WSW EDITORIAL NOTES

The election of Ronald Reagan and the tremendous victory which must be conceded to the ' Republican Party, with its concomitant swing to the right in the national mood of the country, bodes ill for women and the other oppressed of this land. Already the Moral Majority and the Heritage Foundation are gleefully gloating as they envision a return to "old-fashioned morality" and "traditional values," euphemisms for the repression of progressive ideas and programs. Already they are mak-

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ing suggestions as to where government funding can be cut for instance, public TV, which they characterize as "television for a small elite" (get set for a great new bunch of jiggle shows, folks!), and programs benefitting women and the poor are bound to suffer tremendously. Phyllis Schlafly delightedly sees other women returning docilely to their kitchens as Reagan's miraculous cures for inflation makes it unnecessary for them to work outside the home. But it's too late. The clock can't be turned back.

CONTENTS

Toxic Shock Syndrome.....

Letters.......

Clio's Musings..

Bits and Pieces.....

Classified Ads...

Find It Fastest.....

....back cover

What's Happening...

11-12

Cover Graphic by Carol Goodwin

Feminist Theologians Meet.... Anti-Gay Law Struck Down..... Puerto Rican Women Convene.... Local

WARN Woman Speaks Here.......

Legal Developments for Women......

Take Back the Night v. RTA........ Features

Gail Cincotta on Neighborhood Action............6-7

What She Wants

What She Wants usually goes to production the third weekend of the month. Copy should be submitted by the 15th of each month so that we can discuss it and edit collectively at our editorial meetings. Contact us for specific deadlines. Please print or type articles. Mail material to WSW, P. O. Box 18465, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118.

WHAT SHE WANTS IS:

A MONTHLY NEWS JOURNAL PRODUCED FOR ALL WOMEN. We always like input from our readers in the form of articles, personal experiences, poetry, art, announcements, and letters. We welcome women who are willing to help us in specific areas of the paper (writing, lay-out, advertising, distribution, publicity, etc.) and/or who are interested in our collective.

WHAT SHE WANTS ADVOCATES:

...equal and civil rights

...the right to earnings based on our need, merit, and interest

...access to job training, salaries, and promotions we choose

...the right to organize in unions and coalitions to advance our cause ...the right to decent health care and health information

...the right to safe, effective birth control and to safe, legal abortions ...the right to accept or reject motherhood

...the right to choose and express sexual preference without harassment ...access to quality education and freedom from prejudice in learning materials

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

A one-year subscription to WSW includes

11 regular monthly issues

Individual $6.00

Contributing $15.00

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Sustaining $25.00

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Non-Profit Org. — $10.00

For Profit Org. $15.00

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DISTRIBUTION OUTLETS:

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Central: Barnes & Noble, Publix Book Mart, WomenSpace

West: American Indian Center, CCC Bookstore, Plants Plus, Six Steps Down, Tish's Shoe Repair & Emporium Chagrin Falls: Little Professor Book Center

Akron: Cooperative Market

Kent: Kent Natural Foods Store

Columbus: Fan the Flames Bookstore

Boston, MA: New Words Bookstore

Business Group

Marycatherine Krause/Coordinator

Alana Clampitt

Dianne Fishman

Marcia Manwaring

Mary Redlinger.

Editorial Group

Carol Epstein/Coordinator Gail Powers/Coordinator Marycatherine Krause Loretta Feller/Coordinator Amy Schuman

Production Group

Linda Janc/Coordinator Mary Walsh/Coordinator Jean Loria Pat O'Malley Randi Powers Barbara Silverberg

Jean Hrichus Willow Bentley Maureen Wells Michele Vanderlip

Women who have tasted the heady wine of independence are not going to return to powdered milk. Even if Reagan curbs the rise of inflation a dubious assumption at best, given his advocacy of a huge increase in defense spending women and the poor are not about to return to the passivity of the 1950's or the 1850's.

Seen in historical terms, the recent victory of the right wing is but an inevitable move in a cycle, and is only temporary. The repression anticipated from the Reagan Administration will generate a resurgence of leftist and feminist activism, sadly lacking during the past decade, and will ultimately result in the regaining and surpassing of those rights and benefits now under attack. In the meantime, however, we must protect the gains we have won and the organizations we have formed.

It's been several months since we've exercised our editorial privilege to appeal to you for help. At that time, we asked for assistance on our editorial, production, and business groups. The response was gratifying: several new women have given their time and energy to the various tasks that bring you What She Wants each month. But there are still less than twenty of us, nearly all volunteers, sharing the 300 or more hours it takes every month to produce and run a feminist newspaper.

Being a part of WSW has its own rewards. We learn about and help to create the changes occurring in the women's movement. And we also (although not as frequently as we would like) receive feedback and criticism from our readers. On a more tangible basis, however, it can be quite discouraging.

Last month, for instance, we had only half as many new subscriptions and renewals as we had expirations. That kind of attrition rate is demoralizing, to say the least. Fortunately, this seems to be an exception, as we have more that doubled our readership over the past three years. But it does, make us question our motives for continuing.

We are not martyrs, but we strongly believe in the power and necessity of feminist media to perpetuate our cause. It becomes even more critical as we see the small steps we have gained being threatened from the right wing. Many feminist newspapers have recently stopped publishing, and we do not want to be another casualty.

If this lack of support is a reflection of the quality (continued on page 3)

About the Cover

The shortest day of the year, the moment of the sun's farthest point of retreat from our hemisphere-the winter solstice-gave ancient civilizations reason to mythologize the death of a king, a god, and the birth of a youthful divine successor whose increasing strength paralleled the northward return of the sun and the eventual abundance of plant and animal life. The feminine version of the myth, in the story of Demeter's grief for her abducted daughter Kore, seems not to identify a specific event to express the solstice, but rather to explain more generally that winter is the grain goddess' time of mourning, of awaiting the return of her daughter from the company of her abductor, Hades, ruler of the dead.

This year's solstice on December 21 is unusual. It is not only the day of the sun's weakest position but also of the moon's strongest phase. On that day the sun ends its decline at 11:56 a.m. and the full moon rises at about 5:15 p.m. (about 38 minutes later in Cleveland than the official moonrise time for Boston given in the Old Farmer's Almanac).

The strength of the moon's light in the time of the sun's greatest weakness is an especially significant natural omen of a female power in an era of weakening male influence. For women secking affirmation of their personhood, the 1980 solstice is a sign of awakening.

December, 1980/What She Wants/Page 1