game, but -- like gang banging -- it remains
>> > every bit a characteristically male adolescent piece of "rebellion"
>> > even with that female presence.
>
>
>and a big hearty, wet, liplocking smooch for dismissing women's roles in a
>long tradition of rebellious protest. and yes, i know, one of your points
>is that anarchist's seem peculiarly ignorant of political protests of the
>past.
>
>nonetheless, i do know without a doubt that women have never been and are
>not now, incapable of engaging in this so-called "characteristically male
>adolescent" behavior. indeed, women suffragettes pelleted acid at
>parliament members. women peasants hurled flour and other food staples in
>many many workers' revolts, and women in france threatened to burn down the
>home of an early industrialist. there are many more examples.
>
>what is striking about them, however, is they all took place before the
>idea of adolescence gripped the public imagination in the west.
>
>in short, i'll thank you very much--with a tender loving smooch on top--if
>you'd stop appropriating feminism and the voice of "women" in order to
>grind your axe on others' heads.
>
>chuck0 and i have gone 'round about various related matters and sometimes
>i've poked around about the need for a diversity of political strategies
>and practices so that we keep "them" off guard, rather than always engaging
>in the tear it down and smash it up approach of *some instantiations* of
>black blocs. it would be nice, i might add, if before you criticize THE
>black bloc, you might catch an errant klew and figure out that black blocs
>aren't permanent organizations with a ready-made set of political
>strategies, but contour their actions to the protest and *context* at hand.
>
>that you can't be bothered to know that little bit about anarchist methods
>bespeaks an astonishing hubris which puts to shame any arrogance you seem
>to think you find in young people's refusal to genuflect at the altar of
>the The Great Protestors Who Knoweth All and Respecteth The Great
>Protestors Who Came Before Who Knoweth All and Respeceth All The Great
>Protestors Who Came Before Who...blahfuckedtyblah....
>
>if repetition is what you want, crank up the old hi-fi.
>
>
>kelley
>*apologies to those who've seen this before. it was even more appropros
>than the first time i slagged it.
>
>>The Rolling Stones did not call
>> > the song "Street Fighting People" for good reason. We could
>> > discuss what it is that makes such cultural rituals so
>> > characteristically male adolescent, but the fact that they are so,
>> > is, I believe, quite clear.
>