From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Tyranny of Structurelessness
The Tyranny of Structurelessness
"The Tyranny of Structurelessness" is an influential es- Anarchism & Organisation" jointly published by Dark
say by American feminist Jo Freeman inspired by her Star Press and Rebel Press (printed by Aldgate Press).
experiences in the 1970s women’s liberation movement
concerning power relations within radical feminist col-
lectives.[1][2][3]
Related topics
The essay reflected on the experiments of the femi- • Leaderless resistance
nist movement in resisting the idea of leaders and even • Black bloc
discarding any structure or division of labor. However, • Democratic structuring
as Hilary Wainwright wrote in Zmag, Freeman described
how "this apparent lack of structure too often disguised
an informal, unacknowledged and unaccountable leader-
References
ship that was all the more pernicious because its very ex- [1] Alice Echols, Ellen Willis, Daring to be Bad: Radical
istence was denied."[3] Feminism in America, 1967-1975, University of
The phrase has been used to describe one problem Minnesota Press, 67, 1989 ISBN 0816617872,
in organizing, the other being "rigidity of structure," by 9780816617876
ecofeminist Starhawk.[4] In 2008 "Community Develop- [2] Rebick, Judy (September 22, 2002). "Lip service: the
ment Journal" reviewed the article a "classic text" which anti-globalization movement on gender politics".
editors felt had influenced the practice of community Herizons.
development.[5] That year a John F. Kennedy School of [3] ^ Wainwright, Hilary (October 9, 2006). Imagine
Government course used the paper in a course on leader- there’s no leaders. Transnational Institute.
ship.[6] http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/2999.
Some anarchists have objected to Freeman’s analysis Retrieved February 17, 2009.
because it also has been applied to some anarchist orga- [4] Starhawk, Power and Anarchy, The Awakened
nizing. Howard J. Ehrlich discussed the negative impact Woman, August 19, 2004
of the article on anarchist organizing in Reinventing Anar- [5] Rosie Meade, [http://cdj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/
chy, Again.[7] Cathy Levine wrote a 1979 rejoinder "The content/extract/bsn035v1 Classic Texts: no. 11, Jo
Tyranny of Tyranny."[8] In a review of the essay for Anar- Freeman. The Tyranny of Structurelessness (c.
chy: A Journal of Desire Armed, Jason McQuinn noted its 1972), "Community Development Journal"
popularity among leftist and platformist anarchists.[9] published by Oxford Unity Press, December 9, 2008.
[6] (PAL-101) "Exercising Leadership: Mobilizing
Group Resources" General Course Information,
Publication history John F. Kennedy School of Government, Fall 208.
The essay originated as a speech given to the Southern [7] Howard J. Ehrlich, Reinventing Anarchy, Again, AK
Female Rights Union at a conference in Beulah, Mississip- Press, 1996, 178-179 ISBN 1873176880,
pi in May 1970.[10] Freeman has stated that it was tran- 9781873176887
scribed in 1971 for the feminist magazine Notes from the [8] Levine, Cathy (Spring, 1979). "The Tyranny of
Third Year (whose editors chose not to include it) and sub- Tyranny". Black Rose #1. Rising Free Collective.
mitted to several women’s liberation movement publica- http://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/
tions, only one of which sought her permission to publish Cathy_Levine__The_Tyranny_of_Tyranny.html.
it. Other outlets published it without asking, and it was Retrieved November 5, 2011.
first officially published in the journal The Second Wave [9] McQuinn, Jason. "The Tyranny of
in 1972.[11] It was issued in pamphlet form by Agitprop Structurelessness: An organizationalist repudiation
in 1972, and later by the Organisation of Revolutionary of anarchism". Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed 54 54.
Anarchists, Leeds Group, United Kingdom. In 1973 the au- Archived from [the original on 2009-10-27.
thor published different versions in the Berkeley Journal http://web.archive.org/web/20091027085153/
of Sociology and in Ms. magazine.[12][13] It also was pub- http://geocities.com/kk_abacus/ioaa/
lished in Radical Feminism by Anne Koedt, Ellen Levine, tyranny.html. http://www.geocities.com/
and Anita Rapone.[14] Later printings included that of the kk_abacus/ioaa/
Anarchist Workers’ Association (Kingston Group), and in tyranny.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/
1984 in a pamphlet called "Untying the Knot - Feminism, web/20091027085153/http://geocities.com/
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Tyranny of Structurelessness
kk_abacus/ioaa/ [13] Freeman, Jo (1972–73). "The Tyranny of
tyranny.html|archivedate=2009-10-27}}] 17:
Structurelessness". Berkeley Journal of Sociology 17
[10] Freeman, Jo. "The Tyranny of Structurelessness". 151–165.
JoFreeman.com. http://www.jofreeman.com/ [14] Anne Koedt, Ellen Levine, and Anita Rapone,
joreen/tyranny.htm. Retrieved February 17, 2009. Radical Feminism, Quadrangle/The New York Times
[11] Freeman, Jo (1972). "The Tyranny of Book Co.. 1975, 282-288.
Structurelessness". The Second Wave 2 (1): 20.
[12] Freeman, Jo (July 1973). "The Tyranny of
Structurelessness". Ms. Magazine: 76–78, 86–89.
External links
• The Tyranny of Structurelessness (jofreeman.com)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Tyranny_of_Structurelessness&oldid=459192115"
Categories:
• 1971 essays
• Anarchist theory
• Feminist theory
• Works originally published in American magazines
• Works originally published in political magazines
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