Just where is feminism now, in the wake of the many event that have brought women's issues to the fore during the past year? That seems to depend on what you call it. Call it "feminism," and you get shudders and averted eyes. But if you avoid the "f" word and talk instead about equality between the sexes, support seems to be alive and well in the American mainstream. There, belief in the justice of equal pay and equal treatment seems to have taken root in all but the most conservative soil.

As to just why people get so nervous about the "f" word -- well, there's a range of opinions on that matter, coming from a range of women, in A. M. Chaplin's story starting on Page 8. From college student Jennifer Goldberg to feminist guru Betty Friedan to conservative gadfly Phyllis Schlafly, women speak out on what

American women feel about feminism.