Florence Rush
Encyclopedia
Florence Rush was an American certified social work
er (M.S.W. from the University of Pennsylvania
), feminist
theorist and organizer best known for introducing The Freudian Coverup
in her presentation "The Sexual Abuse of Children: A Feminist Point of View" about childhood sexual abuse and incest
at the April 1971 New York Radical Feminists
(NYRF) Rape
Conference Rush's paper at the time was the first challenge to Freudian
theories of children as the seducers of adults rather than the victims of adults' sexual/power exploitation.
Rush observed the problem of childhood sexual abuse as a psychiatric social worker at the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and at a facility for delinquent female adolescents, although at the time—during the 1950s and 1960s—such therapists were instructed to avoid discussing incest with their young patients because of prevailing Freudian theories.
Rush's NYRF Rape Conference presentation about incest and childhood sexual abuse reviewed psychiatric and psychoanalytical literature from Freud to that time that attributed such problems to children's seduction of adults or erotic fantasies. She then linked these prevailing psychiatric theories about the child's instigation of or erotic fantasies about incest and sexual abuse to maintaining a climate for the political and psychological oppression of women. As Rush concluded in her presentation the "sexual abuse of children..is an unspoken but prominent factor in socializing and preparing the female to accept a subordinate role: to feel guilty, ashamed, and to tolerate through fear, the power exercised over her by men"
Rush subsequently authored the 1977 Freud and the Sexual Abuse of Children in the first volume of a feminist theory journal, Chyrsalis, and the 1980 Prentice Hall The Best Kept Secret: The Sexual Abuse of Children that additionally traced the toleration of sexual abuse of children to the beginnings of history. Her continued work to counter sexual abuse of women and children and the media imagery feminists believe propagates such abuse encompassed key roles in many organizations. She served as 1979 co-founder and 1979-1987 lecturer for Women Against Pornography
, 1980–1985 chair of the National Organization of Women (NOW)'s New York City Chapter's Media Reform Committee, Board of Directors Member of New York Women Against Rape where she produced and exhibited a slide presentation on the increasing media eroticism of children, and member of the New York State Psychiatric Institute
's Advisory Committee on the Treatment of Sexual Aggressors.
Rush was an early participant in the second wave of U.S. feminism when, in 1970, she became co-founder and steering committee member of Older Women's Liberation (OWL). She was to conclude her feminist work between 2002 and 2005 as chair of New York City NOW's Older Women's Committee where she organized against Republican presidential and congressional efforts to reduce budget deficits by reigning in Social Security and Medicare benefit costs.
Rush was also concerned about women's role definitions and expectations within families as author of Women in the Middle, the first article about sandwich generation
women taking care of both children and elderly relatives, published in Notes from the Third Year and Radical Feminism In the mid-1970s she produced and exhibited a slide show presentation "From Mother Goddess
to Father Knows Best
" about the depreciation of mothers from ancient mythology to 20th century media representations. As a mother struggling with the role of caretaker to her son, Matthew, and his lover, Ron, when they became ill with AIDS
in 1987, Rush's organizing around feminist issues extended to mothers of AIDS patients as an active participant in a mothers' support group of the People With AIDS Coalition of New York After Matthew and Ron died in 1990, she founded and participated in the first Bereavement Group for such mothers.
Rush was born to Russian immigrants in Manhattan
and grew up in the Bronx, NY before moving to New Rochelle, NY. She subsequently moved to Manhattan's Greenwich Village
in the early 1970s. She was married to Bernard Rush and is survived by son, Thomas, his two children, and daughter, Eleanor. In 2005, she was honored with the New York City NOW's Chapter Susan B. Anthony
Award to grassroots feminists.
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
er (M.S.W. from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
), feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
theorist and organizer best known for introducing The Freudian Coverup
The Freudian Coverup
The Freudian Cover-up is a theory first popularized by social worker Florence Rush in the 1970s which asserts that Sigmund Freud intentionally ignored evidence that his patients were victims of sexual abuse . The theory argues that in developing his theory of infant sexuality, he misinterpreted his...
in her presentation "The Sexual Abuse of Children: A Feminist Point of View" about childhood sexual abuse and incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
at the April 1971 New York Radical Feminists
New York Radical Feminists
New York Radical Feminists was a radical feminist group founded by Shulamith Firestone and Anne Koedt in 1969, after they had left Redstockings and The Feminists, respectively. Firestone's and Koedt's desire to start this new group was aided by Vivian Gornick's 1969 Village Voice article, "The...
(NYRF) Rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
Conference Rush's paper at the time was the first challenge to Freudian
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
theories of children as the seducers of adults rather than the victims of adults' sexual/power exploitation.
Rush observed the problem of childhood sexual abuse as a psychiatric social worker at the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and at a facility for delinquent female adolescents, although at the time—during the 1950s and 1960s—such therapists were instructed to avoid discussing incest with their young patients because of prevailing Freudian theories.
Rush's NYRF Rape Conference presentation about incest and childhood sexual abuse reviewed psychiatric and psychoanalytical literature from Freud to that time that attributed such problems to children's seduction of adults or erotic fantasies. She then linked these prevailing psychiatric theories about the child's instigation of or erotic fantasies about incest and sexual abuse to maintaining a climate for the political and psychological oppression of women. As Rush concluded in her presentation the "sexual abuse of children..is an unspoken but prominent factor in socializing and preparing the female to accept a subordinate role: to feel guilty, ashamed, and to tolerate through fear, the power exercised over her by men"
Rush subsequently authored the 1977 Freud and the Sexual Abuse of Children in the first volume of a feminist theory journal, Chyrsalis, and the 1980 Prentice Hall The Best Kept Secret: The Sexual Abuse of Children that additionally traced the toleration of sexual abuse of children to the beginnings of history. Her continued work to counter sexual abuse of women and children and the media imagery feminists believe propagates such abuse encompassed key roles in many organizations. She served as 1979 co-founder and 1979-1987 lecturer for Women Against Pornography
Women Against Pornography
Women Against Pornography was a radical feminist activist group based out of New York City and an influential force in the anti-pornography movement of the late 1970s and the 1980s....
, 1980–1985 chair of the National Organization of Women (NOW)'s New York City Chapter's Media Reform Committee, Board of Directors Member of New York Women Against Rape where she produced and exhibited a slide presentation on the increasing media eroticism of children, and member of the New York State Psychiatric Institute
New York State Psychiatric Institute
The New York State Psychiatric Institute, established in 1895 and located on Riverside Drive at the foot of Washington Heights, the far upper west side of Manhattan in New York City, was one of the first institutions in the United States to integrate teaching, research and therapeutic approaches to...
's Advisory Committee on the Treatment of Sexual Aggressors.
Rush was an early participant in the second wave of U.S. feminism when, in 1970, she became co-founder and steering committee member of Older Women's Liberation (OWL). She was to conclude her feminist work between 2002 and 2005 as chair of New York City NOW's Older Women's Committee where she organized against Republican presidential and congressional efforts to reduce budget deficits by reigning in Social Security and Medicare benefit costs.
Rush was also concerned about women's role definitions and expectations within families as author of Women in the Middle, the first article about sandwich generation
Sandwich generation
The Sandwich generation is a generation of people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children.In the United States, Sandwich Generation Month is a month of awareness to commemorate and celebrate the dedication, patience and caring of adults who are part of the Sandwich...
women taking care of both children and elderly relatives, published in Notes from the Third Year and Radical Feminism In the mid-1970s she produced and exhibited a slide show presentation "From Mother Goddess
Mother goddess
Mother goddess is a term used to refer to a goddess who represents motherhood, fertility, creation or embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother.Many different goddesses have...
to Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best is an American radio and television comedy series which portrayed a middle class family life in the Midwest. It was created by writer Ed James in the 1940s.-Radio:...
" about the depreciation of mothers from ancient mythology to 20th century media representations. As a mother struggling with the role of caretaker to her son, Matthew, and his lover, Ron, when they became ill with AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in 1987, Rush's organizing around feminist issues extended to mothers of AIDS patients as an active participant in a mothers' support group of the People With AIDS Coalition of New York After Matthew and Ron died in 1990, she founded and participated in the first Bereavement Group for such mothers.
Rush was born to Russian immigrants in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and grew up in the Bronx, NY before moving to New Rochelle, NY. She subsequently moved to Manhattan's Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in the early 1970s. She was married to Bernard Rush and is survived by son, Thomas, his two children, and daughter, Eleanor. In 2005, she was honored with the New York City NOW's Chapter Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
Award to grassroots feminists.