The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto by Leah Libresco Sargeant
With the repeal of DEI policies under the current Presidential administration, the ideal of equality has returned to the forefront of American political and social spheres. In current debates, some argue that equality means that men and women are identical, while others insist that advocating for women means repressing men. In her forthcoming book, The Dignity of Dependence, Leah Libresco Sargeant argues that women’s equal rights depend on advocating for women as women, and the uniquely female qualities which the term includes.
Abigail Favale, author of The Genesis of Gender, said, “This book cuts through tribal lines to offer something truly innovative: a vision that is pro-feminist, pro-femaleness, and pro-human life, that sees the interests of men and women as interdependent rather than at odds. This is an exciting, provocative, original book.”
The Dignity of Dependence aims to liberate women and men from the corrosive and false ideal of the human person as strongest alone. Leah Libresco Sargeant argues that to thrive, human beings need to exist in webs of mutual dependence, not in isolating, radical autonomy.
Women’s equal dignity doesn’t require women to deny biological reality or attempt to be interchangeable with men. Sargeant advocates for building a culture that accepts and celebrates women as they are rather than demanding that women keep their relationships and their bodies in check. The fight for women’s dignity is a fight for a full, human dignity—a dignity that isn’t threatened by dependence. It is our need for each other that makes us human.
Leah Libresco Sargeant Sargeant is a writer and speaker whose work covers religion, culture, statistics, and family policy. She is the author of Building the Benedict Option and Arriving at Amen. She runs the substack community Other Feminisms. Her work has appeared in First Things, America, The American Conservative, Commonweal, The American Interest, and others.
The Dignity of Dependence will be available October 1, 2025. For more information, or to request an advance review copy, contact Steffi Marchman, shoffma7@nd.edu.
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