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The Public Definition Of A Social Movement: Women'S Liberation
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The Public Definition Of A Social Movement: Women'S Liberation
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THE PUBLIC DEFINITION OF A SOCIAL MOVEMENT:
WOMEN'S LIBERATION
by
Monica B ery l M o rris
A D i s s e r t a t i o n P r e s e n te d to th e
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In P a r t i a l F u l f i l l m e n t o f th e
R equirem ents f o r th e^D eg ree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(S o c io lo g y )
Ja n u a ry 1972
72-11
MORRIS, Monica Beryl, 1928-
THE PUBLIC DEFINITION OF A SOCIAL MOVEMENT:
WOMEN'S LIBERATION.
Uni varsity of Southern California, Ph.D., 1972
Sociology, general
University Microfilms, A X E R O X Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan
^COPYRIGHT BY
Monica Beryl Morris
1971
UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N C A LIFO RN IA
' THE GRADUATE SCH OOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LO S A N Q SL E *. C A LIFO RN IA SOOOT
This dissertation, written by
...............................
under the direction of hGK.... Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The Gradu
ate School, in partial fulfillment of require
ments of the degree of
D O C T O R OF P H I L O S O P H Y
.................................................................................... " j j
Tint* Fs b r u s r y 1972______
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
/ Ckmirm*M I ' _
- 4 A . < *> {
PLEASE NOTE:
Some p a g e s have i n d i s t i n c t
p r i n t . Film ed a s r e c e i v e d .
UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS.
DEDICATION
T his work i s d e d ic a te d to M anning, my husband.
He. knows why.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The w r i t e r i s In d e b te d to th e many p e rs o n s who a s s i s t e d and
en co u rag e d h e r In th e p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n . S p e c ia l th an k s
a r e e x te n d e d to th e members o f h e r co m m itte e , V em L. B en g tso n , S aran e
S. Boocock, and W illiam S. C a ld w e ll, th e w ise c o u n s e l and warm f r i e n d
s h ip o f each o f whom w ere in v a lu a b le a s s e t s in m aking t h i s s tu d y an
e n jo y a b le and re w a rd in g e x p e r ie n c e . F u r th e r a p p r e c i a t i o n I s e x p re s s e d
b o th to Donna D a r n e ll o f th e R e fe re n c e Desk of th e G e n e ra l L i b r a r y ,
U n iv e r s ity o f S o u th e rn C a l i f o r n i a , f o r h e r p a t i e n t p e r s i s t e n c e In
o b t a i n i n g m ic ro film o f E n g lis h n e w sp a p e rs, and to th e p e rs o n n e l o f th e
M ic r o te x t R eading Room f o r t h e i r u n f a i l i n g l y c h e e r f u l a s s i s t a n c e .
F i n a l l y , a s p e c i a l d e b t I s owed to th e c o u n tle s s women in th e
"movement" who gave f r e e l y o f t h e i r tim e and s p e c i a l know ledge. W ith
o u t t h e i r h e l p , t h i s s tu d y w ould n o t have been p o s s i b l e .
i l l
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................................. i l l
LIST OF G R A P H S ............................................................................................................. v i i
LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................. ix
C h ap ter
I . THE PROBLEM AND THE DEFINITIONS U S E D ......................................... 1
The P r o b l e m .................... . .......................................................................... 2
S ta te m e n t o f th e P r o b l e m ............................................................ 2
T h e o r e t i c a l Background o f th e P roblem .............................. 2
P r o p o s i t i o n s ......................................................................................... 3
O p e r a tio n a l H y p o th eses ................................................................. A
S ig n i f i c a n c e o f th e Study ............................................................ A
D e f i n i t i o n s o f C oncepts Used ....................................................... 5
The P u b l i c .............................................................................................. 5
'The P u b lic D e f i n i t i o n o f a S o c ia l
Movement .............................................................................................. 6
A c tio n s ........................................................................................................ 6
S i z e ............................................................................................................. 6
The Womenb L i b e r a t i o n Movement ............................................. 6
O rg a n iz a tio n o f th e Rem ainder o f th e
S t u d y ................................................. 6
I I . REVIEW OF THE LITERA TU RE...................................................................... 8
The P u b lic D e f i n i t i o n o f a S o c ia l
Movement .............................................................................................. 8
Mass C o m m u n ic a tio n s .......................................................................... 11
C o n f l i c t Theory .................................................................................... 1A
S exual D is c r im in a tio n ...................................................................... IS
S u m m ary ........................................................................................................ 18
I I I . METHODS AND PROCEDURES........................................................................... 20
Samples o f N e w s p a p e r s .......................................................................... 20
C hoice o f N ew spapers! Los A ngeles
C o u n t y ................................................................................................... 20
Time Spans f o r E x am in atio n o f News
p a p e rs ! Los A ngeles C o u n t y .................................................. 21
iv
Chapter Page
C hoice o f N ew spapers: England .................................................. 21
Time 8pan f o r E x am in atio n o f
N ew spapers: E ngland ...................................................................... 22
C o n ten t A n a ly s is o f N ewspapers ....................................................... 24
C hoice o f Item s to be A n a l y z e d .................................................. 24
Method o f A n a l y s i s ............................................................................... 24
M easure o f I n t e r c o d e r Agreem ent ............................................. 25
E x am in atio n o f Women's L i b e r a t i o n G roups .............................. 25
P a r t i c i p a n t O b s e rv a tio n ................................................................. 25
P e rio d o f P a r t i c i p a n t O b s e rv a tio n :
Los A ngeles C o u n t y .......................................................................... 26
P e rio d o f P a r t i c i p a n t O b s e rv a tio n :
E n g l a n d ................................................................................................... 26
N o n - p a r tic ip a n t O b s e rv a tio n ....................................................... 26
I n t e r v i e w s ................................................................................................... 27
E x am in atio n o f R ecords ...................................................................... 27
S u m m a r y .......................................................................................................* 27
IV. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ................................................................. 29
R e sta te m e n t o f P r o p o s i t i o n s and
H ypotheses ............................................ 29
The T e s t o f th e F i r s t H y p o th e sis ............................................. 30
A n a ly s is o f D ata P e r t a i n i n g to th e
F i r s t H y p o th e s is : Los A ngeles
C o u n t y ........................................................................................................ 30
F in d in g s P e r t a i n i n g to th e F i r s t
H y p o th e s is : Los A ngeles County ........................................ 33
A n a ly s is o f D ata P e r t a i n i n g to th e
F i r s t H y p o th e s is : E ngland ....................................................... 33
F in d in g s P e r t a i n i n g to th e F i r s t
H y p o th e s is : E ngland ...................................................................... 46
T e s t o f th e Second H y p o t h e s i s ....................................................... 48
A n a ly s is o f th e D ata P e r t a i n i n g to
th e Second H y p o th e s is : Los
A ngeles County .................................................................................... 48
The Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement in
Los A ngeles C ounty: J u l y , 1969 49
F in d in g s P e r t a i n i n g to th e Second
H y p o th e s is : Los A ngeles County ......................................... 57
A n a ly s is o f D ata P e r t a i n i n g to th e
Second H y p o th e sIs 1 E n g l a n d .................................................. 57
The Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement
in E n g lan d : A u g u st, 1970 57
F in d in g s P e r t a i n i n g to th e Second
H y p o th e s is : E ngland ....................................................................... 65
v
Chapter Page
T e s t o f th e T h ird H y p o t h e s i s .......................................................... 67
A n a ly s is o f th e D ata P e r t a i n i n g
to th e T h ird H y p o t h e s i s ............................................................ 67
The Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement:
Los A ngeles C o u n ty , M arch, 1971 67
The Women's L i b e r a tio n C e n te r,
Crenshaw B o u lev ard .......................................................................... 69
N.O.W. C e n te r f o r Women's S tu d ie s ........................................ 69
The I n te r g r o u p C o u n cil ...................................................................... 70
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day,
March 8 , 1 9 7 1 .................................................................................... 70
Newspaper Coverage and B ias o f C overage
o f th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement,
M arch, 1970 to F e b ru a ry , 1971: Los
A ngeles County .................................................................................... 71
F in d in g s P e r t a i n i n g to th e T h ird
H y p o t h e s i s .............................................................................................. 71
Summary............................................................................................................. 76
V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................... 77
The R ole o f th e Mass M e d i a ........................................................... 77
The P u b lic D e f i n i t i o n o f a
S o c ia l Movement ............................................................................... 79
R e v o lu tio n o r C o -o p ta tlo n ? ............................................................ 80
I m p lic a tio n s f o r F u r th e r R ese arch ........................................ 83
F a c t i o n a l i s m .............................................................................................. 84
The Im p o rtan ce o f P u b li c D e f i n i t i o n ................................... 84
The E f f e c t s o f C o - o p t a t l o n ............................................................ 86
APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 88
REFE N C E S ............................................................................................................................ H O
v i
LIST OF GRAPHS
Graph Page
A. Loa A ngelas Tim es. U n its o f Goverage o f th e
Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement: J u ly , 1968-
J u n e ( 1969 ............................................................................................................. 31
B. Loa A ngeles H e rald E xam iner. Un1t s o f Gove ra g e
o f th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement: J u l y ,
1 9 6 8 -J u n e , 1969 32
C. D a lly E x p r e s s . U n its o f Coverage o f th e
Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1969-
J u l y , 1970 ............................................................................................................. 34
D. Sunday T im es. U n its o f C overage o f th e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1 9 6 9 -J u ly , 1970 .............................. 35
E. The G u a rd ia n . U n its o f C overage o f t h e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1 9 6 9 - J u ly , 1970 .................. 36
F. D a lly S k e tc h * U n its o f C overage o f th e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1 9 6 9 -J u ly , 1970 .................. 37
G. Sun. U n its o f C overage o f th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n
Movement: May, 1 9 6 9 -J u ly , 1970 38
H. D a lly M ir r o r . U n its o f C overage o f th e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1 9 6 9 -J u ly , 1970 .................. 39
I . London T im es. U n its o f C overage o f t h e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1 9 6 9 -J u ly , 1970 .................. 40
J . D a ily M a ll. U n its o f Coverage o f th e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1 969-Decem ber, 1969 ........ 41
K. Sunday T e le g ra p h * U n its o f C overage o f th e
Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1969-
Dec em ber, 1969...................................................................................................... 42
L. O b s e rv e r. U n its o f Goverage o f th e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1969-D ecem ber, 1969 ........ 43
M. D a lly T e le g ra p h . U n its o f C overage o f th e
Women' s L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1969-
Decem ber, 1969 ................................................................................................... 44
vli
Graph Pag*
N. M orning S t a r . U n its o f C overage o f th e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement: May, 1969-D ecem ber, 1969 .................... 45
0 . Loa A ngeles Tim e*. U n its o f C overage o f th e
Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement: M arch, 1970-
F e b ru a ry , 1 9 7 1 ................................................................................................... 73
P. Loa A ngeles H e ra ld E xam iner. U n its o f Coverage
o f th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement: M arch,
1 9 7 0 -F e b ru a ry , 1 9 7 1 .................................................................................... 74
viii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
I . The T u rn er and K i l l i a n P aradigm Showing Types
o f O p p o s itio n t o , and Means o f A c tio n
A v a ila b le to a S o c ia l Movement, D epending
upon itB P u b lic D e f i n i t i o n ................................................................. 10
I I . D a lly C i r c u l a t i o n F ig u r e s f o r N ewspapers in
th e E n g lis h Sam ple-1970 ...................................................................... 23
I I I . D i s t r i b u t i o n . f U n its o f C overage of th e
Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement In th e E n g lis h
N a tio n a l Newspapers ............................................................................... 47
IV. Summary o f Women's L i b e r a t i o n Groups in Los
A ngeles C ounty: J u l y , 1969 58
V, Summary o f Women's L i b e r a t i o n Groups In
E n gland: A u g u st, 1970 ........................................................................... 66
V I, Some Women’ s L i b e r a t i o n Groups i n Los A ngeles
C ounty: M arch, 1 9 7 1 ............................................................................... 68
V II. D i r e c t i o n a l B ias o f C overage o f th e Women's
L i b e r a t i o n Movement by th e Los A ngeles Times
and th e H e ra ld E xam iner: M arch, 1970-
F e b ru a ry , 1 9 7 1 .............................................................................................. 75
ix
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND THE DEFINITIONS USED
The o b j e c t o f t h i s r e s e a r c h I s to exam ine th e p r o g r e s s , form ,
a c t i o n s , and grow th o f th e new f e m i n i s t movement w ith in th e c o n te x t s o f
two s o c i e t a l s e t t i n g s : Los A n g e les, U .S.A . and E n g lan d , as r e l a t e d to
th e ty p e o f co v erag e g iv e n to th e movement by th e m ass m e d ia , s p e c i f i -
c a ll y th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n n e w sp a p ers.
The s tu d y grew o u t o f th e a u t h o r 's g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t In th e
p o s i t i o n o f women in w e s te rn s o c i e t y and from h e r t r a i n i n g in s o c io lo g y
in th e a r e a o f s e x - r o l e s o c i a l i z a t i o n . R ecent r e s e a r c h co n d u cted in
Los A ngeles c o n c e rn in g a t t i t u d e s o f women to w ard s members o f t h e i r own
sex (M o r r is , 1970) r e v e a le d f in d i n g s w hich d i f f e r e d from th o s e p r e v i
o u s ly r e p o r t e d in th e l i t e r a t u r e : t h a t i s , th e women gave no i n d i c a
t i o n o f p r e j u d i c e a g a i n s t women n o r d id th e y d i s c r i m i n a t e a g a i n s t
women.
One o f th e t e n t a t i v e s u g g e s tio n s o f f e r e d f o r th e s e " d is c o r d a n t"
f in d i n g s was t h a t th e women's l i b e r a t i o n g ro u p s w hich w ere becoming
v i s i b l e on cam puses a l l o v e r th e n a t i o n , a t p r o f e s s i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e s ,
and in c i t i e s in many p a r t s o f th e w o rld , m ight have begun to have
some im pact upon women' s e x p e c ta tio n s o f t h e i r r o l e s .
W hile to m easure th e e x t e n t o r th e im pact o f su ch a c t i v i t y
th ro u g h o u t th e w o r ld , o r th ro u g h o u t th e n a t i o n , w ould have b een a
t a s k o f p r o h i b i t i v e l y la r g e d im e n s io n s, o t h e r a s p e c ts o f th e new
f e m i n i s t movement a p p e a re d to be r e e e a r c h a b l e .
2
D uring Che e a r l y p a r t of 1970 th e a u th o r had h e a r d s e v e r a l
spokeswomen f o r th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in Los A n g eles com
p l a i n o f u n f a i r tr e a tm e n t o f th e movement by th e m edia. At th e same
tim e , i n q u i r i e s r e g a r d in g th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in E ngland
r e v e a le d t h a t l i t t l e was r e p o r te d o f such a movement by th e mass
m edia in t h a t c o u n tr y . Many c o rre s p o n d e n ts e x p re s s e d doubt t h a t a
women's l i b e r a t i o n movement e x i s t e d in E ngland.
I . THE PROBLEM
S ta te m e n t o f th e p ro b le m . T h is stu d y was b a se d upon two
b ro a d q u e s t i o n s : (1) How does th e s o c i e t y resp o n d to a s o c i a l move
ment w hich a p p e a rs to be grow ing i n s i z e and s t r e n g t h , when t h a t
m ovem ent's alm s a p p e a r to t h r e a t e n th e p r o f e s s e d p r e v a i l i n g v a lu e s o f
th e s o c i e t y ? (2) Does th e p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n o f a s o c i a l movement
alw ays d e te rm in e th e m anner in w hich t h a t movement can grow, a c t , and
p ro g r e s s ?
T h e o r e t i c a l b ackground o f th e p ro b le m . The f i r s t b ro a d
q u e s tio n stem s from th e t h e o r e t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n w hich p o s i t s a con
f l i c t model o f s o c i e t y (D e h re n d o rf, 1959, 1958a, 1958b; C o se r, 1957,
1956; S lm n el, 1 9 5 5 ). In t h i s v ie w , s o c i e t y changes i t s v a lu e s and
i n s t i t u t i o n s c o n tin u o u s ly . C o n f l i c t i s an i n e v i t a b l e and n e c e s s a r y
c o n t r i b u t o r to t h i s s o c i a l p ro cess*
The new f e m in is ts c h a lle n g e soma o f th e m ost f ir m ly a c c e p te d
v a lu e s o f s o c i e t y , b o th in E ngland and in th e U n ite d S t a t e s . They
c h a lle n g e th e v i a b i l i t y o f th e n u c l e a r f a m ily ; th e y p r o t e s t th e image
3
o f woman as b « ln g in h e r p ro p e r p la c e when sh e i s In th e home s u r
rounded by h e r l i t t l e c h i l d r e n ; they d i s p u t e th e r i g h t o f anyone o t h e r
th an th e woman co n cern ed to d e c id e w hat becomes o f th e f e t u s in h e r
womb; th e y doubt t h a t m a rria g e i s a t a l l p o s s i b l e in th e e x i s t i n g
s o c i e t y ( s e e , f o r ex am p le, R obin Morgan ( e d ,) » 1970, p a r t i c u l a r l y
a r t i c l e s by B ev e rly Jo n es and P a t M a in a rd l; D ixon, 1969; and any I s s u e
o f Everywoman) .
The f i r s t g e n e r a l i s s u e of th e r e s e a r c h co n ce rn s th e e f f e c t i v e
m echanisms t h a t can be u t i l i z e d by th e s o c i e t y f o r c o n t r o l l i n g th e
c o n f l i c t g e n e r a te d by such a s o c i a l movement.
The seco n d b ro ad is s u e draws from a t h e o r e t i c a l parad ig m o f
T u rn er and K i l l i a n (1 9 5 7 :3 2 8 -3 2 9 ). T u rn er and K i l l i a n m a in ta in th a t
th e means o f a c t i o n a v a i l a b l e to a s o c i a l movement w i l l depend upon
th e p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n o f t h a t movement. I t seems p o s s i b l e , how ever,
t h a t a s o c i a l movement, p a r t i c u l a r l y In i t s e a r l y s t a g e s o f f o r m a tio n ,
can a c t even when t h a t movement i s n o t d e f in e d by o r f o r th e p u b l i c .
P r o p o s i t i o n s . The f o llo w in g th r e e g e n e r a l p r o p o s i t i o n s w ere
s u g g e s te d by th e above q u e s t i o n s : (1) When a new s o c i a l movement
t h r e a t e n s th e e x i s t i n g s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e s , th e mass m edia w i l l te n d to
" b la c k - o u t" in f o r m a tio n r e g a r d in g t h a t movement. (2 ) In i t s e a r l y
s t a g e s , when a s o c i a l movement i s n o t d e fin e d by o r f o r th e p u b l i c , I t
w i l l s t i l l r e c r u i t , grow , and a c t . (3 ) When a th r e a t e n i n g s o c i a l
movement i s see n to t>e g s ln ln g s t r e n g t h , th e s o c i e t y w i l l a tte m p t to
c o -o p t some o f th e l e s s r e v o lu tio n a r y a s p e c ts o f th e movement. Co-
o p t a t l o n w i l l m a n if e s t i t s e l f p a r t l y by changes in th e mass m edia
4
tow ard a more f a v o r a b le a t t i t u d e c o n c e rn in g th e movement.
O p e r a tio n a l h y p o th e s e s . The th r e e h y p o th e se s w hich were
d e r iv e d from th e above p r o p o s i t i o n s and w hich w ere t e s t e d In t h i s
s tu d y a r e as f o llo w s : (1) The mass c i r c u l a t i o n new sp ap ers w i l l ten d
to w ith h o ld in f o r m a tio n a b o u t th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in th e
e a r l y s t a g e s o f i t s fo r m a tio n . (2) In th e e a r l y s ta g e s o f i t s form a
t i o n , when In f o rm a tio n a b o u t th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement i s w ith
h e ld and th e movement i s n o t d e f in e d by o r f o r th e p u b l i c , i t w i l l
s t i l l r e c r u i t members, grow , and a c t . T h is w i l l be e v id e n c e d by
com parison o f th e movement a t two p o in ts in tim e r e l a t i v e l y e a r l y in
i t s e x i s t e n c e . (3) As th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement grows in
s t r e n g t h th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n new spapers w i l l p ro v id e more in fo r m a tio n
a b o u t th e movement. T h is in f o r m a tio n w i l l become i n c r e a s i n g l y f a v o r
a b le tow ard th e movement.
S ig n i f ic a n c e o f th e s t u d y . A lthough th e r e i s much in th e
s o c i o l o g i c a l and p s y c h o lo g ic a l l i t e r a t u r e on th e g e n e r a l s u b j e c t o f
s o c i a l m ovem ents, v e r i f i e d th e o ry in t h i s a r e a a p p e a rs to be s p a r s e .
T h is stu d y h as im p o rtan c e f o r th e b u i l d i n g o f th e o ry in th e fo llo w in g
w ays: (1) The f i r s t h y p o t h e s i s , i f c o n firm e d , adds s t r e n g t h to th e
c o n te n t io n by some mass com m unication t h e o r i s t s (B re e d , 1964; D ex ter
and W h ite, 1964; L a z a r s f e ld and M erton, 1948; W ilso n , 1968) t h a t th e
mass m edia c o n t r i b u t e to th e m a in te n an c e o f th e e x i s t i n g s o c i a l and
econom ic sy stem . (2 ) The seco n d h y p o th e s is r e p r s s e n t a an a tte m p t to
e x te n d an e x i a t i n g t h e o r e t i c a l p arad ig m o f T u rn er and K i l l i a n (1957:
3 2 8 -3 2 9 ). (3 ) C o n firm a tio n o f th e t h i r d h y p o th e s is adds s u p p o r t to
5
th e t h e o r e t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n w hich view s c o n f l i c t as a f a c t o r c o n tr ib u
t i n g to s o c i a l change. In th e s e w ays, i t was hoped t h a t a re fin e m e n t
o f e x i s t i n g th e o ry m ig h t be a c h ie v e d .
T h is s tu d y may a l s o have some im p o rtan c e in t h a t w h ile "d ead "
s o c i a l m ovem ents, such as u to p ia n c o m m u n itie s, hav e been i n t e r e s t i n g l y
a n a ly z e d (s e e R a n t e r , 1968; Toch, 1 9 6 5 :2 1 0 -2 1 4 ) th e e x a m in a tio n o f a
movement as i t grow s, as i t c h a n g e s, aB i t i s a f f e c t e d by p a r t i c u l a r
a s p e c ts o f th e s o c i e t y in w hich i t e x i s t s and as i t , in t u r n , may
a f f e c t t h a t s o c i e t y , i s seldom u n d e rta k e n . In t h i s a tte m p t, i t was
hoped t h a t new I n s i g h t s i n t o th e dynam ics o f a s o c i a l movement m ight
be g a in e d .
I I . DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTS USED
Among th e c o n c e p ts used to t e s t th e th r e e h y p o th e se s a r e :
th e p u b l i c ; th e p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n o f a s o c i a l movement; a c t i o n s ; s i z e ;
g row th. F o r th e p u rp o s e s o f t h i s s tu d y , th e s e a r e d e fin e d n o m in a lly
a s f o llo w s :
The p u b l i c . In t h i s s tu d y , " t h e p u b l i c " means " t h e g e n e r a l
p u b l i c " as d e f in e d by C a r r o l l D. C la rk (T u rn e r and K i l l i a n , 1957:
2 2 0 -2 2 5 ). C la rk d i s t i n g u i s h e s betw een " s p e c i a l p u b l i c , " w hich I n d i
c a t e s a body o f a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a n t s and " i n t e r e s t e d " s u p p o r te r s o r
u l l o w e r s who s h a r e in an o n -g o in g c o l l e c t i v e a c t and become a p u b lic
w ith r e f e r e n c e to th e s p e c i a l u n d e r ta k in g s i n th e g iv e n f i e l d , and
th e " g e n e r a l p u b l i c , " who, C la rk s u g g e s t s , f u n c tio n s in I t s p o l i t i c a l
c a p a c ity in a r e g io n t h a t i s s t i l l :
6
l a r g e l y m a g ic a l, t r a d i t i o n a l , and u n s e c u la r iz e d . . .
[E ]ncom passing th e too a t d iv e r g e n t e x p e r ie n c e s t h a t o u r
h ig h ly m o b ile and h e te ro g e n e o u s s o c i a l l i f e h as e v o lv e d ,
t h i s p u b lic p o s s e s s e s s c a n t means o f t r a n s l a t i n g su ch
e x p e r ie n c e s i n t o g e n e r a lly I n t e l l i g i b l e p u rp o se s and
means. As a c o n se q u e n ce , i t s u n iv e r s e of d is c o u r s e . . .
i s f r a g i l e and ten u o u s . . . I t s fo c u s o f a t t e n t i o n i s
as wayward and e v a n e s c e n t as th e f r o n t- p a g e c o n te n t o f
th e new sp ap ers i t r e a d s . At th e same tim e , th e problem s
w ith w hich i t h a s to cope a re n o to r i o u s ly c o m p lic a te d
and p ro fo u n d . . .One may say w ith o u t s e r io u s e x a g g e ra
t i o n t h a t i t s o n ly u n iv e r s e o f d is c o u r s e i s th e news
o f mass a p p e a l.
The p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n o f a s o c i a l movement. For th e p u rp o se s
o f t h i s s tu d y , th e c o n ce p t " th e p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n o f a s o c i a l move
m ent" means th e image o f th e s o c i a l movement t h a t i s conveyed by th e
mass c i r c u l a t i o n n e w sp a p ers.
A c tio n s . The a c t i o n s o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement
in c lu d e d e m o n s tr a tio n s , p o lic y s t a t e m e n t s , m eetin g s and p u b l i c a t i o n s .
S i z e . The s i z e o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement i s
d e te rm in e d by th e number o f s e p a r a t e groups in th e g e o g r a p h ic a l a r e a s
u n d er c o n s i d e r a t i o n .
The women's l i b e r a t i o n movement. I t sh o u ld be n o te d t h a t th e
co n cep t " th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement" i s u sed I n te r c h a n g e a b ly
th ro u g h o u t t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n w ith " th e new f e m i n i s t s " and w ith " th e
new f e m in is t m ovem ent."
I I I . ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY
The o r g a n i s a t i o n o f th e re m a in d e r o f t h e s tu d y w i l l be a s
f o llo w s . In th e n e x t c h a p t e r , th e l i t e r a t u r e r e l a t i n g to th e s p e c i f i c
7
problem s o f t h i s s tu d y w i l l be rev iew ed and a summary made o f th e
m a t e r i a l . In th e t h i r d c h a p t e r , th e m ethod o f g a th e r in g and a n a ly z in g
th e d a t a p e r t a i n i n g to th e t e s t i n g o f th e h y p o th e se s w i l l be p r e s e n te d .
T h is w i l l in c lu d e th e manner o f s e l e c t i n g th e sam ple o f n ew sp ap ers
in b o th s o c i e t a l s e t t i n g s , and th e tim e p e r io d s ch o sen f o r s tu d y .
C h ap ter f o u r w i l l p r e s e n t an a n a l y s i s o f th e d a ta p e r t a i n i n g to th e
p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n of th e s o c i a l movement, and t h a t p e r t a i n i n g to th e
a c t u a l a c t i o n s , s i z e , and grow th o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement
in Los A ngeles C ounty, U .S.A . and in E n g lan d , w ith th e o b j e c t o f
r e f u t i n g o r s u b s t a n t i a t i n g th e th r e e h y p o th e s e s o f t h i s s tu d y . The
f i n a l c h a p te r d i s c u s s e s and sum m arizes th e f in d in g s o f th e s tu d y and
p r e s e n t s c o n c lu s io n s and im p l i c a t i o n s f o r f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h .
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
The h y p o th e s e s to be t e s t e d In t h i s s tu d y and th e m ethods u sed
to t e s t them w ere drawn from l i t e r a t u r e p e r t a i n i n g to s e v e r a l t h e o r e t i
c a l and r e s e a r c h t r a d i t i o n s . The l i t e r a t u r e d i r e c t l y r e l e v a n t to th e
problem u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n c o n ce rn s s o c i a l movement th e o r y , m ass-
com m unication th e o r y , and th e o ry w hich s e e s s o c i a l change as a f u n c tio n
o f c o n f l i c t . A grow ing a w aren ess o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n on th e b a s i s o f
sex a s a s u b j e c t f o r s y s te m a tic stu d y h as b een d is c e r n e d in r e c e n t
p u b l i c a t i o n s i n th e s o c i a l s c i e n c e s ; t h i s l i t e r a t u r e w i l l a ls o b e
re v ie w ed .
The p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n o f a s o c i a l movement. T u rn er and
K i l l i a n < 1957:328-329) s u g g e s t t h a t e v e ry s o c i a l movement i s view ed
in th e s o c i e t y a s g e n e r a l l y c o n s i s t e n t w ith o r a s fu n d a m e n ta lly
a n t a g o n i s t i c to th e e s t a b l i s h e d v a lu e schem e. How i t i s v iew ed , th e y
s a y , w i l l c r u c i a l l y d e te r m in e th e ty p e and t a c t i c s o f th e o p p o s itio n
w ith w hich i t i s c o n f r o n te d , th e c irc u m s ta n c e s u n d er w hich i t w i l l
r e c r u i t m em bers, and t h e d e g re e to w hich i t may o p e r a t e o p e n ly th ro u g h
l e g i t i m a t e m eans.
P a r t o f th e f u n c tio n o f th e p u b lic w i l l be to d e f in e th e
m ovem ent's r e l a t i o n s to th e s o c i e t y 's i m p l i c i t sy ste m o f v a lu e s * The
e f f e c t i v e d e f i n i t i o n t h a t em erges from t h e p u b l i c w i l l d e te rm in e th e
a c c e s s t h a t th e movement h a s to l e g i t i m a t e means f o r p ro m o tin g i t s
8
9
program in s o c i e t y .
T u rn e r and K i l l i a n p ro p o se t h a t t h e r e a r e f o u r ways in w hich
movements may be d e f in e d by th e p u b l i c . They s u g g e s t th e g e n e r a l
ty p e s o f o p p o s itio n t h a t w i l l be evoked and th e a c c e s s to l e g i t i m a t e
c h a n n e ls o f a c t i o n . They d e f in e movements as f i r s t , r e s p e c t a b l e o r ,
s e c o n d , r e v o l u t i o n a r y , on th e b a s i s o f th e p r e v a i l i n g p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n .
They add a t h i r d , in te r m e d ia te c a te g o r y , p e c u l i a r ; su ch movements a r e
re g a rd e d a s odd o r q u e e r . These a r e th o u g h t to be h a r m le s s ; th ey
can be t o l e r a t e d and p e r m itte d c o n s id e r a b le a c c e s s to l e g i t i m a t e
means f o r p ro m o tin g t h e i r o b j e c t i v e s . Such o p p o s itio n as th e y r e c e iv e
i s r i d i c u l e , i s o l a t i o n and o s tr a c is m o f t h e i r members, r a t h e r th a n
condem nation and d e p r i v a t i o n of a c c e s s to l e g i t i m a t e c h a n n e ls o f
a c t i o n . O f te n , th e d i f f e r e n c e b etw een a r e v o l u t i o n a r y movement and
a p e c u l i a r movement i s sim p ly one o f a p p a r e n t s t r e n g t h , so t h a t
changes o f a g iv e n movement from one ty p e to a n o th e r i s f r e q u e n t .
R e s p e c ta b le movements a r e s u b - d iv id e d i n t o f a c t i o n a l and
n o n - f a c t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s . C e r ta i n movements m ust cope w ith com peting
c la im s to prom ote s i m i l a r ends by s u p e r i o r m eans. Such movements a r e
l i k e l y to be c o n ce rn e d w ith p ro m o tin g t h e i r own p a r t i c u l a r scheme f o r
a t t a i n i n g t h e i r o b j e c t i v e s r a t h e r th a n w ith g a in in g a d h e r e n ts to
t h e i r g e n e r a l o b j e c t i v e s .
The T u rn er and K i l l i a n p arad ig m w hich sum m arises th e f o r e
g o in g i s shown in F ig u re 1.
As f a r as can be d is c e r n e d from th e l i t e r a t u r e , t h i s schema
o f T u rn e r and K i l l i a n h a s n o t b een e m p i r i c a l l y t e s t e d . An a tte m p t
10
FIGURE 1
THE TURNER AND KILLIAN PARADIGM
SHOWING TYPES OF OPPOSITION TO, AND MEANS OF
ACTION AVAILABLE TO A SOCIAL MOVEMENT,
DEPENDING UPON ITS PUBLIC DEFINITION*
P u b lic D e f i n i t i o n
1. R e s p e c ta b le -
n o n - f a c t i o n a l
2. R e s p e c ta b le -
f a c t i o n a l
3* P e c u l i a r
4 . R e v o lu tio n a r y
Type o f O p p o s itio n
D i s i n t e r e s t and
to k e n s u p p o rt
Com peting movements
a d v o c a tin g same
g e n e r a l o b j e c t i v e s
R id ic u le and
o s tr a c is m
V io le n t S u p p re s sio n
Means o f A c tio n
L e g itim a te
L e g itim a te
L im ite d a c c e s s
to l e g i t i m a t e
means
C h ie fly i l l e g i t i m a t e
meanB
•S o u rc e : T u rn er and K i l l i a n , 1 9 5 7 :3 2 8 -3 2 9 .
11
I s made In th e t e s t i n g o f th e seco n d h y p o th e s is o f t h i s stu d y to
i n v e s t i g a t e some a s p e c ts o f th e p arad ig m . The manner in w hich th e
c o n c e p ts " t h e p u b l i c " and " th e p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n o f a s o c i a l movement"
have b een d e f in e d f o r th e p u rp o s e s o f t h i s s tu d y I s g iv e n in C h a p te r I .
I f th e aim i s to d e te rm in e th e d i f f e r e n t i a l e f f e c t s o f th e
p u b l i c 's d e f i n i t i o n o f a movement upon t h a t m ovem ent's p r o g r e s s , th e
q u e s ti o n t h a t m ust be a sk ed i s "how does t h e p u b lic d e f in e a move
m ent?" From b o th C l a r k 's rem arks and from th e o b s e r v a tio n s a s s e t o u t
in C h ap ter I t i t seems c l e a r t h a t p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n s a r e sh a p e d ,
i n d i r e c t l y i f n o t d i r e c t l y , by th e mass m ed ia; th e image o f th e
s o c i a l movement t h a t la conveyed by th e m edia w i l l be th e way th e
p u b lic d e f in e s i t .
Maes c o n m u n ic a tio n s . In t h i s s tu d y , mass c i r c u l a t i o n news
p a p e rs w ere ch o sen as th e m edia to be exam ined. W hile t e l e v i s i o n has
become an i n c r e a s i n g l y Im p o rta n t s o u rc e o f news and p u b l i c a f f a i r s
(s e e R iv e rs a l , 1 9 7 1 :2 7 7 -2 9 4 ), th e new sp ap er i s s t i l l an im p o r ta n t
r e f e r e n c e . Haven (1 9 7 0 ), among s e v e r a l s o u r c e s , e m p h asizes th e p r e s s
as th e m edia upon w hich we a l l m ust r e l y to f in d o u t w hat i s h ap p en in g
in m a tte r s o f g r e a t p u b lic i n t e r e s t . T h is em phasis on th e p r e s s i s
w h o lly i n t e n t i o n a l . T e le v is io n news program s and r a d io s t a t i o n s g e t
a la r g e p a r t o f t h e i r b a s i c news from m a jo r w ire s e r v i c e s w hich r e l y
on new sp ap ers f o r th e m ost p a r t in c o l l e c t i n g and r e p o r t i n g t h e news
th ey d is s e m in a te .
Domhoff (1 9 6 3 :3 ) , in th e i n t r o d u c t i o n to h i s book Who R ules
A m erica? w r i t e s "The u se o f a g r e a t many i l l u s t r a t i o n s from t h e mass
12
m edia i s In k e e p in g w ith M i l l s 's b e l i e f t h a t w hat I s g o in g on In th e
w o rld I s r e v e a le d m ost d i r e c t l y and o r g a n i c a l l y In th e d a l l y p r e s s
. . , " The p r e s s can be c o n s id e r e d among th e m ost Im p o rta n t o f th e
m edia. P r in t* a lo n e among th e media* a llo w s th e r e a d e r to c o n tr o l
th e o c ca sio n * th e pace* and th e d i r e c t i o n o f h i s e x p o su re and p e rm its
him e asy re - e x p o s u r e (K lapper* 1 9 6 0 :1 1 0 ),
A cco rd in g to a su rv e y o f new sp ap er c r e d i b i l i t y co n d u cted
r e c e n t l y by th e Image Committee o f th e A s s o c ia te d P r e s s M anaging
E d i to r s A s s o c ia tio n (Sheldon* 1970:9)* in te r v ie w e e s fa v o re d new spapers
among a l l th e m edia as th e m ain s o u rc e o f new s:
Asked where th ey g o t m ost o f th e d a l l y news a b o u t w h a t's g o in g
on in l o c a l and m e t r o p o lit a n a re a s * th e r e p ly was new spapers*
58 p e r c e n t ; t e l e v i s i o n * 19 p e r c e n t ; ra d io * 16 p e r c e n t ; o t h e r
p eo p le* 5 p e r c e n t ; and m agazines* 2 p e r c e n t.
On a s i m i l a r q u e s ti o n on w h a t 's g o in g on In th e w o rld
to d ay beyond th e l o c a l community, th e re sp o n se was new spapers*
41 p e r c e n t ; t e l e v i s i o n * 35 p e r c e n t ; r a d i o , 11 p e r c e n t ; maga
z in e s * 8 p e r c e n t ; and o t h e r people* 5 p e r c e n t.
S l x t y - e l g h t p e r c e n t s a i d new spaper* m agazine* ra d io * and
t e l e v i s i o n r e p o r t s d i f f e r from one a n o th e r a t tim e s . When t h i s
happened* 32 p e r c e n t g e n e r a lly b e lie v e d new spapers* an unex
p e c te d ly l a r g e 27 p e r c e n t r e l i e d on 'p e r s o n a l know ledge*' 18
p e r c e n t on t e l e v i s i o n * 9 p e r c e n t on m a g a z in e s, and 4 p e r c e n t
on r a d io . S ix p e r c e n t made o t h e r re s p o n s e s and 4 p e r c e n t gave
no answ er . . .
Among I t s c o n c lu s io n s * th e a r t i c l e In th e C h r i s t i a n S c ie n c e
M o n ito r In w hich th e p re c e d in g q u o ta tio n a p p e a re d s t a t e s t h a t th e
p u b l i c 's r e l i a n c e upon new spapers* compared w ith t e l e v i s i o n * ra d io *
and m agazines* i s o f some c o m fo rt to n e w sp a p ers.
From a r e s e a r c h e r 's p o i n t o f view* i t I s p r a c t i c a l to exam ine
m a jo r n e w sp a p e rs. P a s t i s s u e s a re f a i r l y r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e on m ic ro
f ilm . T e le v is io n and r a d io r e c o r d s a r e l e s s e a s i l y o b t a i n a b l e and
s t u d i e d .
13
The re a so n s f o r th e h y p o th e s iz e d b la c k - o u t o f In f o rm a tio n
about a movement such as th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement In I t s
e a r l i e r s ta g e s o f fo r m a tio n may be a t t r i b u t e d to one o r more o f
s e v e r a l f a c t o r s . I t h as been s u g g e s te d by many r e s e a r c h e r s in. th e
a r e a o f mass com m unications (B re e d , 1964; D e x ter and W h ite, 1964;
L a z a r s f e ld and M erton, 1948; W ilso n , 1968) t h a t th e f u n c tio n s o f mass
m edia f o r s o c i e t y in c lu d e th e e n fo rc e m e n t o f e x i s t i n g s o c i a l norm s.
The mass m edia a r e s u p p o rte d by g r e a t b u s in e s s c o n ce rn s g a a re d i n t o
th e c u r r e n t s o c i a l and econom ic sy stem and t h e r e f o r e c o n t r i b u t e to
th e m ain ten an ce o f t h a t sy ste m . L a z a r s f e ld and M erton (1 9 4 8 :9 5 -1 1 8 )
s t a t e :
To th e e x t e n t t h a t th e m edia of mass com m unication have an
in f l u e n c e upon t h e i r a u d ie n c e s , i t has stemmed n o t o n ly
from w hat i s s a i d b u t , more s i g n i f i c a n t l y , from w hat i s n o t
s a i d . F o r th e s e m edia n o t o n ly c o n tin u e to a f f i r m th e
s t a t u s quo b u t , i n th e same m e a su re , th ey f a i l to r a i s e
e s s e n t i a l q u e s tio n s a b o u t th e s t r u c t u r e o f s o c i e t y . Hence,
by l e a d i n g tow ard conform ism and by p r o v id in g l i t t l e b a s i s
f o r a c r i t i c a l a p p r a i s a l o f s o c i e t y , th e co m m ercially
sp o n so re d mass m edia i n d i r e c t l y b u t e f f e c t i v e l y r e s t r a i n
th e c o g en t developm ent o f a g e n u in e ly c r i t i c a l o u tlo o k .
W. H. F e rry (F e rry and Ashm ore, 1966) m a in ta in s t h a t "m ass-
comm does n o t p o r t r a y w hat i s th e r e . . . i t can make more money n o t
m e etin g i t s r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s th a n by d o in g so . . L ie b lin g (1961)
adds "The f u n c tio n o f th e p r e s s i s to in fo rm , b u t i t s r o l e i s to
make m oney."
Lack o f e x p o su re o f th e a c t i v i t i e s o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement in i t s fo rm a tiv e s t a g e s , t h e n , may be a f u n c tio n o f th e
a tte m p t to m a in ta in th e s o c i e t a l s t a t u a q u o . B reed (1964) exam ines
su ch b lo c k in g o f in f o r m a tio n , w h ic h , i f n o t b lo c k e d , m ig h t r e v e a l
14
c o n f l i c t s " t h a t rem ain n o n d is a b lin g o n ly as lo n g a s th e y a re k e p t
from o v e r t c r y s t a l l i z a t i o n . " He s e e s th e m edia a s n o t o n ly p r o t e c t i n g
p a r t i c u l a r " p r e s s u r e " g ro u p s b u t a l s o as p r o t e c t i n g th e community
from p a r t i c u l a r g roups w ith a d i s r u p t i v e p u rp o s e .
A seco n d p o s s i b l e re a s o n f o r th e b la c k - o u t o f In f o rm a tio n may
sim p ly be t h a t e d i t o r s do n o t re g a rd th e movement as Im p o rta n t enough
to w a rra n t th e use o f much new spaper s p a c e . F e r r y (F e rry and Ash
m ore, 1966) a rg u e s t h a t th e r o l e o f th e mass m edia I s an a n t i c i p a t o r y
o n e . "1 d e f in e news" he s a y s , " a s w hat Is g o in g on a t B erk ele y
today t h a t w i l l s t i c k I t s h ead up s i x m onths o r s i x y e a r s from now ."
I t I s hoped t h a t th e t e s t i n g o f th e f i r s t h y p o th e s is o f t h i s stu d y
w i l l d e te rm in e w h e th e r o r n o t th e mass m edia p la y e d such an a n t i c i
p a to r y r o l e w ith re g a rd to th e newly fo rm in g women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement.
C o n f l i c t t h e o r y . The t h e o r e t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n known as c o n f l i c t
th e o ry p o s i t s a model o f s o c i e t y I n w hich changes in v a lu e s and
i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e c o n tin u o u s . C o n f l i c t c o n t r i b u t e s to t h i s ch an g e.
A cco rd in g to D ah ren d o rf (1 9 5 8 b :218) one q u e s ti o n to w hich c o n f l i c t
th e o ry must a d d re s s i t s e l f i s th e manner in w hich c o n f l i c t e f f e c t s
su ch change in th e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . He s u g g e s ts t h a t t h e i n t e n s i t y
o f s o c i a l c o n f l i c t depends to some e x t e n t on th e p r e s e n c e o f e f f e c t i v e
mechanisms f o r r e g u l a t i n g Buch c o n f l i c t s (D a h re n d o rf, 1 9 5 8 b :2 2 0 ).
I t i s w ith th e s e " e f f e c t i v e m echanism s" t h a t t h e t h i r d h y p o th e s is o f
t h i s s tu d y i s c o n ce rn e d . I t p ro p o se s t h a t m echanism s do e x i s t i n
o u r s o c i e t y w hich a c t to c o n s t r a i n and d i r e c t c o n f l i c t so t h s t
15
r a d i c a l e le m e n ts a r e em ascu lated * Change i s g ra d u a l and p a r t i a l ,
r a t h e r th a n r e v o l u t i o n a r y .
J e a n - F r a n c o is R evel (1971) c o n te n d s t h a t a new r e v o lu tio n a r y
m ethod h as been d e v elo p e d in A m erica and i s w e ll on to w ard s i t s g o a ls*
He th in k s t h a t th e e s ta b lis h m e n t i s a d o p tin g and a d a p tin g th e g o a ls
o f th e r e v o l u t i o n (Canham, 1 9 7 1 ). T h is a d o p tio n and a d a p t a t i o n o f
g o a ls h as b een term ed " c o - o p t a t i o n " by F r le d e n b e rg (1 9 7 0 :2 2 ) and th e
same p r o c e s s has b een o b se rv e d by F la c k s (1 9 7 0 :5 3 ) w ith re g a rd to
g e n e r a t i o n a l c o n f l i c t . F la c k s s a y s :
A g e n e r a t i o n a l movement may be u n d e rs to o d as a movement o f
c u l t u r a l and s o c i a l in n o v a tio n whose im p act has been con
t a i n e d w i t h i n th e fram ew ork o f e x i s t i n g s o c i e t y . For
a g e n c ie s o f s o c i a l c o n t r o l , th e i d e a l c irc u m s ta n c e w ould
be th e o p p o r tu n i ty to e l i m i n a t e th o s e e le m e n ts In th e
movement t h a t a r e m ost d i s r u p t i v e and d e s t r u c t i v e , w h ile
p u t t i n g i n t o e f f e c t some o f th e c u l t u r a l , s o c i a l and
p o l i t i c a l in n o v a tio n s and re fo rm s th e movement a d v o c a te s .
A c c o rd in g ly , you p u t YippleB in J a i l b u t work o u t
some means to l e g a l i z e th e u se o f m a r iju a n a . You p u t
d r a f t r e s l s t e r s i n J a i l o r i n t o e x i l e w h ile a b o lis h in g
c o n s c r ip tio n * You e x p e l SDS from th e campus w h ile
a d m ittin g s tu d e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s to th e b o a rd o f
t r u s t e e s , . .
Tliis s tu d y alm s to i n v e s t i g a t e w h e th e r th e alm a o f th e
women's l i b e r a t i o n movement a r e b e in g " c o - o p te d " o r " i n s t i t u t i o n a l
iz e d " a n d , i f s o , by th e u se o f w hat te c h n iq u e s o r m echanism s.
Se x u a l d is c rim in a t i o n * The alm s o f th e w om en's l i b e r a t i o n
movement em brace f a r more th a n th e i n t e g r a t i o n o f fe m a les i n t o th e
w o rld o f w o rk , b u s i n e s s , and th e p r o f e s s i o n s on an e q u a l b a s i s w ith
men. S in c e th e a p p e a ra n c e o f th e new f e m in is t movement, h o w ev er,
t h e r e h a s b een a grow ing a w aren ess o f d i e c r i m i n a t i o n on th e b a s i s o f
s e x a s a s u b j e c t o f s tu d y f o r s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s .
16
S y s te m a tic i n v e s t i g a t i o n has p ro d u ced e v id e n c e o f d is c r im in a
t i o n on th e b a s i s o f sex in th e ra n k s o f b o th s tu d e n t s and f a c u l t y
in d e p a rtm e n ts o f s o c io lo g y in m ost c o l l e g e s and u n i v e r s i t i e s th ro u g h
o u t th e n a t i o n . A lic e R o ssi (1 9 7 0 :1 1 ) sum m arizes h e r f in d i n g s as
f o l l o w s :
Women a r e :
43 p e r c e n t . • m o f c o lle g e s e n i o r s p la n n in g g ra d u a te
work in s o c io lo g y .
37 p e r c e n t . s * o f m a s t e r 's c a n d id a te s in g r a d u a te
s c h o o l.
30 p e r c e n t . • e o f Ph.D. c a n d id a te s in g ra d u a te
s c h o o l.
31 p e r c e n t . • • o f g r a d u a te s t u d e n t s te a c h in g u n d e r
g r a d u a te s .
27 p e r c e n t . ■ e o f f u l l - t i m e l e c t u r e r s and i n s t r u c t o r s .
14 p e r c e n t . • * o f f u l l - t i m e a s s i s t a n t p r o f e s s o r s .
9 p e r c e n t . « ■ of f u l l - t i m e a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r s .
4 p e r c e n t . » • o f f u l l - t i m e f u l l p r o f e s s o r s .
1 p e r c e n t . « s o f chairm en o f g r a d u a te s o c io lo g y
d e p a rtm e n ts .
0 p e r c e n t . • e o f th e 44 f u l l p r o f e s s o r s in th e f i v e
e l i t e d e p a rtm e n ts (B erk eley * Chicago*
Columbia* H a rv a rd , and M ich ig an ).
A lic e R o s s i 's c o n c lu d in g p a ra g ra p h s t a t e s :
I t i s tim e f o r men in s o c io lo g y to s to p a p p ly in g b l a n k e t
e x p e c t a t i o n s o f women b ased on t h e few women in t h e i r p e r
s o n a l l i v e s to th e e x c e p t i o n a l l y c a p a b le and h ig h ly d i v e r s i
f i e d i n d i v i d u a l women who s tu d y and te a c h in t h e i r d e p a r t
m ents* and to b eg in * in s te a d * to J o in in women's l i b e r a t i o n *
f o r i t may r e s u l t in t h e i r own l i b e r a t i o n as w e l l .
Ann E. D avis p r e f e r s n o t to l a b e l as* p u r e ly d i s c r i m i n a t i o n
th e I n t e r p l a y o f v a r i a b l e s r e s t r i c t i n g women from p u r s u in g c a r e e r s
in th e academy o r in th e p r o f e s s i o n s (D avis* 1 9 6 9 ). Our c u l t u r e
a p p e a rs to p e r p e t u a t e a model o f women* she w r i t e s , w ith w hich women
17
seem c o n te n t to c o n tin u e to I d e n t i f y . The Im p o rtan ce o f h e r c o n s e n ts
f o r t h i s s tu d y l i e In th e f a c t t h a t I t I s t h i s c u l t u r a l e x p e c t a t i o n
o f women and th e c o n tin u in g to s o c i a l i z e human b e in g s I n to r i g i d
r o le s on th e b a s i s o f s e x t h a t th e new f e m i n i s t s q u e s ti o n m ost
r a d i c a l l y .
The l i m i t s on women's c a r e e r s in th e p r o f e s s i o n s a r e a ls o
s t u d i e d by C y n th ia F. E p s te in (1 9 7 0 ). She s u g g e s ts t h a t c u l t u r a l
a t t i t u d e s t i e d to women's r o l e s and women's b i o l o g i c a l l y lin k e d
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s in te rw e a v e w ith th o s e dynam ics o f r e c r u itm e n t and
in v o lv e m e n t a t th e h ig h e r l e v e l s o f p r o f e s s i o n s w hich m i l i t a t e
a g a i n s t th e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f women. T hese "dynam ics" I n c lu d e th e
p ro td g d sy ste m and th e c o lle a g u e sy ste m by means o f w hich a p p r e n tic e s
in su ch s p e c i a l t i e s as c o r p o r a te law o r s p e c i a l a r e a s o f s u rg e ry
become a c c e p te d in th o s e f i e l d s . The m a s t e r - a p p r e n t i c e s h i p r e l a t i o n
s h ip may i n h i b i t fe m in in e advancem ent in t h a t a d e g re e o f in tim a c y
and l o y a l t y may d ev elo p w hich w i l l n o t be welcomed by e i t h e r th e men
in th e woman's p e r s o n a l l i f e , o r by th e women in th e s p o n s o r 's p e r
s o n a l l i f e .
Advancement may be l e s s open to women b e c a u se th e y a re
e x c lu d e d from m ale d u b s . E p s te in o f f e r s th e s u g g e s tio n t h a t to some
e x t e n t th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f women's p r o f e s s i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s h a s
s e r v e d to d e f l e c t women's p a r t i c i p a t i o n in th e g e n e r a l p r o f e s s i o n a l
g ro u p s , a l s o s e r v in g to h o ld wosun b ack from r e a c h in g th e more p r e s
t i g i o u s p r o f e s s i o n a l p o s itio n s * T h is c o u ld be re a d as a " c a u tio n a r y
n o te " in t h a t "women's c a u c u s e s " have now form ed in some academ ic
d i s c i p l i n e s , n o ta b ly p sy ch o lo g y and s o c io lo g y . At i t s e x tre m e , t h i s
18
c o u ld le a d to women In th e a e c au c u ses b e in g com m itted to r e s e a r c h
o n ly In a r e a s d i r e c t l y c o n c e rn in g women's r o l e in s o c i e t y and so
remove them from o t h e r s p h e r e s o f I n t e r e s t .
The f in d i n g s o f a s tu d y o f women in th e U n iv e r s ity o f Chicago
u n d e r th e c h a irm a n sh ip o f B e rn ic e N eu g arten (1970) s u g g e s t , l i k e th o s e
o f th e o t h e r s t u d i e s c i t e d c o n c e rn in g women in th e academ y, t h a t women
a r e u n d e r r e p r e s e n te d on th e te a c h in g f a c u l t y . The i n v e s t i g a t o r s
make s e v e r a l recom m endations w hich aim to Improve th e p o s i t i o n o f
women In th e U n iv e r s ity . These in c lu d e a re v ie w o f r e c r u itm e n t p ro *
ce d u re s and a b ro a d e n in g o f th e f l e x i b i l i t y w hich i s e x te n d e d to
women r e s e a r c h w o rk e rs to In c lu d e women f a c u l t y members. A lso l i k e
o t h e r I n v e s t i g a t o r s , th e y c o n clu d e t h a t th e s t a t u s o f women in th e
U n iv e r s ity o f C h ic ag o , t h e i r a ch ie v e m en ts and f r u s t r a t i o n s , a r e
" i n e x t r i c a b l y i n t e r t w i n e d w ith th e l a r g e r q u e s tio n o f th e p o s i t i o n o f
women in th e b r o a d e r s o c i e t y . " They acknow ledge t h a t t h e i r r e p o r t
em erges a t a tim e when " a new a w aren ess o f women's n e ed s i s coming to
n a t i o n a l a t t e n t i o n . "
Summary. In t h i s c h a p te r th e l i t e r a t u r e d i r e c t l y p e r t a i n i n g
to th e problem s o f t h i s s tu d y has been re v ie w e d . Those a s p e c ts o f
s o c i a l movement t h e o r y , m ass*com m unication th e o r y , and th e o r i e n t a t i o n
known as c o n f l i c t th e o r y from w hich th e th r e e h y p o th e se s w ere d e v elo p e d
hav e b een p r e s e n te d . A b r i e f e x a m in a tio n o f some o f th e r e c e n t
l i t e r a t u r e c o n c e rn in g women in academ ic and p r o f e s s i o n a l l i f e h as
been g iv e n in o r d e r to d e m o n stra te th e grow ing aw aren ess in th e s o c i a l
s c i e n c e s o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n on th e b a s is o f s e x a s a s u b j e c t f o r
s y s te m a tic s tu d y .
The f o llo w in g c h a p te r co n cern s t h e m ethods and p ro c e d u re s
u t i l i z e d to t e s t th e h y p o th e se s draw ing from th e l i t e r a t u r e rev iew ed
above.
CHAPTER III
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
I . SAMPLES OF NEWSPAPERS
To p ro v id e d a t a in t h i s s tu d y , n a t i o n a l n ew sp ap ers o f v a ry in g
sh ad e s o f p o l i t i c a l o p in io n w ere s e l e c t e d f o r e x a m in a tio n f o r th e
p a r t o f th e s tu d y c o n c e rn in g E n g lan d , w h ile l o c a l p a p e rs w ere exam ined
f o r Los A ngeles C ounty. Hie re a so n s f o r t h i s d i f f e r e n c e o f c h o ic e
a r e c l e a r . M In G re a t B r i t a i n , w here th e London p a p e rs c i r c u l a t e
ev ery w h e re , th e r e g io n a l j o u r n a l s c an n o t d e n t th e London h o ld on news
and o p in io n . The t y p i c a l A m erican monopoly i s l o c a l r a t h e r th a n
n a t i o n a l . The b i g - c i t y n e w sp a p e rs, s i n c e th ey do n o t a r r i v e , can n o t
d e n t th e l o c a l m onopoly" ( L ie b l in g , 1 9 6 1 :3 - 4 ) . T h is s tu d y , th e n ,
c an n o t be c o n s id e r e d a " c o m p a ra tiv e s tu d y " in th e s t r i c t s e n s e o f th e
te rm , b u t i t i s hoped t h a t th e f in d in g s can be com pared in g e n e r a l
te rm s. S u p p o rt o f th e h y p o th e se s in b o th s o c i a l s e t t i n g s w i l l re n d e r
th e t h e o r i e s from w hich th ey draw more b ro a d ly g e n e r a l l z a b l e th a n I f
o n ly one s o c i a l s e t t i n g w ere exam ined.
C hoice o f n ew ap ap ers: Los A ngeles C ounty. T here a r e two
m a jo r, g e n e r a l c i r c u l a t i o n n ew sp ap ers w hich c o v e r Los A ngeles County:
The Los A ngeles T im es, re a c h in g a p p ro x im a te ly one m i l l i o n f a m i l i e s
each day and more th a n 1 ,2 0 0 ,0 0 0 on S u ndays, i s p o l i t i c a l l y m o d e ra te ;
The H e ra ld E x am in er, w ith a c i r c u l a t i o n o f 5 1 2,922 as o f S ep tem b er,
1970, i s p o l i t i c a l l y s l i g h t l y r i g h t o f c e n t e r . These two new spapers
20
21
w ere ch o sen f o r a r e c e n t stu d y o f p r e s s co v erag e and b l a c k - o u t o f
In f o rm a tio n r e g a r d in g b la c k s p r i o r to th e Los A ngeles r i o t s o f 1965
(Johnson* S ears* and McConahay* 1971) and w ere found to g iv e an ade
q u a te I n d i c a t i o n o f o v e r a l l a t t e n t i o n by th e p r e s s .
Time sp an s f o r e x a m in a tio n o f n e w sp a p e rs; Los A n g eles C ounty.
When th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in Los A ngeles was s t u d i e d f o r
t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n in March* 1971, I t had b een in e x i s t e n c e f o r n e a r l y
f o u r y e a r s . Two tim e sp an s w ere t h e r e f o r e ch o sen f o r c o n te n t a n a l y s i s
o f th e n e w sp a p ers: th e p e rio d M arch, 1970 th ro u g h F ebruary* 1971*
b e in g one f u l l y e a r b e f o r e c lo s e e x a m in a tio n o f th e movement as I t
e x i s t e d In March* 1971* and th e p e r io d Ju ly * 1968 th ro u g h June* 1969*
b e in g a one y e a r p e r io d r e l a t i v e l y e a r l y in th e fo r m a tio n o f th e
movement. By a n a ly z in g th e c o n te n t o f th e new sp ap ers f o r b o th tim e
sp an s and by e x am in in g th e movement a t two p o i n t s In tim e* Ju ly * 1969
and M arch, 1971, i t was hoped t h a t a l l h y p o th e se s c o u ld be f u l l y
t e s t e d .
C hoice o f n e w sp a p e rs: E n g lan d . The sam ple used by H a llo ra n *
E l l i o t t * and Murdock in t h e i r s tu d y o f th e c o v e ra g e g iv e n by th e mass
m edia to an a n t i - w a r d e m o n s tra tio n i n London (1970) was ch o se n on th e
b a s i s o f e q u a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l l y c o n s e r v a tiv e and a n t i
c o n s e r v a tiv e p a p e rs and o f " q u a l i t y , " " p o p u la r* " and " t a b l o i d "
n e w sp a p e rs. T h e ir sam ple was as f o llo w s i
22
C o n se rv a tiv e A n t i - c o n s e r v a t i v e
" Q u a lity " The Times The G uard ian
" P o p u la r" D a lly E x p ress The Sun
" T a b lo id " S k etch D ally M irro r
To t h e s e , th e M orning S t a r , a communist p a p e r , was ad d ed , and
th ey a l s o exam ined two o t h e r Im p o rta n t p a p e r s , The T e le g ra p h and th e
D a lly M a il, b o th o f w hich a re c o n s e r v a tiv e . To th e s e , th e a u th o r
added th r e e Sunday p a p e r s : The O b s e r v e r , w hich i s a n t i - c o n s e r v a t i v e ,
and th e Sunday Times and th e Sunday T e le g ra p h , b o th o f w hich a re
c o n s e r v a t i v e . These p a p e r s w ere added b e c a u se ite m s b a r e ly to u ch ed
upon d u rin g th e week a r e o f t e n expanded upon in th e Sunday p a p e r s .
I t was in te n d e d t h a t two m a jo r e v e n in g n a t i o n a l new sp ap ers sh o u ld be
added to th e sam ple b u t o n ly one o f t h e s e , The E vening S ta n d a r d , was
a v a i l a b l e on m ic ro film .
The d a l l y c i r c u l a t i o n s f o r 1970 o f th e n ew sp ap ers l i s t e d
above a r e shown in T ab le I I .
tim e p e r i o d , May, 1969 th ro u g h J u l y , 1970 was ch o sen f o r c o n te n t
a n a l y s i s o f th e E n g lis h sam ple o f n e w sp a p e rs. I t was in th e e a r l y
p a r t o f 1969 t h a t th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement a p p e a rs to have
begun in E ngland and i t was d u r in g A u g u st, 1970 t h a t th e movement i n
E n g lan d was c l o s e l y s t u d i e d by t h i s o b s e r v e r . Only th e f i r s t two
h y p o th e s e s w ere t e s t e d w ith r e s p e c t to E n g lan d .
Time sp an f o r e x a m in a tio n o f n e w sp a p ers: E n g lan d . Only one
23
FIGURE II
DAILY CIRCULATION FIGURES FOR NEWSPAPERS IN THE ENGLISH SAMPLE-1970*
The Times 4 0 1 ,7 5 6
D a lly E x p ress 3 ,6 0 7 ,4 6 0
S ketch 806,396
The G uard ian 303,332
The Sun 1 ,5 0 9 ,3 3 0
D a lly M irro r 4 ,6 9 6 ,9 5 0
M orning S t a r Not l i s t e d
T e le g ra p h 1 ,4 0 2 ,3 6 2
D a lly M all 1 ,9 1 6 ,5 1 0
O b se rv e r 847,572
Sunday Times 1 ,4 6 4 ,1 4 2
E vening S ta n d a rd 549,667
Sunday T e le g ra p h 756,406
* S o u rce : W h ita k e r 's Almanack (1971)
II. CONTENT ANALYSIS OF NEWSPAPERS
24
C hoice o f item s to be a n a ly s e d . The key p h r a s e s d e te r m in in g
w h e th e r news r e p o r ts * a r t i c l e s * c a rto o n s * o r o t h e r f e a t u r e s w ere
ch o sen f o r a n a l y s i s w ere "women's l i b e r a t i o n * " o r "women's l i b * " o r
"w o m lib ," " f e m i n i s t s * " o r "new f e m i n i s t s , " and " m i l i t a n t " when i t
a p p lie d to women. I f any of th e s e w ords o r p h r a s e s a p p e a re d a t any
p la c e In th e item* o r I f th e name o f a women's l i b e r a t i o n movement
group ap p eared * th e ite m was coded.
Method o f a n a l y s i s . Each ite m was f i r s t w e ig h te d a c c o rd in g
to I t s s i z e a s f o llo w s :
B r ie f ite m up to 30 l i n e s *
s i n g l e column s p a c e ............................................................. 1 u n i t
Each f u r t h e r 30 l i n e s .............................................................1 u n i t
P h o to g rap h o r c a rto o n *
s i n g l e column sp a c e ............................................................. 1 u n i t
L a rg e r p h o to g ra p h s o r
c a r to o n s .............................................................w e ig h te d
p r o p o r t i o n a l l y
W eig h tin g was g iv e n o n ly to p a r t s o f an ite m d e v o te d s p e c i f i
c a l l y to th e phenomenon u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
Each u n i t was c a te g o r iz e d by th e r e s e a r c h e r as b e lo n g in g In
one o f th r e e d i r e c t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s : fa v o ra b le * u n fa v o ra b le * o r
n e u t r a l tow ards t h e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement. N e u tr a l im p lie s f a i r
r e p o r t i n g o f s ta t e m e n ts made by p e rs o n s ab o u t th e movement even
though t h e s e s ta t e m e n ts may have b e e n f a v o r a b le o r u n f a v o r a b le to w ard
th e movement. The f a v o r a b le and u n f a v o r a b le c a t e g o r i e s w ere u sed
whan th e r e p o r t e r i n j e c t e d o p in io n s o f e i t h e r s l a n t w hich w ere n o t
25
d i r e c t r e p o r t i n g . For E n g lis h n e w sp a p e rs, I t was a ls o n o te d w h e th e r
th e Item r e f e r r e d to th e movement In England o r w h e th e r i t r e f e r r e d
to th e movement In th e U n ite d S t a t e s o r e ls e w h e re .
M easure o f I n t e r c o d e r a g re e m e n t. Two g ra d u a te s tu d e n t s were
i n s t r u c t e d as to th e m ethod o f c o d in g u sed in t h i s s tu d y . T h e ir
r e s u l t s , u s in g a sam ple o f f i f t y u n i t s o f th e d a t a , w ere t e s t e d
a g a i n s t th e r e s u l t s o b ta in e d by th e r e s e a r c h e r when she coded th e
same f i f t y u n i t sam ple as th e two g ra d u a te B tu d e n ts . The fo rm u la
u sed to d e te rm in e i n t e r c o d e r r e l i a b i l i t y was t h a t o f f e r e d by H o la tl
(N orth et_ a l , 1 9 6 3 :4 9 ).
2 (Ci 2)
R - ■ ■ ■
°1 + C 2
C. , i s th e number o f c a te g o ry a ssig n m e n ts b o th c o d ers
> *
a g re e upon.
i s th e t o t a l c a te g o r y a ssig n m e n ts made by
b o th c o d e rs .
A pplying t h i s fo rm u la , th e R 's o b ta in e d w ere .9 2 and .9 6 .
These l e v e l s o f agreem ent w ere c o n s id e r e d s u f f i c i e n t l y h ig h f o r th e
r e s e a r c h e r to p ro c e e d w ith co d in g th e e n t i r e d a ta .
I I I . EXAMINATION OF WOMEN'S LIBERATION GROUPS
P a r t i c i p a n t o b s e r v a t i o n . The o b s e r v e r s tte n d e d e i g h t
m e e tin g s o f d i f f e r e n t women's l i b e r a t i o n movement g ro u p s i n E n g lsn d ,
f i f t e e n m e etin g s o f g ro u p s in Loo A ngeles County and re c o rd e d (1) th e
26
s i z e o f such g a t h e r i n g s , (2 ) th e a p p e a ra n c e o f p e rs o n a who a tte n d e d :
s o c i a l c l a s s , d r e s s , c o l o r , a g e , (3) th e m anner In w hich th e m e etin g s
w ere c o n d u c te d : fo r m a lly o r i n f o r m a l l y , (4) t h e k in d s o f d is c u s s io n
and a c t i v i t y w hich e n su e d , (5) th e ty p e s o f l e a d e r s h i p : e x p r e s s iv e
o r I n s t r u m e n t a l , (6 ) th e a c t i v i t i e s w hich w ere b e in g p la n n e d f o r th e
f u t u r e , and (7) w hat p r i n t e d m a t t e r , I f any, was a v a i l a b l e . T h is
p e r s o n a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n a llo w e d th e o b s e r v e r to g a in a know ledge o f th e
movement from w i t h i n ; to g a in I n s i g h t s I n to th e dynam ics, th e f u t u r e
a lm s , th e p o l i t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n , and th e s t r e n g t h o f th e movement as
a id s in th e t e s t i n g o f h y p o th e se s two and t h r e e .
P e rio d o f p a r t i c i p a n t o b s e r v a t i o n : Los A n g eles C ounty. The
o b s e r v e r p a r t i c i p a t e d in m e e tin g s and g a th e r in g s of women's l i b e r a
t i o n movement g ro u p s in Loa A ngeles County d u r in g th e month o f M arch,
1971.
P e r io d o f p a r t i c i p a n t o b s e r v a t i o n : E n g lan d . The o b s e r v e r
p a r t i c i p a t e d in m e e tin g s and g a th e r in g s o f wom en's l i b e r a t i o n move
ment g ro u p s i n E ngland d u rin g A u g u st, 1970.
N o n - p a r tic ip a n t o b s e r v a t i o n . The movement in Los A ngeles
d u rin g t h e e a r l i e r p e r io d u n d e r s tu d y f o r t h i s a r e a c o u ld n o t be
p a r t i c i p a t e d in by t h i s o b s e r v e r . I n s t e a d , more th a n tw en ty p e rso n a
who had b een a c t i v e in th e movement a t t h a t tim e w ere c o n s u lte d and
a d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e movement was c o n s tr u c te d f o r th e e a r l i e r p e r io d .
Where re c o rd s had been k e p t , th e s e w ere u t i l i s e d in th e a tte m p t to
p r e s e n t a s a c c u r a t e a p i c t u r e as p o s s i b l e so t h a t th e sec o n d
27
h y p o th e se s c o u ld be t e s t e d .
I n t e r v i e w s . Both p e r s o n a l I n te r v ie w s and te le p h o n e I n te r v ie w s
w ere co n d u cted w ith p e rs o n s co n n ec te d w ith th e women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement In E ngland and In th e Los A ngeles County a r e a .
E x am in atio n o f r e c o r d s . Few women’s l i b e r a t i o n g ro u p s keep
re c o rd s o f m em bership. Where th e s e w ere a v a i l a b l e , th e y w ere used
to a s s e s s grow th o f I n d i v i d u a l g ro u p s . Names o f i n d i v i d u a l g ro u p s
w ere made a v a i l a b l e to th e r e s e a r c h e r who was th e n a b le to c o n ta c t
each group In o r d e r to a s s e s s th e s i z e and th e k in d s o f a c t i v i t i e s i t
co n d u cte d . T o g e th e r w ith p a r t i c i p a n t o b s e r v a tio n , c o rre sp o n d e n c e ,
and I n t e r v i e w s , e x a m in a tio n of re c o rd s added to th e g a in in g o f an
o v e r a l l p i c t u r e o f t h e wom en's l i b e r a t i o n movement In th e two s o c i a l
s e t t i n g s .
Summary. In t h i s c h a p t e r , th e m ethods and p ro c e d u re s u sed
to g a t h e r t h e d a ta p e r t a i n i n g to th e p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n o f th e women's
l i b e r a t i o n movements i n E ngland and i n Los A ngeles County h av e b een
s e t o u t , t o g e t h e r w ith th e m ethods and p ro c e d u re s u sed to a s s e s s th e
a c t u a l a c t i o n s , s i z e , and g row th o f th e movement i n b o th s o c i a l
s e t t i n g s .
H ass c i r c u l a t i o n n e w sp a p e rs, l o c a l f o r Los A ngeles C o u n ty ,
n a t i o n a l f o r E n g lan d , w ere ch o sen f o r c o n te n t a n a l y s i s to d e te rm in e
th e p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n o f th e s o c i a l movement. One f if te e n - m o n th
p e r io d was ch o sen f o r a n a l y s i s o f th e E n g lis h n e w sp a p e rs, tw o , o n e -
y e a r p e r io d s w ere chosen f o r a n a l y s i s o f th e Los A ngeles n e w sp a p e rs.
28
The women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in b o th E ngland and in Los
A ngeles County was s t u d i e d u s in g m ethods o f p a r t i c i p a n t o b s e r v a t i o n ,
c o rre sp o n d e n c e , i n t e r v i e w s , and e x a m in a tio n o f r e c o r d s w here th e s e
w ere a v a i l a b l e .
The d a t a w ere c o l l e c t e d in o r d e r to e s t a b l i s h t h a t : (a) th e
new ly em erging women's l i b e r a t i o n movement was g iv e n s p a r s e co v erag e
by th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n new sp ap ers (b) th e women's l i b e r a t i o n move
ment r e c r u i t e d , grew , and a c te d d e s p i t e la c k o f c o v erag e by th e mass
c i r c u l a t i o n n ew sp ap ers and (c ) when th e movement c o u ld be se e n to be
grow ing in s i c e and s t r e n g t h th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n new spapers w ould
e v id e n c e i n d i c a t i o n s o f " c o - o p t a t i o n " by th e b ro a d e r s o c i e t y . C o n ten t
a n a l y s i s o f n ew sp ap ers p ro d u c e s q u a n t i f i a b l e d a t a ; d a t a g a th e r e d
th ro u g h p a r t i c i p a n t o b s e r v a t i o n a r e q u a l i t a t i v e , g iv in g i n s i g h t s i n t o
th e I n t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n o f g ro u p s w hich a re n o t o th e r w is e o b t a i n a b l e .
T hese d a ta and t h e i r a n a l y s i s w i l l be found in th e fo llo w in g
c h a p te r .
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
I . RESTATEMENT OF PROPOSITIONS AND HYPOTHESES
T h ree g e n e r a l p r o p o s i t i o n s w ere s u g g e s te d by th e problem s o f
t h i s s tu d y and by th o s e a s p e c ts o f c o n f l i c t th e o ry * mass com m unication
th e o ry * and s o c i a l movement th e o ry w hich a p p e a re d to r e l a t e to them.
The p r o p o s i t i o n s w ere: (1 ) When a new s o c i a l movement t h r e a t e n s th e
e x i s t i n g s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e s * th e mass m edia w i l l te n d to " b la c k - o u t "
in f o r m a tio n r e g a r d in g t h a t movement. (2) In i t s e a r l y s ta g e s * when
a s o c i a l movement i s n o t d e f in e d by o r f o r th e p u b lic * i t w i l l s t i l l
r e c r u i t * grow* and a c t . (3) When a t h r e a t e n i n g s o c i a l movement i s
s e e n to be g a in in g s tr e n g th * th e s o c i e t y w i l l a tte m p t to c o -o p t some
o f th e l e s s r e v o lu t i o n a r y a s p e c ts o f th e movement. C o -o p ta tio n w i l l
m a n ife s t i t s e l f p a r t l y by changes in th e mass m edia tow ard a more
f a v o r a b le a t t i t u d e c o n c e rn in g th e movement.
*
The h y p o th e se s w hich w ere d e r iv e d from th e above p r o p o s i t i o n s
a re a s f o llo w s :
(1) The mass c i r c u l a t i o n n ew sp ap ers w i l l te n d to w ith h o ld
in f o r m a tio n a b o u t th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in th e e a r l y s ta g e s
o f i t s f o r m a tio n .
(2) In th e e a r l y s ta g e s o f i t s fo rm a tio n * when In f o rm a tio n
a b o u t th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement i s w ith h e ld and th e movement Is
n o t d e f in e d by o r f o r th e p u b lic * i t w i l l s t i l l r e c r u i t members* grow
29
30
and a c t . T h is w i l l be e v id e n c e d by com parison o f th e movement a t two
p o in ts in tim e r e l a t i v e l y e a r l y in i t s e x i s t e n c e .
(3) As th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement grows in s t r e n g t h th e
mass c i r c u l a t i o n new sp ap ers w i l l p ro v id e more in f o r m a tio n a b o u t th e
movement. T h is in f o r m a tio n w i l l become i n c r e a s i n g l y f a v o r a b le to w ard
th e movement.
I I . THE TEST OF THE FIRST HYPOTHESIS
A n a ly s is o f d a ta p e r t a i n i n g to th e f i r s t h y p o th e s i s ; Los
A ngeles C ounty. U sing th e method d e s c r ib e d in C h a p te r I I I a c o n te n t
a n a l y s i s was c o n d u cte d o f th e two mass c i r c u l a t i o n new sp ap ers in Los
A ngeles C ounty, The Los A ngeles Times and th e H e rald E xam iner, f o r
th e p e r io d J u l y , 1968 th ro u g h J u n e , 1969, b e in g a o n e -y e a r p e r io d
r e l a t i v e l y e a r l y In th e fo rm a tio n o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement
in Los A ngeles C ounty.
As can be s e e n from Graph A and Graph B, l i t t l e in f o r m a tio n
r e g a r d in g th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement was p ro v id e d by e i t h e r o f
th e two m ajor Los A ngeles County n e w sp a p ers. Of th e t o t a l o f 19 u n i t s
o f c o v erag e o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in th e Loe A ngeles
Times d u rin g th e y e a r , 4 u n i t s r e f e r r e d to th e movement l o c a l l y ; 15
u n i t s r e f e r r e d to th e movement in o t h e r p a r t s o f th e c o u n try and th e
w o rld . Of th e t o t a l o f 7 u n i t s o f co v erag e o f th e wom en's l i b e r a t i o n
movement in th e H e ra ld d u rin g th e y e a r , 3 u n i t s r e f e r r e d to
th e movement l o c a l l y w h ile 4 u n i t s r e f e r r e d to th e movement In New
York.
The co v erag e in b o th n ew sp ap ers c o n s i s t e d e n t i r e l y o f
70
60
50
30
20
LO
0
Ju ly Aug. Sep. O c t. H o t . Dec. Jan .F eb . Mar. Apr. May June
GRAPH A
LOS AHGELES TIMES
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE W O M EN ' S LIBERATION MVT.
Ju ly 1968 - June 1969
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
_________________
Ju ly Aug. Sep. Oct.Nov. D ec.Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June
0
GRAPH B
LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE W O M EN ’S LIBERATION MOVT.
Ju ly 1966 - June 1969
unbiased rep orts and was ca teg o rized as n e u tr a l.
F in d in g s p e r t a i n i n g to th e f i r s t h y p o th e s i s ; Los A ngeles
C ounty. I t i s c l e a r from Graphs A and B t h a t l i t t l e in f o r m a tio n
r e g a r d in g th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in th e e a r l y s ta g e s o f i t s
fo rm a tio n in Los Angej.es County was p ro v id e d by e i t h e r o f th e two
m ajo r mass c i r c u l a t i o n n e w sp a p ers.
T h at th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement e x i s t e d in t h a t geo
g r a p h ic a l l o c a t i o n in May* 1969* and t h a t i t was s u f f i c i e n t l y
e s t a b l i s h e d and a c t i v e to have been co v ered by th e p r e s s i s shown in
th e t e s t i n g o f th e second h y p o th e s is . The f i r s t h y p o th e s is a p p e a rs
to be s t r o n g l y s u p p o rte d w ith r e g a r d to Los A ngeles C ounty.
A n a ly s is o f d a ta p e r t a i n i n g to th e f i r s t h y p o th e s is : E n g lan d .
Graphs C th ro u g h N show th e r e s u l t s o f a c o n te n t a n a l y s i s o f tw elv e
o f th e t h i r t e e n E n g lis h new sp ap ers s e l e c t e d f o r e x a m in a tio n . Graphs
C th ro u g h I show th e u n i t s o f co v erag e o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement in sev en l a r g e c i r c u l a t i o n n ew sp ap ers from May* 1969 th ro u g h
Ju ly * 1970. T h is tim e p e r io d was s e l e c t e d a s b e in g r e l a t i v e l y e a r l y
in th e fo rm a tio n o f th e women’s l i b e r a t i o n movement in E ngland.
The sev en n ew sp ap ers a n a ly z e d f o r the- e n t i r e 16 month p e r io d
a r e :
D a ily E x p ress
Sunday Times
G uardian
D a lly S k e tc h
Sun
D a ily M irro r
Sunday Times
40
30
20
10
0
May June JulyAug. Sep. O ct. Nov.Dec. Jan .F eb . Mar, Apr. May June Ju ly
GRAPH C
DAILY EXPRESS
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
May 1969 - July 1970
130
35
o
CM 3 8
o o
3
o O ©
CM
O
vO
GRAPH D
SUNDAY TIMES
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
May 1969 - J u ly 1970
60
50
40
30
20
10
May June J u l . Aug.Sep. O ct. Nov. Dec. Jan .F eb . Mar. Apr. May June Ju ly
GRAPH E
THE GUARDIAN
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
May 1969 - July 1970
May June J u l . Aug.Sep. O ct. Nov. Dec. Jan . Feb.Mar. Apr. May June July
GRAPH F
DAILY SKETCH
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
May 19S9 - July 1970
20
10
May June Ju ly Aug.Sep. O ct. Nov. Dec. Jan.F eb. Mar. Apr. May June July
GRAPH G
SUN
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
May 1969 - July 1970
May June Ju ly Aug.Sep. O ct. Nov. Dec. Jan .F eb . Mar. Apr.May June Ju ly
GRAPH H
DAILY MIRROR
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION M OVEM ENT
May 1969 - July 1970
30
20
May June J u l . Aug.Sep. O ct. Nov. Dec. Jan.F eb. Mar. Apr.May June Ju ly
GRAPH I
LONDON TIMES
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION M O V EM EN T
May 1969 - July 1970
20
10
0
May June J u l . Aug.Sep. O ct. Nov.Dec.
GRAPH J
DAILY MAIL
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION M OVEM ENT
May 1969 - December 1969 * - *
20
10
0
May June Jul.A ug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.
GRAPH K
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION M OVEM ENT
May 1969 - Deceaber 1969
20
10
0
May June Ju ly Aug. Sep. O ct. Nov.Dec.
GRAPH L
OBSERVER
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE W OMEN'S LIBERATION M OVEM ENT
May 1969 - Deceober 1969
20
10
0
M ayJune July Aug. SepTOcTTNov. Dec
GRAPH M
MILT TELEGRAPH
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION M OVEM ENT
May 1969 - December 1969 £
20
10
0
May June Ju ly Aug. Sep. Oct.Nov. Dec.
GRAPH N
MORNING STAR
UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE W OM EN*S LIBERATION M OVEM ENT
May 1969 - December 1969
46
Graphs J th ro u g h N show th e c o v erag e o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement in f i v e la r g e c i r c u l a t i o n n a t i o n a l n ew sp ap ers from May, 1969
th ro u g h Decem ber, 1969 o n ly . These a r e :
D a ily M all
Sunday T e le g ra p h
O b se rv e r
D a lly T e le g ra p h
M orning S t a r
M ic ro film f o r th e s e new spapers was n o t a v a i l a b l e f o r 1970.
The re m a in in g n a t i o n a l new spaper In th e E n g lis h sam p le, th e
Evening S ta n d a r d , was a v a i l a b l e on m ic ro film f o r o n ly th e f i r s t f o u r
months o f th e p e r io d u nder e x a m in a tio n . C o n ten t a n a l y s i s r e v e a le d
3 u n i t s o f c o v erag e o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in May, 1969
and 1 u n i t In A u g u st, 1969.
F ig u re I I I shows th e number o f u n i t s o f co v erag e in each o f
th e t h i r t e e n n ew sp ap ers w hich c o n cern ed th e women's l i b e r a t i o n move
ment in England and th e number of u n i t s w hich c o n ce rn e d th e women's
l i b e r a t i o n movement in th e U .S.A . and o th e r p a r t s o f th e w o rld .
F in d in g s p e r t a i n i n g to th e f i r s t h y p o th e s i s : E n g lan d .
I n s p e c tio n o f G raphs C th ro u g h N i n d i c a t e s t h a t , w h ile th e r e was n o t
a t o t a l b la c k - o u t o f In f o r m a tio n r e g a r d in g th e women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement in th e e a r l y s ta g e s o f i t s f o r m a tio n , c o v e ra g e by m ost o f
th e E n g lis h mass c i r c u l a t i o n new sp ap ers was s p a r s e . The n o ta b le
e x c e p tio n o f th e Sunday T im es, w hich a cc o u n te d f o r a lm o s t f o r t y p e r
c e n t o f th e t o t a l u n i t s o f c o v erag e ( s e e Graph D and F ig u r e 1 1 1 ),
s e r v e s to p o i n t up th e d e f i c i e n c i e s o f th e o t h e r n e w sp a p e rs. I t a ls o
s e r v e s to i n d i c a t e t h a t , q u i t e e a r l y in th e tim e p e r io d u n d er
47
FIGURE I I I
DISTRIBUTION OF UNITS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S
LIBERATION MOVEMENT IN THE ENGLISH NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS
T o ta l
Newspaper U n its
D ally E x p ress 19
Sunday Times 159*
G u ardian 60
S ketch 35
Sun 22
D ally M irro r 51
London Times 26
D a lly M all 5
Sunday T e le g ra p h 3
O b se rv e r 7
D a ily T e le g ra p h 4
M orning S t a r 5
E vening S ta n d a rd 4
T o ta ls 400**
U n its
c o n c e rn in g U n its c o n c e rn in g
E ngland o t h e r c o u n tr ie s
4 15
66 93
19 41
33 2
9 13
41 10
24 2
5 0
3 0
1 6
2 2
1 4
0 4
208 192
*The Sunday Times a c c o u n ts f o r 39.88% o f th e t o t a l u n i t s o f
c o v erag e o f th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n Movement.
**0f th e t o t a l number o f u n i t s r e f e r r i n g to th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n
Movement, 52% r e f e r to th e Movement i n E ngland and 48% r e f e r to
t h e Movement in th e U .S.A . and o t h e r p a r t s o f th e w o rld .
48
i n v e s t i g a t i o n , th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement was b o th l a r g e enough
and o f s u f f i c i e n t Im p o rtan ce to w a rra n t b ro a d c o v erag e . Even th e
co v erag e by th e Sunday Times was c o n c e n tr a te d i n t o a two-week p e r i o d ,
b e in g c o n ta in e d in th e Sunday Times M agazine. A p art from th e s e two
weeks in S ep tem b er, 1969, co v erag e o v e r th e r e s t o f th e p e r io d was
no l e s s s p a r s e th a n t h a t p ro v id e d by most o f th e o t h e r n e w sp a p ers.
I t sh o u ld be f u r t h e r n o te d t h a t n e a r l y o n e - h a lf (48%) o f th e
t o t a l c o v erag e o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in th e E n g lish
p a p e rs was c o n ce rn e d w ith th e movement in th e U.S.A. and in E urope.
Some n e w sp a p e rs, n o ta b ly th e D a ily E x p ress and th e G u a rd ia n , p r e s e n te d
women's l i b e r a t i o n l a r g e l y a s an e x o t i c movement.
T h at th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement e x i s t e d in E ngland d u rin g
th e p e r io d u n d e r e x a m in a tio n and t h a t i t was s u f f i c i e n t l y e s t a b l i s h e d
and a c t i v e to have been c o v ered by th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n p r e s s i s
d e m o n stra te d in th e t e s t i n g o f th e sec o n d h y p o th e s is shown below .
On th e b a s i s of t h i s e v id e n c e , th e f i r s t h y p o th e s is a p p e a rs
to be s u p p o rte d w ith re g a r d to th e E n g lis h mass c i r c u l a t i o n news
p a p e r s . The ten d en cy was to w ith h o ld in f o r m a tio n a b o u t th e women's
l i b e r a t i o n movement i n th e e a r l y s ta g e s o f i t s fo rm a tio n .
111. TEST OF THE SECOND HYPOTHESIS
A n a ly s is o f th e d a ta p e r t a i n i n g to th e seco n d h y p o th e s i s i
Los A ngelas C o unty. In o r d e r to t e s t th e second h y p o th e s is as i t
a p p lie d to Los A ngeles County i t was n e c e s s a r y to e s t a b l i s h c o n t a c t
w ith p e rs o n s who had b een i n th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in and
b e f o r e J u l y , 1969, so t h a t th e s i c e , g ro w th , and a c t i o n s o f th e
49
movement a t t h a t tim e m ig h t be a s s e s s e d . T elephone i n t e r v i e w s , p e r
s o n a l i n t e r v i e w s , c o rre s p o n d e n c e , and e x a m in a tio n o f movement r e c o rd s
and l i t e r a t u r e w ere th e m ethods u sed in an a tte m p t to p r e s e n t an
a c c u r a t e l y r e c o n s t r u c t e d p i c t u r e o f th e movement.
The women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in Los A ngeles C ounty; J u l y ,
1969, The lo n g e s t e s t a b l i s h e d n e w -fe m in is t group in Los A ngeles
County i s th e N a tio n a l O r g a n iz a tio n f o r Women (N .O .W ,). The S o u th ern
C a l i f o r n i a C h ap ter o f N.O.W. was e s t a b l i s h e d in Los A ngeles on A p ril
1 , 1967, h a v in g i t s f i r s t m em bers' m e etin g on J u ly 1 1 , 1967. I t th e n
com prised te n members, th e minimum number r e q u ir e d by N.O.W, b y -law s
to form a c h a p te r .
The J u ly /A u g u s t, 1969 i s s u e o f th e N.O.W. n e w s l e t t e r announced
t h a t , w ith s e p a r a t e c h a p te r s fo rm in g in Anaheim, W h i t t i e r , C osta Mesa,
and Long Beach, th e S o u th e rn C a l i f o r n i a C h a p te r w ould h e n c e f o r th be
known as th e Los A ngeles C h a p te r. What had been th e S o u th e rn C a li
f o r n i a C h ap ter h a d , a t t h i s tim e , some 45 mem bers; some o f th e s e w ere
l o s t to th e new ly fo rm in g c h a p te r s . Two o f th e new ly fo rm in g g ro u p s,
W h i t t i e r and Long B each, came w i t h i n th e Los A ngeles County a r e a
u n d er i n v e s t i g a t i o n . T here had b een s te a d y grow th o f m em bership
s i n c e th e fo u n d in g o f th e S o u th e rn C a l i f o r n i a C h a p te r.
The N a tio n a l O rg a n iz a tio n f o r Women a c t i v e l y Bought p u b l i c i t y .
Members e l e c t e d p u b lic r e l a t i o n s o f f i c e r s whose ta s k was to t r y to
o b t a i n c o v erag e o f th e o r g a n i z a t i o n 's a c t i v i t i e s b y , among o t h e r
m e d ia , th e Los A ngeles Times and th e H e ra ld E x a s d n e r. They m et w ith
l i t t l e s u c c e s s . N e ith e r new spaper showed any I n t e r e s t in th e
50
a c t i v i t i e s o f th e l o c a l c h a p te r o f N.O.W, u n t i l May and J u n e , 1969.
In May, a M o th e r's Day p r o t e s t , "Women w a lk in g f o r women," w hich was
p a r t i c i p a t e d In by members o f N.O.W ., among o t h e r n e w -fe m ln ls t g ro u p s ,
was g iv e n two u n i t s o f c o v erag e by th e Los A ngeles T im es. On June 25,
1969, th e Los A ngeles Times r e p o r te d In a two u n i t ite m th e p i c k e t i n g
o f I t s o f f i c e s on th e p r e v io u s day by members o f N.O.W, The p i c k e t i n g
was to p r o t e s t t h a t p a p e r 's s e x u a lly s e g r e g a te d h e lp -w a n te d a d v e r
tis e m e n ts w h ich , N.O.W. a s s e r t e d , v i o l a t e d T i t l e VII o f th e 1964 C iv il
R ig h ts A ct. On Ju n e 6 , 1969, th e H e rald Exam iner gave th r e e u n i t s o f
sp a c e to a m e etin g o f N.O.W. a t w hich D a n iel F a rso n was th e g u e s t
s p e a k e r. In a w hole y e a r , th e s e w ere th e few i n d i c a t i o n s by th e two
m ajo r Los A ngeles new sp ap ers o f th e e x i s t e n c e o f a n e w -fe m ln ls t
movement in Los A ngeles C ounty.
A n o th er group w hich began e a r l y In th e h i s t o r y o f th e women's
l i b e r a t i o n movement in Los A ngeles County was th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n
F ro n t (WLF) a t th e U n iv e r s ity o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los A n g e le s. A cco rd in g
to i t s spokeswomen, th e WLF, w hich was form ed in th e f a l l o f 1967,
drew i t s members m a in ly from M a rx ist o r SDS g ro u p s in w hich m lx e d -sex
o r g a n i z a t i o n s th e y had become d is e n c h a n te d w ith th e r o u t i n e ta s k s
a s s ig n e d to them a s women. The group co m p rised a s o l i d c o re o f te n
members who c o n sid e re d th e m selv e s a l e a d e r s h i p g ro u p . By S p r in g , 1969,
th e r e was a f l u c t u a t i n g m em bership o f a b o u t 25 women, most o f whom
a tte n d e d th e w eekly m e e tin g s , and a m a ilin g l i s t o f a f f i l i a t e d p e rs o n s
num bering a b o u t 60. Most members w ere g r a d u a te s t u d e n t s . The m edian
age was a b o u t 25 b u t a g e s ra n g e d from 20 y e a r s to th e m i d - f i f t i e s .
51
At t h a t tim e , t h e r e was a woman V ice C h a n c e llo r in c h arg e o f
e d u c a tio n a l a f f a i r s a t U .C .L .A ., Rosemary P a rk . Members o f WLF worked
w ith h e r " to g e t th in g s done f o r women w hich would n o t n o rm a lly have
been done I f th e r e w ere a man in h e r p o s i t i o n . " ^ The WLF p r e s s e d f o r
c l a s s e s on women to be g iv e n a t U .C .L.A . In 1969* from J a n u a ry to
M arch, th e f i r s t su ch c l a s s was g iv e n by Dr. S y lv ia T ucker w ith two
members o f WLF as te a c h in g a s s i s t a n t s . N in e ty - n in e s tu d e n t s and te n
a u d i t o r s e n r o l l e d f o r th e c l a s s w hich was renewed f o r a f u r t h e r q u a r t e r
by s tu d e n t demand. A n o th er c o u rse was g iv e n a t U .C .L .A . d u rin g th e
suraner o f 1969 by Nancy R ie v e s , a la w y e r.
I t was In th e s p r i n g o f 1969 t h a t d is s e n s io n w i t h i n th e WLF
le d to I t s s p l i t t i n g In s e v e r a l d i r e c t i o n s . WLF c o n tin u e d to e x i s t as
a s t r o n g l y l e f t - w i n g g ro u p , v ie w in g women's o p p r e s s io n a s an a s p e c t
o f th e e x i s t i n g s o c i a l and econom ic s y ste m , c a p i t a l i s m . In a p o l i c y
s ta te m e n t a p p e a rin g in b o th th e U .C .L.A . D a lly B ru in in May, 19 6 9 ,
and in th e N.O.W. n e w s l e t t e r o f J u n e , 1969, WLF announced t h a t I t
p la n n e d "an i n t e n s i v e program o f p o l i t i c a l e d u c a tio n m e etin g s . . .
p u b lic s p e a k e r t r a i n i n g , and i n - d e p th d i s c u s s i o n and e v a l u a t i o n o f
t a c t i c s . . . " f o r th e coming summer. I t a l s o r e p o r te d th e r e c e n t
c r e a t i o n o f a " g u e r i l l a t h e a t e r " as an a c ti o n arm o f I t s o r g a n i z a t i o n .
Among o t h e r a c t i o n s , th e " s t r e e t t h e a t e r " p e rfo rm ed In th e S a n ta
M onica M all on M o th e r 's Day, 1969. F o llo w in g i t s sp o o f o f th e c o n ce p t
o f s e t t i n g a s i d e one day a y e a r to h o n o r m o th e r, members o f WLF
^ Q u o ta tio n from te le p h o n e I n te r v ie w w ith a p e rs o n who had
b een a member o f WLF a t t h a t tim e .
52
handed l e a f l e t s to th e p a s s in g crow ds t e l l i n g o f th e e x p l o i t a t i o n o f
women a t w ork, In th e m a r k e tp la c e , and In s o c i e t y . A lso In May, WLF
p r e s e n te d t h e i r g u e r i l l a t h e a t e r on th e campus to p r o t e s t to th e
R eg en ts o f th e U n i v e r s i t y , th e n h o ld in g a m e e tin g a t U .C .L .A ., th e
f u n c tio n in g o f th e u n i v e r s i t y as " p a r t o f th e c o r p o r a te s t r u c t u r e
2
t h a t m a in ta in s c a p i t a l i s t and i m p e r i a l i s t e x p l o i t a t i o n . . . "
A b reak -aw ay g ro u p , th e Union f o r Women's I n t e r n a t i o n a l
L i b e r a t i o n (U-WIL), was s t a r t e d by a few fo rm er members o f WLF.
U-W1L, a n x io u s to a v o id i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w ith any e x i s t i n g p o l i t i c a l
id e o lo g y so u g h t to fo r m u la te i t s "own f e m i n i s t a n a l y s i s . . . o f
women's e x c lu s io n from r e s p o n s i b l e p a r t i c i p a t i o n and l e a d e r s h i p i n
3
s o c i e t y . " U-WIL d id n o t w ant to be t r e a t e d as an a d ju n c t o f th e
L e f t , d e a li n g w ith women as an econom ic c l a s s b u t , r a t h e r , view ed
women a s a w o rld -w id e c a s t e .
Among o t h e r a c t i o n s , in A p r i l , 1969 U-WIL, t o g e t h e r w ith th e
M en's A u x ilia r y a t U .C .L .A ., o r g a n iz e d a " s e x - i n " a t w hich 200 p e rs o n s
w ere p r e s e n t . The p rogram , as d e s c r ib e d in th e D a ily B ru in , e x p lo re d
th e p o t e n t i a l i t i e s , a m b itio n s , and t a l e n t s o f th e fe m in in e s e x and
th e i m p lic a tio n s f o r th e m a s c u lin e s e x . A lso d u r in g A p r i l , two mem
b e r s o f U-WIL a tte n d e d th e C a l i f o r n i a D em o cratic C o u n cil m e e tin g s in
San Jorfe w here th e y p ic k e t e d on th e f l o o r o f th e c o n v e n tio n f o r
p a ss a g e o f women's r i g h t s r e s o l u t i o n s a s p a r t o f th e D em ocratic P a r ty
2
Q uoted from W LV l e a f l e t .
3
From p o l i c y s ta te m e n t in b o th U .C .L.A . D a lly B r u in . May,
1969 and N.O.W. n e w s l e t t e r , J u n e , 1969.
53
p la tf o r m . A cco rd in g to one of th e two U-WIL r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , m ost
o f th e women's p la n k s w ere ap p ro v e d ,
U-WIL was one o f th e n e w -fe m ln ls t g ro u p s p a r t i c i p a t i n g In
th e M o th e r's Day A c tio n , "Women w a lk in g f o r women," In Los A n g e le s,
o u t s i d e th e County Museum. A lso in May, 1969 U-WIL, a t t h i s tim e a
t i n y c o re group o f f i v e m em bers, p r e s e n te d C h a n c e llo r Young o f U .C .L.A ,
w ith a l i s t o f te n demands to e l i m i n a t e s e x u a l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n on
campus. F our o f t h e i r te n demands w ere m et. Members o f U-WIL met
w ith V ice C h a n c e llo r Rosemary P ark and N ola S t a r k , dean o f women
s t u d e n t s , to e s t a b l i s h a ta s k f o r c e , to in c lu d e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and
U-WIL r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , f o r th e s u p e r v is io n o f th e o p e r a tio n s o f
v a r io u s com m ittees form ing to im plem ent th e demands.
A lth o u g h p r e s s c o n fe re n c e s w ere c a l l e d to a t t r a c t c i t y m edia
to many o f th e a c t i v i t i e s o f U-WIL, th e U .C .L.A . D a lly B ru in was th e
o n ly p a p e r to c o v e r them.
The "Women w a lk in g f o r women" d e m o n s tra tio n on M o th e r 's Day,
1969, a lr e a d y m en tio n ed In t h i s c h a p t e r , was o rg a n iz e d by Women In
A c tio n f o r New Times (W .A .N .T .). Among I t s o t h e r a c t i o n s , W.A.N.T.
members m et w ith women a t U .C .L.A . f o r d i s c u s s i o n s . S tim u la te d by
one o f th e s e d i s c u s s i o n s , "Racism and S e x ism ," a t w hich A ngela D avis
sp o k e , a member o f U-WIL p ro d u ced a p a p e r , "B la c k L i b e r a t i o n and
Women's L i b e r a t i o n , " w hich was p u b lis h e d in a N.O.W. n e w s l e t t e r . I t
a ls o a p p e a re d in Woman S p e a k in g , a B r i t i s h m a g az in e , in J u l y , 1969.
Y et a n o th e r group w hich form ed In th e S p rin g o f 1969 o u t o f
th e o r i g i n a l W .L.F. a t U .C .L.A . was Women's L i b e r a t i o n One. Members
54
o f Women's L i b e r a t i o n One f e l t t h a t t h e i r work s h o u ld be In th e
community r a t h e r th a n on th e campus. They r e s e r v e d a room f o r t h e i r
w eekly m e e tin g s a t a c o f f e e h o u s e , "The H ay m ark et," on Hoover S t r e e t ,
Los A n g e le s, w here th e Haym arket Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group was a lr e a d y
m e e tin g r e g u l a r l y .
A lthough t h i s r e s e a r c h e r was u n a b le to sp e a k d i r e c t l y w ith
form er members o f th e H aym arket g ro u p , o t h e r s have d e s c r ib e d i t as
s m a ll, p e rh a p s s i x members, s t r o n g l y l e f t - w i n g p o l i t i c a l l y , and whose
main a c t i v i t i e s w ere e d u c a t i o n a l . These in c lu d e d group re a d in g s and
d is c u s s io n s o f E n g els and Marx on th e "woman q u e s t i o n ."
Women's L i b e r a t i o n One was l e s s i n t e r e s t e d in s tu d y th a n in
draw in g women in from th e community to e n la r g e t h e g ro u p . At t h a t
tim e , th e r e w ere betw een seven and te n members. They w ould have l i k e d
to have w orked w ith th e Haym arket group b u t , t h e i r spokeswoman s a i d ,
th e d i f f e r e n c e s in ap p ro ach to th e a c t i o n s to b e ta k e n w ere d i v i s i v e .
Women's L i b e r a t i o n One w anted to c o n c e n tr a te on " c o n s c io u s n e s s
r a i s i n g , " a te c h n iq u e by w hich each p e r s o n , r e l a t i n g h e r own l i f e
e x p e r ie n c e s , becomes aw are o f th e com m onality o f women's l o t .
Women's L i b e r a t i o n One a d v e r t i s e d i t s m e e tin g s in th e Los
A ngeles F ree P r e s s . The group grew . By th e end o f th e summer o f
1969, 15-20 women w ere m e t i n g r e g u l a r l y . B ecause o f th e d i f f e r e n c e s
w ith th e H aym arket g ro u p . Women's L i b e r a t i o n One changed i t s m eetin g
p la c e to St* P a u l 's M e th o d ist C hurch. D uring t h e summer o f 1969,
th e p e r io d u n d e r e x a m in a tio n , th e y b e g a n , t o g e t h e r w ith memb e r s o f
o t h e r g ro u p s , t e n t a t i v e d is c u s s io n s o f th e o p e n in g o f a women's
c e n t e r in Los A ngeles w here a l l th e s e p a r a t e g ro u p s c o u ld come
55
t o g e t h e r .
A lso in e x i s t e n c e In Ju ly * 1969 was a women's group w ith o u t
a name. I t com prised a b o u t 15 p e rs o n s who had b e e n m e e tin g r e g u l a r l y
s i n c e th e b e g in n in g o f th e y e a r , b o th a s a group and t o g e t h e r w ith
members o f o t h e r g ro u p s. D uring J u l y , 1969, th e s e women h e ld f i v e ,
w eekly m e e tin g s , some in p r i v a t e hom es, some a t th e R e t r e a t House a t
Im m aculate H e art C o lle g e , to d is c u s s a "women's p lu n g e " to be h e ld a t
th e R e t r e a t House d u rin g th e f i r s t w eek-end in A u g u st, 1969.
Some o f th e women in th e group w ere S i s t e r s from Im m aculate
H e a r t, o th e r s w ere members o f th e New A d u lt Community, a group w hich
had some e x p e r ie n c e of p a r t i c i p a t i o n in "u rb a n p lu n g e s ." A lso among
th o s e who a tte n d e d th e p la n n in g m e e tin g s w ere some C h ican es and some
b la c k women from th e community. The i n t e r e s t o f th e b la c k women was
n o t r e t a i n e d , a spokeswoman f o r th e g ro u p s a i d . They d id n o t a p p e a r
to f e e l th e need f o r c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g w hich th e w h ite women
found v a lu a b l e .
I t was a rra n g e d t h a t th e r e w ould be b o th c o n s c io u s n e s s
r a i s i n g and p o l i t i c a l e d u c a tio n a t th e women's p lu n g e , E n g e ls '
O rig in s o f th e Fam ily was to be re a d and d is c u s s e d . The p lu n g e ,
t h i s r e s e a r c h e r was t o l d , was t o b e an a tte m p t to combine p sy c h o lo g y ,
fem in ism , and p o l i t i c s . I t was a t th e women's p lu n g e t h a t d e t a i l s
o f a woman's c e n t e r i n Los A ngeles began to be f o r m u la te d .
Among th o s e a t th e women's p lu n g e w ere some members o f
Commit, an u rb an t r a i n i n g c e n t e r , l o c a t e d a t th e U n iv e r s ity o f
S o u th e rn C a l i f o r n i a , s p o n so re d by m a jo r P r o t e s t a n t d e n o m in a tio n s.
Some o f th e women who w orked a t th e Commit o f f i c e "b eg an t a l k i n g
56
a b o u t th e 'woman p r o b le m '- - b e f o r e th e I s s u e had s u r f a c e d , r e a l l y — and
th e way o u r own l i v e s w ere w rapped up In i t . W e d e c id e d to p u t on a
c l a s s , which d ev elo p ed I n to a g ro u p , u n d er th e a u s p ic e s o f Commit."
The c l a s s , h e ld in th e s p r in g o f 1969, a t t r a c t e d 25 p e o p le . I t s
p u rp o se was to d is c u s s such is s u e s as th e s e x u a l r e v o l u t i o n , th e
image o f women in a m a le - o r ie n te d s o c i e t y , and th e id e o lo g y o f th e
s u p e r i o r m ale.
A nother g ro u p , th e S o c i a l i s t Women's O rg a n iz in g P r o j e c t
{SWOP) had n o t lo n g been in e x i s t e n c e in J u l y , 1969 b u t by t h a t tim e
i t had r e c r u i t e d some 15 to 20 women who m et w eekly in p r i v a t e homes.
Members o f t h i s group p a r t i c i p a t e d w ith o t h e r s in th e M o th e r's Day
D e m o n stratio n o u t s i d e th e Los A ngeles County Museum. O th e r a c t i v i t i e s
in c lu d e d r e a d in g s and d is c u s s io n s r e g a r d in g th e o p p r e s s io n o f women*
They so u g h t to a n a ly z e women's p o s i t i o n h i s t o r i c a l l y ; th ey w ere con
c e rn e d w ith ra c ism and i t s e f f e c t on b o th b la c k and w h ite women.
C o n sc io u sn e ss r a i s i n g was u sed as an a id to g r e a t e r u n d e r s ta n d in g o f
women's p o s i t i o n in th e p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e o f s o c i e t y . In J u l y ,
1969, SW OP was h o ld in g p la n n in g m e e tin g s c o n c e rn in g th e g r o u p 's v i s i t
to O akland th e coming month to ta k e p a r t in th e " U n ite d F ro n t A g a in st
F ascism " c o n fe re n c e , o rg a n iz e d by th e B lack P a n th e r s .
J u s t as th e e a r l y W .L.F. was form ed m ain ly o f women from
m ix e d -s e x , p o l i t i c a l l y r a d i c a l g ro u p s , so was th e V enice Women's
G roup. By J u l y , 1969, ab o u t 15 women w ere m e e tin g r e g u l a r l y f o r th e
p rim a ry p u rp o se o f c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g . W hile t h e c o n s c io u s n e s s
L
Q uoted from te le p h o n e in te r v ie w w ith a Commit w o rk e r.
57
r a lB ln g was on a p e r s o n a l l e v e l , th e group a tte m p te d to t i e mem bers'
I n d i v i d u a l e x p e r ie n c e s as women I n to a p o l i t i c a l c o n t e x t . Members
o f th e group re a d and d is c u s s e d t o g e t h e r such w orks as F l e x n e r 's
C en tu ry o f S tr u g g le and E n g e ls ' O r ig in s o f th e F a m ily .
F in d in g s p e r t a i n i n g to th e seco n d h y p o th e s i s i Los A ngeles
C ounty. A r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement a s i t
a p p e a re d in Los A ngeles County In J u l y , 1969, has b een a tte m p te d .
T here w ere u n d o u b te d ly o t h e r g ro u p s In th e a r e a w hich t h i s r e s e a r c h e r
was n o t a b le to t r a c e . T here w as, f o r I n s t a n c e , some women's l i b e r a
t i o n a c t i v i t y In Long B each, b e s id e s t h a t c o n n e c te d w ith N .O .W .,
b u t th o s e In v o lv e d w ith I t c o u ld n o t be c o n ta c te d f o r In f o r m a tio n .
F ig u r e IV sum m arizes th e g roups In e x i s t e n c e In Los A ngeles County
in J u l y , 1969.
I t I s c l e a r t h a t t h e r e was a s i z e a b l e women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement In J u l y , 1969, w hich had r e c r u i t e d m em bers, grow n, and
a c t e d , s i n c e I t s f i r s t e a r l y s t i r r i n g s In 1967. The sec o n d h y p o th e s is
a p p e a rs to be s u p p o rte d w ith r e g a r d to Los A ngeles C ounty.
A n a ly s is o f d a ta p e r t a i n i n g to th e sec o n d h y p o t h e s i s : E n g lan d .
In o r d e r to t e s t th e second h y p o th e s is as I t a p p l i e d to E n g lan d ,
t h a t c o u n try was v i s i t e d in A u g u st, 1970. I n te r v ie w s w ere c o n d u cte d
w ith p e rso n a c o n n e c te d w ith th e wom en's l i b e r a t i o n movement, group
m e e tin g s w ere a t t e n d e d , l e a f l e t s , n e w s l e t t e r s , and o t h e r p ie c e s o f
movement l i t e r a t u r e w ere ex am in ed .
The women's l i b e r a t i o n movement In E n g lan d : A u guet, 1970.
58
FIGURE IV
SUM M ARY OF WOMEN'S LIBERATION GROUPS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY:
JULY, 1969
Womenls L i b e r a t i o n F ro n t a t U.C.L.A.
Union f o r Women's I n t e r n a t i o n a l L i b e r a t i o n
Women's L i b e r a t i o n One
Haym arket Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
"No name"
Commit Group
S o c i a l i s t Women's O rg a n iz in g P r o j e c t
V enice Women's Group
Long Beach Group
N a tio n a l O rg a n iz a tio n f o r Women:
w ith c h a p te r s fo rm in g In :
Los A ngeles C h a p te r
W h i t t i e r
Long Beach
59
A lthough I t Is d i f f i c u l t to p i n p o i n t th e d a t e o f I t s i n i t i a l f o r m a tio n ,
by A u g u st, 1970, th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in E ngland seems to
have been in e x i s t e n c e f o r a b o u t e ig h te e n m onths. When th e N a tio n a l
J o i n t A c tio n Com m ittee f o r Women's Equal R ig h ts (NJACWER), n o t i t s e l f
a new f e m i n i s t g ro u p , o rg a n iz e d a mass "E qual Pay" r a l l y in T r a f a l g a r
S quare in May, 19 6 9 , women's l i b e r a t i o n g ro u p s a lr e a d y in e x i s t e n c e
c o o p e ra te d in th e p la n n in g . These in c lu d e d Women's L i b e r a t i o n Work
shop and Women's L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t.
The l a r g e s t women's l i b e r a t i o n o r g a n i z a t i o n in E ngland in
A u g u st, 1970 was th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n W orkshop. London b a s e d , th e
Women's L i b e r a t i o n Workshop co m p rised s e v e r a l "w orkshops" e a c h , in
t u r n , b e in g r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e w r i t i n g and p r o d u c tio n o f th e m onthly
Workshop n e w s l e t t e r , Shrew . T h is r e s e a r c h e r lo c a t e d n in e W orkshops,
a t t e n d i n g m e etin g s o f th r e e and in te r v ie w in g spokeswomen o f t h r e e
o t h e r s . T here may have been more th an n in e Workshops a t t h a t tim e .
When a group had r e c r u i t e d f i f t e e n o r tw enty members, i t B p l l t to
become two g ro u p s . D e s p ite p e r i o d i c m e e tin g s of d e l e g a t e s o f each
o f th e Workshops and th e e x i s t e n c e o f a Women's L i b e r a t i o n Workshop
c e n t r a l o f f i c e w here v o l u n t e e r s manned th e te le p h o n e f o r f i v e days
a w eek, Workshop members th e m selv e s w ere n o t s u re how many g ro u p s
e x i s t e d a t any one tim e .
The lo o s e n e s s o f th e o r g a n iz a ti o n and th e problem o f c o o r d i
n a t i o n o f th e g ro u p s w ere m a tte r s o f co n cern a t a m e e tin g o f th e
H is to r y Workshop a tte n d e d by t h i s o b s e r v e r on A ugust 5 , 1970. The
work o f th e H is to r y Workshop was to c o n d u ct r e s e a r c h i n t o th e p a r t
p la y e d by women in th e m aking o f h i s t o r y . On A ugust 5 , a p p ro x im a te ly
60
tw en ty women w ere p r e s e n t ; some w ere u n i v e r s i t y l e c t u r e r s , some w ere
g r a d u a te s tu d e n t s w o rk in g on t h e s e s ; a l l w ere e d u c a te d , a r t i c u l a t e
young women. Members e x p re s s e d c o n ce rn a t th e la c k o f th e o ry b e h in d
th e women's movement; a t th e seem in g ly h a p h az a rd d i r e c t i o n i t was
ta k in g . The Workshop a s a w hole ap p ea re d to them to b e t o t a l l y f r a g
m en ted , each group p u rs u in g " l i b e r a t i o n " in i t s own way, w ith i n s u f
fic ie n t- c e n t r a l o r g a n i z a t i o n . They e x p re s s e d th e hope t h a t , by
r e s e a r c h in g and w r i t i n g , th e o ry w ould u l t i m a t e l y e v o lv e .
Each Workshop s e t I t s e l f d i f f e r e n t t a s k s . W hile some w ere
co n cern ed w ith th e t h e o r e t i c a l a s p e c ts o f women's l i b e r a t i o n , o t h e r s
w ere more a c ti o n o r i e n t e d , m ost o f th e a c t i o n b e in g l o c a l l y d i r e c t e d .
S outh London g ro u p s v i s i t e d s c h o o ls , a s k in g g i r l s in th e t h i r t e e n
to f i f t e e n y e a r s age ran g e how th e y saw th e m selv e s and t h e i r f u t u r e s
as women.^ They a l s o showed f ilm s a b o u t women's l i f e a t l o c a l H e a lth
C l i n i c " m o th e rs ' m e e tin g s , e n c o u ra g in g d is c u s s io n . . . J u s t to g e t
women and g i r l s t h in k in g . . . " They handed o u t l e a f l e t s t e l l i n g o f
t h e i r im m ediate b a s i c a im s, some o f w hich w ere u n i v e r s a l n u r s e r y
e d u c a tio n , w id e ly a v a i l a b l e f r e e c o n t r a c e p t i o n , and a b o r t i o n re fo rm .
In th e B a t t e r s e a W orkshop, c o n c e rn was f o r p la c e s f o r
c h i l d r e n to p la y in s a f e t y ; p la y g ro u p s f o r p r e - s c h o o l c h i l d r e n ; th e
s t a r t i n g o f a p e t i t i o n f o r f r e e a b o r t i o n and f r e e c o n tr a c e p tio n f o r
a l l . The I s l i n g t o n W orkshop, a l s o , saw one o f i t s main ta s k s as
" a g i t a t i n g f o r n u r s e r i e s and p la y g r o u p s ," " a g i t a t i o n " u s u a l l y ta k in g
^About e ig h t y p e r c e n t o f B r i t i s h y o u n g s te r s le a v e s c h o o l
a t f i f t e e n y e a r s o f ag e.
61
th e form o f l e a f l e t l n g and p e t i t i o n i n g .
Among p a s t a c t i o n s , Women's L i b e r a t i o n Workshop had p ic k e t e d
th e MIb b World C o n te s t in November, 1969, d raw in g th e a t t e n t i o n o f
some o f th e m edia. T his le d to an a p p ea ra n ce on a David F r o s t program
on t e l e v i s i o n .
The Women's L i b e r a t i o n Workshop c laim ed to be a p o l i t i c a l as
an o r g a n i z a t i o n , a lth o u g h some of i t s members h e ld s tr o n g p o l i t i c a l
v ie w s. Some found t h i s a p o l i t i c a l s ta n c e d i f f i c u l t to s u s t a i n in th e
l i g h t o f th e g ro u p s ' p a r t i c i p a t i o n in a n ti-V ie tn a m War m arches and in
th e a c c e p ta n c e by one Workshop of an I n v i t a t i o n by th e P a l e s t i n e
L i b e r a t i o n F ro n t to sen d a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to Amman to sp eak w ith
Arab women. "Do we sen d f r a t e r n a l g r e e t i n g s ? " one member a sk e d . " I f
s o , a r e n 't we ta k in g a c l e a r p o l i t i c a l s ta n c e ? " The p o l i t i c a l i s s u e ,
i t was a p p a r e n t, c au se d s h a r p d i v i s i o n s w i t h i n some g ro u p s.
I t i s s a f e to say t h a t th e r e l a t i v e l y e a r l y women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement in E ngland was l a r g e l y l e f t - w i n g , th e m ost p o l i t i c a l l y
ex trem e o f th e g ro u p s b e in g th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t, w hich was
M a r x ls t- L e n in ls t- M a o is t in o r i e n t a t i o n . I t s l i t e r a t u r e was a b u n d a n tly
se a so n e d w ith condem nations o f th e " d e c a y in g , d y in g , c a p i t a l i s t
sy ste m o f e x p l o i t a t i o n and o p p r e s s i o n ; " of " i m p e r i a l i s t a g g r e s s io n
and c o l o n i a l i s t p l u n d e r ." I t d e c la r e d a s one o f i t s alm s to "end
th e o p p r e s s io n o f m i l l i o n s o f w o r k in g - c la s s women and to r e l i e v e them
o f h o u seh o ld b o n d a g e ." In l e a f l e t s and p e t i t i o n s i t demanded f r e e
c o n t r a c e p t i o n , r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e a b o r t i o n u n d er th e N a tio n a l H e a lth
S e r v ic e , w id e ly d is s e m in a te d s e x e d u c a tio n a n d , f o r th o s e women who
w ant c h i l d r e n , p r o v i s i o n o f n u r s e r i e s and c h l l d - c a r e f a c i l i t i e s a t
62
p la c e s o f w ork, e d u c a tio n , and in th e community.
O th e r M a rx ist o r g a n i s a t i o n s in th e London a r e a In c lu d e d th e
N o rth London Women's G roup, a women's caucus o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l S o c ia l
i s t s , and th e women's caucus o f th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a rx ist Group.
The l a t t e r had been r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e p la n n in g o f th e f i r s t m ajor
c o n fe re n c e of r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from women's l i b e r a t i o n groups from a l l
o v e r th e c o u n try . The c o n fe re n c e was h e ld a t R uskln C o lle g e , O xford
d u rin g th e l a s t w eek-end in F e b ru a ry , 1970. In p a r t , th e c o n fe re n c e
had been a rra n g e d in o r d e r to a s s e s s th e d e p th o f f e e l i n g in fa v o r
of wom en's l i b e r a t i o n in th e n a t i o n ; in p a r t i t was an a tte m p t to
c o o r d in a te th e e f f o r t s o f th e s e v e r a l s e p a r a t e groups in to a c o h e s iv e
program . About s i x h u n d red p e o p le had r e g i s t e r e d f o r th e c o n f e r e n c e ,
a re s p o n s e w hich was f a r g r e a t e r th an was e x p e c te d o r w hich c o u ld be
h a n d le d . W hile th e c o n fe re n c e was n o t an u n q u a l i f i e d s u c c e s s in t h a t
t h e r e had b een c o n s id e r a b le h o s t i l i t y among th e v a r io u s f a c t i o n s
r e p r e s e n t e d , i t d i d , a c c o rd in g to a Women's L i b e r a t i o n Workshop
spokeswoman " . . . g iv e a s e n s e o f th in g s h ap p en in g a l l o v e r E n g lan d ,
w hich was im p o rta n t f o r London women to r e a l i z e . . . "
A M a rx ist group o u t s i d e London was th e N ottingham S o c i a l i s t
Women's C om m ittee. T h is group saw i t s t a s k a s r e l a t i n g th e women's
l i b e r a t i o n movement and th e s o c i a l i s t movement t o g e t h e r . I t p ro d u ced
a j o u r n a l . S o c i a l i s t Woman.
B e sid e s th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n W orkshops and th e M a rx is t
o r i e n t e d g ro u p s , s e v e r a l o t h e r n e w -fe m in ie t groups w ere l o c a t e d in
th e London a r e a in A u g u st, 1970. They in c lu d e d ! Women's T elephone
T r e e , Women on th e Move, Camden Women's A c tio n G roup, Harrow Women's
63
L i b e r a tio n G roup, M others In A c tio n , and G in g e rb re a d G roup. The two
l a t t e r groups w orked w ith th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement b u t t h e i r
m ain co n cern was In h e lp in g s i n g l e p a r e n t s .
Membership in M others in A c tio n f l u c t u a t e d betw een one and
th r e e th o u s a n d , a l a r g e number b u t o f women who w ere o f t e n in d i r e
c ir c u m s ta n c e s . I t term ed i t s e l f "a p r e s s u r e group f o r u n su p p o rte d
m o th e rs , b o th unemployed and n o n -e m p lo y e d ." The o r g a n i z a t i o n worked
to b r in g a b o u t l e g i s l a t i v e changes re g a r d in g s o c i a l w e lf a r e f o r th e
u n m a rrie d m o th er.
Women's T elep h o n e T ree was s t a r t e d by two women who h e ard
a b o u t I t from th e U n ite d S t a t e s . The p u rp o se was to f in d a m ethod
o f com m unication among women i s o l a t e d in t h e i r own homes. Two t e l e
phone numbers w ere g iv e n to each member. Any m essage c o n c e rn in g
women t h a t came th ro u g h was te le p h o n e d to th e s e two num bers. I t gave
each woman someone to t a l k to a b o u t an i s s u e ; to d is c u s s w h e th er
a c ti o n sh o u ld be ta k e n : a l e t t e r w r i t t e n o r an e f f o r t made to f in d
o u t more d e t a i l s . From t h i s sim p le s t r u c t u r e , women g o t to g e th e r
and g roups e v o lv e d . One o f th e s e was Women on th e Move w h ich , in
A u g u st, 1970, was w o rk in g to g a in s u p p o rt f o r th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a
f r e e p u b lic t r a n s p o r t a t i o n sy stem on a n a tio n w id e b a s i s .
U n til th e summer o f 1970, th e t a c t i c s o f th e Camden Women's
A c tio n Group had b een s i m i l a r to m ost o th e r l i b e r a t i o n groups in i t s
em phasis on l o c a l l y d i r e c t e d cam paigns f o r th e p r o v is io n of n u r s e r i e s ;
f o r a b o r tio n re fo rm ; f o r f r e e c o n t r a c e p t i o n . I t d i f f e r e d from m ost
o t h e r London g ro u p s in t h a t i t had more w o r k in g - c la s s women among I t s
m em bership, re se m b lin g In t h i s some o f th e g ro u p s in th e M idlands and
64
o th e r p a r t s o f th e c o u n try . London g roups te n d ed to be m ain ly
m id d le - c la s s .
At th e m e e tin g a tte n d e d by t h i s o b s e r v e r in A u g u st, 1970, a t
w hich some 14 p e rs o n s w ere p r e s e n t , i t c o u ld be se e n t h a t th e scope
o f v i s i o n o f t h i s group a l s o d i f f e r e d from t h a t o f many o t h e r g ro u p s.
W hile r e a l i z i n g t h a t th e o ry was e s s e n t i a l in th e lo n g ru n , a c t i o n
now— and a c ti o n on a n a t i o n a l l e v e l — seemed to th e Camden group to
be v i t a l . I t s members w ere d e te rm in e d to fin d ways o f u s in g th e mass
m edia to a d v a n ta g e , r a t h e r th a n eschew ing them, a s some g ro u p s d id .
Men w ere en co u rag ed to j o i n th e g ro u p , a n o th e r d i f f e r e n c e betw een
t h i s group and many o t h e r s . The Camden Women's A c tio n Group main
ta in e d t h a t w ith d ra m a tic ch an g es in th e r o l e s o f women, th e r e would
b e s i m i l a r l y d ra m a tic changes In m en 's r o l e s . I f women w ere to be
a b le to choose f r e e l y w h eth er to r e a r c h i l d r e n o r to p u rs u e c a r e e r s ,
or some c o m b in a tio n o f b o th , men, by th e same to k e n , m ust have th e
same f r e e c h o ic e . The "new s o c i e t y ” m ust t h e r e f o r e , be sh ap ed by
human b e in g s o f b o th s e x e s .
O u ts id e London, s e v e r a l more women's l i b e r a t i o n groups were
l o c a t e d . The B rig h to n Women's A c tio n Group (S u ssex ) had a membership
o f 20 members who m et w eek ly . They saw t h e i r f u n c tio n a s b o th
e d u c a tio n a l and p o l i t i c a l . Among t h e i r r e c e n t a c t i v i t i e s th ey had
l e a f l e t e d a c o u n c il h o u s in g e s t a t e , p a y in g a fo llo w -u p v i s i t to f in d
women i n t e r e s t e d in th e l i b e r a t i o n movement. T h e ir aim was f o r su ch
women to form t h e i r own group to cam paign f o r a c re c h e o r n u r s e r y on
th e e s t a t e . The B rig h to n group h e ld p u b lic m e etin g s in th e sh o p p in g
c e n t e r and a t th e l o c a l c o lle g e o f e d u c a tio n . Members had r e c e n t l y
65
sto rm ed a b e a u ty c o m p e titio n In th e B rig h to n Dome w h ic h , th ey r e p o r t e d ,
was f a v o r a b ly c o v ered by th e l o c a l p r e s s . They had been on l o c a l
r a d i o .
In G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e , th e B r i s t o l Women's A c tio n Group p ro d u ced
a women's l i b e r a t i o n m a g az in e , Enough i s Enough, w h ile in C o v en try ,
th e T o ta l Women's Freedom Movement is s u e d a m agazine c a l l e d Women * s
V o ic e .
By A u g u st, 1970, th e r e w ere women's l i b e r a t i o n g ro u p s on
s e v e r a l u n i v e r s i t y cam puses. The York U n iv e r s ity Group had begun in
J a n u a ry , 1970, w ith a c o re o f s i x members. A f te r th e O xford C o n fe r
e n c e , th e York Group h e ld an open m e e tin g , i n v i t i n g S h e ila Rowbotham,
a member o f Women's L i b e r a t i o n Workshop and a le a d in g w r i t e r and
spokeswoman f o r th e movement, a s s p e a k e r . The group grew a f t e r t h i s
m e etin g to some 15-20 members. A tte m p ts w ere b e in g made to draw in
women from th e community. Members o f th e York Group f e l t t h a t one o f
th e most Im p o rta n t p a r t s o f t h e i r work was s p e a k in g a t l o c a l g i r l s '
s c h o o ls . They had p la n s to p ro d u c e t h e i r own m ag azin e.
O th e r campus groupB w ere a t W arwick, C am bridge, C a n te rb u ry ,
and E ssex u n i v e r s i t i e s .
A lth o u g h t h i s r e s e a r c h e r c o u ld n o t v i s i t a l l th e groups
e x i s t i n g in E ngland in A u g u st, 1970, sh e le a r n e d o f women's l i b e r a t i o n
g ro u p s in Birm ingham , S h e f f i e l d , E x e te r , Hemel H em pstead, C o lc h e s te r ,
and L iv e r p o o l.
F in d in g s p e r t a i n i n g to th e second h y p o th e s i s : E n g lan d .
As can be s e e n from th e f o r e g o in g , and from F ig u re V w hich l i s t s th e
66
FIGURE V
SUM M ARY OF WOMEN'S LIBERATION GROUPS IN ENGLAND: AUGUST, 1970
Women's L i b e r a tio n Workshop g ro u p s: 1. B a t t e r s e a
2. C h isw ic k /B a rn e s
3. H is to r y Workshop
4. I s l i n g t o n
5. N o ttin g H i l l
6. N.W.3.
7. Peckham
8. T u f n e ll P a rk
9 . W andsworth
10. Women's L i b e r a t i o n F ro n t
11. N o rth London Women's Group
12. I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a rx is t Group (Women's Caucus)
13. N ottingham S o c i a l i s t Women's Committee
14. Women's T elephone T ree
15. Women on th e Move
16. Camden Women's A c tio n Group
17. Harrow Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
18. M others In A c tio n
19. G in g e rb re a d Group
20. B rig h to n Women's A c tio n Group
21. B r i s t o l Women's A c tio n Group
22. York U n iv e r s ity Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
23. Warwick U n iv e r s ity Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
2A. Cam bridge U n iv e r s ity Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
25. C a n te rb u ry U n iv e r s ity Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
26. E ssex U n iv e r s ity Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
27. Women's L i b e r a t i o n Groups In : 28. Birmingham
29. S h e f f i e l d
30. E x e te r
31. Hemel Hempstead
32. C o lc h e s te r
33. L iv e rp o o l
67
names o f a l l th e g ro u p s tr a c e d by t h i s r e s e a r c h e r , th e r e was a
s i z e a b l e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement In England in A u g u st, 1970, w hich
had c l e a r l y r e c r u i t e d , grow n, and a c te d s in c e i t s I n c e p tio n . The
second h y p o th e s is a p p e a rs to be s t r o n g l y s u p p o rte d w ith re g a r d to
E ngland.
IV. TEST OF THE THIRD HYPOTHESIS
The t h i r d h y p o th e s is was t e s t e d f o r Los A ngeles County o n ly .
A n a ly s is o f th e d a ta p e r t a i n i n g to th e t h i r d h y p o t h e s i s .
The d a ta show th e e x t e n t o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement i n Los
A ngeles County in M arch, 1971; th e amount o f co v erag e g iv e n to th e
women's l i b e r a t i o n movement in th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n new spapers in Los
A ngeles County betw een M arch, 1970 and F e b ru a ry , 1971; th e d i r e c t i o n
o f b i a s o f th e co v erag e o f women's l i b e r a t i o n in th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n
new sp ap ers in Los A ngeles C ounty.
The women's l i b e r a t i o n movement: Los A ngeles C ounty, M arch,
1971. F o rty -o n e g ro u p s w ere t r a c e d in th e Los A ngeles a r e a in M arch,
1971, d i r e c t c o n ta c t b e in g made w ith f o r t y . The names o f th e s e
g ro u p s a re l i s t e d on T ab le VI. A b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n o f each group i s
g iv e n in A ppendix A. T h is I n c lu d e s , w here a v a i l a b l e , s i z e o f th e
g ro u p , a g es o f th e m em bers, number o f m e e tin g s d u rin g M arch, 1971,
ty p e s o f a c t i o n s , p a r t i c i p a t i o n in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day
a c t i v i t i e s in Los A ngeles on March 8 , 1971, r e p r e s e n t a t i o n on th e
In te r g r o u p C o u n c il, and p o l i t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n *
68
FIGURE VI
SOME W OMEN’ S LIBERATION GROUPS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY: MARCH, 1971
1. C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e C o lle g e Long Beach Women*a L i b e r a tio n
2. C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e C o lle g e Los A ngeles Women* s L i b e r a t i o n
3. E l Camino F e m in is t C e ll
4 . Everywoman Group
5. H o lly w o o d -S llv e rla k e C o n sc io u sn ess R a isin g Group
6. I n t e r n a t i o n a l S o c i a l i s t s Women's Caucus
7. L e sb ia n F e m in is ts
a. L i b e r a t i o n Union Women's Caucus
9 . Los A ngeles C h ap ter N.O.W.
10. Los A ngeles C ity C o lle g e Women's L i b e r a tio n Group
n . Los A ngeles F e m in is t T h e a te r
12. O p p o site Number
13. P asad en a Women's L i b e r a t i o n
14. Phantom s o f D e lig h t
15. P ie r c e C o lle g e Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
16. P in k P a n th e rs
17. Pomona V a lle y C h a p te r N.O.W.
18. R a d ic a l F e m in is ts
19. San Fernando V a lle y C h ap ter N.O.W.
20. San Fernando V a lle y S t a t e C o lle g e Women's L i b e r a t i o n
21. S a n ta Monica Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
22. S haron W illia m s C o l l e c t i v e Committee
23. S i e r r a Madre Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
24. S i s t e r s In S tr u g g le
25. S i s t e r s U nchained
26. S tr u g g lin g S i s t e r s
27. Topanga Canyon Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
28. Unkept Women
29. U p p ity Women
30. Wednesday N ig h t C o n sc io u sn ess R a is in g Group
31. West S id e Group
32. W h i t t i e r C h a p te r N.O.W.
33. Women A g a in st R e p re s s io n
34. Women A r t i s t s
35. Women f o r E q u a lity in Media
36. Women's L abor Com m ittee o f Los A ngeles
37. Women's L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t , Long Beach
38. Women's L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t, U .C .L.A .
39. Women's L i b e r a t i o n X
40. Women's T h e a te r and M edia C e n te r
41. Women West
69
T here w ere two women's l i b e r a t i o n c e n t e r s In Los A n g eles In
M arch, 1971. D e t a i l s c o n c e rn in g t h e s e , t o g e t h e r w ith b r i e f d e s c rip tio n s
o f th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n cil and I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day, a r e g iv e n
below .
The Women's L i b e r a t i o n C e n te r , Crenshaw B o u le v a rd . T his
c e n t e r haB been o p e r a tin g s i n c e J a n u a r y , 1970. I t i s a n o n - p a r t i s a n ,
n o n - p r o f it- m a k in g o r g a n i z a t i o n whose d e c la r e d p u rp o se I s to s e r v e a l l
th e women o f Los A ngeles as a s p r in g b o a r d from w hich to e x p lo r e th e
v a r io u s women's l i b e r a t i o n g ro u p s. I t p u b lis h e s a m onthly n e w s l e t t e r
w h ic h , In M arch, 1971, was m a ile d to 2 ,0 0 0 women. The n e w s l e t t e r
g iv e s in f o r m a tio n o f a c t i v i t i e s to be h e ld a t th e C e n te r d u r in g th e
m onth. In M arch, 1971, th e r e w ere a c t i v i t i e s on m ost days o f th e
m onth. These In c lu d e d m e e tin g s , l e c t u r e s , fllm -s h o w s , s e l f - d e f e n s e
c l a s s e s , and c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g s e s s i o n s . Once a month t h e r e i s
an o r i e n t a t i o n m e e tin g f o r women a t t e n d i n g th e C e n te r f o r th e f i r s t
tim e . S e v e ra l women's l i b e r a t i o n g ro u p s use th e C e n te r f o r t h e i r
w eekly m e e tin g s. Among o t h e r s e r v i c e s o f f e r e d by th e Women's C en ter
in M arch, 1971, w ere l e g a l c o u n s e lin g , a b o r t i o n r e f e r r a l , and a
s p e a k e r s ' b u re a u w hich a rra n g e d to send o u t s p e a k e r s on women's
l i b e r a t i o n t o p i c s on r e q u e s t .
N.O.W. C e n te r f o r Women's S t u d i e s . A second women's c e n t e r
was opened In Los A ngeles In J a n u a r y , 1971 a t 8864 West P ic o B o u lev ard
by th e Los A n g elas C h a p te r o f N.O.W. I t s s t a t e d p u rp o se la to p ro v id e
an e d u c a tio n a l forum f o r th e e x p l o r a t i o n and c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f th e
h i s t o r y , p r e s e n t p roblem s and f u t u r e r o l e s o f women in o u r s o c i e t y .
70
Program s s t a r t e d In J a n u a ry and c o n tin u in g I n to March* 1971 w ere a
c o u rse on th e H is to r y o£ A b o rtio n , a c o u rs e on s e l f - d e f e n s e , a c o u rse
on e f f e c t i v e p u b l i c s p e a k in g a b o u t fem in ism , and a c o u rs e on th e a r t
o f d e b a te . The C e n te r p r o v id e s a l i b r a r y o f f e m i n i s t m a t e r i a l s . In
M arch, 1971, th e r e w ere two o r i e n t a t i o n m e e tin g s f o r new ly I n t e r e s t e d
p e r s o n s . N.O.W. c o n m itte e and b o a rd m e e tin g s w ere h e ld a t th e N.O.W.
C e n te r.
The I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il. The aim o f th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n cil i s
to m a in ta in c o n ta c t betw een th e many women's l i b e r a t i o n g ro u p s In th e
a r e a . I t m eets o n ce a month a t th e Women's L i b e r a tio n C e n te r , 1027
S outh Crenshaw B o u le v ard . I t c o m p rises r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from gro u p s
o u t s i d e th e Women's C e n te r a s w e ll as th o s e w hich r e g u l a r l y use th e
C e n t e r 's f a c i l i t i e s .
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day, March 8 , 1971. I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Women's Day commemorates th e s t r u g g l e s o f women garm ent w o rk e rs in
New York C ity who w ere a r r e s t e d and b r u t a l i z e d by th e p o l i c e when
th e y d e m o n stra te d on March 8 , 1857, f o r s h o r t e r h o u rs and d e c e n t
co n d itio n s.* * U n til r e c e n t l y , I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day h a s been
honored in o t h e r p a r t s o f th e w o rld b u t f o r g o t t e n in th e U n ite d
S t a t e s . The id e a o f a march in Los A n g eles on March 8 e v o lv e d from
th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il. Many g ro u p s s e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s to th e
m arch w hich ended i n P e r s h in g S quare w ith s p e a k e r s , s i n g i n g , and a
**From a l e a f l e t is s u e d by th e Women's C e n te r , Crenshaw
B o u le v a rd , Los A n g e les.
71
d e d i c a t i o n . About 200 women p a r t i c i p a t e d . I t was Monday; many women
w ere u n a b le to ta k e tim e away from t h e i r p la c e s o f w ork.
Newspaper co v erag e and b i a s o f c o v erag e o f th e women*s l i b e r a
t i o n movement. M arch, 1970 to F e b ru a ry , 1971; Loa A ngeles C o u n ty .
The t o t a l co v erag e g iv e n to th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement by th e two
m ajo r m a s s - c i r c u l a t i o n n ew sp ap ers in Los A ngeles f o r one w hole y e a r
p r i o r to M arch, 1971 can be se e n on G raphs 0 and P. These g ra p h s a ls o
show th e c o v erag e w hich was d l r e c t i o n a l l y n e u t r a l , f a v o r a b l e , o r
u n f a v o r a b le . F ig u r e V II shows in d e t a i l th e d i r e c t i o n o f b i a s
th ro u g h o u t th e y e a r .
F in d in g s p e r t a i n i n g to th e t h i r d h y p o t h e s i s . C l e a r l y , th e
women's l i b e r a t i o n movement i n Los A ngeles had grown In s t r e n g t h ,
b o th in number o f g ro u p s and In number o f a c t i o n s , s in c e mld-1969*
The number o f g ro u p s had more th a n t r e b l e d ; th e movement c o u ld be
see n to be b e g in n in g to c o o r d in a te i t s a c t i v i t i e s by th e e s ta b lis h m e n t
o f th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il, th e women's c e n t e r s , and by th e p r o d u c tio n
o f I t s own new sp ap ers and o t h e r l i t e r a t u r e .
A com parison o f G raphs A and B w ith Graphs 0 and P w i l l show
t h a t th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n n ew sp ap ers p ro v id e d much more I n f o rm a tio n
ab o u t th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement In th e l a t e r tlm e -s p a n u n d e r
e x a m in a tio n th an In th e e a r l i e r tim e -s p a n . The Los A ngeles Times
gave 52 tim es more c o v erag e and th e H e ra ld E xam iner gave 58 tim e s more
co v erag e o f th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement betw een M arch, 1970 and
F e b ru a ry , 1971 th a n th ey gave betw een J u l y , 1968 and J u n e , 1969.
LEGEND FOR GRAPHS 0 AND P
T o ta l c o v erag e
N e u tr a l co v erag e
F a v o ra b le c o v erag e
U n fa v o ra b le c o v erag e
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
60
40
30
20
10
N' --
M ar.A pr. May Ju n e J u ly Aug. S e p .O c t. Nov. Dec. J a n .F e b .
GRAPH 0
LOS ANGELES TIMES
UNITS OF COVERACE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
March 1970 - F e b ru ary 1971
74
ISO
140
130
110
100
90
80
60
50
40
30
20
10
— *~-i— r "---------1~
M ar.A pr. May June J u ly Aug. Sep. O ct.N ov, Dec* Jan
GRAPH F
LOS ANGELBS HERALD EXAMINER
UNITS OP COVERAGE OP THE W OM EN’ S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
March 1970 - F e b ru ary 1971
75
FIGURE VII
DIRECTIONAL BIAS OF COVERAGE OF THE WOMEN'S LIBERATION
MOVEMENT BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES AND THE HERALD EXAMINER:
March 1970 - F e b ru a ry 1971
Dace
T o ta l
U n its
LOS ANGELES
N e u tr a l
Number (X)*
TIMES
U n fa v o ra b le
Number (X)*
F a v o ra b le
Number (X)*
March 1970 53 40 (7 5 .4 ) 2 ( 3 .8 ) 11 (2 0 .8 )
A p ril 1970 38 36 (9 4 .9 ) 2 ( 5 .1 ) 0 ( 0 .0 )
May 1970 50 48 (9 6 .0 ) 1 ( 2 .0 ) 1 ( 2 .0 )
June 1970 130 119 (9 1 .5 ) 1 ( .8 ) 10 ( 7 .7 )
J u ly 1970 40 35 (8 7 .5 ) 2 ( 5 .0 ) 3 ( 7 .5 )
Aug. 1970 148 125 (8 4 .5 ) 8 ( 5 .4 ) 15 (1 0 .1 )
Sep. 1970 131 107 (8 1 .7 ) 4 ( 3 .0 ) 20 (1 5 .3 )
O ct. 1970 119 82 (6 8 .9 ) 11 ( 9 .2 ) 26 (2 1 .8 )
Nov. 1970 91 77 (6 4 .6 ) 2 ( 2 .2 ) 12 (1 3 .2 )
Dec. 1970 62 55 (8 8 .7 ) 2 ( 1 .6 ) 6 ( 9 .7 )
J a n . 1971 59 51 (8 6 .4 ) 1 ( 3 .4 ) 6 (1 0 .2 )
F eb . 1971 75 62 (8 2 .7 ) _2 ( 2 .7 ) 11 (1 4 .7 )
996 837 (8 4 .0 ) 36 ( 3 .8 ) 121 (1 2 .1 )
D ate
T o ta l
U n its
HERALD
N e u tr a l
Number (X)*
EXAMINER
U n fa v o ra b le
Number (X)*
F a v o ra b le
Number (X)*
March 1970 13 9 (6 9 .2 ) 3 (2 3 .1 ) 1 ( 7 .7 )
A p r il 1970 19 12 (6 3 .2 ) 7 (3 6 .8 ) 0 ( 0 .0 )
May 1970 20 10 (5 0 .0 ) 10 (5 0 .0 ) 0 ( 0 .0 )
June 1970 32 27 (8 4 .4 ) 4 (1 2 .5 ) 1 ( 3 .1 )
J u ly 1970 23 22 (9 5 .6 ) 0 ( 0 .0 ) 1 ( 4 .3 )
Aug. 1970 141 131 (9 2 .9 ) 7 ( 4 .9 ) 3 ( 2 .1 )
Sep. 1970 31 26 (8 3 .9 ) 4 (1 2 .9 ) 1 ( 3 .2 )
O ct. 1970 31 28 (9 0 .3 ) 3 ( 9 .7 ) 0 ( 0 .0 )
Nov. 1970 13 12 (9 2 .3 ) 1 ( 7 .7 ) 0 ( 0 .0 )
Dec. 1970 35 33 (9 4 .3 ) 0 ( 0 .0 ) 2 ( 5 .7 )
J a n . 1971 30 30 (1 0 0 .0 ) 0 ( 0 .0 ) 0 ( 0 .0 )
Feb. 1971 21 21 (9 5 .2 ) _0 ( 0 .0 ) __1 ( 4 .7 )
409 360 (8 8 .0 ) 36 ( 8 .8 ) 13 ( 3 .2 )
*May n o t add to 100Z b ecau aa o f ro u n d in g .
76
Thus f a r , th e t h i r d h y p o th e s is I s s t r o n g l y s u p p o r te d . The
e v id e n c e i s l e s s c l e a r - c u t w ith re g a rd to d i r e c t i o n a l b i a s o f th e
r e p o r t i n g . T here i s no c l e a r c o r r e l a t i o n betw een amount o f co v erag e
and f a v o r a b le b i a s . The Lob A ngeles Times te n d e d to r e p o r t more
fa v o r a b ly th a n th e H e ra ld E xam iner, th e c o n to u r o f f a v o r a b ly b ia s e d
u n i t s f o llo w in g th e c o n to u r o f t o t a l u n i t s o f c o v e ra g e . In th e
H e ra ld E xam iner, th e p e r c e n ta g e of u n fa v o ra b ly b ia s e d u n i t s grew l e s s
w ith th e p a s s a g e o f tim e th ro u g h th e y e a r (s e e F ig u re V I I ) . Of th e
co v erag e in May, 1970, f o r ex am p le, f i f t y p e r c e n t was u n fa v o ra b ly
b ia s e d w h ile th e l a s t th r e e m onths o f th e p e r io d show no u n f a v o r a b le
b i a s . The r e p o r ta g e became s t e a d i l y m o re u n b ia s e d , o r n e u t r a l
w h ic h , i t w i l l be r e c a l l e d , im p lie s r e p o r t i n g o f e v e n ts o r s ta te m e n ts
w ith o u t e d i t o r i a l comment.
Summary. I n t h i s c h a p te r th e e v id e n c e p e r t a i n i n g to th e
th r e e h y p o th e se s to b e t e s t e d h a s b een p r e s e n te d . H y p o th eses one
and two a r e s u p p o rte d by th e e v id e n c e . W hile p a r t s o f h y p o th e s is
th r e e a r e a ls o s u p p o r te d , th e f in d i n g s a r e l e s s c l e a r - c u t w ith
re g a rd to d i r e c t i o n a l b i a s w ith I n c r e a s e in new spaper c o v erag e o f th e
women's l i b e r a t i o n movement. The f in d i n g s and t h e i r i m p lic a tio n s
f o r f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h w i l l be d is c u s s e d in th e fo llo w in g c h a p te r .
CHAPTER V
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The problem s upon w hich th e th r e e h y p o th e se s o f t h i s s tu d y
w ere b ased drew from s e v e r a l r e s e a r c h t r a d i t i o n s . H y p o th e sis one
t e s t e d an a ssu m p tio n p o s i t e d by some m ass-com m unlcatlon t h e o r i s t s
(B reed , 1964; D e x ter and W h ite, 1964; L a z a r s f e ld and M erto n , 1948;
W ilso n , 1968; e t c . ) t h a t th e mass m edia c o n t r i b u t e to th e m a in te n an c e
o f th e e x i s t i n g s o c i a l and econom ic sy ste m by w ith h o ld in g I n f o rm a tio n
about g roups w hich may d i s r u p t t h a t sy stem . The t e s t i n g o f th e second
h y p o th e s is was an a tte m p t to augment a paradigm o f T u rn er and K i l l i a n
(see F ig u re I ) w hich does n o t a p p e a r to ta k e I n to a cc o u n t th e means
o f a c t i o n a v a i l a b l e to a s o c i a l movement w hich has no p u b l i c d e f i n i
t i o n . H y p o th e sis t h r e e , draw ing from th e c o n f l i c t th e o ry o f s o c i a l
ch an g e, t e s t e d th e p r o p o s itio n t h a t m echanism s e x i s t In o u r s o c i e t y
to c o n t r o l s o c i a l c o n f l i c t so t h a t i t l e a d s to g ra d u a l s o c i a l change
r a t h e r th a n to d i s r u p t i o n .
The r o l e o f th e mass m e d ia . The firm s u p p o rt o f th e f i r s t
h y p o th e s is In b o th E ngland and Los A ngeles co n firm s t h a t m ost m ass-
c l r c u l a t i o n new spapers d id n o t g iv e In f o rm a tio n to th e p u b lic a b o u t
th e new ly fo rm in g women's l i b e r a t i o n movement.
T hat th e movement e x i s t e d in b o th s o c i a l s e t t i n g s d u r in g t h e
tim e u n d e r e x a m in a tio n and t h a t i t was s u f f i c i e n t l y l e r g e and a c t i v e
to have b een r e p o r t e d i s shown c l e a r l y by th e d a t a . Some g ro u p s ,
77
78
n o ta b ly th e N a tio n a l O r g a n iz a tio n f o r Women (N .O .W .), a c t i v e l y so u g h t
p u b l i c i t y b u t w ere ig n o re d by th e p r e s s .
I t c o u ld be t h a t e d i t o r s sim p ly d id n o t r e g a r d th e movement
a s Im p o rta n t enough to w a rra n t th e u se o f new spaper s p a c e . Undoubt
e d l y , sp ac e i s a t a prem ium , e s p e c i a l l y in th e E n g lis h p a p e r s , some
o f w hich co m p rise on ly s i x to e i g h t p a g e s. Item s m ust be o f s u f
f i c i e n t g e n e r a l I n t e r e s t to be in c lu d e d . The e x te n s iv e c o v e ra g e by
th e Sunday T im es, h o w ev er, d u rin g S ep tem b er, 1969 (s e e Graph D)
i n d i c a t e s t h a t a t l e a s t one " g a te k e e p e r " (W hite, 1 9 6 4 :1 6 0 -1 7 2 ) con
s i d e r e d th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement Im p o rta n t enough to be b ro u g h t
to th e a t t e n t i o n o f th e p u b l i c . S h o rta g e o f sp ac e i s an in a d e q u a te
re a s o n f o r th e w ith h o ld in g o f new s. By t h a t to k e n , a man l o s i n g h i s
two f r o n t f a l s e t e e t h in a l o a f o f F ren ch b re a d m ust be c o n s id e re d
o f m a^or Im p o rtan ce s i n c e th e D a ily M irro r d e v o ted n e a r l y h a l f a page
to d e p i c t i n g th e e v e n t (Nov. 24, 1 9 6 9 ).
H a llo r a n , E l l i o t t , and Murdock (1 9 7 0 :3 1 3 ), In t h e i r im p o r ta n t
s tu d y o f th e c o v e ra g e g iv e n by v a r io u s m edia o f an a n ti- V ie tn a m war
d e m o n s tra tio n co n clu d e t h a t :
. . . News i s w h a te v e r th e m edia t e l l us i s news (how ever
un-new sw orthy i t may a p p e a r by o t h e r s ta n d a r d s ) a n d , to a
d e g r e e , w hat i s n o t p r e s e n te d i s p re v e n te d from becom ing
new s. The m edia p ro v id e us w ith a p i c t u r e of w hat i s
h a p p en in g o n ly in a v e ry s e l e c t i v e s e n s e . . .
W hile some w r i t e r s m a in ta in t h a t th e c o v e r a g e , o r th e o m is s io n ,
o f news i s d e te rm in e d by e d i t o r s a n x io u s to p le a s e th e a d v e r t i s e r s
upon whom th e y depend f o r p r o f i t ( F r le d a n , 1 9 6 3 :2 2 0 -2 2 1 ; K la p p e r ,
1 9 5 5 :2 8 9 -3 2 0 ; L a s a r s f e l d and M erto n , 1 9 4 8 ), B reed (1 9 6 4 :1 8 3 -2 0 1 ) h o ld s
79
t h a t a c c u r a te r e p o r t i n g i s som etim es s a c r i f i c e d to th e v i r t u e s o f
r e s p e c t , p u b lic d e c e n c y , and o r d e r . F o llo w in g th e f u n c t i o n a l i s t s
in r e g a r d in g th e m a in te n an c e o f o r d e r a s th e key pro b lem f a c in g
s o c i e t y , B reed a s s e r t s t h a t th e m edia m a in ta in s o c i o c u l t u r a l c o n se n su s
n o t o n ly by s t r e s s i n g " p r o p e r " b e h a v io r s b u t a l s o by o m itti n g ite m s
"w hich m ig h t j e o p a r d i z e th e s o c i o c u l t u r a l s t r u c t u r e and m a n 's f a i t h
in i t " (B re e d , 1 9 6 4 :1 8 9 ). I t h a s b een p o in te d o u t in C h a p te r I t h a t
th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement can be see n to t h r e a t e n th e s o c i o
c u l t u r a l s t r u c t u r e ; In d e e d , i t aim s to change th e r i g i d r o l e p a t t e r n s
b a se d upon s e x w hich have lo n g b een a c c e p te d a s " p r o p e r " in o u r
s o c i e t y .
F e rry (F e r ry and Ashm ore, 1966) has a rg u e d t h a t th e r o l e o f
th e mass m edia i s an a n t i c i p a t o r y o n e. C l e a r l y , th e mass c i r c u l a t i o n
n ew sp ap ers in E ngland and i n Los A n g eles w ere n o t p la y in g su ch a n
a n t i c i p a t o r y r o l e w ith r e g a r d to th e wom en's l i b e r a t i o n movement; a
movement w hich a p p e a rs to have d e v elo p e d i n t o an Im p o rta n t a g e n t o f
change in ou r s o c i e t y .
The p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n o f a s o c i a l movement. W ith th e s u p p o r t
o f th e seco n d h y p o th e s is in two s o c i a l s e t t i n g s i t becomes p o s s i b l e
to augment th e T u rn e r and K i l l i a n p a ra d ig m w hich d e p i c t s t h e means
o f a c t i o n a v a i l a b l e to a s o c i a l movement d ep en d in g upon th e m anner
in w hich I t I s d e f in e d by th e p u b l i c .
The wom en's l i b e r a t i o n movement in I t s e a r l y y e a r s had no
p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n ; i t r e c e iv e d l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n from th e maas m edia
and y e t I t was a b l e to a c t , to r e c r u i t and to grow. "By 1969,
80
wom en's l i b e r a t i o n had become a b ro a d -b a s e d m ovem ent," s t a t e d th e
Los A ngeles Times In J u n e , 1970, Y et b o th th e Los A ngeles Times and
th e H e ra ld Exam iner had made l i t t l e m en tio n o f su ch a movement "by
1 9 6 9 ."
"The women's l i b e r a t i o n movement I s a 'g r a s s - r o o t s ' phenomenon
— I t grows d e s p i t e la c k o f p u b l i c i t y " w r i t e s a women's l i b e r a t i o n i s m ^
The movement, In I t s e a r l y y e a r s , g rew , I t seem s, by word o f m outh;
by p e r s o n a l c o n t a c t ; by n o t i c e s In th e u n d erg ro u n d p r e s s . I t was in
no way d ep en d en t upon a " p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n . "
T here can be l i t t l e d o u b t t h a t th e e a r l y women's l i b e r a t i o n
movement In England was i n f l u e n c e d In some ways by th e a c t i v i t i e s o f
th e movement In th e U n ite d S t a t e s , a lr e a d y some th r e e y e a r s o l d . One
o f th e f i r s t Women's L i b e r a t i o n Workshops was s t a r t e d by two young
A m ericans, w h ile s e v e r a l A m erican e x p a t r i a t e s w ere a c t i v e in th e
movement In th e m id d le o f 1970. Most o f th e wom en's l i b e r a t i o n
l i t e r a t u r e a v a i l a b l e in E ngland was from A m erica, t h e u n d erg ro u n d p r e s s
In B r i t a i n b e in g l e s s h ig h ly d e v elo p e d th an t h a t In A m erica. C o n ta c t
w as, a s in Los A n g e le s, p e r s o n a l. P e o p le le a r n e d o f a group th ro u g h
a f r i e n d ; a c o -w o rk e r, th e movement grow ing and ta k in g a c t i o n w ith o u t
a p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n .
R e v o lu tio n o r c o - o p t a t i o n ? Drawing from c o n f l i c t th e o r y , th e
t e s t i n g o f h y p o th e s is t h r e e was an a tte m p t to show t h a t a s a s o c i a l
^From a l e t t e r from Ann F o rfreed o m , who h a s been a c t i v e i n
th e women's l i b e r a t i o n movement In Los A ngeles s i n c e 1967.
movement, p a r t i c u l a r l y one w hich t h r e a t e n s th e s o c i o c u l t u r a l s t r u c t u r e ,
i s see n to b e grow ing In s t r e n g t h , m echanism s f o r c o n t r o l l i n g th e con
f l i c t e n g en d e re d by th e movement w i l l be u t i l i z e d .
The d a ta showed t h a t th e movement in Los A ngeles had grown
in s t r e n g t h and t h a t new spaper c o v erag e o f th e movement in c r e a s e d
more th a n f i f t y tim e s t h a t g iv e n a t an e a r l i e r p e r io d In th e move
m e n t's e v o l u t i o n . I t was e x p e c te d t h a t c o - o p t a t i o n o f th e m ovem ent's
alm s w ould be shown by f a v o r a b le s l a n t i n g o f in f o r m a tio n g iv e n in
th e p r e s s a b o u t th e movement. The d a t a do n o t s u p p o rt t h i s .
The re a so n f o r t h i s la c k o f s u p p o r t , i t i s s u g g e s te d , i s to
be found in th e l i m i t a t i o n s im posed by th e m ethod o f c o n te n t a n a l y s i s
u r t d . The c r i t e r i a s e t by t h i s r e s e a r c h e r f o r I n c l u s i o n o f an ite m
f o r c o d in g , w h ile a d e q u a te f o r t e s t i n g th e f i r s t h y p o th e s is w ere
u n s u i t a b l e f o r ite m s d e a li n g d i r e c t l y w ith m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f c o - o p ta
t i o n o f movement aim s. T hese ite m s , when th e y a p p e a re d , r a r e l y
m e n tio n e d any o f th e key p h r a s e s w hich w ould re n d e r them e l i g i b l e f o r
i n c l u s i o n in th e d a t a . The p h ra s e s w e re: "women's l i b e r a t i o n , "
"women's l i b , " "new f e m i n i s t s , " " f e m i n i s t s , " and " m i l i t a n t " when i t
a p p l i e d to women. Item s w hich m ig h t be s a i d to d e m o n stra te c o - o p t a t i o n
I n c lu d e d , f o r ex am p le, r e f e r e n c e to women's s tu d y program s b e in g
i n s t i t u t e d In u n i v e r s i t i e s and c o lle g e s o v e r th e n a t i o n ; changes In
a b o r tio n la w s; th e s e t t i n g up o f d a y - c a r e c e n t e r s f o r young c h i l d r e n .
The f a c t t h a t th e Los A n g e les Times had s e x u a l l y d e s e g r e g a te d i t s
" h e lp -w a n te d " a d v e r tis e m e n ts by th e m id d le o f 1970 c o u ld n o t b e
in c lu d e d in th e d a t a .
82
What c o u ld be n o te d a b o u t th e n e w sp a p e rs' p r e s e n t a t i o n o f th e
women's l i b e r a t i o n movement In th e y e a r p r i o r to M arch, 1971, a lth o u g h
I t c o u ld n o t be m easured u s in g th e mode o f a n a l y s i s d e v is e d f o r t h i s
s tu d y , was an i n c r e a s i n g b la n d n e s s o f Im age; an I n c r e a s i n g " r e s p e c t*
a b i l i t y . "
For ex am p le, th e A ugust 2 , 1970 i s s u e o f th e Los A ngeles
Times ra n a f r o n t page s t o r y a b o u t th e C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e C o lle g e , Los
A n g eles Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group ( s e e A ppendix A). T h is in c lu d e s
such s ta te m e n ts a s :
C a rry in g th e f l a g s o f l i b e r a t i o n . . . and b e a r in g th e b ru n t
o f bad Jo k e s . . . I s a s m a ll c o rp s o f p r e t t y young women who
g la d ly an sw er y es to th e f r e q u e n t q u e s ti o n 'O h -o h , a r e you
one o f th o s e ? '
They show b o u n d le ss e n erg y in c h a r t i n g t h e i r c o u rs e o f
a c t i o n and a l i t t l e w e a r i n e s s , a l r e a d y , w ith re g a rd to a l l
th e dumb J o k e s and m i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f t h e i r c a u se .
. . . i t s membership is s u rp r is in g ly Bedate . . . And
nobody, as y e t , i s ta lk in g re v o lu tio n o r s t r i k e s o r bra*
burnings.
But th e y r e c o g n iz e th e Im p o rt o f t h e i r w ork, a s re c o g *
n l t l o n grows n a t i o n a l l y t h a t women's l i b may w e ll change
th e s o c i a l s c e n e . . .
A lso in l a t e A ugust and e a r l y S ep tem b er, 1970, th e Los
A n g eles Times p r i n t e d a s e r i e s o f f i v e a r t i c l e s a b o u t women's l i b e r a
t i o n , a l l b e g in n in g on th e f r o n t p a g e. In t h i s s e r i e s , s t a t i s t i c s ,
I s s u e s , and t h e o r i e s o f " th e b u rg e o n in g wom en's movement f o r e q u a l i t y "
w ere s e r i o u s l y d is c u s s e d . Some e x c e r p ts from th e s e a r t i c l e s a r e a s
f o l l o w s :
The Women's L i b e r a t i o n movement i s an e f f o r t to expand
th e d e f i n i t i o n o f women to in c lu d e h e r t a l e n t s , a c t i v i t i e s
and i n d i v i d u a l i t y .
83
Women's L i b e r a t i o n movement h as th e p u rp o se o f b r in g in g
s o c i e t y up to d a te w ith th e p la c e modern woman a lr e a d y f in d
th e m s e lv e s .
G iv in g women a f a i r chance to become d o c t o r s , la w y e r s ,
p e rs o n n e l c h i e f s o r p r o f e s s o r s i s one o f th e g o a ls b e h in d
re fo rm s In e d u c a tio n b e in g e n e r g iz e d by th e women's l i b e r a
t i o n movement.
The Women's L i b e r a t i o n movement i s c r e a t i n g in ro a d s to
women's f u l l p a r t i c i p a t i o n in a l l a r e a s o f l i f e . True
e q u a l i t y f o r women h o ld s pro m ise f o r th e fa m ily and th e
s o c i e t y .
One g e ts l i t t l e h i n t from new spaper r e p o r t s o f th e s t r o n g , l e f t - w i n g
o r i e n t a t i o n s ; o f th e r e v o l u t i o n a r y a s p e c t s ; of th e c o u n t e r - c u l t u r a l
f l a v o r of th e movement w hich a r e a p p a re n t to one a t t e n d i n g group
m e e tin g s , and w hich may be d is c e r n e d from th e b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n s in
A ppendix A o f Los A ngeles County g ro u p s . T h it form o f o m is s io n ,
t o g e th e r w ith e v id e n c e o f some changes in w om en's s t a t u s , may be
se e n to f i t n i c e l y i n t o th e p ro c e s s o f " c o n ta in m e n t" n o te d by F la c k s
(1 9 7 0 :5 3 ):
. . . to e li m i n a t e th o s e e le m e n ts in th e movement t h a t a r e
m ost d i s r u p t i v e and d e s t r u c t i v e , w h ile p u t t i n g i n t o e f f e c t
some o f th e c u l t u r a l , s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l in n o v a tio n s and
refo rm s th e movement a d v o c a te s . . .
I m p l ic a tio n s f o r f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h . As in much r e s e a r c h , t h i s
s tu d y u n c o v ers many more i n t e r e s t i n g problem s th a n i t has s o lv e d .
The v a r i e t y o f d a t a c o l l e c t e d f o r t h i s stu d y c o u ld le a d th e r e s e a r c h e r
in one o r more o f s e v e r a l d i r e c t i o n s .
W hile i t i s n o t c laim ed t h a t t h i s s tu d y p r e s e n t s a d e f i n i t i v e
h i s t o r y o f th e e a r l y women's l l b e r s t l o n movement in Los A ngeles o r
in E n g lan d , th e m a t e r i a l s g a th e r e d h e r e w ould p ro v id e a sound
b e g in n in g f o r such an u n d e r ta k in g .
84
F a c tio n a lis m . P a r t i c i p a n t o b s e r v a tio n o f movement gro u p s
r e v e a le d much m e r itin g f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h . Of p a r t i c u l a r I n t e r e s t i s
th e f a c t i o n a l i s m w ith in th e movement. Among th e d a ta p r e s e n te d In
t h i s s tu d y i e s p e c i a l l y in th e d e s c r i p t i o n s o f i n d i v i d u a l g ro u p s , a r e
s e v e r a l I n ti m a ti o n s o f s p l i t s ; of sch ism s b o th w ith in and betw een
g ro u p s. These sch'ism s a p p e a r to stem from one o r more o f a number
o f d i v i s i v e i s s u e s : le a d e r s h i p v e r s u s l e a d e r l e s s n e s s w ith in g ro u p s;
th e p o l i t i c a l v e rs u s th e a p o l i t i c a l s t a n c e ; a c t i o n v e r s u s s tu d y a n d /o r
c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g ; c o u r tin g th e mass m edia v e rs u s s p u rn in g them.
I t c o u ld be t h a t f a c t i o n a l i s m I s i n e v i t a b l e In any s o c i a l movement.
T h is m e r i t s f u r t h e r I n v e s t i g a t i o n .
The q u e s tio n o f f a c t i o n a l i s m le a d s b ack to th e T u rn er and
K i l l i a n p a ra d ig m , p a r t s o f w hich s t i l l a w a it e m p ir ic a l a n a l y s i s .
T h is r e s e a r c h e r q u e s t i o n s , f o r e x am p le, w h e th e r th e p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n
o f a movement as f a c t i o n a l i s a s im p o rta n t as w h e th er th e movement
I s In f a c t f a c t i o n a l , w ith re g a rd to th e ty p e s o f o p p o s itio n i t w i l l
e n c o u n te r .
The Im p o rtan c e o f p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n . As m en tio n ed above, one
o f th e d i v i s i v e I s s u e s w i t h i n th e movement h as b een t h a t o f w h e th e r
to s p u rn o r to c o u r t th e m edia. I t h as b een d e m o n stra te d t h a t
w ith o u t a p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n a movement can r e c r u i t , grow , and ta k e
l i m i t e d a c t i o n . I f p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n h as as p o w e rfu l an im p act as
T u rn e r and K i l l i a n s u g g e s t , c l e a r l y th o s e who w ish ed to a v o id th e
a t t e n t i o n o f th e p r e s s w ere j u s t i f i e d u n le s s th e y c o u ld be a s s u r e d
t h a t th e y w ould be a llo w e d to c r e a t e th e "im age" m ost b e n e f i c i a l to
85
th e movement. As h as b een s e e n in t h i s stu d y a n d , in d e e d , as T u rn e r
and K i l l i a n acknow ledge, th e p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y
a t r u e p i c t u r e o f th e movement. To c a r r y t h i s a s t e p f u r t h e r , i f
p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n so r a d i c a l l y d e te rm in e s a c t i o n s and o p p o s i t i o n ,
any s o c i a l movement r e q u i r e s o n ly good p u b lic r e l a t i o n s o f f i c i a l s to
J u s t i f y th e m ovem ent's s ta n c e and so a llo w th e movement to fo rg e
ahead and a c t to r e a l i z e i t s alm s. T h is seem s s i m p l i s t i c f o r , even
g iv e n an o p p o r tu n ity to d e te rm in e p u b lic d e f i n i t i o n , who sp eak s f o r
th e movement, th e r a d i c a l s o r th e r e f o r m is ts ? C o n f l i c t th e o ry w ould
p r e d i c t t h a t th e r e f o r m i s t s w i l l be th e o n es a llo w e d to sp e a k f o r
th e movement.
In r e c e n t r e p o r t s o f th e N.O.U. WeBt C o ast C o n fe re n ce h e ld
in Los A ngeles in e a r l y S ep tem b er, 1971, N.O.W. spokeswomen condemned
th e i n f i l t r a t i o n o f th e f e m i n i s t movement by s o c i a l i s t g ro u p s (Los
A ngeles T im es, S eptem ber 7 , 1 9 7 1 ). T h is may be view ed a s an e f f o r t
to keep th e movement " r e s p e c t a b l y " d e f in e d f o r th e p u b l i c . In
d i s c u s s i n g N a tio n a l Women's P o l i t i c a l C aucuses to be form ed in
s e v e r a l s t a t e s , B e tty F r ie d a n , th e fo u n d e r o f N.O.W. "w arned a g a i n s t
u s in g women's l i b e r a t i o n te rm in o lo g y when o r g a n iz in g f o r th e caucus
b e c a u s e i t m ig h t tu r n n o n - f e m in i s t women away .. ." (Los A ngeles
T im es, Septem ber 7 , 1 9 7 1 ), t h i s tim e u r g in g " w ith h o ld in g " t a c t i c s in
o r d e r to g a in a d h e r e n ts .
How im p o r ta n t i s p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n ? I t i s a p p a r e n t t h a t
many women's g ro u p s s e e c o v erag e by th e m edia as v i t a l . N.O.W. h as
so u g h t p u b l i c i t y s in c e I t s i n c e p t i o n . By A u g u st, 1970, o t h e r g ro u p s
66
In Che movement had r e v e r s e d t h e i r e a r l i e r a n t i p a t h y to th e m edia.
In th e A u g u st( 1970 n e w s l e t t e r Is s u e d by th e Women's L i b e r a tio n
C e n te r , Crenshaw B o u le v a rd , th e f o llo w in g n o t i c e a p p e a re d ;
MS, DO YOU KN O W PR?
W e have a d e s p e r a te n eed a t th e C e n te r f o r women w ith knowl
e d g e , t a l e n t s a n d /o r c o n ta c ts w ith any o f th e m edia. We a r e
t r y i n g to g e t TV, r a d i o , and new sp ap er c o v e ra g e . Can you
h e lp us? . , .
T his s tu d y aim ed to augm ent, n o t to d i s p u t e , th e T u rn er and
K i l l i a n t h e o r e t i c a l p arad ig m . I t c an n o t be d e n ie d t h a t th e p u b l i c i t y
g iv e n to a s o c i a l movement w hich alm s to r e c r u i t from a b ro a d b a se i s
im p o rta n t b u t i t i s s u g g e s te d t h a t c o n t r o l o f th e ty p e o f p u b l i c i t y ,
e s p e c i a l l y t h a t w hich re a c h e s th e g e n e r a l p u b l i c , i s n o t e n t i r e l y in
th e hands o f th e s o c i a l movement I t s e l f .
The e f f e c t s o f c o - o p t a t i o n . W ith c o - o p t a t i o n , i t I s s p e c u
l a t e d , th e re fo rm e lem en t o f th e new f e m i n i s t movement w i l l s e e many
o f i t s alm s r e a l i z e d . L e g i s l a t i v e changes w i l l b r in g more o p p o r tu n i
t i e s f o r women in th e p r o f e s s i o n s and in governm ent a t a l l l e v e l s ;
e q u a l pay w i l l p ro b a b ly g r a d u a lly e x te n d to th e a r e a s w here i t i s
n o t a lr e a d y th e r u l e . These a r e th e k in d s o f changes t h a t have been
s t r i v e n f o r by p r o f e s s i o n a l and b u s in e s s women's o r g a n i z a t i o n s e v e r
s i n c e th e v o te was w on f o r women.
L ike th e g a in in g o f th e v o te , th e s e ch an g es may a f f e c t
women's l i v e s o n ly p e r i p h e r a l l y . " . . . in e v e ry c o u n try re m o te ly
co m p arab le to t h i s one [E n g la n d ], th ro u g h o u t W estern E u ro p e, in th e
US o r i n A u s t r a l i a , woman c o n s i s t e n t l y v o te a more r ig h t - w in g t i c k e t
th a n men"(Adam, 1 9 7 1 i3 7 ). E qual p a y , e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s in th e
87
p r o f e s s i o n s , p o s i t i o n s In governm ent w i l l n o t n e c e s s a r i l y le a d to
th e sw eeping r o le - c h a n g e s demanded by th e r a d i c a l e le m e n t o f th e
women's l i b e r a t i o n movement. In th e S o v ie t U nion, f o r I n s t a n c e ,
w here th e r e a r e more women th a n men In th e m e d ic a l p r o f e s s i o n and
w here th e r e a re women in e n g in e e r in g , e l e c t r o n i c s , and o t h e r a r e a s
h e ld to be "m en 's f i e l d s " In o u r s o c i e t y , women a re s t i l l l a r g e l y
r e s p o n s ib le f o r h o u sek e e p in g and c h l l d - c a r e . Men in th e S o v ie t Union
have n o t shown th e m se lv e s an x io u s to u n d e rta k e th e d u l l b u t n e c e s s a r y
c h o re s o f fa m ily l i f e .
Many r a d i c a l s d is m is s th e Im p o rtan ce o f l e g i s l a t i v e change.
"We d o n 't want a p ie c e o f th e p i e in A m erica in term s o f lo b b y in g .
W e t h i n k th e w hole p i e i s r o t t e n , " s a y s Robin Morgan ( L l l l l s t o n ,
1 9 7 0 :1 ).
I t may be t h a t w ith g o v e rn m e n tal c o n c e rn w ith I s s u e s o f wom en's
r i g h t s , more r ig o r o u s a p p l i c a t i o n o f T i t l e V II o f th e C i v i l R ig h ts
A c t, changes In a b o r tio n law s th ro u g h o u t t h e n a t i o n , th e re fo rm
groupB w i l l be s a t i s f i e d . W ithout changes i n t h e i r d o m e stic l i v e s ,
h o w ev er, more and more women may f i n d th em selv es r e s p o n s i b l e b o th
f o r h o ld in g down a dem anding jo b and f o r th e management o f th e home.
I f h i r i n g o t h e r women to do t h e i r housew ork Is t h e i r o n ly s o l u t i o n ,
women's l i b e r a t i o n w i l l n o t have b een r e a l i z e d and a new, t h i r d s u rg e
o f fem inism can u l t i m a t e l y be e x p e c te d .
I n c o n c lu s io n , i t i s hoped t h a t th e i n t e n t i o n s o f t h i s r e
s e a r c h e r to b o th s u p p o r t and augment e x i s t i n g th e o r y h av e b e e n f u l
f i l l e d . The d a t a and f in d i n g s r e v e a le d in t h i s s tu d y have s o lv e d some
r e s e a r c h p ro b lem s w h ile r a i s i n g o t h e r s o f i n t e r e s t .
- t L.'iL = , ' i t . r - j a . .#*■ * 5 ff-
iP J-:Lv ■ j s f j i ® ^ :;'7 ■ r * > J t
'■f# i : -f c w - ' t y
DESCRIPTION OF WOMEN'S LIBERATION GROUPS IN LOS ANGELES
COUNTY, MARCH, 1971
C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e C o lle g e , Long B each, Women's L i b e r a tio n
T h is c h a r t e r e d campus group met w eekly as p a r t o f th e e x p e r i
m e n ta l c o l l e g e . The c o re group num bered 15, m ost members b e in g in
t h e i r e a r l y tw e n t i e s . D uring M arch, s p e a k e rs w ere f e a t u r e d a t th e
w eekly m e e tin g s , draw ing a u d ie n c e s o f up to 40 p e o p le . T h is group
c o n d u cted a p r e lim in a r y s e x - d l s c r i m i n a t i o n s u r v e y , p a r t l y f o r N.O.W.
who w ere p r e p a r in g a se x d i s c r i m i n a t i o n s u i t . They found d is c r im in a
t i o n r e g a r d in g th e employment o f women p r o f e s s o r s . They w ere w i l l i n g
to send r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n cil b u t found t h a t th e
d a te c o n f l i c t e d w ith t h e i r own a c t i v i t i e s . T h is a p p lie d a l s o to th e
March 8 , I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day March w hich f e l l on a s c h o o l d ay.
The s t a t e d aim s o f th e group w ere to have made a v a i l a b l e on cam pus,
u n d er th e h e a l t h s e r v i c e , in f o r m a tio n and c o u n s e lin g r e g a r d in g
a b o r t i o n , b i r t h c o n t r o l , and p r o t e c t i o n a g a i n s t v e n e r e a l d i s e a s e .
The g ro u p , a s a g ro u p , was a p o l i t i c a l .
C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e C o lle g e , Los A n g e le s , Women's L i b e r a tio n
M eeting tw ic e a m onth, t h i s group co m p rised a b o u t te n women.
D uring March s p e a k e rs w ere i n v i t e d from San Diego S t a t e C o lle g e , th e
aim o f th e m e etin g b e in g to t r y to i n s t i t u t e a women's s tu d y program
a t CSCLA o f th e k in d a lr e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d a t San D iego. The m e e tin g ,
h e ld on March 3 , drew 70 p e o p le . T h is group c o n s id e r e d i t s e l f
p o l i t i c a l and term ed i t s e l f " r a d i c a l f e m i n i s t " o r "new l e f t . " T h e ir
89
90
spokeswoman u sed th e p h ra s e " c o u n t e r - c u l t u r e " to r e f e r to th e g ro u p ,
Im p ly in g R o sz a k 's m eaning o f th e term (1 9 6 9 ). Such c o n s c io u s n e s s
r a i s i n g a s was co n d u cted was In term s o f th e b r o a d e r s o c i e t y , n o t
m erely p e r s o n a l.
El Camlno F e m in is t C e ll
Formed in J a n u a r y , 1971t t h i s group com prised 35 members, aged
betw een 17 and 55, who met tw ic e a month in p r i v a t e homes. D uring
March th ey h e ld l e c t u r e s a t w hich p r o f e s s i o n a l p e o p le w ith s p e c i a l
knowledge o f h i s t o r y and w om en's e d u c a tio n sp o k e. The l a r g e group
m e e tin g s u s u a l l y b ro k e f o r s m a l le r group c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g on a
p o l i t i c a l l e v e l . The group had th r e e perm an en t l e a d e r s who w ere
chosen by th e p e rso n who fo u n d ed th e g ro u p . L e a d e rs w ere c a l l e d
" p u b lic r e l a t i o n s c o o r d i n a t o r s . " To a v o id th e c o n c e n tr a tio n o f
l e a d e r s h ip in th e hands o f one p e r s o n , c h a irm a n sh ip of m e e tin g s
r o t a t e d . P o l i t i c a l l y l e f t , th e group w anted change b u t p r e f e r r e d to
av o id p o l i t i c a l l a b e l s . "A s m a ll group o f men o p p re s s a la r g e group
o f men, b u t a l l men o p p re ss women," t h e i r spokeswoman s a i d .
Everywoman Group
T h is group b egan p ro d u c in g t h e new spaper Everywoman in May,
1970. T hree th o u san d c o p ie s a r e p r i n t e d e v e ry th r e e weeks a lth o u g h
n o t a l l a r e s o l d . In M arch, th e group com prised 6 -8 women, who ra n
th e Everywoman B o o k sto re as w a ll a s p ro d u c in g th e p a p e r . A s e l f - h e l p
c l i n i c was h e ld a t th e b o o k s to re each weak w here women c o u ld t a l k
t o g e t h e r and o b t a i n I n f o r m a tio n about b i r t h c o n t r o l , v e n e r e a l d l a a a s e ,
91
a b o r tio n r e f e r r a l . The Everywoman f o o k s t o r e s e r v e d as a t h i r d women's
c e n t e r in Los A ngeles w hich aim ed to g iv e many k in d s o f h e lp to women
in n e e d , such a s em ergency h o u s in g . T here was no v o t i n g in th e g ro u p .
U n less c o n se n su s was o b ta in e d , th e a c t i o n s u n d er d i s c u s s io n w ere n o t
ta k e n . T h is group o f r a d i c a l f e m in is ts was h ig h ly d e d ic a te d to
w o rk in g to h e lp women to become in d e p e n d e n t. The group was " a way
o f l i f e " f o r i t s m em bers, i t s fo u n d e r s a i d . Everywoman f e m i n i s t s were
in c o n f l i c t w ith th e Women's L i b e r a t i o n C e n te r , Crenshaw B o u le v ard ,
i t s fo u n d e r c la im in g to have b een "p u rg e d " from th e r e in S eptem ber,
1970. The n e w sp a p er, how ever, r e p o r te d e v e n ts a t th e Women's C e n te r
and a t a l l o t h e r c e n te r s f o r women in Los A n g e le s, in c lu d in g c e n te r s
f o r l e s b i a n s .
H o lly w o o d -S ilv e rla k e C o n sc io u sn ess R a is in g Group
T his group o f 12 women, ag es betw een 20 and AS y e a r s , met
w eekly in March f o r c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g on a p e r s o n a l l e v e l . The
group was a p o l i t i c a l .
L e sb ia n F e m in is ts
D u rin g M arch, 1971, t h i s g ro u p , w hich m et w eekly a t t h e
Women's L i b e r a t i o n C e n te r , Crenshaw B o u le v a rd , changed i t s name from
Gay Women's L l b e r s t i o n F ro n t to th e L e sb ia n F e m in is ts , f e e l i n g c l o s e r
t i e s w ith fem inism th a n w ith gay l i b e r a t i o n . One o f th e fo u n d e rs o f
Gay Women's L i b e r a t i o n F r o n t , a women's cau cu s o f Gay L i b e r a t i o n
F r o n t, l e f t t h e group a t t h i s tim e to found th e Gay Women's S e r v ic e
C e n te r in Los A n g eles. T here had b een d i f f e r e n c e s o v e r l e a d e r s h i p
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and p o l i c y . The group num bered 30-40 m em bers, a g es ran g ed betw een
18 and 404-. D uring M arch, th e group s e n t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s to th e
I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; I t p a r t i c i p a t e d in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day
M arch. D uring M arch, th e group was p la n n in g th e Gay Women's West
C o ast C o n feren ce to be h e ld i n J u n e . I t a l s o s e n t s p e a k e rs to th e
N.O.W. p a n e l on l i f e - s t y l e s , h e ld on March 25. P o l i t i c a l l y , th e
group was n o t a f f i l i a t e d w ith any p a r t y a lth o u g h s e v e r a l o f I t s mem
b e r s h e ld s tr o n g l e f t wing v ie w s.
L i b e r a t i o n Union Women's Caucus
A caucus o f a m lx e d -se x r e v o l u t i o n a r y s o c i a l i s t g ro u p , t h i s
group of 10-12 women met w eek ly . They s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e
I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; th e y p a r t i c i p a t e d i n th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's
Day March. T his was p r i m a r i l y a s tu d y g ro u p , r e a d in g E n g e ls , R e id ,
among o t h e r s , to exam ine th e b a s i s o f th e o p p r e s s io n of women In
h i s t o r y . T here was some c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g and d i s c u s s i o n s o f
th e o r y . They w ere " a tte m p tin g to c o o r d in a te id e a s to l i n k women's
s t r u g g l e w ith th e o v e r a l l s t r u g g l e . " They w ere a l s o a tte m p tin g to
make th e men i n t h e i r m lx e d -sex group aw are o f t h e i r m ale ch au v in ism .
As a women's cau cu s th e y had g a in e d u n i t y and a v o ic e in th e m ixed
g ro u p , t h e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a i d . They w ere p la n n in g to j o i n th e
A p r il 24 P eace March in W ash in g to n , n o t In th e Women's C o n tin g e n t b u t
w ith t h e i r m lx e d -sex g ro u p .
Los A ngeles C h a p te r N a tio n a l O r g a n is a tio n f o r Women (N.O.W.)
P a id up members in M arch, 1971 num bered 192, 61 new members,
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131 re n e w a ls . The p r e v io u s y e a r had c lo s e d w ith a ro u n d 300 members,
t h e i r t r e a s u r e r s a i d , b u t p e o p le " a r e alw ays slow to pay t h e i r a n n u al
d u e s ." N.O.W. was one o f th e few n e w -fe m in is t g ro u p s w hich had a
m em bership f e e : $ 1 7 .5 0 , f i f t y - f i v e p e r c e n t o f w hich w ent to th e
n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n . In M arch, t h s N.O.W. Study C e n te r had r e c e n t l y
opened ( d e t a i l s w ere g iv e n on page 7 0 ). N.O.W. h e ld a g e n e r a l
m e e tin g once a month w hich o f t e n draw a u d ie n c e s o f 100 o r m ore. I t
was one o f th e few n e w -fe m in is t g ro u p s h a v in g a s t r u c t u r e d o r g a n i z a t i o n
o f e l e c t e d o f f i c e r s . S ta n d in g c o n n l t t e e s h a n d le d m em bership, l e g a l
d e f e n s e , l e g i s l a t i o n , em ploym ent, p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s , p r e s s r e l a t i o n s
and m edia r e l a t i o n s , n e w s l e t t e r , and s p e a k e r s ' b u re a u , among o t h e r s .
In M arch, th e r e w ere n in e te e n such com m ittees o r t a s k f o r c e s . D uring
M arch, N.O.W. cam paigned in b e h a lf o f F a t R u s s e l l 's r e - e l e c t i o n to
th e c i t y c o u n c il. The s p e a k e r s ' b u re a u s e n t o u t s p e a k e r s on tw elv e
o c c a s io n s . N.O.W ., a g a in d i f f e r i n g from m ost o t h e r g ro u p s , en co u rag ed
men to j o i n th e o r g a n i z a t i o n .
At th e g e n e r a l m e etin g in M arch, h e ld a t th e CalFed b u i l d i n g
on W ils h lr e B o u le v a rd , a l e g i s l a t i v e a id e to S e n a to r Dymally spoke on
th e l e g i s l a t i v e p r o c e s s in S acram en to . T here w ere a c t i v i t i e s a t th e
N.O.W. c e n t e r on a lm o st e v e ry day in M arch. N.O.W. d id n o t p a r t i c i
p a te in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day M arch. The m arch was a v o id e d
* * *
b e c a u se o f " i t s p o l i t i c a l o v e r t o n e s ," t h e i r spokeswoman s a i d . N.O.W.
s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il.
N.O.W. w orked w ith in th e e x i s t i n g p o l i t i c a l s y ste m , a im in g to
b r in g a b o u t changes in wom en's p o s i t i o n th ro u g h l e g i s l a t i o n .
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Los A ngeles C ity C o lle g e Women*8 L i b e r a t i o n Group
A c h a r te r e d campus g ro u p , in e x i s t e n c e s in c e th e p r e v io u s
s e m e s te r , 18 members met w e ek ly , a f u r t h e r group o f 5 m e etin g se p a
r a t e l y b e c a u se o f c o n f l i c t i n g commitments* In M arch, th e y a d v e r t i s e d
a m e etin g w hich drew 50 p e o p le f o r an in fo r m a l d i s c u s s i o n . S e v e ra l
s p e a k e r a , I n c lu d in g a C h ic an a , a b la c k woman, and a s o c i a l i s t , t o l d
o f women's l i b e r a t i o n a s i t a f f e c t e d them. A f u r t h e r m e etin g In
M arch, th e g r o u p 's " b ig e v e n t" w hich f e a tu r e d L in d a J a n e s s o f th e
S o c i a l i s t W orkers A l l i a n c e , as s p e a k e r drew an a u d ie n c e of 150. In
M arch, th e group began f o r m u la tin g p la n s f o r th e A p r il 24 P eace March
in W ashington. They w ere to march in th e Women's C o n tin g e n t* Con
s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g s e s s i o n s w ere h e ld as p a r t o f r e g u l a r b u s in e s s
m e e tin g s . A cco rd in g to i t s spokeswoman, th e group began a s s o c i a l i s t
b u t In March was a p o l i t i c a l .
Los A ngeles F e m in is t T h e a te r
T h is f e m i n i s t t h e a t e r , members num bering 1 5 -2 0 , ag es 2 0 -4 0 ,
was in d e p e n d e n t o f any o t h e r women's g ro u p . I t s t a r t e d a t th e Women's
C e n te r , Crenshaw B o u le v a rd , in th e s p r i n g o f 1970 b u t b ro k e away from
th e r e and began on i t s own in S ep tem b er, 1970. I t l e f t , i t s fo u n d e r
s a i d , f o r " p o l i t i c a l " r e a s o n s ; a tte m p ts had b een made to c o n t r o l I t s
m a t e r i a l . I t l a t e r jo in e d N .O .W ., p u t t i n g on one p r o d u c tio n b u t ,
a g a i n , ra n i n t o c e n s o rs h ip p ro b le m s.
The group u sed t h e a t r i c a l p r o d u c tio n s a s a p ro p ag an d a to o l
f o r w om an's l i b e r a t i o n . I t s fo u n d e r f e l t t h a t p o l i t i c s a r e a p e r s o n a l
m a tte r and s h o u ld n o t e n t e r i n t o th e t h e a t e r g ro u p , as a group * The
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m a t e r i a l s w ere w r i t t e n by group members and r e f l e c t e d s e v e r a l p o l i t i c a l
o p in io n s . In March th e group p e rfo rm ed a t F resn o S t a t e C o lle g e to an
a u d ie n c e of two hundred and f i f t y p e o p le .
O p p o s ite Humber
T his was a new ly form ed group o f sev en m em bers, ag es 2 0 -3 3 ,
m e e tin g w eekly in p r i v a t e homes. They began by sim p ly t a l k i n g ;
g e t t i n g to know each o t h e r ; s h a r in g t h e i r e x p e r ie n c e s o f g ro w ln g -u p ,
t r y i n g to r e l a t e th e s e e x p e r ie n c e s to p r e s e n t f e e l i n g s — "a k in d o f
c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g , " a c c o rd in g to t h e i r spokeswoman. From rem i
n i s c i n g , th ey w ent on to " i n t e l l e c t u a l l z i n g . ' f They re a d books on
women's l i b e r a t i o n to l e a r n more a b o u t i t s o r g a n i z a t i o n . They read
a b o u t and d is c u s s e d p o l i t i c s , women in p r i s o n , th e h i s t o r y o f women.
They s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; th ey to o k p a r t
in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day M arch. The group was s p l i t p o l i
t i c a l l y , a lth o u g h t h i s d id n o t a p p e a r to c au se p ro b le m s.
P asad en a Women's L i b e r a t i o n
T h is group began i n A u g u st, 1970. I t had 36 on i t s m a ilin g
l i s t , a b o u t 12 r e g u l a r l y a t t e n d i n g m e e tin g s . Ages ran g ed from 17-50
y e a r s , a v e ra g e in th e m id - tw e n tie s . The w hole group met w eek ly ,
p r o j e c t co m m ittees m e e tin g as n e e d d i c t a t e d . C o n sc io u sn e ss r a i s i n g
was a p a r t o f th e g r o u p 's a c t i v i t i e s . They s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to
th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; some p a r t i c i p a t e d in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Women's Day March as i n d i v i d u a l s , n o t a s a g ro u p .
In M arch, th e group was d i s c u s s i n g i t s " h ig h s c h o o l p r o j e c t , "
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a p la n to sen d p r o f e s s i o n a l women s p e a k e rs to P asadena High S c h o o l's
c a r e e r day. They w ere a l s o p la n n in g th e making of " r o l e - r e v e r s a l "
f i l m s , com m ercials w ith r o l e s r e v e r s e d . A lso in th e p la n n in g s ta g e
was a l e a f l e t i n g cam paign f o r th e coming M o th e r's Day. ThiB group
was p o l i t i c a l l y m o d e ra te . I t s spokeswoman d e s c r ib e d th e members as
m i d d l e - c l a s s , w ith one o f t h e i r aim s " to d i s p e l th e image o f women's
l i b e r a t i o n a s k o o k y ."
Phantoms o f D e lig h t
S t a r t e d in O c to b e r, 1970, t h i s group co m p rised 11 members,
ages 24-30 y e a r s . O f f i c i a l l y , th e group m et w eekly b u t members met
a t o t h e r tim es d u rin g th e r e s t o f th e week. I t was a c lo s e l y k n i t ,
p e r s o n a l l y s a t i s f y i n g g ro u p , i t s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a i d .
Among i t s a c t i v i t i e s , th e group was p r e p a r in g a f i l e o f
women's l i b e r a t i o n l i t e r a t u r e , e s p e c i a l l y p s y c h o lo g ic a l s t u d i e s p e r
t a i n i n g to women; th ey w ere t r y i n g to change c o n d itio n s a t p la c e s o f
w o rk , t h e i r im m ediate t a r g e t b e in g th e Los A ngeles County Museum w h ere,
t h e i r spokeswoman s a i d , pay and c o n d itio n s d i f f e r e d f o r men and women;
th e y w ere t r y i n g to s t a r t o t h e r women's g ro u p s ; th ey w ere s e e k in g
p u b l i c i t y f o r th e movement, t r y i n g to g e t a r t i c l e s a c c e p te d by th e
Los A ngeles Tim es. They s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e In te r g r o u p
C o u n cil in March; th e y s u p p o rte d th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day M arch.
The group r e p r e s e n te d a ra n g e o f p o l i t i c a l o p in io n s from l i b e r a l to
r a d i c a l . T h is had n o t cau sed p ro b le m s.
P ie r c e C o lle g e Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
T h is was a new group in M arch. I t num bered t e n , ag es ra n g in g
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from 18-40 y e a r s w ith m ost members In t h e i r 2 0 's . I t m et w e ek ly , o f f
cam pus, In p e o p l e 's homes. The group was n o t " t o g e t h e r enough" in
March to have p a r t i c i p a t e d in th e In te r g r o u p C ouncil o r in th e I n t e r
n a t i o n a l Women's Day M arch. In th e p la n n in g and d i s c u s s io n s t a g e s in
March w ere two p u b lic m e e tin g s to be h e ld th e fo llo w in g m onth.
P o l i t i c a l l y a l l members w ere l e f t o f c e n t e r as i n d i v i d u a l s , th e group
n o t y e t ta k in g a p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n .
P in k P a n t h e r s , San Fernando V a lle y
S t a r t e d in A p r i l , 1970, t h i s group o f 10-12 m em bers, ag es
1 9 -3 8 , met w eekly in p r i v a t e homes. They s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to
th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; th ey d id n o t ta k e p a r t in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Women's Day M arch, m ost members w ere c le a n in g up a f t e r th e 1971
e a r th q u a k e . A c t i v i t i e s o f th e group In c lu d e d c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g .
T h is had begun on a p e r s o n a l l e v e l b u t had e x te n d e d to in c lu d e
p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l i s s u e s . They had some c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g
s e s s i o n s w ith men; t h i s was found to be p r o d u c tiv e . P o l i t i c a l l y , some
women p r o f e s s e d l e f t wing o p in io n s w h ile o t h e r s w ere more c a r e f u l
b e c a u se o f f e a r o f l o s i n g t h e i r jo b s .
Pomona V a lle y C h a p te r N.O.W.
O rg a n ise d s i m i l a r l y to th e Los A ngeles C h a p te r o f N .O .W .,
t h i s c h a p te r had 27 p a id -u p members i n M arch, 1971. C h ap ter m e e tin g s
a t t r a c t e d many a d d i t i o n a l p e r s o n s .
R a d ic a l F e m in is ts
M eeting w eekly a t th e Women's C e n te r , Crenshaw B o u le v a rd ,
98
t h i s group had a f l u c t u a t i n g m em bership o f 1 5 -2 0 . They s e n t a r e p r e
s e n t a t i v e to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il. As p a r t o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's
Day a c t i v i t i e s * t h i s group l e a f l e t e d v i s i t o r s to S y b il B rand, th e
women's p r i s o n , on March 7, as a p r o t e s t a g a i n s t th e tr e a tm e n t o f
women p r i s o n e r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y women p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s . P o l i t i c a l l y ,
t h i s was a r e v o l u t i o n a r y - s o c i a l i s t g ro u p .
San Fernando V a lle y C h a p te r N.O.W.
P a id -u p m em bership in M arch, 1971, num bered 45. T here was a
m onthly g e n e r a l m em bership m e e tin g , a m onthly b o ard m e e tin g , and tw ic e
m onthly " ra p g ro u p " m e e tin g s , a t w hich some c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g was
c o n d u c te d . Among i t s r e g u l a r a c t i v i t i e s w ere th e s e n d in g o f
s p e a k e rs on fem inism to h ig h s c h o o ls , c o l l e g e s , and te m p le s ; th e
a id in g o f o t h e r g ro u p s in th e a r e a , e s p e c i a l l y g ro u p s w o rk in g on th e
a b o r tio n i s s u e . P u b lic p o lic y was th e same a s th e n a t i o n a l o r g a n iz a
tio n * P r i v a t e l y , p o l i t i c s ra n g e d from f a r l e f t to s l i g h t l y r i g h t
o f c e n t e r .
San Fernando V a lle y S t a t e C o lle g e Women's L i b e r a t i o n
T h is group was form ed in Decem ber, 1970 as a r e a c t i o n to a
c l a s s g iv e n on campus by " F a s c i n a t i n g Womanhood," a " c o u n t e r - l i b e r a
t i o n " o r g a n i z a t i o n . Nunfoerlng 10 p e r s o n s , ag es r a n g in g betw een 19
and 29 y e a r s , th e group m et w eek ly . They w ere r e p r e s e n te d on th e
I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; some to o k p a r t in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day
M arch. T h is group in M arch was in a s t a t e o f c o n f u s io n . T here w are
p o l i t i c a l d i f f e r e n c e s and d i f f e r e n c e s o v e r w hat th e alm s and a c t i o n s
99
o f th e group sh o u ld b e .
S a n ta M onica Women’s L i b e r a t i o n Group
S t a r t e d In O c to b e r , 1970, th e group numbered 8 m em bers, a g e s
from 18 to 31, who m et w eekly f o r c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g , th e to p i c
h a v in g been chosen th e p r e v io u s w eek. The d i s c u s s io n moved from th e
p e r s o n a l l e v e l to in c lu d e m a tte r s c o n c e rn in g th e p o l i t i c a l w o rk in g o f
s o c i e t y . The group s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il;
i t p a r t i c i p a t e d in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day M arch. P o l i t i c a l l y ,
th e group d id n o t ta k e a s t a n c e , m em bers' own o p in io n s ra n g in g from
ex trem e l e f t to R e p u b lic a n .
Sharon W illiam s C o l l e c t i v e Committee
T h is group was form ed i n S ep tem b er, 1970, by a group o f
r a d i c a l women who w an ted to come to th e d e f e n s e o f Sharon W illia m s o f
th e P a n th e r C om m ittee. In M arch, th e group numbered 15 members, ag es
23 to 30 y e a r s . They met w e ek ly , som etim es a t th e Women's C e n te r ,
Crenshaw B o u le v a rd , som etim es i n p r i v a t e homes. They w ere r e p r e s e n te d
a t t h e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; th e y p a r t i c i p a t e d in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Women's Day M arch, l e a f l e t l n g advance in f o r m a tio n a t f a c t o r i e s w here
many women w ere em ployed. The group co n d u cted c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g ,
some on a p e r s o n a l l e v e l b u t a l s o around th e q u e s ti o n o f th e r e l a t i o n
s h ip o f women to o t h e r i s s u e s su ch a s ra c is m and im p e r ia lis m . In
March th e y w ere t a l k i n g a b o u t w h at m ig h t be done r e g a r d in g women in
p r i s o n s . They w ere c o n ce rn e d w ith th e c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w hich women
p r i s o n e r s , p o l i t i c a l and o t h e r w i s e , w ere im p riso n e d . T o g e th e r w ith
100
women from o t h e r g ro u p s , th e y v i s i t e d S y b il B rand p r i s o n on March 7,
t a l k i n g to v i s i t o r s , i n d i c a t i n g th e c o n ce rn o f women's l i b e r a t i o n
w ith th e m a tte r o f women in J a i l .
P o l i t i c a l l y , t h i s group was more r a d i c a l th an f e m i n i s t . They
saw a f e m i n i s t p o s i t i o n In term s o f women's l i b e r a t i o n a s im p o rta n t
b u t 8aw th e wom en's I s s u e a s p a r t o f a l a r g e r I s s u e .
S i e r r a Madre Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
T here w ere 16 in t h i s g ro u p , ag es 2 1 -5 0 y e a r s , m o stly in t h e i r
2 0 's . They m et w eekly in p r i v a t e homes. They s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e
to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; some to o k p a r t in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's
Day March as i n d i v i d u a l s . C o n sc io u sn ess r a i s i n g on a p e r s o n a l l e v e l ,
r e a d in g and d i s c u s s i o n , e s p e c i a l l y o f p a p e r s c o n c e rn in g fem ale s e x
u a l i t y , w ere some o f th e groupb a c t i v i t i e s i n M arch. When t h i s
r e s e a r c h e r a sk e d th e re a s o n f o r th e em phasis on s e x u a l i t y sh e was
t o l d "Oh, t h a t ' s w here r e p r e s s i o n b e g in s , i s n ' t i t , In b e d ?" In
M arch, th e group s e n t s p e a k e rs on women's l i b e r a t i o n to G le n d ale
C o lle g e , to W h i t t i e r C o lle g e , to P a rk K epple High School in Rosemead
and to a C a t h o lic High S chool In G le n d a le . I t was d u r in g March t h a t
th e group un d erw en t some i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t . I t s p l i t a lo n g l i n e s
o f th o s e who w an ted to r e t a i n th e em p h asis on a c o n ce rn w ith p e r s o n a l
p roblem s and th o s e who w anted to in v o lv e th e m selv e s in su ch a c t i o n as
w o rk in g f o r th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f day c a r e c e n t e r s . P o l i t i c a l l y , m ost
o f th e members w ere s o c i a l i s t , b u t th ey w ere c o n s e r v a tiv e In th e
s e n s e o f a c t i o n . T h e ir spokeswoman s a i d t h a t th e l o c a t i o n o f th e
g roup in th e San G a b r ie l V a lley c a l l e d f o r c a u ti o n in p o l i t i c a l
101
m a t t e r s .
S i s t e r s In S tr u g g le
T here w ere 12 In t h i s g ro u p , ag es 24-40 y e a r s , who met
w eekly. They w ere r e p r e s e n te d a t th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; th ey p a r
t i c i p a t e d In th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day M arch. At th e w eekly
m e e tin g s th e r e was some c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g , m o stly on a p e r s o n a l
l e v e l . T h e ir m ain a c t i v i t y was th e p r e p a r a t i o n and p r e s e n t a t i o n o f
a m edia show. UBing s l i d e s and t a p e s , th e y re c o rd e d a d v e r tis e m e n ts
w hich e x p l o i t e d women. They a l s o re c o rd e d ro c k and r o l l and 'pop*
songs su ch a s "L ay, la d y la y " and "H azel t i p s , " a s exam ples o f some
o f th e ways women a r e u sed c o m m e rc ia lly . In M arch, th e group p r e
s e n te d i t s program a t th e Bay C ity Jew ish Community C e n te r. P o l i t i
c a l l y , th e group was " l e f t to r a d i c a l . "
S i s t e r s U nchained
In M arch, t h i s group num bered o n ly 5 women in t h e i r mid
tw e n t i e s . They had been p a r t o f a much l a r g e r group b u t s p l i t i n t o
tw o, f in d i n g th e l a r g e group u n w ie ld ly . They w ere a tte m p tin g to
b u i l d m em bership up to a b o u t e i g h t . The group met w eek ly . I t s e n t
a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; i t to o k p a r t in th e I n t e r
n a t i o n a l Women's Day M arch. The group re a d and s t u d i e d woman's move
ment l i t e r a t u r e . P o l i t i c a l l y l e f t , th e group d id n o t c o o p e r a te w ith
g ro u p s o u t s i d e th e women's movement.
S t r u g g lin g S i s t e r s
T h is g roup grew o u t o f th e o r i g i n a l S o c i a l i s t Women's
102
O rg a n iz in g P r o j e c t (SWOP). In M arch, th e r e w ere 8 members ra n g in g In
age from l a t e 2 0 ' s to o v e r SO. They met w eekly f o r some c o n s c io u s
n e s s r a i s i n g b u t m o stly f o r e d u c a tio n a l a c t i v i t i e s such a s re a d in g
and d is c u s s i o n . They w ere r e p r e s e n te d on th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il;
th ey p a r t i c i p a t e d in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day March. T h e ir main
aim was to o r g a n iz e o th e r women by t a l k i n g to them w h e rev e r th e y w ere.
Some spoke a t s c h o o ls , te m p le s , c o l l e g e s . P o l i t i c a l l y , t h i s group
was s o c i a l i s t .
Topanga Canyon Women's L i b e r a t i o n Group
T his group of 12 women, m o stly in t h e i r l a t e 2 0 'a and e a r l y
30*s , met once a w eek, som etim es a t th e Topanga C e n te r , som etim es in
p r i v a t e homes, f o r c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g and " r a p , " They w ere re p
r e s e n te d a t th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n cil and a t th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's
Day M arch. The c o n ce rn w ith in th e group was i n " g e t t i n g o u r s e lv e s
to g e th e r as i n d i v i d u a l women." The group was a p o l i t i c a l . Some
members l e f t t h i s group f o r more p o l i t i c a l g ro u p s. D uring M arch, th e
group w ent to g e t h e r to s e e th e f ilm "Women in Love" w hich th ey
a f te r w a r d s d is c u s s e d .
Unkept Women
T here w ere te n women, a g e s r a n g in g from 20 to 44 y e a r s , in
th e group i n M arch. They m et w eekly f o r c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g and
s tu d y . The spokeswoman f o r U nkept Women s a id t h a t c o n s c io u s n e s s
r a i s i n g had le d to p o l i t i c i z a t i o n f o r many in th e g ro u p . P a r t o f
th e group a c t i v i t y was M a rx ist s tu d y . The group s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e
103
to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; I t p a r t i c i p a t e d in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l
Women's Day M arch. O f f i c i a l l y , th e group to o k no p o l i t i c a l s t a n c e ,
y e t s e v e r a l women had become p o l i t i c a l l y o r i e n t e d th ro u g h th e g r o u p 's
a c t i v i t i e s .
U ppity Women
T h is group o f te n m et w eekly f o r c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g on a
p e r s o n a l l e v e l . They w ere r e p r e s e n te d on th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il.
The group was a p o l i t i c a l .
Wednesday S ig h t C o n sc io u sn e ss R a is in g Group
T hese 10-12 women met w eekly f o r c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g on a
p e r s o n a l l e v e l . The group was a p o l i t i c a l , i n d i v i d u a l members
m od erate p o l i t i c a l l y .
West S id e Group
T h is group had no name in M arch. I t was lo c a t e d in West Los
A n g eles. M embership numbered 12 women whose ag es ran g ed betw een 26
and 30 y e a r s . They met w eekly in p r i v a t e homes. They w ere r e p r e
s e n te d on th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; some p a r t i c i p a t e d in th e I n t e r
n a t i o n a l Women's Day March as i n d i v i d u a l s . Group members f e l t com
f o r t a b l e w ith each o t h e r ; i t was a c l o s e l y k n i t group whose main
a c t i v i t y was d i s c u s s i o n , g e n e r a l l y on a p e r s o n a l l e v e l th e t o p i c s
c o n c e rn in g t h e i r m a r i t a l s i t u a t i o n s , view s o f lo v e and m a rria g e . The
group r e s i s t e d th e id e a o f r e a d in g s and s tu d y . P o l i t i c a l l y , a l l
members w ere l e f t o f c e n t e r b u t th e group to o k no p o l i t i c a l s t a n c e ,
n o r was t h i s made an I s s u e .
104
Whittier Chapter N.O.W.
In M arch( t h i s group num bered 25 p a id -u p members. O rg an ized
s i m i l a r l y to th e o t h e r N.O.W. c h a p t e r s , i t s p u b l i c p o lic y was t h a t o f
th e n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n . C h ap ter m e etin g s drew many more p e o p le
th a n th o s e l i s t e d among th e members.
Women A g a in st R e p re s s io n
The o n ly b la c k women’ s l i b e r a t i o n movement group t h i s r e s e a r c h e r
c o u ld t r a c e , th e group numbered 50 in March. The a g e s ran g ed from 18
to 55 y e a r s . M arg are t W rig h t, i t s spokeswoman, t o l d t h i s r e s e a r c h e r
t h a t th e group was n o t d iv id e d "a s th e w h ite movement i s . W e r e a l l y
know w hat o p p r e s s io n i s — we d o n 't have tim e to b i c k e r . " A ll members
w ere from th e same so cio eco n o m ic c l a s s and a r e a . They met w eek ly .
C o n sc io u sn ess r a i s i n g p la y e d no p a r t in t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s . They s e n t
a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il. They w ere an x io u s to t r y
f o r com m unication w ith w h ite groups b u t th e r e was much work to be
done i n th e b la c k community. Of th e w h ite women in th e l i b e r a t i o n
movement, M arg are t W right s a i d , "They ta k e s o lo n g , th e y t a l k so much.
I t ta k e s them h o u rs to g e t t o g e t h e r and d e c id e upon an a c t i o n . P e r
haps when th e y 'v e g o t t h e i r c o n s c io u s n e s s e s r a i s e d .. . " sh e con
c lu d e d , to ngue in ch eek .
The group was an a c t i o n g ro u p . D uring March th ey had a
"woman' s p a t r o l " p e t r o l i n g th e community from 8 p.m . u n t i l 5 a.m .
e v e ry n i g h t . These "community w a tc h e rs " w alked in p a i r s ; th e y wore
b r i g h t red ponchos so t h a t p e o p le w ould re c o g n iz e them . Most members
o f th e group b e lo n g e d to o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n s i th e B lack S tu d e n ts '
U n i o n a n d c i v i l r i g h t s g r o u p s , T h e y w e r e n o t b e g i n n e r s to o
g r o u p s ,
" P o l i t i c a l l y , " M a r g a r e t W r i g h t s a i d , " b l a c k p e o p l e a s a w h o l e
d o n ' t h a v e a n i d e o l o g y , We h a v e a p h i l o s o p h y o f ’ i f i t w o r k s f o r
b l a c k p e o p l e , i t ' s a l l r i g h t , " '
W om en A r t i s t s
T h i s g r o u p b e g a n i n . l a r c h , F i f t y - s i x t y p e o p l e a t t e n d e d t h e
f i r s t m e e t i n g , 5 0 r e t u r n e d f o r t h e s e c o n d m e e t i n g tw o w e e k s l a t e r ,
T h e a g e s o f m e m b e r s r a n g e d f r o m 1 7 - 4 9 y e a r s , H i e g r o u p m e t a s a w h o l e ,
l a t e r b r e a k i n g d o w n i n t o s m a l l e r g r o u p s o f a b o u t t e n f o r c o n s c i o u s n e s s
r a i s i n g , O n e p e r s o n f r o m e a c h s m a l l g r o u p l a t e r r e p o r t e d t o t h e
w h o l e c o m p a n y , I n M a r c h , t h e g r o u p w a s d i s c u s s i n g a c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e
L o s A n g e l e s C o u n t y M u se u m t o p r o t e s t t h a t n o w o m e n w e r e r e p r e s e n t e d
i n t h e A r t a n d T e c h n o l o g y s h o w t o b e p r e s e n t e d s h o r t l y , T h e y t a l k e d
a b o u t p i c k e t i n g t h e s h o w , p e r h a p s , t o g e t i n t o t h e n e w s , T h e y a l s o
d i s c u s s e d i n M a r c h t h e p r o s p e c t s o f s t a r t i n g t h e i r o w n g a l l e r y , A s
i t s n a m e s u g g e s t s , t h e m e m b e r s w e r e a l l a r t i s t s , o f v a r y i n g d e g r e e s
o f p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m , S o m e w e r e f a i r l y w e l l k n o w n ; s o m e t a u g h t ; s o m e
w e r e " c l o s e t " p a i n t e r s , F a r t o f t h e g r o u p ' s f u n c t i o n w a s t o i n f o r m
w o m e n o f o p e n i n g s i n g a l l e r i e s , M a n y s h a d e s o f p o l i t i c a l o p i n i o n
w e r e r e p r e s e n t e d a m o n g t h e m e m b e r s , T h e g r o u p w a s a p o l i t i c a l ,
W om en f o r E q u a l i t y i n M e d ia
I n o p e r a t i o n s i n c e N o v e m b e r , 1 9 7 0 , i n M a r c h t h i s g r o u p h a d
o v e r 6 0 o n i t s m a i l i n g l i s t , T h e c o r e g r o u p o f a b o u t 1 0 m e t o n c e
a m o n t h , w o r k i n g c o m m i t t e e s m e e t i n g m o r e o f t e n . T h e s t a t e d a i m s o f
t h e g r o u p w e r e t o e l i m i n a t e s e x i s m , r a c i s m , a n d n e p o t i s m f r o m t h e
a r t s a n d m e d i a , T h e g r o u p w a s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e W o m e n 's C e n t e r ,
C r e n s h a w B o u l e v a r d , I t t o o k p a r t i n M a r c h i n p r e p a r i n g t h e W o m e n 's
C e n t e r n e w s l e t t e r ,
I n M a r c h , W om en f o r E q u a l i t y i n M e d i a w a s d i s c u s s i n g f o r m a t i o n
o f a C e n t e r f o r W om en i n F i l m t o w o r k w i t h t h e A m e r i c a n F i l m I n d u s t r y
t o c o r r e c t i n e q u a l i t i e s i n t h e i n d u s t r y , D u r i n g t h e m o n t h , t e n
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m t h e g r o u p m e t w i t h a s u b c o m m i t t e e o f t h e B o a r d
o f t h e A . F . I . t o r e c o m m e n d a g r a n t o f 5 5 , 0 0 0 f o r t h e s e t t i n g u p o f
s u c h a c e n t e r ,
W o m e n 's L a b o r C o m m i t t e e o f L o s A n g e l e s
C o m p r i s i n g a b o u t t e n w o m e n , t h i s g r o u p m e t w e e k l y a t t h e
W o m e n 's C e n t e r , C r e n s h a w B o u l e v a r d , T h e y w e r e r e p r e s e n t e d a t t h e
I n t e r g r o u p C o u n c i l m e e t i n g s ; t h e y s u p p o r t e d t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o m e n 's
D a y M a r c h , T h e a i m o f t h i s g r o u p w a s t o o r g a n i z e w o r k i n g w o m e n ,
D u r i n g M a r c h , t h e y l e a f l e t e d f a c t o r i e s a n d o f f i c e s , g i v i n g i n f o r m a
t i o n a b o u t t h e m e a n i n g o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o m e n 's D a y , U n l i k e t h e
m a j o r i t y o f w o m e n 's l i b e r a t l o n i s t s , t h i s g r o u p w a s s t r o n g l y a g a i n s t
p a s s a g e o f t h e E q u a l B i g h t s A m e n d m e n t t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , T h e i r
c o n c e r n w a s t h a t a l l p r o t e c t i v e l e g i s l a t i o n f o r w o r k i n g w o m e n w o u l d
b e r e m o v e d , t o t h e d e t r i m e n t o f w o m e n . P o l i t i c a l l y , t h e g r o u p w a s
l e f t w i n g ,
W o m e n 's l i b e r a t i o n F r o n t , L o n g B e a c h
T h i s g r o u p h a d f o r m e d a f t e r I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o m e n 's D a y i n 1 9 7 0 ,
107
By M arch, 1971, Che group met f o u r tim es a m onth. The m o n th ly
m e e tin g a t th e p u b l i c l i b r a r y drew about 35 p e o p le , th e o t h e r th r e e
m e e tin g s w ere a tte n d e d by th e c o re group o f 1 0 -1 5 women, m ost o f
whom w ere In t h e i r e a r l y 2 0 's . More o l d e r women w ere a t th e m onthly
m e etin g w h iih f e a t u r e d s p e a k e r s and f i l m s . At th e s m a ll m e etin g s
th e a c t i v i t i e s w ere c o n s c io u s n e s s r a i s i n g , r e a d i n g s , and d i s c u s s i o n s .
A d v e rtise m e n ts d e p i c t i n g th e e x p l o i t a t i o n o f women w ere exam ined a t
a l l th e m e e tin g s . T his group s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e I n te r g r o u p
C o u n c il; i t to o k p a r t in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day M arch. One o f
th e g r o u p 's a c t i v i t i e s was sp e a k in g on women's l i b e r a t i o n to groups
o u t s i d e th e movement. In M arch, two members spoke a t a Jew ish S i s t e r
hood m e etin g in S e a l B each, 35 p e o p le a tte n d e d .
P o l i t i c a l l y , th e sm all c o re group was r a d i c a l s o c i a l i s t , th e
l a r g e r group m e e tin g m onthly r e p r e s e n te d a b ro a d ra n g e o f p o l i t i c a l
o p in io n s .
Women's L i b e r a t i o n F ro n t a t th e U n iv e r s ity o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los A ngeles
T here w ere 30-40 women In th e group in M arch, r e p r e s e n t i n g
many c o n f l i c t i n g v ie w p o in ts . The w hole group met once a w eek, s m a lle r
g ro u p s m e etin g more o f t e n . T h is r e s e a r c h e r was t o l d t h a t c o n f l i c t
betw een th e g ro u p s had grow n, l a r g e l y b e c a u se members w ere d iv id e d
a s to w h e th e r th e group sh o u ld be a p o l i t i c a l o r ta k e a p o l i t i c a l
s t a n c e . L e a d e rs h ip v e r s u s n o n - le a d e r s h ip was a l s o a d i v i s i v e i s s u e .
The s m a ll g ro u p s w ith " s o c i a l i s t l e a n i n g s " te n d e d tow ard s t r u c t u r e
i n th e g ro u p .
WLF s e n t a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il; i t
108
s u p p o rte d th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day March. Among i t s a c t i v i t i e s ,
WLF had a t a b l e on th e campus w here th ey s o ld women's l i b e r a t i o n
l i t e r a t u r e ; th ey a l s o gave some to p a s s e r s - b y .
Women's L i b e r a t i o n X
In M arch, t h i s group o f 8 women met w eek ly . T h e ir ta s k s w ere
to h e lp women f in d g ro u p s and to le a d o t h e r g ro u p s In c o n s c io u s n e s s
r a i s i n g te c h n iq u e s . They w ere r e p r e s e n te d on th e I n te r g r o u p C o u n c il;
th e y w ere n o t i n t e r e s t e d in th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women’ s Day March as
a g ro u p . The group was n o t p o l i t i c a l l y o r i e n t e d .
Women's T h e a te r and M edia C e n te r
On March 6 , 1971, as p a r t o f th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's Day
a c t i v i t i e s , t h i s group p r e s e n te d a " m u lti-m e d ia e x p e r ie n c e by and
a b o u t women" a t th e Im m aculate H e a rt C o lle g e A u d ito riu m . I t p la y e d
to a f u l l h o u se.
In M arch, th e group s e n t two r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s to th e I n t e r
group C o u n c il. The T h e a te r group f l u c t u a t e d in s i z e , d ep en d in g on
n e ed . An a c t i o n g ro u p , i t c o u ld p u l l in 100-150 women i f n e e d e d , i t s
spokeswoman s a i d . The c o re group com prised a b o u t 40 women, 20 o f
th e s e b e in g v e ry a c t i v e . Ages ran g ed from th e te e n s to th e m ld -S O 's.
P o l i t i c a l l y , th e group was m ixed. I t to o k no s i n g l e p o l i t i c a l s t a n c e .
Women West
Women West was th e name o f a new spaper w hich a p p e a re d f o r
f o u r i s s u e s , th e l a s t b e in g i n F e b ru a ry , 1971. The group o f te n o r
tw e lv e women who had p ro d u ced th e p a p e r w ere s t i l l t o g e t h e r in March
109
and w ere d i s c u s s in g th e re a p p e a ra n c e o f th e n ew sp ap er as soon a s th e y
c o u ld o b ta in t h e i r own p r i n t sh o p . P r o d u c tio n had b een c o s t l y ; th ey
w ere h o ping to re d u c e c o s ts d r a s t i c a l l y when th ey began p r o d u c tio n
a g a in In June o r J u ly . The demand f o r th e p a p e r a p p e a re d to have
in c r e a s e d s in c e p r o d u c tio n had s to p p e d .
The group co m p rised " I n t e r e s t e d women" c o n cern ed w ith women's
p o s i t i o n in s o c i e t y . The p a p e r was aim ed tow ard a m id d le - c la s s
r e a d e r s h i p , ta k in g a m o d erate a p p ro ach to women's l i b e r a t i o n .
P o l i t i c a l l y , th e women ra n g e d from r a d i c a l to c o n s e r v a tiv e .
Most w ere in t h e i r m id - 3 0 's ; some In t h e i r 4 0 ' s . The group was n o t
a f f i l i a t e d w ith any o t h e r group b u t welcomed p r e s s r e l e a s e s from a l l .
REFERENCES
Ill
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Organizational Behavior: Experimental Field Study Using Short Simulation Games And The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire
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Morris, Monica Beryl
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Core Title
The Public Definition Of A Social Movement: Women'S Liberation
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