Women's Rights, Women in Politics, Feminism & Feminist Theory, Women & Politics, Liberalism & Conservatism, U.S. Politics & Government - General & Miscellaneous
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Overview
This book enriches our understanding of the women's movement in the United States by showing how feminists captured a place for their goals on the agendas of four male-dominated liberal organizations in the 1960s and 1970s: the International Union of Electrical Workers, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Council of Churches, and the Ford Foundation. Susan M. Hartmann examines the efforts of women and men who had few ties to the independent women's movement - and thus have been neglected in studies of second-wave feminism - but who nonetheless contributed substantially to the spread of feminist ideas and practices into the mainstream of American society. These establishment groups furnished money, legitimacy, and access to the critical arenas of public opinion and government. Revising the common view that the second wave of feminism was a white middle-class phenomenon, Hartmann discovers significant numbers of women of color and working-class women who pushed feminist agendas.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
A professor of history and women's studies at Ohio State University, Hartmann uses her dual specialties to remarkable advantage, highlighting here the neglected heroes of second-wave feminism. Whereas other feminist historical studies have focused on groups such as the National Organization of Women (NOW), this work explores the advances made by men and women within male-dominated liberal associations in the 1960s and '70s. Hartmann illuminates the scope of the contributions of working-class women by extensively chronicling the agendas of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Ford Foundation, the International Union of Electrical Workers and the National Council of Churches. She expertly shows how these institutions provided a bridge between policymakers and activists, furthering change for women by merging their concerns with those of class, race and sexual orientation, and by developing policies that later inspired legal precedents. She also includes a chapter on civil rights and the method by which African American women shaped the dialogue between feminist groups and advanced debate on the issue. Although the abundance of details and names can be daunting, the insights offered here about largely ignored, hard-won political victories make this an important addition to feminist studies. Photos. (Nov.)Book Details
Published
January 8, 1999
Publisher
New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, c1998.
Pages
304
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780300074642