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Redstockings, also known as Redstockings of the Women's Liberation Movement, is a
radical feminist Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...
nonprofit 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 ...
that was founded in January 1969 in New York City, whose goal is "To Defend and Advance the Women's Liberation Agenda". The group's name is derived from ''
bluestocking ''Bluestocking'' (also spaced blue-stocking or blue stockings) is a Pejorative, derogatory term for an educated, intellectual woman, originally a member of the 18th-century Blue Stockings Society from England led by the hostess and critic El ...
'', a term used to disparage feminist intellectuals of earlier centuries, and ''red'', for its association with the revolutionary left.


History

The group was started by Ellen Willis and
Shulamith Firestone Shulamith Bath Shmuel Ben Ari Firestone (born Feuerstein; January 7, 1945 – August 28, 2012) was a Canadian-American radical feminist writer and activist. She was a prominent figure in the early development of radical feminism and second-wave ...
in January 1969, after the breakup of
New York Radical Women New York Radical Women (NYRW) was an early second-wave radical feminist group that existed from 1967 to 1969. They drew nationwide media attention when they unfurled a banner inside the 1968 Miss America pageant displaying the words "Women ...
. Other early members included
Kathie Sarachild Kathie Sarachild (born Kathie Amatniek; July 1943) is an American writer and radical feminist. In 1968, she took the last name "Sarachild" after her mother Sara. Kathie coined the phrase "Sisterhood is Powerful" in a flier she wrote for the keyn ...
, Patricia Mainardi, Barbara Leon, Corrine Grad Coleman, Lucinda Cisler,
Irene Peslikis Irene Peslikis (October 7, 1943 – November 28, 2002) was an American feminist artist, activist, and educator. She was one of the early founders and organizers in the women's art movement, especially on the east coast. Life and career Irene Pesli ...
, and
Alix Kates Shulman Alix Kates Shulman (born August 17, 1932) is an American writer of fiction, memoirs, and essays, and a prominent early radical activist of second-wave feminism. She is best-known for her bestselling debut adult novel, ''Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Qu ...
. Firestone soon split with the group to form
New York Radical Feminists New York Radical Feminists (NYRF) 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 a ...
, along with
Anne Koedt Anne Koedt (born 1941) is an American radical feminist activist and author of " The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm", a 1970 classic feminist work on women's sexuality. She was connected to the group New York Radical Women and was a founding member ...
.
Rita Mae Brown Rita Mae Brown (born November 28, 1944) is an American feminist writer, best known for her coming-of-age autobiographical novel, '' Rubyfruit Jungle''. Brown was active in a number of civil rights campaigns and criticized the marginalization of l ...
was also briefly a member during 1970. The group was mainly active in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where most of the group's members resided, and later also in
Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...
. A group called Redstockings West was started in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
in 1969 but was independent of the East Coast group. Redstockings went through several phases of activity and inactivity; they first split up in 1970 and were formally refounded in 1973 by Sarachild,Willis, "Radical Feminism and Feminist Radicalism", p. 144.
Carol Hanisch Carol Hanisch (born 1942) is an American radical feminist activist. She 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 1970 essay of the same ...
, Mainardi, and Leon. (Willis was involved only peripherally with the re-formed group.) One of the group's earliest actions was on February 13, 1969, when members stormed a hearing of the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Public Health, which was considering abortion law reform. They objected to the hearing, asking: "Why are 14 men and only one woman on your list of speakers—and she's a nun?" The committee chairman countered that these were the experts on the subject, which further enraged the Redstockings women, whose position was that there were no better experts on abortion than women and that abortion law needed to be repealed rather than
reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...
. About a month later, Redstockings soon held its own "hearing", an open meeting in the Washington Square Methodist Church, where twelve women testified about their experiences with illegal abortion. The March "speakout" was Redstockings' opportunity to hear testimony of those they felt were the experts: "We are the true experts, the only experts, we who have had abortions," one of the twelve said. One of the women in attendance was
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. ...
, who would years later identify the meeting as a milestone in her feminist activism. In the early 1970s, Redstockings were noted for their "speakouts" and zap actions and
street theater Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or university ...
on the issue of
abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...
. (This style of protest was emulated by an early-1980s
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...
group, No More Nice Girls, one of the founders of which was Redstockings veteran Ellen Willis.) On March 3, 1989, Redstockings met again at the Washington Square Methodist Church to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their 1969 meeting, at a speakout called "Abortion: Women Tell it Like it Is, Was, and Ought to Be...1969-1989." More recently, the group leads a project to make available, through the Women's Liberation Archives for Action,
radical feminist Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...
papers and original source organizing material building on their concept "History for Activist Use"; the project also puts out new theory on women's oppression and what to do about it. In 2001, they released a book called ''Confronting the Myth of America: Women's Liberation and National Health Care''. As of 2006, the group is active and operates a website, though Sarachild is the only original member still active with the group.


Ideology

The group is a strong advocate of
consciousness raising Consciousness raising (also called awareness raising) is a form of activism popularized by United States feminists in the late 1960s. It often takes the form of a group of people attempting to focus the attention of a wider group on some cause or ...
and what they refer to as "The Pro-Woman Line" – the idea that women's submission to
male supremacy Supremacism is the belief that a certain group of people are superior to, and should have authority over, all others. The presumed superior group can be defined by age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, language, social ...
was a conscious adaptation to their lack of power under
patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
, rather than internalized "
brainwashing Brainwashing is the controversial idea that the human mind can be altered or controlled against a person's will by manipulative psychological techniques. Brainwashing is said to reduce its subject's ability to think critically or independently ...
" on the part of women, as was held by some other radical feminist groups. Consciousness raising was the act by which the theory of " the personal is the political" met practice, and was more essential to Redstockings' feminism than organizational membership. Redstockings holds the view that all men oppress all women as a class and that it is the responsibility of individual men to give up
male supremacy Supremacism is the belief that a certain group of people are superior to, and should have authority over, all others. The presumed superior group can be defined by age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, language, social ...
, rather than the responsibility of women to change themselves. Redstockings' relationship to other strands of feminism of the 1970s was complex. Like many other radical feminists, they were critical of liberal feminist groups like the
National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
, whom they viewed as advancing
women's liberation The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminism, feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resu ...
only as a type of institutional reform while ignoring the interpersonal power of men over women. The Redstockings were more influenced by
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
than other radical feminist groups. However, they strongly rejected
socialist feminism Socialist feminism rose in the 1960s and 1970s as an offshoot of the feminist movement and New Left that focuses upon the interconnectivity of the patriarchy and capitalism. However, the ways in which women's private, domestic, and public roles ...
(which they referred to as "politico" feminism) as subordinating the issue of women's liberation to
class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...
. On the other hand, Redstockings were against
cultural feminism Cultural feminism is a term used to describe a variety of feminism that attempts to revalue and redefine attributes culturally ascribed to femaleness. It is also used to describe theories that commend innate differences between women and men. C ...
, which in their view substituted the building of a separatist women's culture for political engagement. (In Redstockings' view, most other tendencies of radical feminism, especially after 1975, were expressions of "cultural feminism".) Brooke Williams was a member of the group who critiqued this tendency strongly. Redstockings were strongly opposed to
lesbian separatism Feminist separatism or separatist feminism is the theory that feminist opposition to patriarchy can be achieved through women's sex segregation from men.Christine Skelton, Becky Francis, ''Feminism and the Schooling Scandal'', Taylor & Francis, ...
, seeing interpersonal relationships with men as an important arena of feminist struggle, and hence seeing separatism as escapist. (Like most radical feminists of the time, Redstockings saw lesbianism primarily as a political identity rather than a fundamental part of personal identity, and therefore analyzed it primarily in political terms.) Redstockings were also opposed to
male homosexuality Human male sexuality encompasses a wide variety of feelings and behaviors. Men's feelings of attraction may be caused by various physical and social traits of their potential partner. Men's sexual behavior can be affected by many factors, inclu ...
, which they saw as a deeply
misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised ...
rejection of women. Redstockings' line on gay men and lesbians is often criticized as
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
.


Writings

Notable essays associated with the group include "The Redstockings Manifesto" and "Program for Consciousness-Raising", as well as "The Politics of Housework" by Pat Mainardi. "The Redstockings Manifesto" and "The Politics of Housework" were included in the 1970 anthology '' Sisterhood Is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings From The Women's Liberation Movement'', edited by
Robin Morgan Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key Radical feminism, radical feminist member of the American Feminist movement, Wom ...
. The Manifesto contains seven sections. The first section briefly introduces women's recent unity in the struggle for freedom from "male supremacy" The second section claims women as an "oppressed class", and expands upon the class and political implications of women's relationships with men. The third section names " le supremacy sthe oldest, most basic form of domination." The fourth section addresses the role of
institutions An institution is a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions and ...
in women's oppression, claiming that institutions are "tools of the oppressors". Additionally, this section argues against the claim that women permit or are responsible for their oppression. Instead, the Manifesto claims that men must be changed but that "any man is free to renounce his superior position provided that he is willing to be treated like a woman by other men." The fifth section sets forth Redstockings' primary goal, which is "to develop female
class consciousness In Marxism, class consciousness is the set of beliefs that persons hold regarding their social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their common class interests. According to Karl Marx, class consciousness is an awa ...
through sharing experience and publicly exposing the sexist foundation of all our institutions." In order to accomplish this task, honesty is required in order to raise consciousness regarding women's oppression by men. The sixth section briefly outlines Redstockings' assertion that its members "identify with all women" and aim to minimize barriers between women both outside of and within the movement. The final section is the Manifesto's call to action. In these final six sentences, the Manifesto calls on women to unite to break from male oppression, and on men to forgo their privilege and endorse the freedom of women from male supremacy. The refounded group published a journal, ''Feminist Revolution''. A nearly complete anthology of articles from the journal was published in 1979 by
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
. The republished anthology, however, omits a controversial report on Gloria Steinem's involvement with a liberal youth group that was later revealed to have been funded by the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
. The anthology's publication, however, created a lasting rift between members of Redstockings and feminists who were close to Steinem.


References


Further reading

* * * * ** * * * ** *


See also

* Radicalesbians *
SCUM Manifesto ''SCUM Manifesto'' is a self-published manifesto by American radical feminist Valerie Solanas. Published in 1967, it argues that men have ruined the world, and that it is up to women to fix it. To achieve this goal, it suggests the formation of ...
*
Valerie Solanas Valerie Jean Solanas (April 9, 1936 – April 25, 1988) was an American radical feminist known for her attempt to murder the artist Andy Warhol in 1968. Solanas appeared in the Warhol film '' I, a Man'' (1967) and self-published the '' SCU ...
*
Red Stocking Movement (Denmark) The Red Stocking Movement () was a Danish women's rights movement which was established in 1970 and was active until the mid-1980s. Inspired by the Redstockings founded in 1969 in New York City, it brought together left-wing feminists who fought fo ...
*
Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell W.I.T.C.H., originally the acronym for Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell, was the name of several related but independent feminist groups active in the United States as part of the women's liberation movement during the late 19 ...


External links

* Feminist newspaper written and published by radical women in Gainesville. * "She Said, She Said," episode 5 of
The Last Archive
' podcast by
Jill Lepore Jill Lepore is an American historian and journalist. She is the David Woods Kemper '41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and a staff writer at ''The New Yorker'', where she has contributed since 2005. She writes about American h ...
, released July 2, 2020. {{Radical feminism 1969 establishments in New York City Feminism in Florida Feminism in New York (state) Radical feminist organizations in the United States History of women's rights in the United States Organizations based in Gainesville, Florida Organizations based in New York City Organizations established in 1969 Second-wave feminism in the United States Women in Florida Women's political advocacy groups in the United States Women in New York City