APRIL 1981-HIGH GEAR Page 5

Women's conference in Boston

Reprinted with permission of GAY COMMUNITY NEWS, 22 Bromfield Street, Boston, MA 02108. by Lee Swislow

BOSTON — Many of the issues surrounding the women's movement the divisions in the

movement, the strength of the movement, the desire for unity, and the sense of isolation-were expressed and addressed during an all day conference "Dialogue on the Women's Movement" held Saturday, February 21.

Attended by about 400 women, the day included a brief history of the women's movement, small group discussions on the movement, a presentation on the New Right, workshops on specific topics, and a lot of feelings and emotions.

In the small group discussions following the presentation, women talked of the experiences with the movement and their hopes for the future. A repeated theme was the way women have found themselves involved in single-issue work, like sexual harassment, violence against women, reproductive rights, bian and gay liberation, but have lost a sense of a unified

movement.

unsafe working class women have felt in the movement, and of the lack of understanding of the internalized oppression of being working class.

"We want the women's movement to acknowledge we are here -to acknowledge our oppression and our contriles-butions. And we want middle class women to take responsibility for class issues," said one of the women from the working class caucus.

Women also talked of the pain and isolation they have felt due to some of the tensions in the movement. Joyce Kaufman, another conference planner, named some of the tensions in the movement when she talked of "the separations between lesbians and heterosexual women, between women of color and white women, between sociaiThe wish for more unity among ists and nonsocialists, between separatists and non-separatists." Women of color and working class women addressed some of these tensions. Both groups met separately during the morning, and then talked to the entire

women in the Boston area was seen at the end of the conference when a proposal for a citywide women's coalition met with a positive response.

The conference was organized by 10 white women who are part of a socialist feminist discussion group that has been meeting for 4 1/2 years.

"The idea of this conference grew out of a number of discussions we had in our group about how fragmented we feel in the various political work that we do," said Betsy Smith, one of the planners.

"Our hunch in planning this conference," she continued, "was that other women were experiencing the same feelings of isolation. Our hope was to bring together and draw on our collective experiences to try to create some sense of a unified woman's movement."

The morning began with history of the women's movement from 1969 to 1972, done through a reading of poems and statements. For some women, this was new material, for some it was the past recreated, remembering the initial anger, the early analysis, the coming together and the coming apart.

Some of the statements: "For me, Women's Liberation is simple. woman in his country can feel dignified, no woman can be liberated, until all women get off their knees" — Johnnie Tillmann, National Welfare Rights Organization, 1972.

"Self-sacrifice as the major a ethic of the female culture has been one of the most effective psychological blacks to women's open rebellion and demand for self-determination" — Fourth World Manifesto, 1970-71.

"We as Asian American women will no longer allow ourselves to be categorized and dehumanized. As we work with cur men in the movement to destroy the power structure of the United States, we will define ourselves, our values and our goals as Asian Americans and as members of the Third World" AsianAmerican women in the Venceramos Brigade in Cuba, 1970.

"Any army of lovers shall not fail" Rita Mae Brown, 1971. "What about an army of ex lovVers? Anne Papkin, 1973.

conference.

Vivian Carlo spoke from the women of color caucus. "We have been part of the women's movement from the beginning. We have a history of resistance and have always been a part of this movement, even when there was only one woman of color in an otherwise white group. Now women of color need to talk with each other. We need to make an analysis of where we are coming from and how racism has affected us how we look at each other.

"We've constantly been trying to enlighten white sisters. We've been helping you to understand racism. Now you have to do it for yourselves. You have to analyze what racism is to go beyond the personal level to an historical analysis and to analyze privilege. It's not enough to like women of color and it's not enough to hate racism. You need analysis, not just understanding."

The working class women raised similar issues, and talked of the need for middle class women to understand how

The afternoon began with a presentation on the New Right. Collectively written by Leslie Cagan, Marla Erlien, and Judy Houseman, the speech talked of some of the core issues raised by the New Right.

"Sexism and anti-women ideas are one of the very foundations of the new right ideologically and in practice. The New Right brings home what feminists have been saying for over a decade that the family, sexuality and reproduction are profoundly political concerns."

Cagan also talked of feminists' need to both understand the appeal of the New Right and to defend themselves against attacks, but also of the need to continue to move forward.

"The women's liberation

movement has significantly shaped the context in which our work takes place today. Since its earliest beginnings, our movement has grown and changed and in turn changed popular consciousness of women's oppression in ways that give us hope.

After the presentation, there were workshops on several different topics, including Sex and Sexuality, Towards a Radical Transformation of Society, and Moving Together/Moving Apart: Women and Color and White Women Build a Women's Movement.

In evaluating the day, Betsy Smith said, "I learned a lot in planning the conference. I think our group made some mistakes and made some good decisions in the planning and outreach. I was really impressed with the turnout given the minimal

GODMOTHER'S D

Happy Hours Closed Open Sundays

1014 E. 63rd STREET

6-9:30 P.M.

Monday at 8:00 P.M.

CLEVELAND

publicity we did. I was excited by the number of women who came who were new to the women's movement."

Many women expressed excitement about the p o s s i-

bility of a women's coalition, described by one woman as hopefully being "more than a network, but less than a new organization."

Senators vs student groups

(Continued from page three)

place a gay counseling ad in the campus newspaper failed because his was not an official student organization.

Next Wall presented the required five-signature petition calling for a lesbian and gay coalition to the student board, to the Board of Trustees, and to college president Fred Lenfestey. All three denied Wall's group recognition.

In Lenfestey's words, the college already "counsels and gives information."

"We disseminate accurate information. That's what this college is for," he told GCN, adding, "We don't have special counseling for Jewish students either."

Lenfestey's stand is supported by state senators Alan Trask (DWinter Haven), Curtis Peterson (D-Lakeland), and Tom Tobiassen (R-Pensacola). The senators are cosponsoring SB 108,

which would prohibit any state college from recognizing a lesbian and gay student organization.

Currently, the bill is in the Education Committee; it is expected to be reviewed in the first week of March.

"They know the bill is unconstitutional, and if they don't they don't belong there," Slaughter said in reference to the legislative action.

He added, "I'm sure they know. They're doing it just to inflame people."

Slaughter doesn't expect the bill to pass out of committee. If the bill were to pass in the Senate, a court fight would ensue, Slaughter said. "Then (the senators) would just be wasting the taxpayers' money in court fees."

In a letter to Wall, Trask stated, "I will do all I can to see that 108 passes...you have unwittingly dealt your cause a great blow." --filed from Boston

Coming Soon at TRAXX

TRAXX

Memberships Available

SIGNATURE

ISSUED BY

This card is the property of TRAXX and returnable on request Use of this card establishes obligation on the part of the holder to be bound by the rules and regulations of TRAXX This card is not transferable and additional ID is required

From Cleveland's Premier

Gay Disco