Biographical+Profile

//Early Life, Young Adulthood and Education: pre-Female Eunuch//

Germaine Greer was born in Melbourne in 1939. She attended the Star of the Sea Convent school in Gardenvale, and after completing school, went on a teaching scholarship to Melbourne University in 1956. She graduated from the university with BA honors, and supplemented her education with attendance at Sydney University in 1963. In Sydney, she connected with the anarchist poets and philosophers who frequented the city centre. The anarchist philosophy – the promotion of a ‘stateless’ society and abolishing society’s current use of authority – strongly affirmed her own personal convictions. The philosophy also gave her a way of assessing societal norms, and a background to looking at social issues that led her on the path to feminism.  In 1964, Germaine Greer attended England’s Cambridge University, where she wrote academic papers on Elizabethan drama. She received a PHD from the university in 1968.  It was Greer’s extensive education that helped her attain a thorough, well-rounded understanding of social issues. This, coupled with her unique communication style, would lead to her widespread influence and acclaim when she began to write about a new kind of feminism.

//The Female Eunuch and widespread influence//

In 1970, Greer created a storm. //The Female Eunuch, //her first book, was stocked in London bookshops from October 1970, and by March 1971, it had been translated into eight languages. The book stirred up many stories of women's lives changed forever: stories of women leaving oppressive husbands, jobs, and family units to a life more in line with their desires. It was also said that women had to read the book in secret, because their husbands wouldn't let them read it. Greer, previously unpublished and unknown, became an instant success, her name being recognised internationally as synonymous with women's liberation and feminism. And just what made the book so revolutionary? //The Female Eunuch // drew on the influence of anarchist philosophy and Greer's own experiences to create a unique, strong, comprehensive work calling for complete liberation. The book's main idea is that contemporary society - the traditional suburban nuclear family - cuts women off from their sexuality and essentially makes them become 'eunuchs' - a eunuch is traditionally a man who has had his genitals removed to hinder his power. Using this metaphor for women, Greer completes a whole picture of the ways society 'castrates' women, involving biological factors, gender stereotypes, and the ways traditional 'femininity' is thrust upon young girls, leading them to becoming submissive, powerless, and unsure of themselves in their adulthood. Greer took a grim view of the way women are treated, but she also used the book positively as a chance to suggest that women need to look at their gender, bodies, and sexuality differently. She called for a revolutionary change of views on what constitutes 'the female'.  Although the book was heaped with praise in many circles, it also received a strong amount of criticism. It was criticised for its biased scientific information and overly personal outlook in a very political book, and for the idealism of the changes it proposed. However, this could not override the work's groundbreaking status. It opened up a whole new debate on women's rights, including discussions of sexuality, repression, and equality. It was arguably the most important work in the second-wave feminism of the 1970s; debated and shared among not just feminists, but men and women who did not previously identify with feminist ideas.

Later Life and Works

After the whirlwind success that was the Female Eunuch, Greer continued to write about the topic of feminism. She published //Sex and Destiny// in 1984//,// calling for a different western attitude to sexuality, //The Change// in 1992 while going through menopause, and //The Whole Woman,// about women’s lives in the twenty-first century, in 1999 at age 60. During this time, she remained a notable academic and journalist, writing in magazines and journals about feminism and other social topics.  In the 2000s, she became known for her controversial comments on TV chat shows and in newspaper articles. In 2005 she appeared on //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype',serif;">Celebrity Big Brother, //<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">but left the show when she saw behaviour she deemed inappropriate. Greer still identifies as a feminist and anarchist, and remains well-known in the academic scene.