Radical Lesbian Feminist Mary Daly Dies at 81

Mary Daly, a radical lesbian theologian who described herself as a "post-Christian feminist," died in Massachusetts Sunday at the age of 81, after a long illness, Catholic Culture reports. 

Born October 16, 1928, Daly, who taught at Boston College for 33 years, was one of the most influential voices of the radical feminist movement through the later 20th century.

The renowned feminist philosopher and academic fought continually with the college from 1966 to 2001 over her controversial books, her status as a professor and her freedom to reserve some classes for women only.She had, however, consented to teach male students separately. Daly was first threatened with dismissal when, following the publication of her first book, The Church and the Second Sex (1968), she was issued.

After her first book, she rapidly moved from "reformist" to "radical, post-Christian" feminist. Her other books include Beyond God the Father (1973).

In her book Gyn/Ecology (1978), Daly asserted her negative view of transsexual people, whom she referred to as "Frankensteinian." She labeled transsexualism a "male problem" and claimed that post-operative transsexuals exist in a "contrived and artifactual condition."

Daly's other books include Pure Lust (1984), the autobiographical Outercourse (1992), Quintessence (1998) and Amazon Grace (2006). 

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