The Feminists
Encyclopedia
The Feminists, also known as Feminists—A Political Organization to Annihilate Sex Roles, was a radical feminist
group active in New York City
from 1968 to 1973.
It was founded in 1968 as a split from the New York City chapter of National Organization for Women
(NOW) by members who felt NOW was not radical enough. It was originally called the October 17th Movement after the date that it was founded, but soon changed its name to The Feminists. Ti-Grace Atkinson
was the group's central figure and informal leader until she left the group in 1971; other prominent members included Anne Koedt
(who left in 1969 to co-found New York Radical Feminists
), Sheila Michaels, Barbara Mehrhof, Pamela Kearon, and Sheila Cronan.
The Feminists' best-known action may have been in September 1969, when members picketed the New York City Marriage License Bureau, distributing pamphlets protesting the marriage contract:
According to Germaine Greer
, it promoted not having leaders in society, "characterized men as the enemy," considered "Love" to be "'the response of the victim to the rapist'", and believed that marriage as a "proprietary relationship" and uterine pregnancy would "no longer prevail."
The Feminists held that women were oppressed by their internalization of patriarchal sex roles, and hence suffered from a kind of false consciousness. To liberate themselves from such oppressive roles, The Feminists held that the feminist movement must be entirely autonomous from men and eventually came to hold that women should be free of men in their personal lives as well. The group was strongly opposed to the sexual revolution
, holding that it was simply a way for men to get easier access to women's bodies. (Ti-Grace Atkinson was one of the first radical feminists to be specifically critical of pornography.) They at first advocated that women practice celibacy
, and later came to advocate political lesbianism
. The separatist ideas of The Feminists were reflected in their membership quota, restricting women who lived with men to one-third of its members, and excluding married women entirely in 1971. After Atkinson's departure, The Feminists moved in the direction of advocating matriarchy
and developing a "woman's religion", ideas that later came to be known as cultural feminism
.
Although The Feminists disbanded in 1973, they played an important role in the development of cultural feminism, separatist feminism
, and anti-pornography feminism (Barbara Mehrhof later became an organizer for Women Against Pornography
), tendencies that were predominant in radical feminism by the late 1970s.
Radical feminism
Radical feminism is a current theoretical perspective within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption that "male supremacy" oppresses women...
group active 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...
from 1968 to 1973.
It was founded in 1968 as a split from the New York City chapter of National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women is the largest feminist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1966 and has a membership of 500,000 contributing members. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S...
(NOW) by members who felt NOW was not radical enough. It was originally called the October 17th Movement after the date that it was founded, but soon changed its name to The Feminists. Ti-Grace Atkinson
Ti-Grace Atkinson
Ti-Grace Atkinson is an American feminist author.Atkinson was born into a prominent Louisiana family. The "Ti" in her name reflects the Cajun or French language petite, for little....
was the group's central figure and informal leader until she left the group in 1971; other prominent members included Anne Koedt
Anne Koedt
Anne Koedt is a United States radical feminist and NY based author of The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm, 1970, the classic feminist work on women's sexuality...
(who left in 1969 to co-found 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...
), Sheila Michaels, Barbara Mehrhof, Pamela Kearon, and Sheila Cronan.
The Feminists' best-known action may have been in September 1969, when members picketed the New York City Marriage License Bureau, distributing pamphlets protesting the marriage contract:
"All the discriminatory practices against women are patterned and rationalized by this slavery-like practice. We can't destroy the inequities between men and women until we destroy marriage."
According to Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
, it promoted not having leaders in society, "characterized men as the enemy," considered "Love" to be "'the response of the victim to the rapist'", and believed that marriage as a "proprietary relationship" and uterine pregnancy would "no longer prevail."
The Feminists held that women were oppressed by their internalization of patriarchal sex roles, and hence suffered from a kind of false consciousness. To liberate themselves from such oppressive roles, The Feminists held that the feminist movement must be entirely autonomous from men and eventually came to hold that women should be free of men in their personal lives as well. The group was strongly opposed to the sexual revolution
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
, holding that it was simply a way for men to get easier access to women's bodies. (Ti-Grace Atkinson was one of the first radical feminists to be specifically critical of pornography.) They at first advocated that women practice celibacy
Celibacy
Celibacy is a personal commitment to avoiding sexual relations, in particular a vow from marriage. Typically celibacy involves avoiding all romantic relationships of any kind. An individual may choose celibacy for religious reasons, such as is the case for priests in some religions, for reasons of...
, and later came to advocate political lesbianism
Political lesbianism
Political lesbianism is a phenomenon within feminism, primarily Second-wave feminism; it includes, but is not limited to, lesbian separatism. Political lesbianism embraces the theory that sexual orientation is a choice, and advocates lesbianism as a positive alternative to heterosexuality for...
. The separatist ideas of The Feminists were reflected in their membership quota, restricting women who lived with men to one-third of its members, and excluding married women entirely in 1971. After Atkinson's departure, The Feminists moved in the direction of advocating matriarchy
Matriarchy
A matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers, have the central roles of political leadership and moral authority. It is also sometimes called a gynocratic or gynocentric society....
and developing a "woman's religion", ideas that later came to be known as cultural feminism
Cultural feminism
Cultural feminism developed from radical feminism. It is an ideology of a "female nature" or "female essence" that attempts to revalidate what cultural feminists consider undervalued female attributes...
.
Although The Feminists disbanded in 1973, they played an important role in the development of cultural feminism, separatist feminism
Separatist feminism
Separatist feminism is a form of radical feminism that holds that opposition to patriarchy is best done through focusing exclusively on women and girls...
, and anti-pornography feminism (Barbara Mehrhof later became an organizer 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....
), tendencies that were predominant in radical feminism by the late 1970s.
External links
- Lesbian Feminist Chronology 1: 1963-1970
- "An 'Oppressed Majority' Demands Its Rights" by Sara Davidson (photographs by Mary Ellen MarkMary Ellen MarkMary Ellen Mark is an American photographer known for her photojournalism, portraiture, and advertising photography. She has had 16 collections of her work published and has been exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide. She has received numerous accolades, including three Robert F...
), Life, 1969 – magazine article, includes interviews with and photos of several of The Feminists. (Archived at MaryEllenMark.com)