In contemporary America, only a small percentage of the population participates politically,  though informal activism is surprisingly alive and well. Martha Ackelsberg, Professor of Government at Smith College, analyzes this phenomenon from a feminist perspective, looking at how women have rejected formal citizen roles for more grassroots, non-traditional  ways of organizing resistance and activism in policy matters that affect them. She thinks about possible ways of using such grassroots activism toward revitalizing traditional citizenly political participation.