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

1970-12-11 "Ain't I a Woman" Page 3

high school women
   Last week I went to West High with women from WL to speak to the students. Women's workshops were organized to discus Lesbianism, Marriage and Roles, and Daycare and a male group discussed roles and stereotypes.
  I walked in after the workshop on marriage had started. Having previously attended other workshops with women I did not know, I expected the usual hostility and defensiveness. I was elated that the 50 or so women were having a real warm and personal discussion. Ann from WL talked about her child and how daycare helps the child as well as the mother, by surrounding him with other people who play with him so he does not feel so dependent on one person. Some of the high school students really related to this, and I think because she had a child, trusted her opinion about daycare.
   When the second hour came all the students went to one room and some of the women decided they had had enough of just relating to women and were ready to talk to men. Two WL women explained that they had come to speak to women, and that they didn't intend to speak to a mixed group. The high school women were really insistent so we broke into two groups, one mixed, and one women only. Because the women went into the second workshop with the intention of "telling off the men", it developed into a shouting ego trip, and our presence there was totally unnecessary. What I realized was that we had made a terrible mistake by dividing into two groups. First of all we insulted the WL women who had so insisted on talking to women only, by leaving them to talk to men (remember that trip) in a mixed group. Secondly we had been invited there for a reason - to speak to women about women. Experience has showed that speaking in a mixed group never allows women to relate to each other - but again puts them in the position where they have to be defensive. Where the hour workshop could have been really important as far as allowing women the opportunity to speak about themselves, (as the second hour women-only workshop did,) the time was wasted. I came away really upset for having allowed myself to fall for the old line of putting the interests of men before the interests of women, and frustrated because of the comparison of how really beautiful the first workshop was compared to the second. I think it's real important to understand why we should be aware of how easy it is to be divisive, and how destructive it is. We should not have offered any alternatives for a mixed group to the high school women, and should certainly not have supported them when they insisted. This is not saying we would not have allowed one to take place, if they thought it was so important. By supporting it and attending it we gave validity to a masculine-identified discussion that was anti-women.

[photo of women]

Bloomington's Women Center
   The whole business of the house came up when we were trying to find a place that wouldn't have all the drawbacks of the apartment that was the center last year. For all our sentimental attachments to it, everybody saw that the apartment was IMPOSSIBLE. The worst thing about it was that people couldn't live in it with the organization. Trying to do so was destructive of them.
   When we started looking for a house, the first thing we found was that it was impossible to find anything to rent. When the chance came to buy on contract with the owner of 414  North Park, we began - the few of us around at the end of summer - to think of ways we could do it. The biggest problem was getting the down-payment money ($6000) plus $200 for insurance and legal fees. We were able to find people (some of them outside WL) who would put up the money, but most of them needed it back soon. We figured that we could sell shares in the house to pay them back. We would need to sell 260 shares at $25/share to make $6500, a sum that would allow a small cushion for emergencies. This did not seem impossible - in fact, we though it could be done. We have a large membership, a larger periphery, friends in many parts. We even thought it might be easily done. 
   We put the matter before Women's Liberation at the September meeting and got an enthusiastic response. Since then hundreds of people have seen and used the house - it has been successful as a center. The people who live in it and make the monthly payments have not been too hassled by living with a center. It has been a refuge for many other women who needed a temporary place to stay. It has housed the office, the literature, many a meeting of support or activity group. All in all, it's a good house.
   But we have problem. We didn't expect September to be a good month for shares. October was our big hype. And by the end of October we had sold 16 (16) shares. That is not very many shares. Moreover interest seems to be dying down. The house has begun to be taken for granted. 
   Well, we can't take it for granted. There is no way we can keep the house if we don't pay the money. It's as simple as that. If we want a center - this center - we will have to sell shares.
 Bloomington WLF Newsletter, Nov., 1970
for comments or contributions write: 
Bloomington WLF
414 N. Park
Bloomington, Indiana 47401

a woman?  December 11, 1970   page 3

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high school women Last week I went to West High with women from WL to speak to the students. Women's workshops were organized to discus Lesbianism, Marriage and Roles, and Daycare and a male group discussed roles and stereotypes. I walked in after the workshop on marriage had started. Having previously attended other workshops with women I did not know, I expected the usual hostility and defensiveness. I was elated that the 50 or so women were having a real warm and personal discussion. Ann from WL talked about her child and how daycare helps the child as well as the mother, by surrounding him with other people who play with him so he does not feel so dependent on one person. Some of the high school students really related to this, and I think because she had a child, trusted her opinion about daycare. When the second hour came all the students went to one room and some of the women decided they had had enough of just relating to women and were ready to talk to men. Two WL women explained that they had come to speak to women, and that they didn't intend to speak to a mixed group. The high school women were really insistent so we broke into two groups, one mixed, and one women only. Because the women went into the second workshop with the intention of "telling off the men", it developed into a shouting ego trip, and our presence there was totally unnecessary. What I realized was that we had made a terrible mistake by dividing into two groups. First of all we insulted the WL women who had so insisted on talking to women only, by leaving them to talk to men (remember that trip) in a mixed group. Secondly we had been invited there for a reason - to speak to women about women. Experience has showed that speaking in a mixed group never allows women to relate to each other - but again puts them in the position where they have to be defensive. Where the hour workshop could have been really important as far as allowing women the opportunity to speak about themselves, (as the second hour women-only workshop did,) the time was wasted. I came away really upset for having allowed myself to fall for the old line of putting the interests of men before the interests of women, and frustrated because of the comparison of how really beautiful the first workshop was compared to the second. I think it's real important to understand why we should be aware of how easy it is to be divisive, and how destructive it is. We should not have offered any alternatives for a mixed group to the high school women, and should certainly not have supported them when they insisted. This is not saying we would not have allowed one to take place, if they thought it was so important. By supporting it and attending it we gave validity to a masculine-identified discussion that was anti-women. [photo of women] Bloomington's Women Center The whole business of the house came up when we were trying to find a place that wouldn't have all the drawbacks of the apartment that was the center last year. For all our sentimental attachments to it, everybody saw that the apartment was IMPOSSIBLE. The worst thing about it was that people couldn't live in it with the organization. Trying to do so was destructive of them. When we started looking for a house, the first thing we found was that it was impossible to find anything to rent. When the chance came to buy on contract with the owner of 414 North Park, we began - the few of us around at the end of summer - to think of ways we could do it. The biggest problem was getting the down-payment money ($6000) plus $200 for insurance and legal fees. We were able to find people (some of them outside WL) who would put up the money, but most of them needed it back soon. We figured that we could sell shares in the house to pay them back. We would need to sell 260 shares at $25/share to make $6500, a sum that would allow a small cushion for emergencies. This did not seem impossible - in fact, we though it could be done. We have a large membership, a larger periphery, friends in many parts. We even thought it might be easily done. We put the matter before Women's Liberation at the September meeting and got an enthusiastic response. Since then hundreds of people have seen and used the house - it has been successful as a center. The people who live in it and make the monthly payments have not been too hassled by living with a center. It has been a refuge for many other women who needed a temporary place to stay. It has housed the office, the literature, many a meeting of support or activity group. All in all, it's a good house. But we have problem. We didn't expect September to be a good month for shares. October was our big hype. And by the end of October we had sold 16 (16) shares. That is not very many shares. Moreover interest seems to be dying down. The house has begun to be taken for granted. Well, we can't take it for granted. There is no way we can keep the house if we don't pay the money. It's as simple as that. If we want a center - this center - we will have to sell shares. Bloomington WLF Newsletter, Nov., 1970 for comments or contributions write: Bloomington WLF 414 N. Park Bloomington, Indiana 47401 a woman? December 11, 1970 page 3