Mary Daly is a contemporary
radical feminist theologian and
Positively Revolting Hag. Or that's how she describes herself. She has seven college degrees, of which three are doctorates. She was born around 1930, and currently resides in
Boston,
Massachusetts following her dismissal from
Boston College amid controversy surrounding her teaching methodology.
Mary Daly was raised in a traditional
Catholic home in pre-
World War II New York. Her upbringing placed emphasis on
education rather than leisure, and she went to all Catholic
private schools her pre-adult life. As a youngster she would read as much as she could get her hands on and seemed disgusted with her
immature classmates. She would long to be in
high school where the classes seemed more interesting. The emphasis on
religion in her youth led to a keen interest in
philosophy and religion.. Her interest in these subjects led her to question her role and the role of
women in the Catholic Church. Her studies eventually led her away from mainstream
Catholicism and led her to scholarly excellence in the fields of
theology and philosophy, with five degrees in the fields.
Mary Daly received her first degree as a Bachelor of Arts in
English at the
College of St. Rose, in
Albany,
New York. Following high school, she chose the College of St. Rose because of its proximity to home and because she was given a
scholarship. Following her receipt of her first degree, she went on to get her Master's degree in English at the
Catholic University of America. Despite her desire to acquire a
PhD, no college in the United States would permit women to study theology, nor could she get a degree in philosophy. Mary was forced to travel to
Switzerland to get her degree, surviving on a small foreign student's budget, while traveling
Europe on her scooter. Eventually, she was able to receive a
baccalaureate,
licentiate, and
doctorate from the
University of Fribourg, in the field of
sacred theology. She also eventually received a PhD in philosophy from the same university. She also received a PhD from
St. Mary's College,
Notre Dame.
After getting her PhDs in Switzerland she saw an ad in a liberal Catholic magazine for a new Catholic school for girls in
Indiana. She applied for the job and got it. While she was here she faced
sexism and her male boss did not believe that a woman could teach philosophy. From here she devoted her life to
the empowerment of women in religion and philosophy. After teaching at college in Indiana she moved back to
New England to start a new career. She knew she wanted to continue to teach, but she wanted to teach at a coed school. She landed a job teaching philosophy and religion at the
Jesuit run Boston College. She taught here for 25 years. During those years she taught classes that she restricted only to women and the others were
coed. In the class that she reserved for women she allowed for private instruction of males. No males however took her up on the offer. She stated that having men in the class disrupted the
dynamic and took away from the learning.
After teaching for 25 years a male student wanted to enroll in her women's only class. When she refused him enrollment he complained to the
administration. There is some dispute of what happened next some say that Mary Daly was
fired, some say she
retired, and some say she took a paid leave of absence. But for whatever reason she now does not teach at Boston College. Because of her stance against men in her classes she is the topic of much discussion among feminists and
conservatives. And that's the reason that she calls herself a Positively Revolting Hag.
Ever since Mary Daly read an article written by a
feminist catholic in
liberal magazine she realized that she had to write as well. She was ashamed that she had not spoken up earlier and vowed to have a
voice and to begin writing. Since she has written many books discussing feminism, women in religion and philosophy. Among her works are her
autobiography Outercourse.
Beyond God the Father which tells how
God is a
sexist and that
Christianity was created to keep women in their place.
Gynecology where Daly bashes the world that males have created but not males themselves. She speaks of the actions and language that continue to
oppress women.
Quintessance she discusses the similarities to
women and nature and how each have been and continue to be oppressed in the
patriarchal world.
Pure Lust where she forges a new mode of thinking that is in harmony with the wild in nature and in the Self. She inspires women to reconnect with their lusty, elemental powers.
The Church and the Second Sex which is her response to
Simone de Beauvoir's writings.
Today she continues to write and speak to audiences about
corruption in the church,
eco-feminism, and philosophy.