Oakley, Ann (1944–)
Oakley, Ann (1944–)
English sociologist, writer and feminist. Born Ann Titmuss, 1944, in England; dau. of Richard Titmuss (professor of social administration at London School of Economics, among founders of modern British welfare state) and Kathleen Miller (social worker); Somerville College, Oxford, BA, MA and PhD; m. Robin Oakley, 1964 (div.).
Known as "mother of contemporary feminists," helped define modern feminism with such influential texts as Subject Women (1981); wrote many books of feminist theory and scholarship, including Sex, Gender and Society (1972), The Sociology of Housework (1974), Scenes Originating in the Garden of Eden (1993), Essays on Women, Medicine and Health (1994) and Gender on Planet Earth (2002); collaborated with Juliet Mitchell on The Rights and Wrongs of Women (1976) and What Is Feminism? (1986); became professor of sociology and head of Thomas Coram Research Unit at Institute of Education, University of London (1991); wrote several feminist-themed novels as well, including Men's Room (1988), which was serialized by BBC; also wrote Man and Wife: Richard and Kay Titmuss (1996), Welfare and Wellbeing: Richard Titmuss' Contribution to Social Policy (2002) and Private Complaints and Public Health: Richard Titmuss on the National Health Service (2004); served on editorial board of journal Women and Health.
See also memoir, Taking It Like a Woman (Random House, 1984).