Stephanie Gilmore. Groundswell: Grassroots Feminist Activism in Postwar America.

Abstract

Until recently, the most influential works on postwar American feminism were written by former activists-turned-historians. These scholars, in thoughtful analyses, focused in particular on the East Coast hubs of the movement, and on the often uneasy relationship between liberal feminists associated with the National Organization for Women (NOW), and radicals affiliated with women's liberation groups. According to a common narrative, liberal feminists focused on reforms of the legal and political system, while radicals embraced a much farther reaching agenda of social change, and adopted consciousness-raising and direct action as their tactics. Scholars tended to find little overlap between these ideological wings, and their sympathies were often with movement radicals. In their works, NOW frequently came across as rather staid, and at times downright reactionary. This was especially the case when historians highlighted statements like that of the organization's first president Betty Friedan, who called lesbian feminists a “lavender menace” and thus seemed more interested in protecting political gains than in true sisterhood. Scholars also argued that the overwhelmingly white and middle-class leadership was blind to the fact that a narrowly defined rights agenda, in particular the passage of an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), would do little to advance the situation of women of color and working-class women.