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University of California Press

About the Book

Ignorant. Brutal. Male. One of these stereotypes of the Ku Klux Klan offers a misleading picture. In Women of the Klan, sociologist Kathleen M. Blee dismantles the popular notion that politically involved women are always inspired by pacifism, equality, and justice. In her new preface, Blee reflects on how recent scholarship on gender and right-wing extremism suggests new ways to understand women's place in the 1920s Klan's crusade for white and Christian supremacy.

About the Author

Kathleen M. Blee is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 2009 Edition 
Acknowledgments 
Introduction 
PART I. THE KLAN AND WOMANHOOD
1. Organizing 100% American Women 
2. Womanhood and the Klan Fraternity 
3. Battling the Seductive Allurements 
PART II. WOMEN IN THE KLAN
4. Joining the Ladies' Organization 
5. A Poison Squad of Whispering Women 
6. 100% Cooperation: Political Culture in the Klan 
Epilogue 
Notes 
A Postscript on Sources 
Index