Alice Schwarzer

Most prominent contemporary German feminist. She is founder and publisher of the German feminist journal EMMA.

As the daughter of a single mother she spent her childhood with her grandparents. In 1969 she started working as a journalist.

From 1970 to 1974 she worked as a freelancer for different media in Paris. At the same time she studied psychology and sociology, amongst others lectured by Michel Foucault. She was one of the founders of the Feminist Movement in Paris (Mouvement de Liberation des femmes, MLF) and also spread their ideas to Germany.

In 1971 she raised public attention for the first time with her project "Frauen gegen den § 218" (Women against Paragraph 218, which was the German statute that made abortion illegal). In autumn 1971 she released her first book of the same title. She contributed substantially to the abortion debate in Germany, which resulted in legalization in 1974. (See Abortion in Germany.)

One of her best known books is Der kleine Unterschied und seine großen Folgen (The little difference and its huge consequences), which was released in 1975 and made her famous beyond the borders of Germany. It was translated into eleven languages. Since its release, Schwarzer has become Germany's most high-profile, but also most controversial contemporary feminist. She is a second-wave feminist representing concepts of feminist equality, similar to Simone de Beauvoir.

One of her goals was the realization of economic self-sufficiency for women. She argued against the law which required married women to obtain permission from their husbands before beginning paid work outside the home. This provision was removed in 1976.

In January 1977 the first issue of her journal EMMA was published. The next years she concentrated on the work for her journal, serving as chief editor and publisher.