Women and feminism in the association for humanist sociology

Abstract

Several years ago, I interviewed for a Women's Studies director position at a Midwestern university. I was picked up at the airport by two eager and well-in formed women's studies majors who drove me the fifty or so miles to the town where the university was located. After brief introductions, as we settled into the car for our journey, the first question the students asked me was, "Why are you so involved in the Association for Humanist Sociology?" In other words, "What is a feminist doing among humanists?" It took me most of the trip to explain to the students that while I was well aware of the potential tensions between feminism and humanism, the Association for Humanist Sociology (AHS), in which I have been active since 1980, had provided me and other feminist sociologists with a space where we could practice our scholar ship and activism more easily than in other sociological associations. In this essay, I draw on the explanation I gave to the students, discussing my experiences as well as more generally the status of women and feminism in the the AHS from 1976 until the present. My perspective is that of a feminist sociologist trained in the 1960s and 1970s, rooted in radical feminism1 and more recently em bracing a transformational, international feminism.2 In my experience and that of other women and feminists involved in AHS, although the Association had been from the beginning much more welcoming of women and their contributions than other socio logical organizations, the relationship between feminism and humanist sociology has not always been an easy one. However, humanist sociology, as it is practiced in the AHS, has changed over time and has become increasingly accepting of feminism. I attribute this to grassroots efforts among feminist members of the Association to better integrate women and feminism, and the increasing numbers of women in the AHS, as well as a growing awareness among both humanist sociologists and feminists of the great human variety of positionalities, identities, and experiences. Humanist Sociology and Academic Feminism Humanist sociology, as a distinct sub-field within the discipline of sociology in the United States, became officially recognized with the founding of the AHS in Jill M. Bystydzienski is director of the Women's Studies Program and professor of sociology at Iowa State University. Address for Correspondence: Women's Studies Program, 349 Catt Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1304.