New York Radical Women
Encyclopedia
New York Radical Women was an early second-wave feminist group that existed from 1967–1969.
NYRW was founded in New York City
in the fall of 1967, by Shulamith Firestone
and Pam Allen. Early members included: Ros Baxandall, Carol Hanisch
, Patricia Mainardi, Robin Morgan
, Irene Peslikis, Kathie Sarachild
, and Ellen Willis
. New York Radical Women were a group of young friends in their twenties who were part of the New Left
, who had grown tired of the male-dominated civil rights
and antiwar movements, and men who they saw as still preferring their female counterparts to stay at home.
The first major protest NYRW attended was the Jeannette Rankin Brigade Protest in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 1968. Members of NYRW led an alternative protest event, a "burial of traditional womanhood", held in Arlington National Cemetery
. NYRW also participated in the first major Women's Liberation Movement (WLM) demonstration, the Miss America Protest
in Atlantic City, NJ, on September 7, 1968. The final national WLM event to occur while the NYRW group was still intact was the Counter-Inauguration in Washington DC, in January 1969. The protest was designed to be against women who supported the Vietnam War. Protestors were sent invitations telling them not to bring flowers or even to cry at the 'burial', but to be prepared to bury traditional female roles.
By 1969, the various ideological tendencies within the group had coalesced into a radical feminist faction and a socialist feminist (or "politico") faction. Tension between the two factions ended up splitting the group in January 1969; the socialist feminists, such as Robin Morgan, left to form Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (W.I.T.C.H.), while the radical feminists around Shulamith Firestone started Redstockings
.
NYRW was founded in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the fall of 1967, by Shulamith Firestone
Shulamith Firestone
Shulamith Firestone , is a Jewish, Canadian-born feminist. She was a central figure in the early development of radical feminism, having been a founding member of the New York Radical Women, Redstockings, and New York Radical Feminists...
and Pam Allen. Early members included: Ros Baxandall, Carol Hanisch
Carol Hanisch
Carol Hanisch is a radical feminist and was an important member of New York Radical Women and Redstockings. She is best known for popularizing the phrase "The Personal is Political" in a 1969 essay of the same name. She was a leader of the feminist movement that protested the Miss America Pageant...
, Patricia Mainardi, Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan is a former child actor turned American radical feminist activist, writer, poet, and editor of Sisterhood is Powerful and Ms. Magazine....
, Irene Peslikis, Kathie Sarachild
Kathie Sarachild
Kathie Sarachild, born Kathie Amatniek in 1943, is an American feminist writer and campaigner. She played a leading part in the Consciousness-raising movement in the 1970s.- References :...
, and Ellen Willis
Ellen Willis
Ellen Jane Willis was an American left-wing political essayist, journalist, activist and pop music critic.-Biography:...
. New York Radical Women were a group of young friends in their twenties who were part of the New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
, who had grown tired of the male-dominated civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and antiwar movements, and men who they saw as still preferring their female counterparts to stay at home.
The first major protest NYRW attended was the Jeannette Rankin Brigade Protest in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 1968. Members of NYRW led an alternative protest event, a "burial of traditional womanhood", held in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. NYRW also participated in the first major Women's Liberation Movement (WLM) demonstration, the Miss America Protest
No More Miss America
No More Miss America was the title of a brochure distributed in support of the Miss America protest that took place outside of the Miss America competition in Atlantic City, NJ in 1968. The brochure listed ten points that the organizers of the protest believed that the Miss America Pageant did to...
in Atlantic City, NJ, on September 7, 1968. The final national WLM event to occur while the NYRW group was still intact was the Counter-Inauguration in Washington DC, in January 1969. The protest was designed to be against women who supported the Vietnam War. Protestors were sent invitations telling them not to bring flowers or even to cry at the 'burial', but to be prepared to bury traditional female roles.
By 1969, the various ideological tendencies within the group had coalesced into a radical feminist faction and a socialist feminist (or "politico") faction. Tension between the two factions ended up splitting the group in January 1969; the socialist feminists, such as Robin Morgan, left to form Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (W.I.T.C.H.), while the radical feminists around Shulamith Firestone started Redstockings
Redstockings
Redstockings, also known as Redstockings of the Women's Liberation Movement, is a radical feminist group that was founded in January of 1969...
.
External links
- Notes From the First Year, New York Radical Women, 1968.