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Sex and Revolution: Women in Socialist Cuba. By LOIS M. SMITH and ALFRED PADULA. New York: Oxford University Press,1996. Notes. Bibliography. Index. xiv, 247 pp. Cloth, $39.95. Paper, $16.95.
Lois Smith and Alfred Padula set out to write a comprehensive history of women in revolutionary Cuba. The question for social historian Padula was, How did three decades of socialist revolution change the lives of women? For social scientist Smith, it was, What lessons did the Cuban experience offer regarding the revolutionary model and sexual equality? Each recognized the complex interplay between culture and economic, political, and social institutions in shaping gender roles and values. Their yardstick was the ambitious if ambiguous goal of "full sexual equality" set by the revolutionary regime and...
