Feminism+in+Philadelphia


 * Feminism in Philadelphia **
 * A Tribute to the Unsung Heroes of the Second Wave Feminist Movement **
 * Karen Bojar **

//Feminism in Philadelphia: The Glory Years, 1968-1982// interweaves the history of feminism in Philadelphia with the broad themes and trajectory of the "second wave" feminist movement. The feminist movement of the late 1960’s and 70’s is largely remembered in terms of national leaders such as Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Eleanor Smeal, but it would never have changed so many hearts and minds, would never have transformed our society without the efforts of so many women in local communities working tirelessly for gender justice. // Feminism in Philadelphia // would not have been possible if not for the generosity of Philadelphia NOW’s founding members. I am very much indebted to them for the treasure trove of material they made available and their generosity with their time. The book represents a compression of mountains of archival material (now housed at Temple University’s Urban Archives). This book is not the full story of second wave feminism in Philadelphia. //Feminism in Philadelphia// focuses on organized feminism, with particular attention to Philadelphia NOW. Many low-income women, disproportionately women of color, struggled in obscurity for racial and gender justice; their actions were not recorded by the local press, and they were much less likely to leave detailed records. There were other feminists focused primarily on creating feminist free spaces—book stores, clubs, music festivals—rather than building feminist organizations. Much feminist activity was improvisational and not documented. NOW left a paper trail. Unfortunately, l missed the glory days of Philadelphia NOW—I thought I was too radical for NOW. I had the misfortune to get involved with some left wing fringe groups who thought of feminism as “a petty-bourgeois deviation.” I never believed that, but did not have enough confidence in myself to mount an effective challenge. Now I see NOW members as the real radicals pushing through legislative/institutional changes which transformed our society. We all owe a great deal to women like the founding members of Philadelphia NOW. Historians have begun to complicate the story of second wave feminism, which has often been viewed as largely white, middle class and centered in a few major urban areas. Most of the published material documenting the second wave movement focuses on a few major urban centers—New York City, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. More recent studies have focused on the role of working class women and women of color, and also on geographical locations (like Philadelphia) outside the epicenters of second wave feminism. //Feminism in Philadelphia// focuses on the social movement phase of the feminist movement from the founding of Philadelphia NOW (1968) to the defeat of the ERA (1982)—what some historians have called the feminist heyday. A brief overview: Chapter 1 focuses on the founder Ernesta Ballard-- in some ways an atypical NOW member—with a wealthy, Republican, Wasp elite background, but a passionately committed feminist. Chapter 2 describes the explosion of membership in the early 1970’s.The founding NOW members in the late 1960’s tended to be political/civic activists with experience in government, the labor movement, the Democratic Party, and the Civil Rights movement. As the movement grew, it included more and more women who were not political activists and were drawn to the consciousness raising movement; they were primarily interested in feminism as a tool for understanding and changing their personal lives. As Philadelphia NOW’s second president Jean Ferson noted, “a lot of divorces occurred as result of the feminist movement.” Unlike some NOW activists, Ferson, a psychologist, was receptive to the consciousness raising movement. Her embrace of consciousness raising contributed greatly to the growth of the chapter. Chapter 3 documents how Philadelphia NOW in June 1973 made history as first chapter in the country to elect an open lesbian Jan Welch as chapter president. Anti-lesbian feelings have been associated with NOW in its early years, thanks to founder Betty Friedan’s much publicized reference to lesbians as the “Lavender Menace.” Such attitudes, however, were largely confined to Friedan. Chapter 4 documents the astonishing number of victories in the 1970’s. Feminists on the national level and feminists on the grassroots level worked in tandem for the same goals. These victories would not have occurred without grassroots participation. NOW’s structure clearly played a role in its victories and staying power. NOW’s emphasis on building a structure operating on all levels of government enabled the organization to function effectively in the political arena, and was certainly a major factor in the legislative victories of the 1970’s. NOW shared credit with many other feminist organizations (as well as a loose network of feminist bookstores, coffee houses, and consciousness raising groups) for the dramatic changes in hearts and minds, but NOW was the main engine behind the victories in state and national legislatures and in the courts. Sometimes the victories were swift and decisive (e.g., the desegregation of Help Wanted ads), at other times long and protracted (e.g., the nine year battle for gender integration at Philadelphia’s Central High), but the trajectory of NOW in the 1970’s was victory after victory. Chapter 5 deals with bitter conflicts within NOW on both the national and local level. As the movement grew and more people joined, there were more disagreements. As Philadelphia NOW’s 4th president Karen Knudsen put it: “Feminist politics aren’t much different than any other politics. They are intense, heated, stimulating, and sometimes unfair and cruel.” In the mid-to late 1970s, the Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) attempted to infiltrate NOW on the national and local levels. Now focused on the disruption caused by the SWP—not the ideological challenges. The Philadelphia chapter almost dissolved in the late 1970’s. The SWP played a role in the turmoil but the near collapse was probably as much a result of volunteer burn-out as of SWP disruption. Chapter 6 explores the racial tensions with which the feminist movement is still struggling. Philadelphia was a segregated city in the 1960's and 1970's; it is not surprising that the local NOW chapter reflected this. NOW chapters expanded through the social networks of the founders, and as they acknowledged, those networks were largely white and middle class. In 1980, Jocelyn Morris set up a new chapter in Philadelphia-- Germantown NOW—which was formed to focus on the connections between sexism and racism. As national NOW allowed the formation of a new chapter with only ten dues-paying members, the ease with which a group unhappy with their chapter’s priorities could simply form a new chapter defused tension while keeping everyone within the big tent of NOW. The chapter model served as a safety valve for defusing both political and personal conflicts and as a vehicle for surviving the increasingly bitter divisions which threatened to tear apart national NOW and some local chapters. This was a difficult chapter to writeas I tried to balance honoring the contributions of the founders who fought tirelessly against sexism with an honest account which acknowledged their failure to adequately address racism. Chapter 7 focuses on the epic struggle for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment**.** Many NOW members made enormous personal sacrifices in the final years before the June 30, 1982 deadline for ratification. They came tantalizingly close to reaching their goal. Although the ERA did not pass, the ERA campaign itself became a training ground in the basics of the political process. In the early years, many NOW members were deeply suspicious of direct involvement in electoral politics. In the early and mid-1970’s, Philadelphia NOW dealt with the distrust many members had of partisan politics by farming out electoral politics to the Philadelphia Women’s Political Caucus (PWPC) formed in 1971. Philadelphia NOW members were instrumental in the formation of PWPC but wanted to keep NOW itself unsullied by the messy compromises of partisan politics. NOW’s attitudes towards political participation evolved as the decade wore on and the battle for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment underscored the need for electing feminist legislators. Philadelphia NOW shed its earlier reluctance to get directly involved in electoral politics and Philadelphia NOW members who had been part of the ERA campaign considered running for office. Others withdrew from involvement. Over and over again in the history of Philadelphia NOW we see that familiar pattern: intense activity followed by volunteer burn-out. It is striking how much NOW activists were willing to give to the movement, but that degree of commitment was not sustainable (certainly not sustainable on a volunteer basis) over the long haul. During the peak years of the feminist movement in the 1970’s, there seemed to be a steady supply of very talented women ready to assume that leadership role. In later years, the numbers were far fewer. NOW continued to make gains but 1982 marks the end of the heady social movement phase; the focus in the backlash years was on protecting gains and building feminist institutions rather than winning further legislative victories.
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