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Ain't I A Woman? newspapers, June 1970-July 1971

1970-09-11 "Ain't I a Woman?" Page 3

WHAT WE DIDN'T AND WHAT WE DO

August 26th - Strike! The idea was conceived by Betty Friedan (past president of NOW - National Organization of Women) as the day when women would walk off their jobs or go to work and do no work. Women at home were to carry out no household duties. A day of demonstrations across the country. Except in Iowa City.
Although the idea originated with Betty Friedan, the media created the day. In the same way as "flower children" did, woman's rights sold newspapers that day, and that week. beforehand were the estimates of how many would attend the demonstrations, what activities were planned, what critics thought would be the effect, and what major employers anticipated. Afterwards were the head-counts (of course lower than anticipated, for how could there be more?) including the fact of sizeable male attendance in some cities, interviews with employers - "No, no women walked off here", and even interviews with store people - "No, I don't think our business was affected." Who gained? The women's movement got some publicity, made itself known to more women, who hopefully received somewhat of an honest treatment of the issues presented at the rallies and demonstrations. And a lot of newspapers and magazines were sold.
Many women probably attended their first women's rally that day. How many were women who did not have to strike to have the afternoon free? How many already had child care, free of the responsibilities that keep so many women down? Women with transportation or car fare? Women drawn by the demands of day care, equal pay for equal work, abortion? Women not being ground under the heel of Amerika.
The purpose of the day isn't quite clear. Perhaps NOW women (or Betty Friedan) felt the need to prove how many women the movement has drawn into in. To prove to all of our detractors that there is a woman's movement. The women in Iowa City don't feel that need. There is a woman's movement, and its worth and strength do not depend on how many women appear at one rally, or 1000 rallies. Or any number of one-day strikes.
How could we ask women whose jobs were their means of support to take off from work that day? Risk getting fired in the belief that a one-day strike could accomplish something? How can you negotiate when you say how long a strike will last? Not only is nothing accomplished in that short of time, there is no way that the injustices to women could be overturned in one day.
There was a pretty good apparatus set up for demonstrations, for that's what the day really was. A strike is day-to-day work, organizing where you find women - at their jobs, in their homes.
Iowa City WLF took no action on that day because we didn't discuss it. We were wrapped up in our day-to-day things.
We started with demonstrations, though. On the Miss America pageant and on the pill But demonstrations have to have chairwomen or spokeswomen, and speakers. We feel that this encourages elitism, and that the media will try to make leaders of whoever seems most likely. The media has shown that it can and will create a star-system for us that we don't want. We've found that workshops can educate, answer specific questions, and provide a forum for exchange, on a much more personal level. They can't obviously confront the power structure (if that's what you're into).
About the same time that we began having workshops as a means of reaching out to women, our own group broke up into small cells. We were able to begin to work collectively, to try and share responsibility. We divided on the basis of interest - Speaker's Bureau, AIN'T I A WOMAN, Gay Women, Day Care, with the possibility of a Medical Issues group functioning in the fall. These groups are where discussions of issues are held, leaving the monthly large-group meeting for taking care of business.
The Day Care cell has set up three free day care centers in Iowa City. One of the day care centers is open not only during the day but also offers free night care. These three day care centers are collectively community controlled by the parents and volunteers who work in the center.
The Gay Cell has in the past initiated workshops on loving women, and there will probably be more to come. One of the major concerns of the Gay Cell is organizing and talking with gay sisters about their special type of oppression. In the past the cell has put together a page for the paper AIN'T I A WOMAN. However, this was discontinued in order for the Gay Cell to have more time to get its politics together.
During the summer the Medical Issues cell has not done too much, but it hopes to organize a practical first-aid class and perhaps even free medical services.There is plenty of room for this cell to expand and it needs help in getting off the ground.
The Speaker's Bureau cell is organized to handle all requests from people who want someone from Women's Liberation to come talk to them. They have established a speaking policy for our group in Iowa City, and all requests for speakers must go through them.
The Publications Cell puts out this paper. As with the day care centers all of the work is done collectively and the decisions are made by all of the women who put out the paper together.

Our learning to work collectively has meant less emphasis on another very important part of WLF - organizing. Women were attuned to thinking about women's rights that day - and we hadn't made ourselves available. And neither were WLF sisters across the country able to make their demands for more than day care, more than equal pay for equal work, and more than abortion heard by the organizers of the 26th. For if we are to say anything at all, let it be towards the liberation of all women.

the following courses are offered by the U of I ACTIONS STUDIES PROGRAM - non-students (women) are welcome

DESTRUCTION OF THE FEMININE MYTH
This three week short course is devoted to the exposure, discussion, and destruction of the myth about women's "inherent" inferiority, their sexual roles, their psychological and social make-up, their occupational abilities, the feminine ideal as presented in the communications media, the economic system and the family as an instrument of oppression, and other racist views designed to further the exploitation and discrimination against women.
Prerequisite: Oppressed Female Status
Organizational Meeting: Wed. Sept. 16 at 7:30 pm in 19 PHBA.
Coordinators: Anne Silander and Pat Pringle

ORGANIZING FREE CHILD CARE
5 hours work per week at one of 3 Women's Liberation free day care centers with individual project to be arranged if the course is taken for credit. The work will be with pre-pre-schoolers and pre-schoolers.
Credit: 7E:293 (graduate students only) other credit arr.
Organizational Meeting: Mon. Sept. 14 at 7:30 pm in 17 PHBA.
Coordinators: Francie Hornstein & Sondra Smith
Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Robert Carlson

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: WOMEN'S LIBERATION
An historical study of the Women's Liberation Struggles of our past...from the colonial period to the present.
Credit: 16:100 (History) for 3 hrs.
Course Meetings: Tues. & Thurs. 6pm-8pm beginning Sept. 15. Room arr.
Coordinator: Sheryl Malfeld
Enrollment limit: 20. See Sheryl Malfeld.

Ain't I A Woman? is published by the Publications Collective of the Iowa City Womens Liberation Front. We are a group of 10 women.

making A big deal about subscriptions seems horribly capitalistic! $ 4.00 for 24 copies
box 1169 IOWA CITY, IA, 52240

If your group wants to receive bundles of AIN'T I A WOMEN?, send 15c per copy. Minimum bundle: 20 copies

AIN'T I A WOMAN? is published on the second and fourth Fridays of each month by the PUblications Collective of the Iowa City Women's Liberation Front, P.O. Box 1169, Iowa City, Iowa 52240

The voice of the Midwest needs to be heard in the Women's Liberation Movement. Ain't I A Woman? will print without editing any laid-out page from a Midwest (New Mexico thru Ohio) Women's Liberation group. We would like to encourage other women to start working collectively to avoid elitism and destructive power relationships that pit us against each other. We will send details on deadlines, page size, column length, etc. if you would like.

A WOMAN?   September 11, 1970   3

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WHAT WE DIDN'T AND WHAT WE DO August 26th - Strike! The idea was conceived by Betty Friedan (past president of NOW - National Organization of Women) as the day when women would walk off their jobs or go to work and do no work. Women at home were to carry out no household duties. A day of demonstrations across the country. Except in Iowa City. Although the idea originated with Betty Friedan, the media created the day. In the same way as "flower children" did, woman's rights sold newspapers that day, and that week. beforehand were the estimates of how many would attend the demonstrations, what activities were planned, what critics thought would be the effect, and what major employers anticipated. Afterwards were the head-counts (of course lower than anticipated, for how could there be more?) including the fact of sizeable male attendance in some cities, interviews with employers - "No, no women walked off here", and even interviews with store people - "No, I don't think our business was affected." Who gained? The women's movement got some publicity, made itself known to more women, who hopefully received somewhat of an honest treatment of the issues presented at the rallies and demonstrations. And a lot of newspapers and magazines were sold. Many women probably attended their first women's rally that day. How many were women who did not have to strike to have the afternoon free? How many already had child care, free of the responsibilities that keep so many women down? Women with transportation or car fare? Women drawn by the demands of day care, equal pay for equal work, abortion? Women not being ground under the heel of Amerika. The purpose of the day isn't quite clear. Perhaps NOW women (or Betty Friedan) felt the need to prove how many women the movement has drawn into in. To prove to all of our detractors that there is a woman's movement. The women in Iowa City don't feel that need. There is a woman's movement, and its worth and strength do not depend on how many women appear at one rally, or 1000 rallies. Or any number of one-day strikes. How could we ask women whose jobs were their means of support to take off from work that day? Risk getting fired in the belief that a one-day strike could accomplish something? How can you negotiate when you say how long a strike will last? Not only is nothing accomplished in that short of time, there is no way that the injustices to women could be overturned in one day. There was a pretty good apparatus set up for demonstrations, for that's what the day really was. A strike is day-to-day work, organizing where you find women - at their jobs, in their homes. Iowa City WLF took no action on that day because we didn't discuss it. We were wrapped up in our day-to-day things. We started with demonstrations, though. On the Miss America pageant and on the pill But demonstrations have to have chairwomen or spokeswomen, and speakers. We feel that this encourages elitism, and that the media will try to make leaders of whoever seems most likely. The media has shown that it can and will create a star-system for us that we don't want. We've found that workshops can educate, answer specific questions, and provide a forum for exchange, on a much more personal level. They can't obviously confront the power structure (if that's what you're into). About the same time that we began having workshops as a means of reaching out to women, our own group broke up into small cells. We were able to begin to work collectively, to try and share responsibility. We divided on the basis of interest - Speaker's Bureau, AIN'T I A WOMAN, Gay Women, Day Care, with the possibility of a Medical Issues group functioning in the fall. These groups are where discussions of issues are held, leaving the monthly large-group meeting for taking care of business. The Day Care cell has set up three free day care centers in Iowa City. One of the day care centers is open not only during the day but also offers free night care. These three day care centers are collectively community controlled by the parents and volunteers who work in the center. The Gay Cell has in the past initiated workshops on loving women, and there will probably be more to come. One of the major concerns of the Gay Cell is organizing and talking with gay sisters about their special type of oppression. In the past the cell has put together a page for the paper AIN'T I A WOMAN. However, this was discontinued in order for the Gay Cell to have more time to get its politics together. During the summer the Medical Issues cell has not done too much, but it hopes to organize a practical first-aid class and perhaps even free medical services.There is plenty of room for this cell to expand and it needs help in getting off the ground. The Speaker's Bureau cell is organized to handle all requests from people who want someone from Women's Liberation to come talk to them. They have established a speaking policy for our group in Iowa City, and all requests for speakers must go through them. The Publications Cell puts out this paper. As with the day care centers all of the work is done collectively and the decisions are made by all of the women who put out the paper together. Our learning to work collectively has meant less emphasis on another very important part of WLF - organizing. Women were attuned to thinking about women's rights that day - and we hadn't made ourselves available. And neither were WLF sisters across the country able to make their demands for more than day care, more than equal pay for equal work, and more than abortion heard by the organizers of the 26th. For if we are to say anything at all, let it be towards the liberation of all women. the following courses are offered by the U of I ACTIONS STUDIES PROGRAM - non-students (women) are welcome DESTRUCTION OF THE FEMININE MYTH This three week short course is devoted to the exposure, discussion, and destruction of the myth about women's "inherent" inferiority, their sexual roles, their psychological and social make-up, their occupational abilities, the feminine ideal as presented in the communications media, the economic system and the family as an instrument of oppression, and other racist views designed to further the exploitation and discrimination against women. Prerequisite: Oppressed Female Status Organizational Meeting: Wed. Sept. 16 at 7:30 pm in 19 PHBA. Coordinators: Anne Silander and Pat Pringle ORGANIZING FREE CHILD CARE 5 hours work per week at one of 3 Women's Liberation free day care centers with individual project to be arranged if the course is taken for credit. The work will be with pre-pre-schoolers and pre-schoolers. Credit: 7E:293 (graduate students only) other credit arr. Organizational Meeting: Mon. Sept. 14 at 7:30 pm in 17 PHBA. Coordinators: Francie Hornstein & Sondra Smith Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Robert Carlson HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: WOMEN'S LIBERATION An historical study of the Women's Liberation Struggles of our past...from the colonial period to the present. Credit: 16:100 (History) for 3 hrs. Course Meetings: Tues. & Thurs. 6pm-8pm beginning Sept. 15. Room arr. Coordinator: Sheryl Malfeld Enrollment limit: 20. See Sheryl Malfeld. Ain't I A Woman? is published by the Publications Collective of the Iowa City Womens Liberation Front. We are a group of 10 women. making A big deal about subscriptions seems horribly capitalistic! $ 4.00 for 24 copies box 1169 IOWA CITY, IA, 52240 If your group wants to receive bundles of AIN'T I A WOMEN?, send 15c per copy. Minimum bundle: 20 copies AIN'T I A WOMAN? is published on the second and fourth Fridays of each month by the PUblications Collective of the Iowa City Women's Liberation Front, P.O. Box 1169, Iowa City, Iowa 52240 The voice of the Midwest needs to be heard in the Women's Liberation Movement. Ain't I A Woman? will print without editing any laid-out page from a Midwest (New Mexico thru Ohio) Women's Liberation group. We would like to encourage other women to start working collectively to avoid elitism and destructive power relationships that pit us against each other. We will send details on deadlines, page size, column length, etc. if you would like. A WOMAN? September 11, 1970 3