Feminist Majority Foundation
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The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) is an American
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
headquartered in
Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, whose stated mission is to advance
non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
and women's power, equality, and economic development. The name Feminist Majority comes from a 1986
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
/ Gallup
public opinion poll In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
in which 56 percent of American women self-identified as
feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
. President and one of the founders, Eleanor Smeal, chose the name to reflect the results of the poll, implying that the majority of women are feminists.


History and structure

The FMF—an
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
tax deductible,
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
—is a research and education organization and the publisher of ''
Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
'' magazine. Founded in 1987 by Eleanor Smeal, Peg Yorkin,
Katherine Spillar Katherine Spillar is the United States, American executive editor of ''Ms. (magazine), Ms.'' and co-founder and executive director of the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) and the Feminist Majority. Early life Katherine Spillar grew up in Tex ...
, Toni Carabillo, and Judith Meuli, it has offices in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. Its chair is Peg Yorkin. FMF became the publisher of ''
Ms. Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
'' in 2001, supporting the magazine in becoming a
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
. Co-founded in 1972 by political activist and feminist
Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...
, ''Ms.'' is a
women's magazine This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of woman, women. Currently published *''10 Magazine (UK), 10 Magazine'' (UK – distributed worldwide) *''Al Jam ...
owned and produced by women that publishes articles on the conditions of women in the United States and abroad. The FMF has several campaigns and programs that deal with
Women's Health Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...
and
Reproductive Rights Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights: Reproductive rights ...
domestically and abroad, including: * National Clinic Access Project * Campaign for Women's Health *
Mifepristone Mifepristone, and also known by its developmental code name RU-486, is a drug typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days (9 wee ...
* Feminist Campus (Choices Campus Leadership Program) * Global Reproductive Rights Campaign * Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls * Emergency Contraception Initiative * National Center for Women and Policing * Education Equity Program * Rock for Choice


History

During 1989-92, the FMF conducted the ''Feminization of Power'' campaign, recruiting an unprecedented number of women to run for
public office Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
, resulting in doubling women's representation in the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
in 1992 (the Year of the Woman). In 1992, FMF helped to secure support for the Iowa
Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...
and, in 1996, it helped to counter an anti-(reverse)discrimination ballot measure in California. In 2004, the Feminist Majority was one of five principal organizers of the " March for Women's Lives", which brought more than 1.15 million women and men to Washington, D.C., in support of reproductive rights. In 2006, FMF failed to overturn an anti-discrimination
ballot measure A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
in Michigan (the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which passed in 2006 and was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2014) and to pass a
ballot initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite o ...
in South Dakota to
repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...
a state abortion ban. On March 23 and 24 of 2013, FMF hosted its 9th Annual National Young Feminist Leadership conference in
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, with speakers such as
Dolores Huerta Dolores Huerta (born April 10, 1930) is an American labor leader and feminist activist. After working for several years with the Community Service Organization (CSO), she co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) with fellow activ ...
(President, Dolores Huerta Foundation/Co-Founder United Farm Workers/Recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom), Morgane Richardson (Founder of Refuse The Silence), Monica Simpson (Executive Director, Sister Song), Ivanna Gonzalez (Who Needs Feminism?). Despite its declared support of non-violence, the FMF endorsed the war in Afghanistan with the justification that it would help to protect and liberate Afghan women, a position which was criticized by American politician
Tom Hayden Thomas Emmet Hayden (December 11, 1939October 23, 2016) was an American social and political activist, author, and politician. Hayden was best known for his role as an anti-war, civil rights, and intellectual activist in the 1960s, becoming an i ...
in 2011.


Legislative initiatives

The Feminist Majority has also been a leader in legislative victories for women including amending the
Civil Rights Act of 1991 The Civil Rights Act of 1991 is a United States labor law, passed in response to United States Supreme Court decisions that limited the rights of employees who had sued their employers for discrimination. The Act represented the first effort sin ...
to provide for monetary damages to women who win sexual harassment and sex discrimination lawsuits in court; winning passage of the
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States labor law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. The FMLA was a major part of President Bill ...
; the
Violence Against Women Act The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) is a United States federal law (Title IV of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, ) signed by President Bill Clinton on September13, 1994. The Act provided $1.6billion toward investigat ...
and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, in 1994; passing the Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, in 1996; restoring
Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...
, in 1988, and then successfully defending Title IX against the Bush administration's attempts to discourage discrimination against men, in 2003, among other victories. The Feminist Majority continues advocating for U.S.
ratification Ratification is a principal's legal confirmation of an act of its agent. In international law, ratification is the process by which a state declares its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the case of bilateral treaties, ratification is usuall ...
of, both, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
Women's Rights Treaty
CEDAW The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...
, the ''Convention to End all forms of Discrimination Against Women'') and the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
.


See also

*
Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution that would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination. It is not currently a part of the Constitution, though its Ratifi ...
*
Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
*
Liberal feminism Liberal feminism, also called mainstream feminism, is a main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy and informed by a human rights per ...
*
Social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
*
Progressivism Progressivism is a Left-right political spectrum, left-leaning political philosophy and Reformism, reform political movement, movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has unive ...


References


External links


Feminist Majority Foundation online

Feminist Majority

Choices Campus Leadership Program

Ms. Magazine

National Center for Women and Policing

Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls

"Overview of the Feminist Majority Foundation"
FMF Campus Program. {{Authority control Feminism in Virginia Feminist organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1987 Women's political advocacy groups in the United States Second-wave feminism in the United States 1987 establishments in Virginia History of women in Virginia Equal Rights Amendment organizations