The Female Eunuch

work by Greer

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June 26, 2026

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The Female Eunuch is a 1970 book by Germaine Greer. The book argues that women's passivity in sexuality is a historical construct, likening it to the state of a castrate, which is the origin of the title. Greer, an Australian-born writer and feminist, championed women's sexual freedom. The book posits that this passivity is a role imposed on women by history and by women themselves. Greer's work often courted controversy, including a notable debate with Norman Mailer on women's liberation.1

A eunuch is a castrated human male, historically employed as guards in harems or as chamberlains to kings in the Middle East and China. Their confidential positions sometimes allowed them significant influence.2

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Germaine Greer
…until her influential first book, The Female Eunuch (1970), was published. It postulates that passivity in women’s sexuality is a characteristic associated with a castrate, hence the title, and is a role foisted on them by history and by women themselves. Never shy of controversy, Greer debated author Norman Mailer…
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…until her influential first book, The Female Eunuch (1970), was published. It postulates that passivity in women’s sexuality is a characteristic associated with a castrate, hence the title, and is a role foisted on them by history and by women themselves. Never shy of controversy, Greer debated author Norman Mailer…
Read More

feminism
Dissension and debate
…Australian living in London, published The Female Eunuch, in which she argued that the sexual repression of women cuts them off from the creative energy they need to be independent and self-fulfilled.
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…Australian living in London, published The Female Eunuch, in which she argued that the sexual repression of women cuts them off from the creative energy they need to be independent and self-fulfilled.
Read More