ADDITIONAL PRAISE FOR SISTERHOOD, INTERRUPTED “Someone should make a t-shirt for Deborah Siegel that says, ‘This is what a feminist historian looks like.’ Moving decidedly away from the ‘catfight’ model of feminist history towards a more fair and useful collaborative vi- sion, Siegel traces the persistent questions and conflicts within the con- temporary women’s movement in her thorough and engaging narrative.” —Merri Lisa Johnson, Director of the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, USC Upstate “Siegel has her finger on the pulse of one of the main issues concerning women today: generational infighting around the unfinished business of feminism. It’s an issue that concerns everyone—whether or not they use the f-word.” —Catherine Orenstein, author of Red Riding Hood Uncloaked “Read Sisterhood, Interrupted and you will have an inside look at a movement born out of earnestness and hope—one filled with the intrigues of strategiz- ing, contesting, connecting, and questioning. Siegel’s well written and re- searched book draws you into the passions, continuing relevance, and persistent inequalities that drive twenty-first century feminism. You won’t look at the feminist movement in the same way again.” —Linda Basch, President, National Council for Research on Women “Sisterhood, Interrupted is a smart, thorough, and extremely readable his- tory of contemporary feminism and its generational tensions. Deborah Siegel presents an evenhanded view of both second- and third-wave femi- nism, without losing sight of the complexity of either. A must-read for women of any generation who want to better understand feminism in the twenty-first century.” —Astrid Henry, author Not My Mother’s Sister: Generational Conflict and Third-Wave Feminism “Effectively captures the passion and politics that have shaped contempo- rary feminism. Siegel shows us that the feminist movement is indeed alive and well, or it would not inspire so much fierce debate.” —Allison Kimmich, Executive Director, National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) “Sisterhood, Interrupted is a crash course in feminist history. Deborah Siegel’s refreshing and contemporary approach makes history relevant for our future progress. With wit and what reads like an insider’s perspective, Siegel illuminates how past controversies will be future successes.” —Amy Richards, co-author Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future and a founder of the Third Wave Foundation SISTERHOOD, INTERRUPTED FROM RADICAL WOMEN TO GRRLS GONE WILD DEBORAH SIEGEL FOREWORD BY JENNIFER BAUMGARDNER SISTERHOOD, INTERRUPTED Copyright © Deborah Siegel, 2007. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2007 978-1-4039-7318-4 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2007 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS. Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-4039-8204-9 ISBN 978-0-230-60506-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-0-230-60506-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Siegel, Deborah. Sisterhood, interrupted : from radical women to grrls gone wild (and why our politics are still personal) / by Deborah Siegel. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Feminism—United States. 2. Feminism—United States— History—20th century. I. Title. HQ1121.S54 2007 305.420973'09045—dc22 2007060044 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Letra Libre First edition: June 2007 10987654321 To the women who taught me feminism: Sherry Medwin, Susan Stanford Friedman, Susan David Bernstein, and the late Nellie Y. McKay. And to my former students, interns, and younger colleagues, who continue to teach me, and who carry the torch. “‘We’re lucky this is the women’s movement,’ she quipped in a low voice ending in a light laugh. ‘In other movements, they shoot each other.’” —Susan Brownmiller, In Our Time: Memoir of a Revolution “I continue to believe that feminism, in all its myriad and contentious incarnations, will always be part of, although not the only, prescription, until somebody comes up with a cure.” —Michele Wallace, The Feminist Memoir Project CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Foreword by Jennifer Baumgardner xi Introduction: The Movement that Has No Name 1 Part I: Mothers 1. A Slogan Is Born 21 2. Radicals against Themselves 47 3. The Battle of Betty 71 Part II: Daughters 4. Postfeminist Panache 97 5. Rebels with a Cause 127 Conclusion: Forty Years and Fighting 153 Notes 171 References 187 Index 205 Reading Group Guide 215 Online Resource Guide 217 This page intentionally left blank ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book would not have been written without the sisterhood— uninterrupted—of teachers, colleagues, and friends who have sustained me. I am immensely grateful for my teachers: Sherry Medwin, the one who sparked my interest in feminism in eleventh grade, and Susan Friedman, Susan David Bernstein, and the late Nellie Y. McKay, who deepened and gave texture to my intellectual questioning in graduate school. I thank the scholars and activists who paved the way and got it down, in particular: Susan Douglas, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Alice Echols, Sara M. Evans, Ruth Rosen, Ann Snitow, and also Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem. Their sto- ries enabled my own. Deepest gratitude to historian Linda Gordon, both for her work and her thoughtful read. I thank my colleagues from the Na- tional Council for Research on Women, especially Linda Basch, Mary Ellen Capek, Mariam Chamberlain, Heather Johnston-Nicholson, and Cynthia Secor. Their commitment to women’s research has allowed so many of us to thrive. I’m grateful to all my former interns, and to Coun- cil coworkers Tonni Brodber, Lybra Clemons, Sunny Daly, Andrea Green- blatt, Liz Horton, and Leslie Weber for tolerating the unusual schedule that enabled me to write this book. Gratitude to my “third-wave” colleagues and peers, those I agree with and those whose work I take issue with in these pages, for they have kept the conversation alive. Special thanks to pioneers Leslie Heywood, for early encouragement and for giving us an encyclopedia; Amy Richards and Rebecca Walker, for initiative and bravery; Lisa Johnson, for honesty and eloquence; and Naomi Wolf, for walking the walk and for cofounding the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership, training ground for future lead- X SISTERHOOD, INTERRUPTED ers. Profound gratitude to Jennifer Baumgardner, for her savvy, her wit, and her foreword. I am grateful to the many friends—women, and more than a few good men—who have doubled as teachers and sounding boards along the way. Katie Orenstein, whose brilliance as a thinker and editor is surpassed only by the brightness of her spirit, helped enliven my prose. Robert Berson, Ken Cain, Deborah Carr, Jean Casella, Cora Fox, Susan Devenyi, Tamera Gugelmeyer, Heather Hewett, Wende Jager-Hyman Allison Kimmich, Rebecca London, Lia Macko, Jami Moss, Sam Nelson, Susan Nierenberg, Eileen O’Halloran, Catherine Prendergast, Virginia Rutter, Debra Schultz, John Seaman, Rebecca Segall, Ilana Trachtman, Daphne Uviller, and Jacki Zehner harbored me and this project in one way or another and helped shape my ideas. Michael Heller’s deep encouragement and belief in me as a writer meant much to me. Annie Murphy Paul and Alissa Quart, who sensed that this business of writing is better navigated together, facilitated a network of unparalleled support known as the Invisible Institute. My thanks to each of its members. And to my agent, Tracy Brown, for helping realize dreams. At Palgrave Macmillan, I thank Amanda Moon for coming to that panel at Barnard and finding me, for virtuoso editing, unfailing profes- sionalism, enthusiasm, and all the work that goes on behind the scenes. Thanks to Emily Leithauser for her perspective and ideas. Dara Hochman, rising feminist media critic, provided impeccable research assistance and pop culture savvy. Gwendolyn Beetham provided the resource section, friendship, and inspiration. Special thanks to the librarians at Tamiment Library at New York University and the Schlesinger Library for helping me navigate the archives. I thank my family for putting up with me during the long years during which this book consumed me: all my first cousins; Rita and Nick Lenn; Pearl Pearlman; Margaret Siegel; Renee Siegel, whose assistance went far beyond the duty of motherhood; and Allen Siegel. The next one, I’m writ- ing from Wyoming. Raise the barn. Finally, to Marco Acevedo, who sat across from me, laptop to laptop, for hours while I ate his scones and furrowed my brow. Thank you for find- ing me. And for reminding me. Libations, always, to Kate Chopin. FOREWORD It’s funny. Just before writing this foreword, I got an extreme bikini wax in Los Angeles with my writing partner and fellow feminist Amy Richards at this place on Melrose called, simply, Wax. We had a few hours to kill be- fore heading to the airport to come back to New York. Her three-month- old son was with us. She’s still breast-feeding. My nineteen-month-old, Skuli, and her three-year-old son were back home with their dads, so it seemed like a good moment to do things we normally couldn’t schedule. I also bought some makeup at Fred Segal, shopped around, and Amy got a pedicure. Of course, we weren’t in LA just to have our pubic hair removed by a Temple University graduate who makes more than $200,000 a year doing just that.