The Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice: A
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Ithaca College Digital Commons @ IC Ithaca College Theses 1995 The omeW n's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice: A Study of an Alternative Culture Nancy A. Gaspar Ithaca College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/ic_theses Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Gaspar, Nancy A., "The omeW n's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice: A Study of an Alternative Culture" (1995). Ithaca College Theses. 361. https://digitalcommons.ithaca.edu/ic_theses/361 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ IC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ithaca College Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ IC. THE WOMEN'S ENCAMPMENT FOR A FUTURE OF PEACE AND JUSTICE: A STUDY OF AN ALTERNATIVE CULTURE by Nancy A. Gaspar An Abstract of a thesis subnitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College May 1995 Thesis Advisor: Dr. Sandra Herndon p 11 1 BL\ I t-} "J '-) \.-, o. ~ The Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice is examined from an interpretivist prespective of organizational culture. The interview method is offered as one approach that can reveal the participants' experiences and viewpoints. The data which emerged from the interview material yields detailed descriptions of anti-nuclear and anti-patriarchal protest activity, as well as descriptions of the radical lesbian,culture which took root at the camp. The analysis focuses on how the various cultural forms which included symbols, visual imagery, songs, and stories functioned as social controls in the camp. THE WOMEN'S ENCAMPMENT FOR A FUTURE OF PEACE AND JUSTICE: A STUDY OF AN ALTERNATIVE CULTURE A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Roy H. Park School of Communications Ithaca College In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Nancy A. Gaspar May 1995 Ithaca College The Roy H. Park School of Corrmunications Ithaca, New York CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS This is to certify that the Thesis of Nancy A. Gaspar submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of science in the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College has been approved. Candidate: ___ _ _ Chair, G aduat Program 71n Corrmunications ~~~i~= Graduate Date: __~~~L~{,~1f....s,,;;..t.ff;_;;,_7f ____ _ Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Sandra Herndon for her support of this project and her patience. Special thanks to Cornell scholar Bernadette Andrea who generously loaned me textbooks on contemporary feminism and who also encouraged me with this study. Special thanks to my daughter Gwendolyn Joy Niven who helped me in the preparation of the final draft, and who also took care of her little brother in a very loving way. Special thanks to all the wanen who gave their time as Interviewees for this study, and helped me to learn about feminist peace politics. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract Title Page ......................... not numbered Abstract ......................... not numbered Title Page not numbered Certificate of Approval not numbered Acknowledgements ........................ not numbered Chapter One: Introduction •.•••••.••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 Purpose of Study ................................... 2 Chapter Two: Interpretive Research and Organizational CUlture... 6 Chapter Three: Research Methodology ........................... 21 Chapter Four: Description of the Structure of the Encampment.... 27 Chapter Five: Descriptions of CUltural Expressions of the Encampment · . • . • . • • • . • • • . • . • • • . • . • • . • . • • • . 94 Chapter Six: The Anatomy of Protest 122 Chapter Seven: Internal Conflicts 135 Chapter Eight: "The Times They Are a Changing" .•••••••••••••••. 162 Chapter Nine: Analysis and Conclusion 172 References Appendix Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION The Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice in Romulus, New York, was founded for the specific purpose of protesting the deployment of the Pershing II and Cruise missiles in Europe which was scheduled to begin in the fall of 1983. It was believed that the Seneca Army Depot (SEAD) in Romulus would be the transhipment point from which these missiles would be dispatched. The Seneca Depot was suspected of housing a huge nuclear weapon facility (this suspicion was later confirmed) and thus was considered an appropriate target of antimilitarist activity. The individuals involved in the planning stages of the Encampment had long-standing affiliations with various pacifist groups and were strongly coITu~itted to feminist concerns for peace. The following excerpt from notes drafted by Encampment organizers during its early stages explains their intentions: In 1983, Seneca Army Depot will be an important site for resistance because of its role in the deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe. It is our hope that the ongoing presence of women camping at the base will help to raise awareness and bring about changes in present military policies. It is also our hope to strengthen international connections with the Peace Movement in Europe, particularly with the Women's Peace Camp at the Greenham Common base in England, as well as others throughout Europe. Because men have traditionally gone off to work for war, it seems appropriate and necessary that women initiate working for peace. The visibility of women taking this initiative has, for the most part, been ignored. The encampment will enable women's concerns for peace to become more well known. (Notes, March 13, 1983) 1 After extensive planning and fundraising, founding members purchased a farmhouse and fifty-one acres of land adjacent to the army base in Romulus. This farmhouse was to serve as a communications center and a staging site from which to launch protest demonstrations. The schedule of events for the summer of 1983 included peace marches, planned civil disobedience, vigils, street theater, meetings with local townspeople, and weekend workshops. Organizational literature reflected the founding members' collective interest in eliminating sexism, racism, speciesism, and social injustice. Military violence was perceived as only one facet of patriarchal violence which is manifested in rape, wife-battering, homophobia, and the desecration of the earth in the pursuit of material wealth. Shortly after the Seneca Encampment opened on July 4, 1983, a strong feminist culture became permanently entrenched. In its most extreme form, that culture exhibited itself as a lesbian separatist faction. According to the reports of some participants, some separatists not only refused to work public information booths because of the presence of male visitors, but actually discouraged heterosexual women from taking part in Encampment activities. While it is true that some women found their experience at the peace camp to be positive and self-empowering, it is also true that others who came eager to work for the disarmament cause were made to feel unwelcome by a closed community of lesbian separatists. Organizers have stated that it was never their intention to establish the Women's Peace Camp as a separatist entity. One organizer who was interviewed for this study admitted that she herself was very uncomfortable at the camp because of the "extreme element" and could not remain there for long periods of time. The research shows that the Encampment was widely perceived as a place controlled by radical lesbians in the eyes of participants and outsiders alike. Some have claimed that the conflicts generated by lesbian and separatist issues 2 became the central focus of the camp, overshadowing the disarmament cause. These conflicts were a constant source of tension within the camp, according to some participants. After the first summer, the Encampment was widely recognized as a radical lesbian sanctuary. Although it continued to sponsor workshops and demonstrati"ons, very few women came to take part in these events. The Encampment closed in 1993 and is now a residential site. Radcliffe College has preserved many of the camp's cultural artifacts and written accounts by some of the women who were there. There is no source which provides a comprehensive account of the Women's Peace Camp at the Seneca Army Depot--the largest and most well-known peace camp in the United States. There is, in fact, little academic research on any peace encampment. Supporters of the Seneca Encampment claim significant political influence, such as impact on former New York Governor Mario Cuomo's decision to investigate the Seneca Depot for the presence of nuclear weapons, as well as inspiration for the establishment of similar peace camps throughout the United States. Furthermore, Seneca Encampment supporters claim that, as part of the larger peace movement, they were influential in the signing of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty. This study of the Seneca Encampment may be valuable for the following reasons: 1. It provides a historical documentary of the first land-based peace camp in the world. This may be of special interest to both peace activists and feminists because of the nature of the camp. 2. It examines the communication processes and cultural attributes of a unique organizational entity, and therefore may be of potential interest to those in the field of organizational communication. 3 Resources for this study include: 1. Extended confidential interviews with (a) founding members of this Encampment, (b) individuals who participated in Encampment activities during major political actions and/or during periods in which no actions were scheduled, and (c) individuals who were interested in but discouraged from becoming involved in life at the Encampment. 2. Documents including: a. Organizational literature which consists of the Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice Resource Handbook, meeting minutes from 1983, informal meeting notes from 1983 to 1993, vision statements, com.~ittee lists, orientation materials, fact sheets, flyers, postcards, posters, and song sheets. b. Personal correspondence of Encampment founders. c. Newspaper accounts from the mainstream press. d.