a quarterly of wornmls studies r~sources
summer 1986
vol. 7,no. 4
TROCE OF CONTENTS
............................ 3
UJOmENS HISTOAY THROUGH AATIF RCTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
By Anne Woodhouse.
F E ~ I ~ I SWAITERS
T
IN NEUJ ZEACAND. 1975
1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
By Kate Reed.
EDITOAS' NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
MU AEERENCE WAHS IN W O ~ E N ' S STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
New sources on: A f r i c a n w r i t e r s ; T h i r d World women; f e m i n i s t
FROm THE EDITORS
Goodbye t o Karen M e r r i t t and Nancy Marshal 1.
to
s p i r i t u a l i t y ; North American immigrant women; C ~ O S S - C U ~ ~ U ~
s t u d i e s ; spouse abuse; l i b r a r y services f o r m i d l i f e women; women
s c i e n t i s t s ; contemporary stage r o l e s f o r women; French women; and
t h e McFarlin special c o l l e c t i o n s .
~ ~
Conti nued on next page
----
-
-
EDITORS: Susan Searing, UJomenls Studies Librarian and Cotherine Loeb, Women's
Studies Specialist.
Graphic Rrtist: moema Furtodo.
Typist: Rlice m. Saben.
UnlVERSlTY OF WlSCOnSlfl SYSTEfTl
1193 memorial Library
728 State St.
madison. WI
53706
(608)263-5754
Continued from page one
PERIODICRC NOTES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
New p e r i o d i c a l s on: soci a1 work; l e s b i an-femi n i s t e t h i c s ;
v i o l e n c e and v i c t i m s ; vocati onal e q u i t y ; computers ; management ;
and women's studies i n New Zealand.
Speci a1 issues on: s o c i a l work; L a t i na l i t e r a t u r e ; agi ng;
Jewish f e d n i sm; engineering; apartheid; s e x u a l i t y ; l i b r a r y
management; comparable worth; poetry; Jungi an thought; women's
work; f e m i n i s t sociology; and housing.
Ceased p u b l i c a t i o n : Annotated Guide t o Women's P e r i o d i c a l s i n
t h e U n i t e d States and Canada; 'Comment; W t sconsi n Women and P u b l i c
P011cy.
ITE~'I~SOF NOTE
............................2 4
New resources on women and poverty, working women, m a r i t a l
property, Canadian and European women's studies; t h e UN World
Conference on Women; and men's studies.
4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
BOOK REVIEUS . . . . . . . . . ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6
Women and d i sabi lit y , Part II, by Deborah Kent.
UlSCONSlN 6 B C I ~ A P H I E SIN UK>mENS STUMES
A new b i b l i o g r a p h y on women and time management.
Comparable worth, by A l i c e Audie-Figueroa.
Feminist C o l l e c t i o n s i s published by Susan E. Searing, UW
System Women's Studres L i b r a r i a n , 112A Memorial L i b r a r y , 728
S t a t e Street , Madi son, W i sconsi n 53706. Phone: (608) 2635754. Editors: Susan E. Seari ng, Catheri ne Loeb. Graphics :
Moema Furtado. ISSN 0742-7441.
P d b l i c a t i o n s o f t h e Office o f
t h e UW System Women's Studies L i b r a r i a n are a v a i l a b l e f r e e o f
charge t o Wisconsin residents. The s u b s c r i p t i o n r a t e outside
Wisconsin i s $12/year f o r i n d i v i d u a l s and women's proyrams,
$24/year f o r i n s t i t u t i o n s . This fee covers a1 1 p u b l i c a t i o n s
o f t h e O f f i c e , i n c l u d i n g Feminist Collections, Femi n i s t
P e r i o d i c a l s , New Books on Women (It kemlnism, and
b i b l iographies, d i r e c t o r i e s , and occasional p u b l i c a t i o n s
produced throughout t h e year.
FROm THE EDITORS
Farewells a r e a f a c t o f l i f e i n t h e academic world.
I f we allowed
ourselves t o s i n k i n t o melancholy w i t h each goodbye, o u r days would be f i l l e d
w i t h gloom. So we develop h a r d s h e l l s , as students graduate and move away,
and as c o l leayues s t r i k e out f o r new o p p o r t u n i t i e s a t d i s t a n t i n s t i t u t i o n s .
But now and then, a l e a v e - t a k i n g touches us deeply. We foresee how our
l i v e s w i l l be diminished, a v o i d created, when a s p e c i a l f r i e n d and supporter
i s gone. This summer, t h e O f f i c e of t h e Women's Studies L i b r a r i a n b i d s
f a r e w e l l t o two o f our staunchest advocates and c l o s e s t associates
Karen
M e r r i t t and Nancy Marshal I .
--
4
A . a Senior Academic Planner w i t h t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Wisconsin System's
O f f i c e o f Academic A f f a i rs, Karen nourished t h e growth o f women's s t u d i e s
proyrams around t h e s t a t e f o r more t h a n a decade. Her boundless enthusiasm
f o r f e m i n i s t scholarship, and h e r savvy advice on campus p o l i t i c s , funding
sources, and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r a t e g i e s have been shared w i t h a l a r g e network
o f teachers, researchers, l i b r a r i a n s , and campus a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . Karen leaves
b e h i n d a v i s i b l e leyacy i n t h e several e d i t i o n s she compiled o f Women's
Studies: D i r e c t o r y o f I n s t i t u t i o n Program Admi n i s t r a t o r s , Cont a m n s ,
Committees and Programs; t h e y e a r l y s t a t e w i d e conferences,of women's s t u d i e s
f a c u l t y and students, f o r which Karen always ulayed a major p l a n n i n g r o l e and
e n e r g & i c a l lys o l i c i t e d and screened papa& ; a n d t h e t r a d i t i o n o f day-1 ong
g a t h e r l n y s o f women's .studies di r e c t o r s , which Karen convened annually i n t h e
spacious penthouse conference room o f t h e System admi n i s t r a t i on bui 1d i ng. I n
s o many ways, Karen worked e f f e c t i v e l y t o l e g i t i m a t e women's s t u d i e s as an
i n t e y r a l component o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y ' s s c h o l a r l y mlssion.
Karen a l s o assumed t h e u n o f f i c i a l t a s k o f documenting t h e h i s t o r y o f
women's s t u d i e s i n Wisconsin. I n "A B r a i d o f Associations: Ten Years o f
Women's Studies i n Wisconsin" ( I ) , she recounts t h e u n i t e d s t r u g g l e s o f women
f r o m across t h e s t a t e t o e s t a b l i s h women's s t u d i e s c u r r i c u l a , and t o e n v i s i o n
a l i b r a r i a n - a t - l a r g e f o r women's
and implement an innovative s e r v i c e
s t u d i e s t o serve a l l t h e f a r - f l u n g UW campuses. Since s e c u r i n g t h e i n i t i a l
p i l o t f u n d i n g i n 1977, Karen has s e w e d on t h e Advisory Panel t o t h e O f f i c e o f
t h e Women's Studies L i b r a r i a n . Her i n s i g h t s and suggestions, h e r behind-thescenes l o b b y i ny, and above a1 1 h e r warm f r i e n d s h i p , have proved i n v a l u a b l e .
On J u l y 1, she takes these f i n e f e m i n i s t q u a l i t i e s and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s k i l l s
t o h e r new post as D i r e c t o r o f Planning and Program Review f o r t h e U n i v e r s i t y
o f C a l i f o r n i a system.
--
Nancy Marshal 1 has h e l d several admi n i s t r a t i v e p o s i t i o n s i n t h e UW-Mad ison
l i b r a r i e s , and i n each o f them she worked t i r e l e s s l y on b e h a l f o f women's
s t u d i e s . As head o f Wisconsin I n t e r L i b r a r y Services, a resource-sharing
agency headquartered i n Madison's Memorial L i b r a r y , Nancy provided o f f i c e
space and s t a f f support t o t h e f i r s t Women's Studies L i b r a r i a n , Esther
Stineman.
I n 1979, Nancy became Associate D i r e c t o r f o r P u b l i c Services i n UWMadison's General L i b r a r y System ( t h e c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f &morial L i b r a r y and
numerous speci a1 ized "member" 1ib r a r i es ) , and from May 1983 t o August 1984
served as i t s A c t i n g D i r e c t o r . A t every l e v e l , she was a leader i n s t a t e and
n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y cooperation, and she c o n s i s t e n t l y championed t h e Women's
Studies ~ l b r a ran.
f
L i k e Karen M e r r l t t , Nancy s a t on t h e Advisory Panel from i t s i n c e p t i o n ;
h e r i n p u t was i n v a l u a b l e f o r making p o l i c y and c h a r t i n g new d i r e c t i o n s f o r t h e
o f ffce.
Perhaps most importantly, she smoothed and c l a r l f i e d t h e sometimes
confusf ny r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e Women's Stud1 es L i b r a r i an, who i s
responsible t o a statewide constituency, and t h e s t a f f and users of t h e
Memorj a1 L i b r a r y , whose p r l mary concerns are 1ocal
Tough but good-humored,
h e r managerial s k i 11s honed by f i f t e e n years w i t h t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Wisconsin,
Nancy i s mi n e n t l y s u i t e d t o her new p o s i t i o n as D i r e c t o r of L i b r a r i e s a t t h e
College o f W i l l i a m and Mary.
.
Pleased f o r Karen and Nancy, who are n a t u r a l l y e x c i t e d about t h e new
challenges t h a t await them, y e t sad t o lose such long-time supporters and
friends, we wish them both success and f u l f i l l m e n t . And we warn them: when
t h e snows of January s w i r l i n Wisconsin, and t h e temperature d i p s t o minus
t h i r t y , we might j u s t pop out t o C a l i f o r n i a o r down t o V i r y i n i a . Ostensibly
w e ' l l be seeking warmer weather, but our t r u e o b j e c t i v e d l 1 be t h e boost t o
our morale they've never f a i l e d t o o f f e r .
-- S.S.
4
NOTES
F r o n t i e r s : A Journal o f Women Studies v.8,
no.3 (1986), pp.20-25.
WOmEN'S HISTORY
THR0UG.H RRTIFACTS
Those i n t h e new s o c i a l h i s t o r y o f t e n t r y t o defend
themselves by saying s o c i a l h i s t o r y today i s not t h e o l d
"pots-and-pans" school of s o c i a l h i s t o r y . But pots and pans
have a lot t o say about how o r d i nary people lived t h e i r
l i v e s . What women's h i s t o r y asks i s t h a t you use our
s c h o l a r l y apparatus t o t r y t o conceptualize pots-and-pans
h i s t o r y i n a d i f f e r e n t way. (1)
The study o f a r t i f a c t s can add g r e a t l y t o t h e i n s i g h t s of academic women's
h i s t o r y . With t h e exception of archeologists, who must work from a r t i f a c t s
because i n most cases no w r i t t e n materials accompany them, most people
s t u d y i n g t h e past choose t o approach i t through w r i t t e n records. Working w i t h
objects
t h e study o f m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e
I s c e r t a i n l y more d i f f i c u l t than
working w i t h words alone, but t h e rewards can be w e l l worth t h e e f f o r t .
However, because most h i s t o r i ans have not asked questi ons o f materi a1 c u l t u r e
a r t i f a c t s , many c o l l e c t i o n s have not been used i n t h i s way.
--
--
Many o f t h e d l f f i c u l t i e s o f doing h i s t o r y from a r t i f a c t s became evident
when t h e National Museum o f American H i s t o r y ' s s t a f f was analyzing i t s
c o l l e c t i o n o f p e r i o d rooms i n preparation f o r i t s "After t h e Revoluti on''
exhibit.
Barbara Clark Smith laments.
Yet i f we no longer view p e r i o d rooms and t h e i r f u r n i s h i n g s
e i t h e r as a r t o r as tokens of t h e good t a s t e of e a r l y
Americans, we s t i l l do not f u l l y know how t o understand them
as documents t h a t can t e l l us about h i s t o r y . The museum's
c o l l e d i ons c o n t a i n qui l t s , W i ndsor chairs, carpenters '
t o o l s , p r i n t s and drawings, and many o t h e r s u r v i v a l s from t h e
past. How do we l e a r n from them about t h e thoughts and
experiences o f t h e i r makers and users? How do we d i s c o v e r
t h e r o l e they played i n people's l i v e s ? ( 2 )
Although t h i s book about t h e occupants o f t h e Smithsonian's p e r i o d rooms
wrings every scrap o f evidence from t h e w r i t t e n records, i n many cases t h e gap
S t i 11, t h e a u t h o r does
between t h e il l u s t r a t i o n s and t h e t e x t remains wide.
make i n t e r e s t i n g observations i n h e r p i c t u r e captions about some o f t h e
photographs o f objects. Who today would look a t a c r a d l e and t h i n k o f death?
Yet h i g h i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y i n t h e eighteenth century made motherhood a very
d i f f e r e n t experience from t h a t o f our own time. "As human experience has
changed ," Smith comnents, "people have endowed objects w i t h d i f f e r e n t
(3)
meani ngs
."
1
I n t h e l a s t two decades, f e m i n i s t h i s t o r i a n s have looked a t women's
h i s t o r y w i t h new eyes, and w i t h a new s e t o f questions. Most o f t h i s research
has tapped o n l y a r c h i v a l sources.
I n t h e past few years, however, some books
and a r t i c l e s have begun t o appear t h a t t r e a t household a r t i f a c t s as more t h a n
i l l u s t r a t i o n s t o accompany a t e x t .
Ruth Schwarte Cowbn's More Work f o r Mother
( 4 ) contends t h a t use o f a wood-fired cook s t o v e demanded more time and care
t h a n f i replace cookery, and t h e items cooked requi red more c a r e f u l m o n i t o r i ng,
r e f u t i n y t h e argument t h a t an improvement i n household technology r e s u l t e d i n
a l i g h t e n i n g o f women's work.
Susan Strasser has assembled a personal
c o l l e c t i o n of domestic equipment i n h e r study o f h e r i c a n housework, and i n
Never pone she shows h e r "ubiquitous Dover eggbeater," one o f t h e few
mechanical devices recommended t o housewi ves by both an advice manual and t h e
Sears catalogue. ( 5 ) Harvey Green i n The L i g h t o f t h e Home p i c t u r e s a chamber
p o t f i v e inches i n diameter t o i l l u s t r a t e v i v i d l y t h e e a r l y age a t h i c h
V i c t o r i an c h i l d r e n began t o i l e t t r a i n i ng. ( 6 )
Susan W i 1 liams , Curator o f Househol d Accessori es and Tablewares a t t h e
S t r o n g Museum, proves h e r a b i l i t y t o draw i n t e r e s t i n g i n s i g h t s from h e r
c o l l e c t i o n s i n Savory Suppers and Fashionable Feasts: Dl n i n g i n V i c t o r i a n
America. For example, She c o n t r a s t s books o f e t i q u e t t e d e p l o r i n g t h e use of
t o o t h p i c k s a t t a b l e wdth t h e great p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f e l a b o r a t e t o o t h p i c k
h o l d e r s , o b v i o u s l y meant f o r t a b l e use. ( 7 ) Modern readers o f nineteenthc e n t u r y e t i q u e t t e books would be misled about V i d o r i a n t a b l e manners w i t h o u t
exami n i ng t h e m a t e r i a1 evidence. Kenneth h e s ' a r t i c l e s a r e m d e l s o f t h e
c l o s e study o f a r t i f a c t s ; Ames works from t h e s p e c i f i c o b j e c t s t o l a r g e r
s o c i a l questions t o a r r i v e a t i n s i g h t s i n t o s o c i a l h i s t o r y . ( 8 )
The next s e c t i o n o f t h i s a r t i c l e surveys some o f t h e ways t h a t m a t e r i a l
c u l t u r e c o l l e c t i o n s can be used f o r research i n women's h i s t o r y , drawing i t s
examples from t h e c o l l e c t i o n s o f t h e S t a t e H i s t o r i c a l Society o f Wisconsin
(SHSW)
.
Several c o l l e c t i o n s a t t h e SHSW suggest themselves f o r femi n i s t research.
Considering most researchers ' unfami lia r i t y w i t h t h e use o f a r t i f a c t s , i t may
be easiest t o begin by using l i t e r a r y o r p i c t o r i a l records o f relevant
objects. The Iconographic Collections, f o r example, have many photographs and
o t h e r p i c t o r i a1 sources documenting t h e use of d i f f e r e n t a r t i f a c t s .
In
a d d i t i o n , t h e Museum c o l l e c t i ons c o n t a i n a n e a r l y complete run of Sears,
Roebuck catalogues from 1913 t o t h e present, and other t r a d e catalogues may be
found i n t h e Archives D i v i s i o n .
W i t h i n t h e Museum, a c o l l e c t i o n documenting t h e attempt t o make food
p r e p a r a t i o n e a s i e r features such objects as e a r l y twentieth-century small
k i t c h e n t o o l s ( g r a t e r s , c u t t e r s , eyy beaters), f i r e l e s s cookers (ancestors of
t h e crock p o t ) , and e l e c t r i c a l appliances ( t o a s t e r s , mixers, c o f f e e pots).
Cooking can be t r a c e d from items meant f o r an open hearth t o t h e era o f
e l e c t r i c stoves and appliances. q u a n t i t y preparation i s represented by such
s t u r d y gadgets as cherry p i t t e r s and apple peelers, probably overrepresented
i n mseum c o l i e c t i ons because o f t h e i r d u r a b i l i t y and less-than-dai l y use.
Other areas f o r p o s s i b l e study i n c l u d e food preservation, liy h t i ng, heating,
and washing and i r o n i n g .
4
M i n i a t u r e items r e l a t i n g t o housekeeping are represented i n t h e t o y
c o l l e c t i o n . Toys can a l s o reveal expectations f o r c h i 1dren. Children's
c l o t h i n g , baby carriages, and such items as b o t t l e s a r e l i k e w i s e i n s t r u c t i v e .
One researcher a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Wisconsi n has exami ned i n f a n t feedi ng
equipment i n another museum c o l l e c t i o n t o confirm her hypothesis about t h e
d i f f i c u l t y of cleaning e a r l y baby b o t t l e s .
Items from t h e SHSW c o l l e c t i o n of pharmaceutical m a t e r i a l s and a r t i f a c t s
concerniny health, hygiene, and c h i l d b i r t h nave been displayed i n t h e past t o
accompany p u b l i c programmi ng on womeg ' s bi r t h i ng experiences, and could be
s t u d i e d t o i l l u m i n a t e aspects of these subjects.
--
Home f u r n i s h i n g s
ceramics and glass, ,wooden f u r n i t u r e , and t e x t i l e
materials
a r e p l e n t i f u l i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n s . C o l l e c t i n g p o l i c i e s center
around items made or used i n Wisconsin, o r known t o be s i m i l a r t o those t h a t
were. Thus we have a l a r g e c o l l e c t i o n o f English-made ceramics, which
undersold American wares o f comparable q u a l i t y . But we a l s o have handdecorated ceramics, notably those o f Wisconsin professional p o t t e r s Pauline
Jacobus and Susan Frackelton, both of whom worked a t t h e t u r n of t h e century.
F r a c k e l t o n ' s work was e x h i b i t e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y ; Jacobus' was s o l d through
T i f f a n y ' s and Marshall F i e l d ' s stores. From more modern times, we have a
sampling o f t h e works o f t h e Ceramic Arts Studio, a Madison f i r m i n business
i n t h e 1940s and 1950s t h a t employed many women t o produce ceramics f o r a
market newly vacated by Japanese and German manufacturers.
--
Recent Museum research and a 1981-82 e x h i b i t have focused on Wisconsinmanufactured f u r n i t u r e , an i n d u s t r y t h a t has employed women and d i r e c t e d i t s
a d v e r t i s i n g t o them. I n a d d i t i o n t o a few labeled pieces o f Misconsin
f u r n i t u r e i n our c o l l e c t i o n , kseum f i l e s c o n t a i n xeroxes o f t r a d e catalogues,
informati on on Wisconsin f u r n i t u r e f a c t o r i e s , and documentation on a d d i t i o n a l
Wisconsi n f u r n i t u r e not h e l d i n our c o l l e c t ions.
Handmade a r t i c l e s a r e l i k e w i s e we1 1-represented i n SHSW c o l l e c t i o n s ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e area o f t e x t i l e s .
I n a d d i t i o n t o a c t u a l examples of
weaving, q u i l t i n g , d e c o r a t i v e needlework, and costume, t h e r e i s a good
s e l e c t i o n o f items used i n t e x t i l e p r e p a r a t i o n : s p i n n i n g wheels, looms, l a c e
bobbi ns, thimbles, needlecases, pincushions, and o t h e r apparatus. The qui lt
c o l l e c t i o n i s p a r t i c u l a r l y r i c h . Needlework and l a d i e s ' fancy work were
i m p o r t a n t products of women's l e i s u r e time.
Women's c l o t h i n g from t h e 1830s through t h e 1970s i s w e l l represented i n
t h e c o l l e c t i o n , especi a1 l y f o r t h e l a s t seven decades o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h
century. "Patterns of H i s t o r y ," a SHSW-developed s e r i e s o f paper p a t t e r n s f o r
maki ny a c c u r a t e l y c o n s t r u c t e d r e p r o d u c t i o n costume, incorporates p e r i o d notes
on t h e choice of f a b r i c , accessories, and h a i r s t y l e s . Used a t SHSW h i s t o r i c
s i t e s and o t h e r places where costumed guides i n t e r p r e t h i s t o r y t o t h e p u b l i c ,
t h e p a t t e r n s and notes a r e i m p o r t a n t outgrowths o f research i n women's h i s t o r y
u s i ng one aspect of our c o l l e c t i o n .
E i g h t dress p a t t e r n s d a t i n g from 1835 t o
1896, and a man's sack s u i t p a t t e r n , a r e a v a i l a b l e f o r sale. Women's
undergarments and accessories, and men's and c h i l d r e n ' s c l o t h i ng a r e a l s o
i n c l u d e d i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f costume. A recent c l a s s p r o j e c t f o r a
U n i v e r s i t y of Wisconsin m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e seminar exami ned t h r e e dresses of
working-class women from t h e 1840s. The dresses d i f f e r e d i n m a t e r i a l s and
workmanship, and one had been adapted f o r m a t e r n i t y wear, but a l l showed
p a i n s t a k i n y attempts t o copy recent s t y l e s as seen i n p u b l i c a t i o n s such as
Godey's Lady ' s Book. The SHSW Curator o f Costume and T e x t i l e s , Joan Severa,
h a s j u s t been awarded an NEH g r a n t t o do a p u b l i c a t i o n on American workingc l a s s costume, 1840-1903, and our c o l l e c t i o n s wi 11 be drawn upon h e a v i l y f o r
t h i s project.
Many women labored anonymously t o c l o t h e t h e i r f a m i l i e s o r t o c r e a t e items
o f d e c o r a t i o n f o r t h e i r homes. A few Wisconsin women, however, were
n a t i o n a l l y o r even i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y known a r t i s t s . The works o f s c u l p t o r s
Helen Farnsworth Mears, Jean Miner, and V i n n i e Ream Hoxie, and t h e t o o l s used
b y Hoxie, a r e represented i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n s .
Research on women's p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i s m cbul d draw on our c o l l e c t i o n of
p o l i t i c a l buttons and banners. Women's s u f f r a g e i s an i s s u e t h a t i s
p a r t i c u l a r l y we1 1 represented; t h e museum's holdings i n t n i s area complement
f o r example, Iconography and
t h o s e i n o t h e r c o l l e c t i o n s o f t h e Society
Archives.
--
Women's employment o p p o r t u n i t i e s i n t h e past
women produced goods i n t h e home f o r sale. SHSW
The
making h a i r j e w e l r y and a r t i f i c i a l flowers.
o f f i c e workforce might be i l l u m i nated by a study
o f typewriters.
were severely l i m i t e d . Some
col lections include t o o l s for
e n t r y o f women i n t o t h e
o f our e x c e l l e n t c o l l e c t i o n
B e f o r e t h e p e r i o d o f w h i t e settlement i n t h e e a r l y nineteenth century,
Wisconsin women were I n d i a n women. American I n d i a n women produced most o f t h e
i t e m s used by t h e i r fami l i e s , and a l s o made many items t o exchange f o r t r a d e
goods, and somewhat l a t e r , f o r s a l e t o t o u r i s t s . As students o f I n d i a n
c u l t u r e know, t h e r e were very c l e a r d i v i s i o n s between men's and women's
p r o d u c t i v e r o l e s . C l o t h i n g and c o n t a i n e r s were always made by women.
However, items made only by men (wooden bowls and pipes, f o r i n s t a n c e ) were
o f t e n used by women. SHSW c o l l e c t i o n s a r e s t r o n g i n Wisconsin I n d i a n
m a t e r i a l s from p r e h i s t o r i c times t o t h e present.
,
Many objects from t h e SHSW museum c o l l e c t i o n s are on dl splay a t h i s t o r i c
s i t e s around t h e s t a t e , h e r e they can be seen and s t u d i ed i n context by t h e
p u b l i c . I n Madison, t h e f i nt phase o f a new museum f a c i l i t y on C a p i t o l
Square has recent 1y opened. The two f l o o r s cont a1 n an exhi b i t on W i sconsi n
I n d i ans, a temporary exhi b i t yal l e r y , and an o r i e n t a t i o n theater. The
Wisconsin I n d i a n e x h i b i t shows t h e d a i l y work of I n d i a n women and a l s o
presents t h e r o l e o f I n d i a n women i n t h e f u r trade. Plans f o r t h e second
phase i n c l u d e several themes i n Wisconsin h i s t o r y from 1816 t o t h e present.
Museum s t a f f hope t o i n c o r p o r a t e recent research on women's h i s t o r y In
planning i n t e r p r e t i v e gal l e r i e s on Wisconsin h i s t o r y . Regular docent-led
school t o u r s i n t r o d u c e c h i l d r e n t o h i s t o r i c a r t i f a c t s . I n a d d i t i o n t o
exhi b i t s , t h e museum r e g u l a r l y sponsors p u b l i c programming f o r Women's H i s t o r y
Week and other programs throughout t h e year t h a t i1lumi nate t h e h i s t o r y of
women.
'
Storaye f o r t h e permanent c o l l e c t i o n other than items on d i s p l a y w i l l
remain i n t h e headquarters b u i l d i n g a t 816 S t a t e Street.
I n contrast t o t h e
SHSW l i b r a r y , t h e k s e u m o f f i c e s are not s e t up t o handle l a r g e volumes o f
patrons. Researchers are encouraged t o make appointments w i t h a c u r a t o r
b e f o r e coming in. They should w r i t e t o t h e SHSW kseum, o r c a l l (608) 2627 700.
-- Anne Woodhouse
[Anne Woodhouse i s Curator o f Decorative A r t s a t t h e S t a t e H i s t o r i c a l Society
o f Wisconsin.
She was t r a i n e d as a h i s t o r i a n f i r s t ( d o c t o r a t e i n European
C u l t u r a l H i s t o r y from Stanford), and t h e n learned t o examine objects as
evidence i n t h e Wlnterthur kseum MA program i n E a r l y American Culture. She
i s c u r r e n t l y especi a1 l y interested i n t r y 1 ng t o Incorporate recent research i n
women's h i s t o r y i n t o museum exhi b i t s . This a r t i c l e was o r i g i n a l l y w r i t t e n f o r
t h e f i f t h e d i t i o n o f Women's H i s t o r y Resources ,a$ t h e State H i s t o r i c a l Society
o f W i sconsi n (forthcoming)
.]
NOTES
E l Irabeth Pleck, "More Than Pots and Pans : The New Women's Hi s t o r y Reexamines D a i l y L i f e , " H i s t o r y News v.37, 1-10.4 ( A p r i l 1982), p.39.
Barbara Clark Smith, A f t e r t h e Revolution: The Smithsonian H i s t o r y o f
Everyday L i f e i n t h e Eighteenth Century (New York: Pantheon, l985), pp.xix.
Smith, p.xix.
Susan Strasser, Never Done: A H i s t o r y o f American Housework (New York:
Pantheon, 1982), p.45.
6
Harvey Green, The L i g h t o f t h e Home: An I n t i m a t e View o f t h e Lives o f
Women i n V i c t o r i a n America (New York: Pantheon, 19831, p.4b.
'
Susan W i 1liams, Savory Suppers 8 Fashionable Feasts: D i n i n g i n V i c t o r i a n
America (New York: Pantheon, l r a s ) , pp.13-14.
See e s p e c i a l l y "Meaniny i n A r t i f a c t s : Hal 1 Furnishings i n V i c t o r i a n
America," Journal o f I n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y H i s t o r y v.9, no.1 (Summer 1978), pp.1946; and " M a t e r i a l C u l t u r e as Nonverbal Communication: A H i s t o r i c a l CaseStudy ," Journal of American C u l t u r e v.3, n0.4 (Wi n t e r 1980), pp.619-641.
ADOITIONAL RESOURCES
The f i e l d o f m a t e r i a l c u l t u r e i s c u r r e n t l y p r o l i f e r a t i n g . Those seeking t o
f o r m u l a t e ideas . f o r research may want t o s t a r t w i t h t h o s e works c i t e d i n t h e
notes and a l s o t h e f o l lowi ng anthologies:
E d i t h Mayo, American M a t e r i a l C u l t u r e : The Shape o f Things Around Us (Bowling
Green, Ohio: Bowling Green ,State U n i v e r s i t y Popular Press, 1984).
Thomas J. k h l e r e t h , A r t i f a c t s and t h e American Past ( N a s h v i l l e : American
A s s o c i a t i o n f o r S t a t e and Local H i s t o r y , 1980).
Thomas J. Schlereth, M a t e r i a l C u l t u r e Studies i n America ( N a s h v i l l e : American
Associ a t i on f o r S t a t e and Local. H i s t o r y , 1982).
On October 31, 1985, a novel e n t i t l e d The Bone People won B r i t a i n ' s
p r e s t i g i o u s Booker Award f o r f i c t i o n . The award came as a s u r p r i s e t o j u s t
about everybody, i n c l u d i n g t h e New Zealand author, K e r i Hulme. No New Zealand
w r i t e r had ever made t h e Booker s h o r t l i s t . What makes t h e award e x c i t i n g from
a f e m i n i s t viewpoint I s t h a t t h e a u t h o r i s a woman, a Maori ( I ) , and a t t h e
aye o f t h i r t y - e i g h t , a f i r s t - t i m e n o v e l i s t . ( 2 )
The Bone People ( L o u i s i a n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1985), a l o n g prosepoem about Maori myths and c u l t u r a l d i s r u p t i o n , took t h e a u t h o r t w e l v e years
t o compose. It was repeatedly r e j e c t e d by both New Zealand and B r i t i s h
p u b l i s h e r s because "it was t o o large, t o o unwieldy, t o o d i f f e r e n t .
(3)
Taken up by t h e S p i r a l C o l l e c t i v e , a New Zealand f e m i n i s t p u b l i s h i n g group, i t
won both t h e New Zealand Book Award and t h e Pegasus P r i z e f o r Maori f i c t i o n i n
1984. With t h e Booker Award came i n t e r n a t i o n a l acclaim f o r Hulme; i n i t s
wake, t h e r e may be a new-found i n t e r e s t i n o t h e r New Zealand w r i t e r s as w e l l .
..."
I n t h i s a r t i c l e , I w i l l survey some New Zealand f e m i n i s t w r i t e r s o f t h e '
past decade, women whose w r i t i n g s o f f e r considerable i n s i yht i n t o t h e lives
and h i s t o r y of t h e i r country's d i v e r s e women. ( 4 )
*
*
*
Janet Frame i s one o f t h e few New Zealand w r i t e r s whose works are f a m i l i a r
t o readers i n t h e United States and other countries. She published her f i r s t
novel, b l s Do Cry, i n 1957; h e r subsequent w r i t i n g s i n c l u d e nine novels, f o u r
books 03 sketches and s t o r i e s , and a book of poetry. I n h e r novel L i v i ng i n
t h e Maniototo (The Women's Press, 1981), which won t h e New Zealand Book Award
i n 1980, t h e author uses h e r heroine's v i v i d l y described journey from New
Zealand t o C a l i f o r n i a t o I t a l y as a metaphor f o r t h e c r e a t i v e process o f
w r i t i n g f i c t i o n . Janet Frame has a l s o published t h r e e volumes o f
autobiography: To t h e I s - l a n d (George Brazi 1 l e r , 1982),
e l a t My Table
(George Brazi 1 l e r , 1984). and The Envoy from M i r r o r City
e Women's Press,
1985; George B r a z i l l e r , 1986).
5
P a t r i c i a Grace's c o l l e c t i o n o f s h o r t s t o r i e s e n t i t l e d Wai a r i k i was, when
published by Longman Paul i n 1975, t h e first such volume by a Maori woman.
Her hope i s ''that these s t o r i e s show aspects o f a way of l i f e t h a t i s
e s s e n t i a l l y Maori, and thus give some i n s i g h t s i n t o what i t i s t o be a Maori."
( 5 ) Her l y r i c a l and powerful novel Mutuwhenua ("The Moon Sleeps") (Longman
Paul, 1978) explores t h e developing r e l a t i o n s h i p between a Maori woman and a
Pakeha ( w h i t e ) man, t h e values o f t h e i r d i f f e r e n t cultures, and t h e c o n f l i c t s
t h a t e x i s t between them. Grace furnishes a glossary o f Maori terms and t h e i r
E n g l i s h equivalents a t t h e close o f each o f her works.
An important theme i n t h i s emerying country centers on t h e question o f
which i s r e a l l y "home," New Zealand o r t h e United Kingdom. A foremother of
contemporary femi n i s t w r i t e r s , Hobi n Hyde (1906-1939) explored t h e issue o f
e x p a t r i a t i o n i n her novel The Godwi t s f l y (Auckland U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1980).
Hyde was p a r t o f a t r a n s i t i o n a l generation o f w r i t e r s , and t h i s personal novel
f a i t h f u l l y recreates t h e place and t i m e - t h a t were hers. I n i t s f i r s t
r e p r i n t e d e d i t i o n since i t was o r i g i n a l l y published i n 1938, The Godwits Fly
was chosen t o launch t h e New Zealand F i c t i o n series.
The e x p a t r i a t e poet Fleur Adcock, now based i n London, d e f t l y touches on
s i m i l a r themes i n one o f h e r recent books o f poetry, Inner Harbour (Oxford
U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1979). Her somewhat detached and i r o n i c voice t r a c k s t h e
decisions made concerning a woman's life:
To M a r i l y n From London
...
Somehow y o u ' r e s t i 11 there, I ' m here; and now
Sarah a r r i v e s : baby-faced l i k e you then,
second of your four blonde Christmas-tree f a i r i e s ,
nineteen; competent ; w i t h her one suitcase
It beyi ns again.
and h e r two passports.
.
Poet Meg Campbell states: "...I
t r y . ..to r e c o n c i l e t h e shared world and
t h e world o f my imaginings.
I work towards maki ny myself understood by o t h e r
women o f my aye and experience above a1 1 ....I1
( 6 ) Campbell has published a
volume of v i b r a n t poems e n t i t l e d A Uurable F i r e based on everyday occurrences
conjoined w i t h i n n e r longings (Te Kotare Press, 1982). I n one poem, she
w r i t e s o f h e r countrywomen:
She i s t h e K i w i , t h e Dodo b i r d
o f t h e South Seas, weak-eyed,
w i t h heavy legs and arse
and beak t h a t doubles as a weapon
pecking sharpens h e r mind.
...
I n t h e bedroom at night,
-
she sports
t h e c u r l ous remnant
t i n y w i ngs
o f her long-lost f l i g h t .
-
4
Rachel McAlpine i s a f e m i n i s t poet whose considerable body o f work c h a r t s
a process o f growth w-lth honesty and wlt. The cumulative e f f e c t o f h e r poems
i s one o f both documentation and celebration.
She has published t h r e e books
of poems i n t h e l a s t decade: Fanc Qress (Cicada Press, 1979), House Poems
( N u t s h e l l Poems, l i m i t e d edi <*and
n g t n p e l (rial linson Rendel,
1985). The w i t o f McAlpine i s evidenced i n
e poem rom ,Fancy Qress e n t i t l e d
"Makl ny Faces," where she quips: " t h e wrinkles w r i t t e n / w i t h good cause are
known/as flaws so I a n o i n t my pores ( t h i s / i s one o f t h e laws)."
+RRcordi
The primary n o n f i c t i o n t e x t f o r e x p l o r i n g t h e r o l e o f women i n New Zealand
remains Women in New Zeal and Society (A1 l e n and Unwi n, 1980) , e d i t e d by
Phi 1 l i d a Bunkle, Coordinator o f t h e Women's Studies Programme a t V i c t o r i a
U n i v e r s i t y o f Wellington, and Beryl Hughes, Professor o f History. The
c o n t r i b u t o r s t o t h e c o l l e c t i o n i n t e r p r e t "...the
p o s i t i o n o f women i n t h i s
c o u n t r y from a consideration o f e x i s t i y s t u d i e s and from primary research
material
(7) There are eleven essays on a wide range o f t o p i c s , i n c l u d i n g
women's h i s t o r y , women i n p o l i t i c s , the-workforce, and t h e professions.
."
J u d i t h Aitken's A Women's Place?: A stud; o f t h e Changing Role o f Women i n
New Zealand (Hei nemann, 1980) i s a useful companion piece t o t h e above f o r i t s
i n c i s i v e analysis and comments. F i r s t published i n 1975, i t i s now a v a i l a b l e
i n a new e d i t i o n .
A r e c e n t l y published book e n t i t l e d Up From Under: Women and L i b e r a t i o n i n
New Zealand, 1970-1985, by C h r i s t i n e Qann ( A 1 l e n and Unwin/Port Nicolson
Press, 1985), gives an account o f t h e f i r s t f i f t e e n years o f t h e "second wave"
o f feminism i n New Zealand, Using t h e n a r r a t i v e form, t h e author provides a
chronology o f s i gni f i c a n t events year by year, and a l s o looks a t e i g h t themes
( p o l i t i c s , f e r t i l i t y , work, health, education, soul and skin, c r e a t i v i t y , and
violence).
Broadsheet, New Zealand's foremost f e m i n i s t p e r i o d i c a l , i s now i n i t s
f i f t e e n t h year o f p u b l i c a t i o n and continues t o t h r i v e . Produced by an
e d i t o r i a l c o l l e c t i v e , i t s contents i n c l u d e feature a r t i c l e s , f i c t i o n , reviews,
and l i s t i n g s o f events and workshops throughout t h e country. ( 8 )
Katherine Mansfield, arguably New Zealand's best-known w r i t e r , once wrote
t o h e r f r i e n d and f e l l o w w r i t e r , V i r g i n i a Woolf:
We have got t h e same job, V i r g i n i a , and i t i s r e a l l y very
c u r i o u s and t h r i l l i n g t h a t we should both, q u i t e apart from
each other, be a f t e r nearly t h e same thing....
(9)
Nearly seventy years l a t e r , a s i m i l a r comparison could be made between t h e
aims o f New Zealand f e m i n i s t s and those o f the1 r s i s t e r s i n other lands. Many
commonalities exi st. Yet New Zeal and femi n i s t w r i t i n g s also r e f l e c t t h e
d i s t i nctiveness o f t n e country's c u l t u r e , meldi ng i t s very d i f f e r e n t European
and Maori t r a d i t i o n s . Rich and v a r i e d i n tone and content, t h e w r i t i n g s o f
New Zealand f e m i n i s t s are a t r u e f i n d f o r readers i n t h e United States and
elsewhere.
-- Kate Reed
[Kate Reed i s a free-lance e d i t o r c u r r e n t l y working on p r o j e c t s a t t h e School
o f A r c h i t e c t u r e and Urban Planning, U n i v e r s i t y o f W i sconsi n-MI lwaukee. She
earned h e r BA i n E n g l i s h L i t e r a t u r e , w i t h minors i n Women's Studies and L a t i n ,
from V i c t o r i a U n i v e r s i t y o f Wellington, New Zealand, and i s a graduate student
a t t h e School o f L i b r a r y and I n f o r m a t i o n Science, U n i v e r s i t y o f WisconsinM i lwaukee. Ms. Reed returned t o t h e Unl t e d States a f t e r liv i ng and work1 ng
abroad i n England and New Zeal and from 1973 t o 1983.1
NOTES
The Maori, a Polynesian race, a r e t h e indigenous people o f New Zealand.
~il
(Auckl and:
1982), and
University
m ehas a l s o pub1i shed The Sf iences Between:. (Moeraki Conversations )
Auckland U n i v e r s i t y Press; We1 lington: Oxford U n i v e r s i t y Press,
a c o l l e c t i o n o f short s t o r i e s , Te Kaihau/The Wind Eater ( V i c t o r i a
Press, 1986).
"Novel That No-One Wanted Wins Booker Prize," Manchester Guardian
Week1y (November 10, 1985), p.21.
Many o f t h e t i t 1 es reviewed i n t h i s a r t i c l e may be ordered from The
Women's Place, a f e m i n i s t bookstore i n Wellington, N.Z.; see address l i s t
be1 ow.
.
P a t r i c i a Grace, Waiariki (Auckland: Longman Paul Ltd.,
j a c k e t notes
1975), book
Meg Campbell, A Durable Fi r e (New Zeal and: Te Kotare Press,, )%
?I
in t roduct ion.
Phi 1 l i d a Bunkle and Beryl Hughes, Women i n New Zealand Society
(Auckland and London: George A1 l e n Unwin, 1980), p.10.
A d d i t i o n a l w r i t i n g s on f e m i n i s t issues may be l o c a t e d through t h e l i s t
o f h o l d i n g s a t t h e Women s Studies A s s o c i a t i o n o f New Zealand; see address
l i s t below.
Anthony Alpers, The L i f e o f K a t h e r i n e M a n s f i e l d (New York: V i k i n g
Press, 1980) , p.251.
ADDRESSES
Broadsheet, P.O.
Box 68-026,
Newton, Auckland, New Zeal and.
The Women's Place, 289 Cuba S t
., P.O.
Women's Studies Association, P.O.
Box 19086, We1 lington, New Zealand.
Box 5067, Auckl and, New Zeal and.
EDITORS' NOTE
,
L i z E l l s w o r t h , who r e g u l a r l y c o n t r i b u t e s t o our "Feminist V i s i o n s " s e r i e s on
f e m i n i s t nonpri n t media, i s t a k i n a we1 1-deserved vacation. She w i 11 be back
w i t h h e r next i n s t a l l m e n t i n t h e a1 1 1986 i s s u e o f FC.
!
-
N E U REFERENCE UOAHS IN
UOfnEN'S STUDIES
Brenda F. Berrian, B i b l i o g r a p h y o f A f r i c a n Women W r i t e r s and J o u r n a l i s t s :
pt:1984.
Washi nyton: Three -Continents Press, 1985. 279p. index.
N 0-89410-226-5; pap., $14.00, ISBN 0-89410-227-3.
LC 84-52276.
Pamela R. Byrne and Suzanne R. ~ n t i v e r o s , Woven i n t h e f h i r d World: A
Hi s t o r i c a l B i b l i o g r a p h y . Santa Barbara: A B C - ~0,
l l 1986. 152p. index.
436-459-0.
LC 85-19968.
Anne Carson, Ferni n i s t Spi r i t u a l i t y and t h e Feminine Di v i ne: An Annotated
B ib l i o ra h
Trumansburg, NY: Crossing Press, 1986. 139p. index. $2'5.00,
-200-3.
LC 86-4192.
d.
Francesco Cordasco, The Immigrant Woman i n North America: An Annotated
B i b l i o g r a p h y o f S e l e h e d References. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1985.
231p. index. $20.00, ISBN 0-8108-1824-8.
LC 85-11746.
Margot Duley and Mary I. Edwards, eds. The Cross-Cultural Study o f Women: A
Comprehensive Guide. New York: F m i n i s t Press, 1986. 389p. $29 95 , I
a335312-45-5; pap., $10.95, ISBN 0-935312-02-1.
LC 83-14209.
.
Eugene A. Engeldinger, Spouse Abuse: An Annotated B i b l i o g r a p h y o f Violence
Between Mates. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1986. 317p. index. $27 .SO,
0-8108-1838-8.
LC 85-14546.
Peggy D. Glover, L i b r a r y Services f o r t h e Woman i n t h e Middle. Hamden, CT:
L i b r a r y Professional Pub licat1 ons, 1985. Z08p. index. 62Z.50, ISBN 0-20802070-5; pap., $16.50, ISBN 0-208-02073-X.
LC 85-15911.
C a r o l i n e L. Herzenberg, Women S c i e n t i s t s from A n t i q u i t y t o t h e Present: An
Index. West Cornwall, C f : ocust 1
XO-933951-01-9,
LC 85-23985.
1
,
Sandra Heys, Contemporary Stage Roles f o r Women: A U e s c r i p t i v e Catalog.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985. 195p. b i b l . index. $35.00, ISBN 0313-24473-1.
LC 84-19218.
Mary Drake McFeely , ed., The Women's Annual, Number 5: 1984-1985.
Hal 1, 1985. 184p. 835.00, ISBN 0 81b1 8711- I ; pap., $14.95,
8161-8741-X.
LC 82-641994.
G.K.
- -
Boston:
ISBN O-
Margaret C o l l i n s Weitz, Femmes : Recent Writings on French Wornen. Boston: G.K.
Hal 1, 1985. 245p. index. $39.95, ISBN 0 8161 8475 5. LC 84-25246.
- - -
Women W r i t e r s i n McFarlin Special Collections, F i r s t Series,
U n i v e r s i t y o t Tulsa, 1985. 127p. pap., $3.00.
Tulsa:
d
Bi b l iographies are prominent among t h i s season's reference books. Welcane
new guides o f f e r b i b l i o g r a p h i c access t o popular research topics, i n c l u d i n g
Thi r d World women, spouse abuse, women i n science, and f e m i n i s t spi r i t u a l i t y .
I n Women i n t h e T h i r d World, e d i t o r s Pamela R. Byrne and Suzanne R.
Onti veros cover s i x hundred a r t i c l e s published i n j o u r n a l s and anthologies
General, A f r i c a ,
between 1970 and 1985. They gr6up t h e abstracts by region
M i d d l e East, Asia, t h e P a c i f i c Region, and L a t i n America and t h e West I n d i e s
and f u r n i s h an exceptional l y useful subject index, usi ng ABC-Cli 0 ' s unique
SPIndex system, Most o f t h e c i t e d a r t i c l e s are i n English, though a few a r e
i n o t h e r Western languages; a l l abstracts are i n English. B i l l e d as "a
h i s t o r i c a l bibliography," t h e volume nevertheless l i s t s many contemporary
s t u d i e s and reports o f recent f i e l d research, maki ng i t an excel l e n t s t a r t i n g
p o i n t f o r l i t e r a t u r e searches on women i n developing countries. But because
i t i s l i m i t e d t o a r t i c l e s , Women i n t h e T h i r d World does not p o i n t t o t h e
mushroomi ng body of United Nations documents, government pub lications , and
r e p o r t s from nongovernmental i n t e r n a t i o n a l agencies and women's organizations.
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Brenda F. B e r r i a n ' s Bibliography o f A f r i c a n Women Writers and J o u r n a l i s t s :
Ancient Egypt-1984 w i l l a l s o i n t e r e s t observers o f t h e T h i r d World. Covering
biography, f i c t i o n , c h i l d r e n ' s l i t e r a t u r e , poetry, f o l k l o r e , j o u r n a l i s t i c
essays, c r i t i c i s m , and o t h e r prose forms, B e r r i a n t r e a t s 460 authors. With
very few exceptions, she c i t e s twentieth-century publications. M a t e r i a l s i n
E n y l i sh, French, and Portuguese f a r outnumber those i n A f r i c a n vernacular
tongues. W r i t e r s are l i s t e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y under genres, t h e i r works noted
w i t h o u t annotation. While many o f t h e items may be d i f f i c u l t t o access
A f r i c a n p e r i odi c a l s and newspapers, small press books
a g r a t i f y i ng number
a r e pub1 ished by fami l i a r U .S. and Commonwealth presses. Appendices group t h e
authors by country, and id e n t i fy non-Af r i can women w r i t e r s married t o African
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men o r p u b l i s h e d by A f r i c a n Dresses. Althoush t hle volume's t y p e s c r i p t format
i s unappealing, t h j s i s an important step forward i n A f r i c a n women's studies.
Long awaited, The Cross-Cultural Study o f Women: A Comprehensive Guide
c o n t i n u e s t h e Feminist Press' t r a d i t i o n o f o r o v i d i nu research aids f o r
t e a c h e r s and students. E d i t o r s Margot ~ u l e yand ~ a Ib. Edwards d i v i d e t h e
h e f t y volume i n t o two p a r t s , one t r e a t i n g t h e o r e t i c a l perspectives, t h e o t h e r
focused on area studies. The essays i n t h e f i r s t p a r t
"Biology Versus
Culture," "Male Dominance: Myth o r Reality?," "Women, Colonialism, and
Development," "Toward a Theory o f Gender S t r a t i f i c a t i o n , " and "Women and
Religion"
e x p l o r e key concepts i n c r o s s - c u l t u r a l femi n i s t scholarship. The
~ 0 n t rbiu t o r s summarize t h e c e n t r a l arguments, recommend readi ngs f o r
in s t r u c t o r s and students, and propose s t i m u l a t i n g l e c t u r e t o p i c s and
d i scussion questions. The rernai n i ng chapters address women's lives i n nonWestern c u l t u r e s
i n I n d i a , China, Oceania, Sub-Saharan A f r i c a , L a t i n
America, and t h e I s l a m i c M i d d l e East and N o r t h A f r i c a . Some o f t h e surveys i n
t h i s p a r t resemble t h e precedi ng t h e o r e t i c a l overviews i n t h e i r segmented
o r g a n i z a t i o n ; o t h e r s adopt t h e more fami l i a r s t y l e o f t h e b i b l i o g r a p h i c essay.
It i s r e g r e t t a b l e t h a t t h e volume lacks an index; w i t h t h e d i f f e r e n t l o g i c a l
s t r a t e g i e s and t o p i c a l headi ngs ernpl oyed w i t h i n chapters, t h e work c r i e s out
f o r a d d i t i o n a l access p o i n t s by s u b j e c t , author, and t i t l e t o t h e r i c h content
and b i b l i o g r a p h i c data. Nonetheless, The Cross-Cultural Study o f Women wi 11
c e r t a i n l y prove u s e f u l i n course design, b o t h i n women's s t u d i e s and i n t h e
"mai n s t ream'' anthropology and area s t u d i es curriculum.
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A
As women's s t u d i e s ' focus grows i n c r e a s i n g l y i n t e r n a t i o n a l , U.S. s c h o l a r s
f e e l a yrowing need f o r b i b l i o g r a p h i e s o f . f o r e i g n works designed f o r t h e
Enylish-speakiny researcher. Marga'ret C o l l i n s Weitz h e l p s f i l l t h e gap w i t h
~emmes: Kecent ~ tr i nys
i
on ~rench-women. Drawn from lis t i ngs or1 g i nal l y
p u b l i s h e d i n t h e j o u r n a l Contemporary trench C i v i l i z a t i o n , t h e 310 Frenchlanguage
- - books annotated b y Weitz a l l were p u b l i s h e d between 1970 and 1979, a
decade Weitz describes as c r i t i c a l f o r - t h e reemergence o f femi nism i n France.
Weitz c i t e s another 595 books from t h e p e r i o d 1830-1969 i n a second,
unannotated l i s t . F o l l o w i n g a t h i rty-page h i s t o r i c a l essay, t h e annotated
e n t r i e s a r e grouped i n s u b j e c t c a t e g o r i es, c o v e r i ng women i n French h i s t o r y
( i n c l u d i n g b i o g r a p h i c a l m a t e r i a l s ) ; French views on American women; "French
femi nisms" ( i n c l u d i n g b o t h t h e o r e t i c a l and popular w r i t i n g s ) ; sexual p o l i t i c s
( c o v e r i ng s e x u a l i t y , reproduction, p r o s t i t u t i o n , and rape) ; women i n French
s o c i e t y ( t r e a t i n g t h e fami l y , education, sex r o l e s , and r e l i g i o n ) ; p o l i t i c s ,
law, and crime; women and work. Weitz provides s u b j e c t , author, a i ~ dt i t l e
By e x c l u d i ng t r a n s l a t e d t i t l e s , Wei t z creates a conci se and focused
indexes
source f o r t h e s p e c i a l i s t a1 ready versed i n t h e better-known works o f de
Beauvoi r and others. Her lengthy annotations and i n f o r m a t i v e chapter
i n t r o d u c t i o n s , a l l i n English, a l s o make t h i s a beckoning gateway t o t h e
French experience f o r t h e English-speaker.
.
S c h o l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n women abroad may be p i c k i n g up, b u t Francesco
Cordasco s t i l l f a u l t s f e m i n i s t s f o r o v e r l o o k i n g t h e experiences o f immigrant
women h e r e a t home. H i s new reference t o o l , The Immigrant Woman i n North
America: An Annotated B i b l i oyraphy o f Selected References, should s t i m u l a t e
new research i n t h i s area. Nearly two thousand E n g l i sh-language books,
a r t i c l e s , d i s s e r t a t i o n s , research r e p o r t s , government p u b l i c a t i o n s , and
1 ib r a r y and museum c o l l e c t i o n s are described. Cordasco ranks as a l e a d i n g
a u t h o r i t y on t h e e t h n i c American experience, and h i s annotations f o r some
t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f t h e e n t r i e s ( r a n g i n g from a sentence o r two t o h a l f a page)
a r e e x c e p t i o n a l l y i1 lumi n a t i ng. He f r e q u e n t l y i d e n t i f i e s t e l l i n g accounts of
immigrant women's experiences i n m a t e r i a l s devoted n e i t h e r t o women nor t o
immigrants
m a t e r i a l s a l e s s knowledgeable researcher would doubtless
overlook.
E n t r i e s appear under s i x c a t e g o r i e s : b i b l i o g r a p h y and general
reference; autobiographies, biographies, and remi n i scences ; t h e workplace and
p o l i t i c a l encounters; immigrant women and p r o g r e s s i v e reforms; t h e family,
immigrant c h i l d and educational i n f l u e n c e s ; m i s c e l lanea. The s u b j e c t index
p e r m i t s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f m a t e r i a l s about s p e c i f i c e t h n i c and n a t i o n a l groups.
Deliberately selective
especi a1 l y i n h i s references t o f i c t i o n and be1 l e s
1e t t r e s (which he r i g h t l y suggests deserve a separate f u l 1-length t r e a m ,
-writings
by and about Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans (which he
be1 i e v e s a r e adequately covered i n o t h e r b i b l i oyraphic resources)
Cordasco
p r o v i d e s a f i n e i n t r o d u c t i o n t o s c h o l a r s h i p on immigrant women.
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1
Topics of c u r r e n t i n t e r e s t t o f e m i n i s t a c t i v i s t s as w e l l as academics
r e c e i ve b i b l i ographi c t reatment in several o t h e r new sources. Eugene A.
E n g e l d l n g e r undertakes a comprehensive survey of w r i t i n g s on m a r i t a l v i o l e n c e
in Spouse Abuse: An Annotated B i b l i o g r a p h y o f Violence Between Mates.
Engeldinger,alibrarianatUW-EauClaire,cites1,783books,articles,
t h e s e s , conference papers, and p o l i c y r e p o r t s , p r o v i d i ng s h o r t d e s c r i p t i v e
a n n o t a t i o n s f o r most items. There a r e few references p r i o r t o the-1970s,
c o n f i r m i n g t h e i n v i s i b i l i t y o f t h i s major soci a1 problem b e f o r e t h e advent o f
t h e women's movement. I n h i s s u c c i n c t in t r o d u c t i on, Engel dC nger observes t h a t
t h e w r i t i n g s of t h e seventies were'largely i n a popular vein, v h i l e t h e
e i g h t i e s have inspi red more s c h o l a r l y and p r o f e s s i o n a l studies. Both genres
a r e we1 1 represented. The b i b l i o g r a p h y i s organized a l p h a b e t i c a l l y by author,
w i t h a t i t l e index and a model s u b j e c t index. Spouse Abuse i s a very welcome
and c a r e f u l l y - f a s h i o n e d guide t o t h e now vast l ? t e r a t u r e on domestic v i o l e n c e
a body o f works t h a t , as Engeldi nger' notes, c o n t i nires t o grow
g e o m e t r i c a l l y , and t o address readers i n a widening number of academic and
applied fields.
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\
As some femi n i s t s seek t o empower women t o end abusive r e l a t i o n s h i p s ,
o t h e r s search out new sources o f personal power through heightened s p i r i t u a l
attunement, goddess worship, o r w i t c h c r a f t . Spi r i t u a l femi nism undergi rds
many women's understanding o f t h e i r l i v e s , t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p t o nature, and
t h e i r p o l i t i c a l goals. ~ n n eCarson's Feminist Spi r l t u a l i t y and t h e Feminine
D i v i n e w i 11 f i n d an eager audience, f o r a b i b l i o g r a p h y on t h e s u b j e c t has long
b e e n e e d e d by both academics and general readers. Carson's e f f o r t s compare
t o ~ n ~ e l d i n g e r on
' s t h r e e counts. - ~
r s t , i both compilers organize t h e i r
l i s t i n g s by author, w i t h s u b j e c t indexes. Second, b o t h a r e l i b r a r i a n s , and
t h e i r research s k i l l s a r e evident i n t h e range o f s c h o l a r l y and a l t e r n a t i v e
m a t e r i a l s they cover. Indeed, Ca r s o n ' s frequent references t o obscure
pamphlets and s e l f - p u b l i s h e d books may dismay i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n s t a f f . And
t h i r d , b o t h volumes demonstrate t h e wide i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y scope o f women ' s
s t u d i e s and f e m i n i s t consciousness. Carson w r i t e s : "Womanspi ri t, as f e m i n i s t
s p i r i t u a l i t y i s sometimes c a l led, touches t h e f i e l d s o f h i s t o r y , r e l i g i o n ,
mythology and f o l k l o r e , anthropology and archaeology, psychology, w i t c h c r a f t
and o c c u l t sciences, New Age studies, parapsychology, l e s b i an-femi nism,
h e a l t h , l i t e r a t u r e , and t h e a r t s " (p.7).
Revealing these many dimensions o f
t h e s u b j e c t i n h e r e v a l u a t i v e annotations, Carson makes an important
c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e reference l i t e r a t u r e on women's c u l t u r e .
Among sources on current trends i n t h e women's movement, we t u r n t o t h e
f i f t h volume o f The Women's Annual, e d i t e d by Mary Drake McFeely. McFeely, a
l i b r a r i a n a t Smith College, continues t h e f i n e t r a d i t i o n o f t h i s yearbook.
The chapters cover education, health, t h e humanities, law, philosophy,
and f o r t h e f i r s t time,
p o l i t i c s , popular c u l t u r e , psychology, and work
science. B e t t y M. V e t t e r does an admirable job o f c h a r t i n g women's s t a t u s as
s c i e n t i s t s , but she f a i l s t o discuss t h e recent f e m i n i s t c r i t i q u e s o f
s c i e n t i f i c theory advanced by such w r i t e r s as Ruth B l e i e r and Evelyn Fox
Keller.
Indeed, most o f t h e volumels c o n t r i b u t o r s e l e c t t o t r e a t a s i n g l e
aspect o f t h e i r t o p i c i n depth, r a t h e r than attempting a sweeping survey.
Perhaps t h i s t e s t i f i e s t o t h e maturation o f t h e series! a l l o w i n g d i f f e r e n t
angles o f v i s i o n on women's issues each year and avoid1 ng t h e r i s k o f
s u p e r f i c i a1 it y . Thus, Susan Van Dyne and Mart l y n Schuster review t h e progress
o f programs t o i n c o r p o r a t e t h e study o f women and m i n o r i t i e s throughout t h e
l i b e r a l a r t s curriculum i n t h e i r "Education" chapter; Norma Meras Swenson,
Diana Laskin Siegal, and Paula Brown Doress l i m i t t h e i r discussion t o aging
women i n t h e "Health" section; E l i s s a Gelfand zeroes i n on French f e m i n i s t
t h o u g h t i n "Philosophy"; Rosalind C. Barnett reports on her own research on
women, work, and s t r e s s i n "Psychology"; and i n "Work," C a r r o l l Wetzel
W i 1k i nson concentrates on women i n n o n t r a d i t i o n a l occupations. Many o f t h e
chapters i n c l u d e l i s t s o f o r g a n i z a t i o n a l and nonpri rlt resources, i n a d d i t i o n
t o selected b i b l i o g r a p h i e s o f w r i t t e n materials. L i k e t h e four precedi ng
volumes, t h i s i s an e s s e n t i a l a d d i t i o n t o academic and p u b l i c l i b r a r y
c o l l e c t i o n s , and i s s u i t a b l e f o r high school l i b r a r i e s as well.
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Theater d i r e c t o r s w i l l f i n d an immediate, p r a c t i c a l use f o r Sandra Heys'
Contemporary Stage Roles f o r Women: A D e s c r i p t i v e Catalog. Heys s p o t l i g h t s
puallshed, accessible plays w i t h strong temale roles.
rne main t i t l e l i s t i n g
o f approximately 250 plays includes playwrights, dates, p u b l i shers o r agents,
one-sentence p l o t summaries, and b r i e f background on t h e female characters.
Because o f t h e i r b r e v i t y , t h e d e s c r i p t i o n s Sometimes reduce t h e characters t o
a l i s t o f s t e r e o t y p i c a l t r a i t s , although Heys i s attempting t o e l i m i n a t e j u s t
t h a t s o r t o f categorization. Some users may f i n d bothersome Heys' terms f o r
p e r s o n a l i t i e s (e.g.,
common, g i r l i s h , s o f t e r ) and appearances (e.g.,
pretty,
p l a i n , dowdy). I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e mi n l i s t i n g , female characters are indexed
by age range, by character t y p e (heroic, k i nd and n u r t u r i n g , comic,
disabled and
v i 11a i nous, etc.) , by unusual physical c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s (e.g.,
" o v e r l a r g e " ) , and by race. An appendix c l a s s i f i e s plays by gender
d i s t r i b u t i o n (a1 1-female vs. m i xed casts). A d i r e c t o r y o f agents and
p u b l i s h e n , indexes organized by playwright and character, and a b i b l i o g r a p h y
round out t h e volume. I n e x p l i c a b l y , Heys omits many excel l e n t plays
( i n c l u d i ng some readi l y a v a i l a b l e i n anthologies she h e r s e l f c i t e s ) , and
recent works by such recognized dramatists as Pam Gems and Caryl C h u r c h i l l .
(1)
Movi nq f a r t h e r away from pure bibliography, we discover another new t o o l :
Women s c i e n t i s t s from A n t i q u i t y t o t h e present: An Index. The compiler i s
C a r o l i n e Herzenbera. a ~ h v s i csit and presi dent-elect o f t h e n a t i o n a l
~ created an index t o 134
i n h e n c e . ~ e r z e n b e rhas
Association f o r
c o l 1e c t ive bi ographi ss o f women In t h e sci ences , t h e soci a1 s c i ences ,
en
mathematics, engineering, and medicine; both books and essays from j o u r n a l s
a r e represented. The only o t h e r t o o l resembling t h i s i s Women i n t h e
Sci e n t i f i c Search, by Pat ri c i a Joan S i egel and and Kay Thomas Fi n l ey ,
published by Scarecrow Press l a s t year (and reviewed i n FC, F a l l 1985).
S i egel and F i nley cover some 160 women, a1 1 American and71 1 deceased by 1979;
t h e y c i t e a range o f source m a t e r i a l s and provide short biographical e n t r i e s
f o r each i n d i v i d u a l . Herzenberg, by contrast, t r e a t s some 2,500 women from
around t h e globe, and from t h e e a r l i e s t periods o f s c i e n t i f i c p r a c t i c e t o t h e
present. She presents s c i e n t i s t s ' b i r t h and death dates, n a t i o n a l i t y ,
s c i e n t i f i c f i e l d , and occasionally o t h e r data, followed by a code f o r t h e
b i ographical source. Variant names are cross-referenced.
The a1 phabeti c a l
l i s t i s indexed by s c i e n t i f i c f i e l d . I n h e r i n t r o d u c t i o n , Herzenberg
emphasi zes women's s c i e n t i f i c c o n t r i b u t i o n s i n a n t i q u i t y and t h e Middle Ages,
t h a t women have everywhere
r e i n f o r c i n g t h e i m p l i c i t message o f t h e index
and always been a f o r c e i n science.
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'
Two final works are of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t t o l i b r a r i a n s , although they
warrant a wider readership. Pegyy 0. Glover's handbook, L i b r a r y Services f o r
t h e Woman i n t h e Middle, aims t o help p u b l i c l i b r a r i a n s respond t o t h e
i n f o r m a t i o n a l , referral-, and r e c r e a t i o n a l needs o f women between t h e aqes o f
f o r t y - f i v e and s i x t y - f i ve. A f t e r thoroughly documenting t h e status a d
1if e s t y l e s of middle-aged women, Glover advocates speci a1 l i b r a r y programming,
s t renythened c o l l e c t i o n s , and increased l i b r a r y cooperation w i t h n a t i o n a l and
l o c a l organizations serving o l d e r women. The l a s t t h i r d o f t h e book i s a
"Quick Look-Up Guide t o I n f o r m a t i on Sources."
Handi l y ar'ranged by t o p i c , t h e
guide covers such subjects as a r t h r i t i s , displaced homemakers, insurance, and
l e i s u r e a c t i v i t i e s ; most o f t h e l i s t i n g s are annotated w i t h a s i n g l e phrase.
Although q u i t e s e l e c t i v e , Glover's guide t o recent books and pamphlets w i l l be
u s e f u l t o I f b r a r i ans and readers alike..
From t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Tulsa, home o f t h e prestigous j o u r n a l Tulsa Studies
i n Women's L i t e r a t u r e , comes a model guide t o l i b r a r y h o l d i ngs. Women Writers
3 n M c t a r l in Speci a1 Col l c c t i ons, Fi r s t Seri e)s provides f o r t y -two bi ob i b l i o g r a p h i c a l essays on women w r i t e r s , p r i m a r i l y o f t h e U.S. o r t h e United
Kinydom. Works by these authors are housed i n Tulsa's special c o l l e c t i o n s ,
in c l u d i ng t h e personal lib r a r i e s o f Cyri 1 Connol l y , Edmund W i lson, and Stevi e
Smith, t h e Henneke Archives o f Performing Arts, t h e Kenneth Hopki ns c o l l e c t i o n
o f n i neteenth-century poetry, and t h e Factory House L i b r a r y , a col l e c t i on of
popular nineteenth-century B r i t i s h f i c t i o n . The essays i n t h i s b e a u t i f u l l y
designed paperback guide vary i n t h e i r approaches, some emphasi z i ng
b i o g r a p h i c a l d e t a i l s , others concentrating on i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . Since t h e
b i oyraphi c a l data are w i t h few exceptions extracted from common secondary
sources, t h e more c r i t i c a l e n t r i e s prove t h e most valuable. Concludi ny
a r t i c l e s p r o f i l e women authors represented in t h e Factory House L i b r a r y and
d i scuss n o n f i c t i o n w r i t i n y s by women about American Indians. A second series
i s promised. A l l i n a1 1, Women Writers i n McFarlin Special C o l l e c t i o n s stands
as a s h i n i n g example of j o i n t scholarship by f a c u l t y , graduate students, and
1ib r a r i ans, and should succeed i n promoting t h e use o f Tulsa's r i c h resources
on women's l i t e r a t u r e .
-- Susan E.
Searing
T
NOTES
Special thanks t o Pam Niebauer, accomplished f e m i n i s t d l r e c t o r , f o r
he1 p i ng describe and evaluate t h i s volume.
'
A f f i l i a : Journal of Women and Soci a1 Work. 1986-.
Ed.: Betty Sancier.
$20
i n d i v . ) ; $30 ( i n s t . ) .
The Feminist Press a t t h e City U n i v a r s i t y o f New York,
111 East 94 St., New York, NY 10128. ( I s s u e exam1 ned: v.1, no.1, Spring 1986)
A f f i 11a " i s committed t o t h e d l scussion and devel opmant o f femi n i s t
v a l u m o r i e s , and knowledye as they relape t o s o c i a l work research,
education, and p r a c t i c e " (Mi s s i on Statement). The s c h o l a r l y journal p u b l i shes
a1 1 forms of w r i t 1 ng and a n a l y s i s ( i t includas a poetry s e c t i o n e d i t e d by
Audre Lorde), and welcomes c o n t r i b u t i o n s from people both 1n and outside t h e
f i e l d o f s o c i a l work. Feature a r t i c l e s I n t h i s f i r s t issue are: "Global
Issues and Perspectives on Working w i t h Women" (Janice Wood Wetzel); ''The
A n t i - I n s t i t u t i o n Movement and Women Caregi vers" (Katharine Hooper B r i a r and
Rosemary Ryan) ; " A Femi n i s t Approach t o Soci a1 Work Research" ( L i ane V.
Davis) ; and "Lesbianism as Personal I d e n t i t y and Social Role: A Model"
(Margaret Nichols and Sandra R. Leiblum). The journal a l s o publishes
e d i t o r i a l s , announcements, and book rev1 ews.
Gossip: A Journal o f Lesbian Feminist Ethics. 1986-.
Eds.: Jacky Bishop,
Anna L l v l a, and L l I 1an Monl n. slyear. 1.Sb pounds (overseas, surface mai 1) ;
10.50 pounds (overseas, a i r m a i l ) . Onlywomen Press Ltd., 38 Mount Pleasant,
London W C l X OAP, England. ( I s s u e examined: no.1, 1986)
The e d i t o r s of t h i s new j o u r n a l reapprop'riate t h e word "gossip," d e f i n i n g
i t as "essenti a1 information; f a s t cwmunicati on; opl nion; advice; theory; raw
m a t e r i a l f o r b u i l d i n g our c i v l l i z a t i o n . "
The f i r s t i s s u e o f Gossi r e p r i n t s
J u l i a Penelope's a r t i c l e "The Mystery o f Lesbians"
which ir s t appeared i n
t h e U.S. p e r i o d i c a l e n t i t l e d Lesbian Ethics (see FC v.6, 110.4, Summer 1985,
alony w i t h o t h e r pieces on lesbians and r s a b i l l t y , t h e nature o f
p.18)
gossip, and " l e s b i a n feml n i s t s and t h e great baby con."
--
--
+
Violence and Victims.
1986-.
Ed. : Angela Browne. Q u a r t e r l y . $28 ( i ndi v.) ;
$54 ( 1 nst.).
springer P u b l i s h i n g Co., 536 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
( I s s u e examined: v.1, no.1, Spring 1986)
This new m u l t i d i s c i p l i n a r y s c h o l a r l y j o u r n a l w i 11 p u b l i s h o r i g i n a l
research and theory d e a l i n g w i t h both t h e v i c t i m s and t h e perpetrators of
violence, as we1 1 as book rev1 ews, notes, e d i t o r i a l s , and announcements.
Included i n t h e f i r s t i s s u e are "Subjective D i s t r e s s and Violence During Rape:
T h e i r E f f e c t s on Long-Term Fear," by Steven A. G i re1 li , P a t r i c i a A. Resick,
Susan Marhoefer-Dvorak, and Catheri ne K o t s i s Hutter; and "When Battered Women
Use Violence: Husband-Abuse o r S e l f -Defense?" by Daniel G. Saunders.
%
..
The Vocational Equity P r o j e c t Newsletter. 1986-. Ed.: ~ a J.~ Exo.
e
Madison, W I 53704. (Issue
Bimonthly. Free o f charge. 3550 Anderson S t
examined-: v.1, 170.2, May-1986)
The Vocational Equity Project suppl ies " d i s t r i c t boards, admi n i s t r a t o r s ,
s t a f f , and students w i t h resources t o e f f e c t i v e l y promote sex e q u i t y i n a1 1
aspects o f vocational education."
The P r o j e c t 14 b r a r y c i r c u l ates books,
films, videotapes, bibliographies, c u r r i c u l u m guides, and evaluation t o o l s
r e l a t i ny t o vocational equity. Hi g h l i g h t i ny some o f these resources, t h e
four-page newsletter a l s o provides news of re1evant support groups,
conferences, and projects.
Women and Computing News1e t t e r . Q u a r t e r l y . 5 pounds (overseas) f o r women o r
women's groups only. c / o Microsyster, Wesley House, 70 Gt. Queen St., London
WC2, England. ( Issue exami ned: no. 18, February 1986)
The new technology, work hazards, and new f e m i n i s t technology p r o j e c t s
worldwide are key t o p i c s covered by t h i s newsletter, which l a b e l s i t s e l f " f o r
women o r women's groups only."
Issue no.18 i s twenty-four pages long, and
features news on a conference about teaching computing t o women, i n f o r m a t i o n
and debate about t h e p o l i t i c s o f computers, proposals from t h e A u s t r a l i a n
N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y f o r reducing VDT hazards, m i nutes from t h e f i r s t meeti ng
of Sydney Women and Technology, l e t t e r s , a survey, and more.
J
Women i n Management Review. 1985?-. Ed.: Andrew Ede. 30 pounds (overseas).
Ruth Carter, P.U. Box 23, hembley HA9 80J, England. (Issue examined: v.1,
170.4, Winter 1986)
This new q u a r t e r l y i s issued by Anbar Management Publications, i n
a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h t h e B r i t i s h Equal Opportunities Commission. I n t h e fourth
i s s u e are a r t i c l e s on government and t h e t r a d e union r o l e s i n promoting women
in management, buyi ng a franchise, j o b desegregation and organi z a t i on
s t r u c t u r e , fami l y and career, s t r e s s reduction, and f l e x i b l e schedules. The
Review a l s o publishes book reviews, news and comment, and abstracts o f recent
m e s from o t h e r management journals.
Women's Studi es Journal. 1984-. Semi annual. Overseas: $NZ35 ( i ndi v.) ; BNZ45
'(inst.).
Single copies: BNZ17.50.
Women's Stud1 es Association New Zealand,
Box 5067, Auckland, NZ. (Issue examined: v.2, no.1, August 1985)
The t h i r d issue o f t h i s journal features a r t i c l e s on gender, class, and
race i n t h e classroom, homes f o r s i n g l e mothers a t t h e t u r n o f t h e century,
marriage i n t h e 1950s, and t h e New Zeal and C h r i s t i a n rev4 val ; an i n t e r v i e w
w i t h a t u t o r f o r t h e Auckland Workers' Educational Association about her work,
f a m i l y , and p o l i t i c s ; a review essay on women's work; and e x t r a c t s from an
e a r l y manuscri p t on New Zeal and women.
SPECIAL ISSUES OF PERlODlCALS
A u s t r a l i a n Social Work v.38, no. 1, 1985. Subscriptions: $20.
A u s t r a l i a n A'ssoci a t i o n o f Soci a1 Uorkers, Box 258,
Canberra, A.C.T.
2608, Australia.
( I n f o r m a t i o n from Studies
Abstracts v.3, no.6, 1985, pp.368-369)
Included i n t h i s issue: "The Case f o r Women's Studies i n
Educatfon" (Brenda Smith); "Gender and Power i n Social Work"
Weari ny) ; "Women as Employees and Managers i n Soci a1 Service
3 nqui re.
Single copy:
C i v i c Square,
on Women
Social Work
(Betsy M.
Agenci es" (Nancy
Gumprecht); and "A Feminist P e r s p e c t i v e on t h e Development o f t h e Social Work
P r o f e s s i o n i n New South Wales" (Helen Marchant).
The B i liriyal Revi ew/La Revi s t a b i lingue v. 11, 170.2, May/August 1984 [c 19861:
"Nosotras: L a t i na L i t e r a t u r e Today
Guest eds. : ~ a r f adel Carmen Boza,
B e v e r l y S i lva, and Carmen Val le. S u b s c r i p t i o n s : $15 ( i n d i v . ) ; $20 ( i n s t . ) .
S i n g l e copy: inqui re. Box M, Campus Post O f f i c e , SUNY-Bi nghamton, Bi nghamton,
NY 13901. ( I s s u e examined)
Every major U.S. Hispanic group
Chicana, Puerto Rican, Cuban, L a t i n
American
i s represented i n t h i s anthology o f c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g i n several
some o f i t i n Spanish
i s organized t h e m a t i c a l l y
genres. The m a t e r i a l
in t o s i x s e c t i o n s : "Mind's Eye," "Kin," "Bad Vibes," "Sage," "Oppression," and
M a j o r i e ~ ~ o s f nG,l o r i a ~ n z ad6a,
l
Barbara Muji ca, Achy Obejas,
"Galanes
E l i a n a Rivero, and Alma V i l lanueva a r e some o f t h e c o n t r i b u t o r s .
."
-."
--
--
Calyx: A Journal of A r t and L i t e r a t u r e by Women v.9, no.2/3, 1986: "Women and
A g l ng: An Anthology."
S u b s c r i p t i o n s : $18 ( i n d i v . ) ; $22.50 ( i nst.).
Single
copy: $12. P.O.
Box B, C o r v a l l i s , OR 97339. ( I s s u e examined)
"The d i s l o c a t i o n created out o f t h e c o n t r a d i c t i o n s between how 1 f e e l and
p h y s i c a l l y , s o c i a l l y , economical l y
1ook.. .and how s o c i e t y perceives me
i s a very r e a l element i n every day. ..,'I w r i t e s Margaret
emotionally
Randal 1 i n a j o u r n a l excerpt p u b l i s h e d i n t h i s s p e c i a l i s s u e on women and
a g i ng. Over' 260 pages long, t h e anthology i s b e a u t i f u l l y designed and
produced; i t f e a t u r e s essays, photography, f i c t i o n , j o u r n a l s , poetry,
p r o f i 1es, a r t , and reviews. C o n t r i b u t o r s i n c l u d e , i n a d d i t i o n t o Randal 1,
M e r i d e l Le Sueur, Barbara MacDonald, M a r j o r i e ~ ~ o s f nAudrey
,
Borenstein, Tee
Co ri nne, M a q e Pi e r c y , and U r s u l a LeGui n.
--
4
--
--
Genesis 2: An Independent Voice f o r Jewish Renewal v. 17, no. 1, FelruarylMarch
986 LShevat/Adar 5/46J: s p e c i a l s e c t i o n on t h e impact o f feminism.
S u b s c r i p t i o n s : $15 ( i n d i v . ) ; $20 ( i n s t . ) .
S i n g l e copy: $2.50.
99 Bishop
A1 1en Dr., Cambridge, MA 02139. ( Issue exami ned)
Thi s i s s u e f e a t u r e s t h r e e a r t i c l e s r e l a t e d t o femi nism: "Through a Keen
Lens o f Empathy ,"a p i e c e on Jewish and-female i d e n t i t y by Adrienne Rich; "The
Soul o f a New Siddur," an essay on i n t e g r a t i v l g f e m i n i s t perspectives i n t o
l i t u r g y by A l i z a Arzt and Janet B e r k e n f i e l d ; and "Women i n Dialogue: Nairobi
and t h e Search f o r Peace," by C h r i s t i e Balka, a p a r t i c i p a n t a t t h e UN Decade
f o r Women Conference.
Graduating Engineer February 1986: "Women's Issue."
S i n g l e copy: $5. McGraw1 1 1 , Inc., 1221 Ave. o f t h e Americas, New York, NY 10020.
( I s s u e exami ned)
T h i s i s Graduating Engineer's s i x t h annual "Women's Issue."
It o f f e r s
a r t i c l e s on engineering careers, personal development, women's s t a t u s i n t h e
f ie l d, and j o b prospects.
Ikon: C r e a t i v i t y and Change Second Series #5/6, W i nter/Summer 1986: " A r t
Against Aparthe1d:'Works f o r Freedom."
Eds.: Susan Sherman, Gale Jackson.
S u b s c r i p t i o n s : $9.50 ( i n d i v . ) ; $15 ( i n s t . ) .
S i n g l e copy: $7.50.
P.O. Box
1355, Stuyvesant S t a t i o n , New York , NY 10009. ( I s s u e exami ned)
"Iremember t h e afternoon t h a t I became v i s c e r a l l y aware t h a t m i 1 l i o n s o f
b l a c k human beings remain i n s l a v e r y on t h i s p l a n e t ," beg1 ns A l i c e Walker i n
h e r i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h i s speci a1 i s s u e produced c o l l a b o r a t i v e l y by Ikon and
A r t Against Apartheid. A r t Against Apartheid i s an independent, m u l t i r a c i a1
c o a l i t i o n o f U.S. a r t i s t s committed t o speaking out through t h e i r a r t a g a i n s t
-
t h e apartheid system i n Southern Africa.
This 184-page anthology brings
t o g e t h e r statements by Southern Africans and Americans, photographs, poetry,
artwork, l e t t e r s , songs. While t h e focus i s not s o l e l y on women's experience
o f apartheid, a f e m i n i s t s e n s i b i l i t y i s evident throughout. C o n t r i butors
i n c l u d e Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez, M i c h e l l e C l i f f , Beth Brant, Nel l i e Wong,
June Jordan, F a i t h Kinggold, Adrienne Rich, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Lucy R.
Lippard, and many others.
,
.
Journal o f Soci a1 Work & Human S e x u a l i t y v.3, no.213, 1985: "Feminist
Perspectives on b o c l a l Work and Human Sexuality."
Guest eds.: Mary Valentich,
James Gripton. Subscriptions: $30 ( i n d i v . ) ; $60 ( i n s t . ) ; $80 ( l i b r a r i e s ) .
S i n g l e copy: i n q u i r e . Haworth Press, Inc., 28 E. 22nd St., New York, NY
10010. (Information from Studies on Women Abstracts v.3, 110.6, 1985, pp.378379)
Included i n t h i s issue are: "On t h e D i v e r s i t y o f Love Object Orientations
Among Women" (Sophie Freud Loewenstein); "Common Therapeutic Targets Among
Women Who Were Sexual l y Abused i n Childhood" (Derek Jehu, M a r j o r i e Gazan, and
Carole Klassen); "A New Look a t Mothers o f Incest Victims" (Margaret H. Myer);
"Soci a1 Work, T r a d i t i o n a l Health Care Systems and Lesbi an I n v i s i b i lit y "
(Sandee P o t t e r ) ; "Feminist Issues i n Sex Therapy" (Lee C. Handy, Mary
Val ent i c h , Lorna P. Cammaert, and James G r i pton) ; "Human Sexuality and
Feminism: A New Approach t o P e r i n a t a l Social Work" (Nancy B. Bryant and
C h a r l o t t e J. C o l l i n s ) ; and "Women's Responses t o Abortion: I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r
Post-Abortion Support Groups" (Karen M. Lodl, Ann McGettigan, and Janette
Bucy )
.
L i b r a r y Trends v.34, 110.2, Fa1 1 1985: "Women and Leadershi p i n t h e L i b r a r y
Profession."
Guest ed.: Rosemary Ruhig DuMont. Subscriptions: $30. S i n g l e
copy: $8. Journals Dept., U n i v e r s i t y o f I l l i n o i s Press, 54 E. Gregory Dr.,
Champaign, I 1 61820.
( I s s u e examined)
P a r t i a l contents: "Sex as a Variable: A Bibliography o f Women i n L i b r a r i e s
1975-1985" (Katharl ne Pheni x ) ; "Ambiguous A u t h o r i t y and Aborted Ambition:
Gender, Professionalism, and t h e Rise and Fa1 1 o f t h e Welfare State" (Suzanne
H i ldenbrand) ; "The Impact o f A f f i rmative Action on Academic L i b r a r i e s "
(Barbara Moran) ; "Differences by Sex: Academic L i b r a r y Admi n i s t r a t o n " (Betty
Jo I r v i ne) ; " I d e n t l t y , Power, and H i r i n g i n a Feminized Profession" (Barbara
I v y ) ; and "Role Models i n L i b r a r y Education: E f f e c t s on Women's Careers" ( J i l l
Mori e a r t y and Jane Robbi ns-Carter).
Monthly Labor Review v.108, no.12, December 1985: " A Special Section on
'Comparable Worth."
Subscriptions: $24. S i ngle copy: $4. Superintendent o f
Documents, Government P r i n t i ng O f f i c e , Washi ngton, DC 20402. (Issue examined)
Contents o f t h e special s e c t i o n on comparable worth: "Perspectives on
Comparable Worth: An I n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e Data" (Janet L. Norwood); "Comparable
Worth: How Do We Know It W i l l Work?" ,(Carolyn Shaw B e l l ) ; "Comparable Worth:
Oryani z a t i o n a l D i 1emmas" (Karen Shal l c r o s s Kozi ara); "Comparable Worth: Some
Questions S t i 11 Unanswered" (Sandra E. G l eason)
.
Parnassus: Poetry i n Review v.12, no.2lv.13,
no.1, Spring/Summer/Fall/Wi n t e r
985: "A L e l e b r a t l o n o t Women & Poetry."
Ed. : Herbert Lei bowitz.
S u b s c r i p t i o n s : $17 ( i n d i v . ) ; $27 ( i n s t . ) .
S i n g l e copy: $10. 205 W. 8 9 t h St.,
New York, NY 10024. ( I s s u e examined)
T h i s impressive tome boasts 640 pages o f essays, c r i t i c i s m , p o e t r y , and
artwork. Emily D i c k i nson, Marianne Moore, H.O.,
Louise Bogan, E l i z a b e t h
Bishop, S y l v i a P l a t h , Anne Sexton, Oenise Levertov, and May Swenson are t h e
f o c u s o f c r i t i c a l reassessment; Catharine Stimpson w r i t e s on "Adrienne Rich
and Lesbi an/Femi n i s t P o e t r y " ; A1 ic i a Ost r i k e r c o n t r i b u t e s "Bei ng Nobody
Together: D u p l i c i t y , I d e n t i t y , and Women ' s Poetry"; and Adrienne Rich, Maxi ne
Kumi n, Audre Lorde, Amy Clampitt, Mei -mei Berssenbrugge, Cynthia Macdonald,
Tess Gallagher, and many others o f f e r new poems.
Psychological Perspectives: A Semi -Annual Review o f Junyi an Thought v.17,
Spring 1986: "Women's Voices."
Guest ed.: J'nan Morse S e l l e r y .
s u b s c r i p t i o n s : $12. S i n g l e copy: $7. C.G. Jung I n s t i t u t e o f Los h g e l e s ,
10349 W. P i c o Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064. ( I s s u e examined)
D i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e major s e c t i o n s
" I n n e r Voices," "Creative Voices,"
t h i s s p e c i a l i s s u e i n c l u d e s a n a l y t i c a l and
and "Dream Voices"
a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l a r t i c l e s , poems, and f i c t i o n by a d i v e r s e group o f
c o n t r i b u t o r s . Dreams, symbols, and ancient images f i g u r e promi nerrt l y i n t h e s e
w r i t i n g s , ht'ti ch "1 ook inward p o r t r a y 1 ng woman's o f t e n f r u s t r a t i n g o r
misunderstood e f f o r t s a t a r t i s t i c c r e a t i v i t y , and show how dreams move h e r
t o w a r d h e r p a r t i c u l a r voice" (p.5).
1-10.1,
--
--
."
R a d i c a l H i s t o r y Review 35, 1986: "Women's Labors" and " H i s t o r y on T r i a l
S u b s c r i p t i o n s : $15 ( i n d i v . ) ; $30 ( i n s t . ) .
S i n g l e copy: $5. H i s t o r y Dept.,
John Jay College, 445 West 59th St., New York, NY 10019. ( I s s u e examined)
T h i s i s s u e features two s p e c i a l s e c t i o n s t h a t w i 11 i n t e r e s t f e m i n i s t s .
In
t h e s e c t i o n t i t l e d "Women's Labors ,u Jeanne Boydston ~ 0 n t r i b ~ tan~ Sessay on
women's domestic l a b o r i n antebellum America; Susan Hi rsch takes a r a r e look
a t women Pul lman workers, 1900-1969; and Susan L e v i ne reviews two books on
women's c u l t u r a l h i s t o r y . I n " H i s t o r y on T r i a l ,"A l i c e K o s s l e r - H a r r i s
p i n p o i n t s t h e d i f f i c u l t p o l i t i c a l questivns r a i s e d by h e r awn testimony and
t h e opposing testimony o f h i s t o r i a n Rosalind dosenberg i n t h e case o f EEOC v.
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
S i n i s t e r Wisdom no.29130, 1986: "The T r i b e o f Dina: A Jewish Women's
Antno~ogy." tds
Melanie KayelKantrowitz, I r e n a K l e p f i s z . Subscri p t i a n s :
$15 ( i n d i v . ) ; $28 ( i n s t . ) .
S i n g l e copy: $9.95.
P.O. Box 1308, Montpelier, VT
05602.
( I s s u e exami ned)
Over t h r e e hundred pages long, t h i s s p e c i a l double i s s u e f e a t u r e s f i c t i o n ,
essays, poetry, and photographs speaking t o t h e many dimensions o f Jewish
women's experience. Represented here a r e both Sephardim and Ashkenazi m,
among them, R i t a
Americans and I s r a e l i s , l e s b i a n s and " s t r a i g h t " women
A r d i t t i , Grace Paley , El ana Uykewomon, Judy Freespi r i t , Sarah Schulman, Joan
E. Bi ren (JEB), ( i a l i a Golan, Savina Teubal, Vera W i 1 liams, and e d i t o r s
KayelKant rowi t z and K l e p f i sz.
.:
--
-
Social Problems v.32, 110.4, A p r i l 1985: "Feminist Issues and Women's
Problems
subscriptions: $45 (indiv.); $55 ( i nst.).
Single copy: $11. HB
208 S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y College, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14222. (Issue
exami ned)
P a r t i a1 contents: " m e #i s s i ng Feminist Revolution i n Sociology" ( J u d i t h
Stacey and B a r r i e Thorne) ; "Boundaries, Negotiation, Consciousness:
Reconceptuali z i ng Gender Relations" ( J u d i t h M. Gerson and Kathy Pei ss) ;
"Redefining t h e S i t u a t i o n : Negotiations on t h e Meaning o f 'Woman "' (Diane
Rothbard Margolis) ; "Ladies Against Women: #obi l i z a t i o n Dilemmas o f
A n t i femi n i s t Movements" (Susan E. Marshal 1) ; "Good Times and Good Works: The
Place o f S o c i a b i l i t y i n t h e Work o f Women Volunteers" (Arlene Kaplan Daniels).
."
*
"Y ."
110.3, Summer 1985:
Single copy: .50 pounds.
1
ace, London NW 1, England. ( nformation from Women and
Environments v.8, no.1, Winter 1986, p.30)
This special issue o f f e r s several a r t i c l e s e x p l o r i n g s e x i s t and r a c i s t
dimensions o f women's housing problems, violence against women and s e c u r i t y i n
housing, and women's p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e housing movement.
WEB
4
uarterl
CEASED PUBClCATlON
Annotated Guide t o Women's P e r i o d i c a l s i n t h e United States and Canada v.1,
no.1, 1982-v.4, no.1, 1985. Compiled by Terry Mehlman. Published by The
Women's Proyrams O f f i c e , Earlham Col lege, Richmond, I N 47374. ( I n f o r m a t i on
from T. Mehlman)
Comment: On Conferences 8 Research about Wo/men v.1, no.1, 1973-v.15, no.2,
February 1986. td. by Jo Hartley. R C I Communications, 680 West 11th St.,
Claremont, CA 91711. ( I n f o m a t i o n from Comment)
Wisconsin Women and P u b l i c P o l i c y v.1, no.1, May 1982-v.4, no.1, Spring 1985.
td. by Marian Thompson. kamily L i v i n g Education, 610 Langdon St., Madison, W I
53703. ( I n f o r m a t i o n from p u b l i s h e r )
\
ITEITIS O F NOTE
WHEN THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET POORER, WHAT HAPPENS TO WOMEN AN0
CHILDR~N? i s t h e P i st i n a series o f papers t o be issued by t h e Economic
xi t e r a c y P r o j e c t o f Women f o r Economic Justice. Published i n brochure format,
t h e paper presents 2 l u c i d f e m i n i s t analysis o f current economic issues, and
suggests s t r a t e g i e s f o r change. Send $1.00 t o WEJ, 145 Tremont St., Boston,
MA 02111.
The Women's Department o f t h e U.S. Department o f Labor o f f e r s a series o f t e n
f r e e pamphlets, FACTS ON U.S. WORKING WOMEN, each two t o four pages long w i t h
s t a t i s t i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n from a number o f sources. Among t h e t i t l e s : "Working
Age Disabled Women," "Women Business Owners," "Black Women i n t h e Labor
Force," and "Advances f o r Women Throuyh Federal L e y i s l a t i o n Ouriny t h e United
Nations Decade f o r Women, 1976-1985."
Send a s e l f -addressed mai 1ing l a b e l t o
Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 C o n s t i t u t i o n Ave., NW,
Washi nyton, DC 20210.
THE MARITAL PROPERTY HANDBOOK i s designed t o e x p l a i n W i sconsi n ' s new m a r i t a l
p r o p e r t y system i n l a y terms. Coauthored by t h e Center f o r P u b l i c
Representation o f Madison and U n i v e r s i t y o f Wisconsin law professor June M.
Weisberyer, t h e handbook includes copies o f an i n d i v i d u a l property
c l a s s i f i c a t i o n agreement form, and i s a v a i l a b l e f o r $8.00 ( i n c l u d i n g tax,
postage, and handling) from CPR, 520 U n i v e r s i t y Ave., Madison, W I 53703.
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES, a s e r i e s o f issue-oriented papers and essays produced
b y t h e Canadian Research I n s t i t u t e f o r t h e Advancement o f WomenIInstitut
canadixn de r e ~ h e r c h e ssur l e s femmes, has two new b i l i n g u a l issues. No. 2,
"Les taches l i e e s au s o i n des enfants," by M l c h e l l e Duval ($2.75). looks a t
t h e i n s t i t u t i o n o f motherhood and how i t can be transformed t o b r i n y about a
new value system. No. 3, "Femi2ist Research: Overview an: Outlook, includes
papers by Franci ne Descarri es-Be1 anger and M i chel ine de Seve c r i ti qui ng
f e m i n i s t research i n Quebec ($3.00).
Add 8.75 p e r copy f o r postage and
handling, and make check payable t o CHIAWIICHEF, 151 S l a t e r St., S u i t e 408,
Ottawa, Ontario, KIP 5H3, Canada.
A t h i r t y - s i x - p a g e condensation o f FORWARD LOOKING STRATEGIES TO THE YEAR 2000,
t h e document adopted by consensus a t t h e U.N. World Conferenceon Women i n
Nai r o b i , i s a v a i l a b l e from t h e Women, P u b l i c P o l i c y and Development P r o j e c t a t
t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Minnesota. The condensed v e r s i o n includes an explanatory
foreword, an appendix on education, and a summary o f t h e Convention on t h e
E l i m i n a t i o n o f A l l Forms o f D i s c r i m i n a t i o n Against Women. Send $3.00 f o r
f i r s t class, o r $2.50 f o r book r a t e t o WPP&D/Fraser, Humphrey Center, 301-19th
Ave. South, Mi nneapoli s, MN 55455. (The c m p l a t e e i g h t y - s i x-page v e r s i o n i s
a l s o a v a i l a b l e , f o r $5.00 f i r s t c l a s s o r $4.00 book rate.)
Another p u b l i c a t i o n r e l a t e d t o t h e world gathering i n Nairobi i s t h e FORUM '85
NGO PLANNING COMMITTEE FINAL REPORT, a summary o f t h e planning and
imp1 ementati on o t t h e nongovernmental gather4 ng he1d i n conjunction w i t h t h e
U.N. Conference on Women. The pampplet provides background i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e
conference, d e t a i 1s o f t h e organizational s t r u c t u r e , d e s c r i p t i o n s o f
conference a c t i v i t i e s , and a l i s t o f workshops offered, w i t h addresses f o r t h e
in d i v i d u a l ( s ) o r group responsible f o r each. W r i t e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Women's
Tribune Centre, 777 U.N. Plaza, New York, NY 10017.
MEN' S STUOIES SYLLABI includes s y l l a b i f o r t h i r t y courses rangi ng from
s o c i oloqy and psychology t o re1 i g i on, business, l i t e r a t u r e , and h i s t o r y .
$10 t o Sam Femiano, 22 East St., Northampton, MA 01060.
Send
WOMEN OF
rvsearcn
EUROPE, Supplement No. 18, examines women's studies teaching and
i n t h e nations of t h e turopean Economic Community. The survey gives
informati on on c u r r i c u l a , names o f teachers and researchers, and addresses o f
research centers, 1ib r a r i es, and discussion groups. W r i t e t o t h e Commission
o f t h e European Communities, Information on Women, 200 Rue de l a Loi , 1049
Brussels, Eel g i um.
Each i s s u e o f t h e c h i l d r e n ' s s e r i e s WOMEN OF COURAliE focuses
woman, w i t h a song about h e r on one side o f a 45-rpm record,
on t h e other, and a booklet p r o v i d i n g a d d i t i o n a l information.
s e r i e s i s o f f e r e d by y e a r l y s u b s c r i p t i o n a t a cost o f $24.00,
educator's e d i t i o n . The 1986 s e r i e s includes Libby Riddles,
on an American
a s t o r y about her
The bimonthly
o r $65.00 f o r an
a dogsled racer;
-
Maria M i t c h e l 1, t h e f i r s t U.S. woman astronomer; K i t t y 0 ' Ne , Cherokee racer,
award-wi nni ng d i ver, and s t u n t speci a l i s t who i s also deaf; Pl u s t h r e e o t h e r
women. The 1984 and 1985 series. are also avai lable. Contact The E c l e c t i c
Company, 261 E. 5 t h St., S u i t e 318-319, Saint Paul, MN 55101 (612-227-7401).
WISCONSIN BIBLIOGRRPHIES IN
WOmEN'S STUDIES
"Women and Time Management: A Reading L i s t " i s t h e l a t e s t b i b l i o g r a p h y i n t h e
s e r i e s , "Wisconsin Bibliographies i n Women's Studies."
Compiled by Linda
Shult, t h e three-page b i b l i oyraphy includes t i t l e s on time management a t work,
a t home, and i n between. It a l s o l i s t s books on t i m e management w r i t t e n by
women whether o r not they are s p e c i f i c a l l y d i r e c t e d t o women. Copies o f t h e
b i b l i o g r a p h y (and o t h e r numbers i n t h e s e r i e s ) a r e a v a i l a b l e f r e e o f charge
from: UW System Women's Studies L i b r a r i a n , 11W Memorial L i b r a r y , 728 State
St., Madison, W I 53706.
BOOK REVIEWS
UlOmEN AND DISABILITY, PART l l
Resources f o r Feminist Research: Documentation sur
v. 14, no. 1, March 1985: "Women and D i s a b i l i t y / Les
E d i t e d bv Pat I s r a e l and Frances Roonev. (Address:
Studies ;n Education, 252 Bloor S t . we&, foronto,
Subscriptions (U.S.):
$25 (indiv.);. $40 ( i nst.).
l a recherche f h n i s t e ,
femmes handi cap'ees
Ontario I n s t i t u t e f o r
Ontario, Canada M5S 1V6.)
."
Mary Jo Deegan and Nancy A. Brooks, eds., Women, and Disabi j i t y : The Double
$24.95,
Handi cap. New Brunswi ck, NJ: Transaction Books, 1985. 144p. b i b l
EBITZ8738-017-4.
LC 84-2618.
.
E d i t o r s Frances Rooney and Pat I s r a e l i n v i t e d disabled women t o w r i t e on
an array o f t o p i c s f o r t h i s special i s s u e o f t h e Canadian journal Resources
f o r Feminist Research. The r e s u l t i s a m u l t i - t e x t u r e d c o l l a g e o f poems,
3 n t e r v i ers , t h e o r e t i c a l pieces and personal remi n i scences. Women from many
backgrounds and w i t h a wide assortment o f d i s a b i l i t i e s ponder, rage, laugh and
mourn, demonstrating once more t h a t we are a d i v e r s e population o f
individuals. The p r i n t e d i t i o n o f t h e special issue u t i l i z e s l a r g e type;
s p i r a l bound and cassette taped e d i t i o n s are also available.
--
t h e paramount
As I reread t h e journal, one theme appeared over and over
importance o f social and emotional support. Cathy McPherson and Pat I s r a e l
convey t h e t h r i 11 o f p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n a group a c t i v i t y t h a t has been made
who1 l y , ungrudgi n g l y accessible i n "Front Row Centre: The New England Women's
Musical Retreat on Wheels .'I Judy Snow's movi ng piece on
d e i n s t i t u t i o n a l i zation, " L i v i n g a t Home," i s a t r i b u t e t o t h e network o f
f r i e n d s wh o .enabled h e r t.o o b t a i n a t t e n d a n t care.
In " L e t t e r t o My S i s t e r :
There Was Only One Place t o Pee Between Here and Nelson," Joan M e i s t e r ' s sense
t h a t she i s surrounded by people who l o v e h e r helps her f i n d humor i n an
o t h e r w i s e i n f u r i a t i n g and h u m i l i a t i n g s i t u a t i o n .
The p r e v a i l i n g t o n e o f t h e j o u r n a l i s upbeat. But many o f t h e pieces
speak e l o q u e n t l y o f support and c a r i n g a l t o g e t h e r unknown t o t o o many wmen
with disabilities.
I n " M i r r o r , M i r r o r : Self-Image and Disabled Women,"
Gwyneth Ferguson Matthews questions why some c o n g e n i t a l l y d i s a b l e d women
manage t o b ~ i l df u l f i l l i n g careers and s o c i a l l i v e s , w h i l e uncounted others
l i v e i n v i r t u a l i s o l a t i o n . She concludes t h a t ,
...
t h o s e who l e a r n t h e value o f self-esteem a r e t h o s e who've
always had t h e unwavering support o f t h o s e c l o s e s t t o them.
Women who have been i g n o r e d by t h e i r f a m i l i e s , t r e a t e d as
problems, neuters, burdens, appear t o blossom i n t o s e l f c o n f i d e n t a d u l t s o n l y r a r e l y . (p.49)
I n "Massage and Women w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s , " C h r i s t i n e Sutherland comments i n
p a s s i n g on t h e emotional v u l n e r a b i l i t y o f women i n i n s t i t u t i o n s when t h e y
undergo massaye:
...
4
I
t h a t ' s o f t e n t h e o n l y t i m e t h e y get touched, except by a
d o c t o r , who pushes and pokes
t h a t ' s not touching. Then
t h e massage i s over, and t h e y ' r e back i n t h e i r roan alone and
f e e l i n g more empty t h a n before. Again. Theyar e back i n
t h e i r cage. And most people d o n ' t even wa'nt t q t a l k t o them.
(p.50)
--
I n a s e r i e s o f j o u r n a l e n t r f e s , Frances Rooney describes t h e conception
and g e s t a t i o n o f t h i s s p e c i a l issue. A t one p o i n t she remarks, "The way t h a t
e x p e r i e n c e pieces a r e comi ng i n h e n we'd expected research art-icles reminds
me o f t h e e a r l y f e m i n i s t days, when. we s t i l l l i v e d deep i n t h e guts we had
j u s t s t a r t e d t o explore, b e f o r e we got systematized and a n a l y t i c a l and
r e s p e c t a b l e " (p.66).
Even most o f t h e i s s u e ' s t h e o r e t i c a l pieces s p r i n g from
an e x p e r i e n t i a1 framework. Only one a r t i c l e , Susan Russel 1 I s "Soci a1
Dimensions o f D i s a b i l i t y : Women w i t h MS.' s u b s t a n t i a t e s i n f e r e n c e s and
personal r e f 1 e c t i ons w i t h empi r i c a l research.
W i t h t h e Power o f Each Breath, Voices from t h e Shadows, and t h e RFR
spec7al i s s u e o t t e r i n s i g h t s i n t o many f a c e t s o f t h e l i v e s o f wmen
have
d i s a b i l i t i e s . Most o f t h e pieces a r e s u b j e c t i v e , b u t taken t o g e t h e r t h e y
c r e a t e a v i v i d landscape o f human experience, f r a n chasms o f d e s p a i r t o
summits o f e l a t i o n , w i t h a s p r a w l i n g t e r r a i n o f plateaus and v a l l e y s i n
between.
The a r t i c l e s a n t h o l o g i z e d i n Women and D i s a b i l i t y : The Double Handicap
approach t h e t o p i c from t h e d i s c i p l i n e s o f psychology and sociology. Most
were p r e v i o u s l y p u b l i s h e d i n The Journal o f Sociology and S o c i a l Welfare (2).
M i chel l e Fi ne and Adrienne Asch's "Dl sabled Women: Sex1 sm Without t h e
Pedestal " and Mary Jo Deegan's " M u l t i p l e M i n o r i t y Groups: A Case Study o f
P h y s i c a l l y Disabled Women" p r o v i d e a t h e o r e t i c a l b a s i s from which t o i n t e r p r e t
t h e double m i n o r i t y s t a t u s d i s a b l e d women face. Many o f t h e remaining
a r t i c l e s i n t h e book bear out t h e i r arguments i n more s p e c i f i c terms. Nancy
-
G. Kutner and Heather L. Gray examine issues I n t h e l i v e s o f women w i t h
chroni c renal fa1 l u r e , and Nancy McCharen and Jo Anne L. Earp look a t factors
t h a t influence t h e h i r i n g o f women w i t h a h i s t o r y o f breast cancer.
This book comes c l o s e r than any I have encountered t o "systematizing and
analyzing" m a t e r i a l p e r t a i n i n g t o women w i t h disabi lit i es. Regrettably,
however, many o f t h e studies reported here seem weak and unfocused. Gaylene
Becker and Joanne K. Jaureguils a r t i c l e on t h e i s o l a t i o n and soci a1 awareness
o f deaf women, and Susan Shaul , Pamela J. Dowling and b e r n i c e F. Laden's
" L i k e Other Women: Perspectives o f Mothers w i t h Physical D i s a b i l i t i e s , " t a c k l e
i n t r i g u i n g subject matter. Yet t h e authors tend merely t o r e l a t e fragments
from t h e i r l o o s e l y s t r u c t u r e d interviews, fa1 ling i n t o pedestrian d e s c r i p t i o n
t h a t lacks both t h e emotional impact o f f i rst-person accounts and t h e
a u t h o r i t y o f s c i e n t i f i c evidence. The pieces f a i 1 t o synthesize new i n s i g h t s
from t h e i r f a c t u a l data, and do not reach f o r uni versa1 i m p l i c a t i o n s as they
summari ze t h e i r f i ndi ngs
.
Perhaps t h e b r i g h t e s t note i n t h e c o l l e c t i o n i s Emily Bonwich's a r t i c l e on
t h e r o l e r e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f r u r a l women w i t h s p i n a l cord I n j u r i e s . Bonwich
demonstrates t h a t several o f h e r subjects a c t u a l l y experienced p o s i t i v e r o l e
gains a f t e r they became disabled. No longer expected t o be homemakers, they
earned c o l lege degrees and u l t i m a t e l y became f i nanci a1 l y independent. The
possi b i l i t y t h a t a traumatic change such as becomi ng disabled may i n some
cases l e a d t o r o l e gal ns and an enhanced self-concept has received l i t t l e
a t t e n t i o n , and i s c l e a r l y worthy o f f u r t h e r exploration.
The works I have discussed here r a i s e as many questions as they answer.
Why, f o r example, do some young women who have d i s a b i l i t i e s t h r i v e i n a
mainstreamed school s e t t i n g , w h i l e others a r e t r e a t e d as outcasts? What more
can we l e a r n about t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s between disabled women and nondisabled
f r i e n d s o r partners? And how do t h e l i v e s o f women w i t h di sabi l i t i e s c o n t r a s t
w i t h those o f disabled men? While s t a t ' i s t i c s i n d i c a t e t h a t disabled men f a r e
f a r b e t t e r than women I n education, employment, and f i n d 1 ng long-term
p a r t n e r s , they s t i l l f a l l w e l l below t h e i r nondisabled peers on most scales.
Disabled men have y e t t o reveal t h e i r i n t i m a t e selves through t h e k l nd o f
e x p e r i e n t i a1 w r i t i n g t h a t makes t h e lit e r a t u r e on women and d i sabi 1it y so
v i v i d and powerful.
I n t h e l a t e 1970s, when I f e l t orphaned and unseen by t h e burgeoning
women's movement, I longed t o f i n d o t h e r women who could v a l i d a t e my feelings.
The past few years have brought t h e concerns o f disabled women i n t o t h e open.
The RFR i s s u e closes w i t h a splendid l i s t o f p e r t i n e n t books, a r t i c l e s ,
p e r i x c a l s and f i l m s . I n these, and i n a m u l t i t u d e o f conferences and
symposia across North America, d i s a b l e d women have begun t o share t h e i r
cherished dreams and deepest pain. The b a r r i e r s t h a t so o f t e n c o n s t r i c t our
inadequate education and j o b t r a i n i n g , economic poverty, l a c k o f r o l e
lives
models, d e s e x u a l i z a t i o n and s o c i a l i s o l a t i o n
have been given credence a t
1a s t
.
--
--
F i n d i n g each other, r e a l i z i n g t h a t we are not alone, has been a dramatic
In
f i r s t step.
But sometimes I fear we have only been t a l k i n g t o ourselves.
t h e i r foreword t o Women and D i s a b i l i t y , Rose i y n n Sherr and B e a t r i c e A. Wright
state,
...
as we read t h e book we were snaken and astounded by it. ...
D e s p i t e our long p r o f e s s i o n a l involvement i n t h e f i e l d o f
rehabi l i t a t i o n psychology and our a p p r e c i a t i o n o f a f e m i n i s t
v i e w p o i n t , we had been remarkably unaware o f t h e unique
i s s u e s o f women w i t h d i s a b i l i t i e s . ( p . x i )
S i m i 1a r l y , Frances Rooney records t h e comments o f members o f h e r edi t o r i a1
s t a f f as t h e y worked on t h e d i s a b l e d women's i s s u e of RFR: "' I t ' s a nonissue
t o me. There a r e n ' t very many d i s a b l e d women, are t h e m " '
" ' It f r i g h t e n s me
t o o much, I d o n ' t want t o t h i n k about it."' " ' T h e r e a r e ramps a t t h e
u n i v e r s i t y , what do they want?"' (p.66).
4
Though many o f us have r a i s e d our own l e v e l o f consciousness as women w i t h
d i s a b i l i t i e s , we have a l o n g way t o go b e f o r e t h e wider f e m i n i s t community
g r a n t s us f u l l r e c o g n i t i o n and p a r t i c i p a t i o n . Beyond t h a t , t h e r e a r e s t i l l
b a t t l e s t o wage on many fronts.
We must f i g h t f o r p o l i c y changes i n
education, rehabi l i t a t i o n and h e a l t h care; f o r access t o t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , and
as Joan M e i s t e r p o i n t s out, even p u b l i c r e s t rooms. Most o f a1 1, we need t o
break down t h e b a r r i e r o f s t i g m a t i z a t i o n t h a t can t w i s t a p o t e n t i a l l y a c t i v e ,
u s e f u l l i f e i n t o one o f b i t t e r l o n e l i ness. Many o f us have managed t o t h r u s t
a s i d e t h e negative stereotypes we have been t a u g h t a1 1 our l i v e s , t o d i s c o v e r
o u r s e x u a l i t y , competence, and strength.
It remains t o convince our parents,
teachers, would-be f r i e n d s and lovers t h a t d i s a b i l i t y does not d e f i n e us
t h a t we are, f i r s t and foremost, women.
--
The m a t e r i a l s t h a t I have discussed h e r e a r e a v i t a l beginning. But as
l o n y as t h e concerns o f d l sabled women a r e t r e a t e d i n s p e c i a l i z e d books and
s e p a r a t e j o u r n a l issues, we w i 11 s t i 11 be' perceived as a c l a s s u n t o ourselves.
Our unique needs and viewpoint must be i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e women's movement as
t h o r o u g h l y as those o f lesbians, poor women, and women o f c o l o r . Our
i n t e r e s t s and s k i 1 1s range f a r beyond disabi l i t y - r e l a t e d t o p i c s , and as t h e
women's movement makes us more welcome-we may f r e e l y c o n t r i b u t e our time,
I n a d d i t i o n , a l l women w i l l u l t i m a t e l y b e n e f i t m e n we
energy, and expertise.
work t o g e t h e r toward acceptance and respect f o r t h o s e whose a b i l i t i e s and
appearance vary from t h e norm.
\
The New Our Bodi es, Ourselves ( 3 ) i s a wonderful example o f t h e way i n
which a work d i r e c t e d a t a general audience can embrace t h e issues unique t o
I n t h e e a r l i e r Our Bodies, Ourselves, v i r t u a l l y no
women w i t h d i s a b i l i t i e s .
reference was made t o women w l t h d i s a b i l i t i e s , as though we d i d not r e a l l y
e x i s t . I n s t r i k i n g c o n t r a s t , t h e r e v i s e d version i n c l u d e s several subsections
on d i s a b l e d women's issues
among them body image, d i s a b l e d lesbians, and a
c h a r t on s e x u a l i t y and c h r o n i c diseases. Even more e x c i t i n g , t o my mind, a r e
In
t h e references t o d i s a b l e d women s c a t t e r e d l i b e r a l l y throughout t h e t e x t .
t h e s e c t i o n on s t r e s s , f o r example, being d i s c r i m i n a t e d against because o f a
p h y s i c a l d i s a b i l ' i t y i s l i s t e d as one o f many p o s s i b l e s t r e s s - i n d u c i n g
s i t u a t i o n s . The a c c e s s i b i l i t y o f t h e o f f i c e i s given as one f a c t o r t o
c o n s i d e r i n s e l e c t i n g a t h e r a p i s t . Reading The New Our Bodies, Ourselves, I
f e l t not only acknowledged, but included.
--
I would l i k e t o t h i n k t h a t The New Our Bodies, Ourselves marks a t u r n i n g p o i n t i n our s t r u y g l e toward e q u a l i t y . Perhaps our voices a r e being heard,
and our experiences o f t h e w o r l d w i l l minyle w i t h those o f our nondisabled
peers. Perhaps a t l a s t women who do not bear t h e l a b e l "disabled" may begin
.
t o know us as women whose basic need f o r t h e support o f family, f r i e n d s and
community i s i d e n t i c a l t o t h e i r own.
-- Deborah Kent
[Deborah Kent works f u l l t i m e as a freelance w r i t e r . She has w r i t t e n numerous
book reviews and a r t i c l e s on disabi l i t y - r e l a t e d t o p i c s . She also w r i t e s young
adult fiction.]
NOTES
1
P a r t I o f t h i s review appeared i n Feminist C o l l e c t i o n s v.7, 110.3,
Sprl ng 1986, pp.21-24.
I n that article, l
f
s
s
e
d
: With t h e
Power o f Each Breath: A Disabled Women's Anthology, e d i t e d by S u s a n w n e ,
Debra Connors, and Nanci Stern ( P i t t s b u r g h and San Francisco: C l e i s Press,
1985). and Voices From t h e Shadows: Women w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s Speak Out, by
Gwyneth Ferguson Matthews (Toronto: I h e Women's Press, 1983).
The Journal o f Sociology and Social Welfare v.8,
pp. 233-375.
4
110.2,
J u l y 1983,
The Boston Women's Health Book C o l l e c t i v e , The New Our Bodies,
Ourselves: A Book By and F o r Women (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984).
COfTlPflflflBLE
WORTH
A1 ice H. Cook, Comparable Worth: A 'Case Book o f Experiences i n States and
L o c a l i t i e s . Manoa, H I - I n d u s t r i a l Relations, Center U n i v e r s i t y o f Hawaii ,
98s. 264p. index. 840.00.
Helen Remi ck,
Possibilities
p.
- 3 8 .
ed., Comparable Worth and Wage D i scrim1 nation: Technical
and P o l r t l c a l R e a l l t l e s . Philadelphia: Temple U n l v e r s l t y Press,
index. $39.95, ISBN 0-87722-345-9; pap., $14.95, ISBN Obib l
LC 84-41.
.
Donald J. Treiman and Heidi I.Hartmann, eds.,
Pay f o r Jobs o f Equal Value. Washington, D.C.:
T3bp. b i b I. pap., $9.Ys, ISBN 0-309-031774.
-
-
Women, Work, and Wages: Equal
National Academy Press, 1981.
LC 81-82863.
Advocates have termed i t " t h e employment issue o f t h e 1980s" ( I ) , hi l e
opponents have characterized it as " t h e l o o n i e s t i d e a since t h e Looney Tunes"
( 2 ) , and claimed t h a t i t was "pregnant w i t h t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of d i s r u p t i n g t h e
e n t i r e economic system o f t h e United States" (3).
Mention of t h e term "comparable worth" evokes a wide range o f responses,
and while there may be a few people kho can walk away from a discussion
without having formulated an opinion, the vast m a j o r i t y leave possessed o f
strong convictions. A t issue i s t h e question o f whether people who work i n
t r a d i t i o n a l l y "female" jobs are paid less than those kho work i n t r a d i t i o n a l l y
"male" jobs because the1 r jobs requi r e less ski 11, e f f o r t , and responsibi lit y
o r because t h e work i s perfomed p r i m a r i l y by women.
--
I n t h e f o l lowing essay, 1 discuss three books about comparable worth. The
f i r s t provides an overview of t h e h o l e subject o f sex-based labor market
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , with a p a r t i c u l a r focus on comparable worth. The second
delves more deeply i n t o t h e question of implementing comparable worth.
The
f i n a l work chronicles experiences with comparable worth i n various states and
localities.
1
I n 1981, t h e National Academy of Sciences released a work edited by Donald
J. Treiman and Heidi I. Hartmann e n t i t l e d Women, Work and Wages: Equal Pay f o r
Jobs o f Equal Value. This book i s an excel l e n t i n t r o d u c t i o n t o the subject
T o r t h e nonspeci a l l s t ; Treiman and Hartmann are adept a t presenti ng technical
m a t e r i a l i n an accessible way. Their report s t a r t s from t h e premise t h a t wage
d i f f e r e n t i a l s e x i s t and have persisted over time. They consider t h r e e
d l f f e r c n t explanations for t h e job segregation t h a t underlies wage
d i f f e r e n t i a l s : "women choose, f o r reasons other than pay, jobs t h a t t u r n out
t o pay poorly; women are excluded from high pay1 ng jobs; [ o r ] t h e jobs t h a t
They
women h o l d tend t o be underpaid because they are held by women" (p.52).
conclude t h a t "observed market wages incorporate the e f f e c t o f many
i n s t i t u t i o n a l factors, i n c l u d i n g discrimination" (p.65).
As a r e s u l t , they '
assert, "market wages cannot be used as t h e sole standard f o r judging t h e
r e l a t i v e worth of jobs" (p.65).
Given these conclusions, i t i s necessary t o develop another means by * i c h
d i s s i m i l a r jobs might be meaningfully compared. A j o b evaluation system
t h a t i s , t o measure t h e worth o f jobs on t h e basis
purports t o do j u s t t h a t
o f the1 r content. As i s poi nted out by Treiman and Hartmann, "payi ng jobs
according t o t h e i r worth requi res only t h a t h a t e v e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of jobs
a r e regarded as worthy o f compensation by ah employer should be equally so
reyarded i r r e s p e c t i v e of t h e sex, race o r e t h n i c i t y of job incumbents" (p.70).
The authors go on t o give a lucid, a l b e i t technical, c r i t i c a l analysis o f
conventional job evaluation approaches.
--
The strengths of t h i s book are i n a sense also i t s weaknesses. Treiman
and Hartmann provide a basic overview o f research i n t h e f i e l d of labor market
discrimination, and i n t h a t way prepare t h e reader f o r more d e t a i l e d study.
Yet i n t h e i r e f f o r t t o gear the t e x t t o t h e general reader, they f a i l t o give
t h e l i t e r a t u r e as rigorous a c r i t i q u e as they might have. Nonetheless, as an
i n t r o d u c t i o n t o a complex subject, t h e book may be recommended highly.
I n an edited c o l l e c t i o n a p t l y s u b t i t l e d "Technical P o s s i b i l i t i e s and
P o l i t i c a l Realities," editors Helen Remick and Ronnie J. Steinberg meet t h e
b i g issues surroundi ng comparable worth head on. Thei r preface, introduction,
and conclusion alone are worth the p r i c e of t h e book. Remick and Steinberg
"Can we compare
unabashedly chal lenge common c r i t i c i s m s o f comparable worth.
apples and oranges?"
"Why not?" respond Remick and Stei nberg:
--
"
.
..there are general character1 s t i c s o f f r u i t , such as t h e
number o f c a l o r i e s , t h e vitami n and mineral content, and so
on, t h a t make i t p o s s i b l e t o compare s p e c i f i c apples w i t h
s p e c i f i c oranges. ..likewise, c e r t a i n d i s s i m i l a r jobs may
comprise f u n c t i o n a l tasks and c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t , from t h e
employer's p o i n t o f view a r e equivalent i n value. (p.288)
"What about t h e f r e e market?" I n response t o t h i s f r e q u e n t l y posed
question, t h e authors p o i n t out t h a t we i n t e r f e r e w i t h t h e f r e e market a1 1 t h e
f o r example, M e n t h e government makes funds a v a i l a b l e t o Chrysler,
time
Amtrack, o r Lockheed, o r when companies f i x p r i c e s t o c o n t r o l p a r t i c u l a r
markets. Remick and Steinberg address t h e issues o f cost, i n f l a t i o n ,
unemployment, i n t e g r a t i o n o f jobs, and promotion i n a s i m i l a r l y h a r d h i t t i n g
fashion.
--
The r e f r e s h i n g aspect o f t h i s book i s t h a t i t acknowledges t h a t comparable
worth " w i l l not happen i n a p o l i t i c a l vacuum" (p.300).
As t h e a r t i c l e s
included here suggest, comparable worth i s not simply a c o l l e c t i v e bargai ning
issue, a l e g a l issue, o r a socioeconomic issue; rather, i t i s a l l t h r e e o f
t h e s e and more.
Each of t h e i n d i v i d u a l pieces i n t h e volume explores an aspect o f
comparable worth i n more d e t a i l
f o r example, j o b evaluations. Richard and
James Beatty p o i n t out how and M y t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f work i s important t o j o b
evaluation. Donald Treiman's a r t i c l e , on t h e other hand, suggests t h a t
f a c t o r s and f a c t o r weights selected f o r a j o b e v a l u a t i o n scheme can serve as a
source o f sex bias. F i n a l l y , using t h e f i e l d o f nursing, Helen Remick
demonstrates t h e i m p l i c i t r o l e values can play i n s e t t i n g wages as they a r e
r e f 1ected i n j o b e v a l u a t i o n schemes.
--
The . f i n a l work under review here i s a case book c h r o n i c l i n g t h e
experiences o f s t a t e s and l o c a l i t i e s i n imp1ementi ng compensati on programs
based on comparable worth. A l i c e H. Cook has c o l l e c t e d a r i c h v a r i e t y o f
m a t e r i a l s from f o r t y - f i v e s t a t e s and almost one hundred l o c a l j u r i s d i c t i o n s .
She organizes t h i s wealth o f i n f o r m a t i o n i n t o a m a t r i x t h a t h i g h l i g h t s several
f a c t o r s : t h e number and sex o f government employees; t h e s t a t e o r l o c a l
budget ; l e g i s l a t i o n (proposed, pendi ng, o r passed) ; e x i s t i n g j o b e v a l u a t i o n
systems ; comparable worth studies a1 ready undertaken; l i t i g a t i o n ; c o l l e c t i v e
b a r g a i n i n g agents and r e l a t e d negotiations; t h e r o l e o f status o f women
commissions ; implementation. She a l s o provides contacts (union, state, and
o t h e r personnel), l i s t s h e r sources o f information, and adds explanatory
comments.
I n t h e s e c t i o n on Wisconsin, t o t a k e one example, Cook t r a c e s t h e S t a t e ' s
i n i t i a l e f f o r t t o evaluate c l e r i c a l job c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s i n t h e l a t e 1970s, i t s
subsequent deci s i on t o r e t a i n prevai 1ing wage scales , and t h e r e s u l t i ng
protest.
I n 1982, Cook notes, AFSCME and t h e Wisconsin State Employees Union
(WSEU) f i l e d a canplaint w i t h t h e EEOC charging t h e State w i t h sex
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n . Then i n 1984, Governor E a r l issued Executive Order No.44,
s e t t i n g up a Task Force on Comparable Worth t o i n i t i a t e a f r e s h i n v e s t i g a t i o n
a step t h a t should
o f t h e S t a t e ' s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n and compensation system
perhaps be i n t e r p r e t e d as a response t o t h e AFSCMEIWSEU l i t i g a t i o n , Cook
concludes.
--
Cook's case book furnishes t h e s o r t of d e t a i l e d , comparative, and hard-tol o c a t e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t i s e s s e n t i a l t o p r a c t i t i o ' n e r s i n v o l v e d i n compensation
issues, and o f great i n t e r e s t t o many workers. Reviewing key dimensions of
t h e comparable worth controversy, h e r i n t r o d u c t i o n aids t h e reader i n drawl ng
t o g e t h e r t h e d l sparate experiences enumerated in t h e matrix. A "Digest-Index
t o t h e Case Book by A c t i v i t y and Function" provides subject access.
Each o f these books adds t o t h e comparable worth dlscusslon and i s u s e f u l
i n i t s own way. By v i r t u e o f t h e f a c t t h a t t h e concept o f canparable worth
f o r c e s us t o reexamine basic economic, s o c i a l , and p o l i t i c a l b e l i e f s , it
n e c e s s a r i l y w i 11 s t i m u l a t e discussion. These works a s s i s t us i n becoming more
informed, a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e comparable worth debate.
-- A1 ice Audi e-Fi gue roa
[ A l i c e Audie-Figueroa received h e r Ph.D. i n Economics from t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f
W i sconsin-Madj son. Her d i s s e r t a t i o n was e n t i t l e d "Sex, Power and Wages: An
She was formerly V i ce-President o f
Economic Approach t o Comparable Worth.
t h e Teaching A s s i s t a n t s ' Associ a t i on a t t h e UW-Madi son, AFT 3220. Currently,
she i s a Financial Analyst i n t h e United Auto Workers Research Department.]
Eleanor Holmes Norton, former Chair, EEOC, quoted i n a speech by Carole
W i lson, attorney, t o CLUW-Mi lwaukee, 1982.
Clarence Pendleton, Chair, U.S. Commission on C i v i l Rights, quoted i n
D a i l y Labor Report no.71 ( A p r i l 12, 1985). p.A-3.
Court statement, case o f Lemons v. C i t y and County o f Denver, U.S.
Court o f Appeals f o r t h e Tenth C i r c u i t .
A l t e r n a t i v e Cataloglny I n P u b l i c a t t o n Oata
Feminist c o l l e c t i o n s : women's studles l i b r a r y r w o u r c e s I n
~
Ulsconsln. Madison. Ut: W System U ~ o r n n 'Studles
Lf brarian.
quarterly.
Began p u b l i c a t i o n 1980.
Includes d r f l c l e s . reviews: d l r e c t o r i e s , blbllographles.
I n t e r v i e w s . and "Items o f note.
1. Feminist literature--Pub11 shlng--Periodicals.
2. Feminist literature--Reviews--Periodicals. 3. Uomen's
s t u d i e s - - L i b r a r y resources--Periodicals. 4. L i b r a r i e s Spec1 a l c o l l e c t ions--Yomen's stud1 es--Periodicals.
5. Feminism--Book reviews--Perlodlcalr. 6. F m l nlsm-B i bliography--Periodicals. 7. Feminist l i t e r a t u r e Hi s t o r y and c r i tlcism--Periodicals. 8. Feminist 11t e r a t u r e
--El bliography--Periodicals. I. Uni v e r s i t y o f Uisconrl n
System. Women's Studies Librarian-at-Larye. 11. T i t l e :
Urnen's studies l i b r a r y resources I n Uisconsln. 111. T i t l e :
U i sconsi n wmen's stud1 es l i b r a r y resources.
Courtesy o f Sanford Batman.
FE miNlST COLLECTIONS
" h e r i c a n Farm Women: Uork and Family [book
review].'
by Yava G. Haney. v o l .7. n0.i. pp.23-27.
"Archives: Lots o f Yomen's H i s t o r y Out mere. I f You
Are W l l ? i n g t o Look f o r It: Black Umen i n La
Crmse. by Bruce L. Mouser. vo1.7, 110.2.
pp.4-9.
[Goodbye t u Karen M e r r i t t and
by Susan Seariny. vo1.7. no.4,
"Fran t h e E d i t o r s [Reflections on two recent name
changes i n ;he O f f i c e of t h e Urnen's Stud1 es
L l b r a r i a n J . by Susan Sear1 ng. vo1.7, no.1, pp.3-4.
"Archlves: Recoveri?g Our Past: M t h l l d e Franzi ska
Anneke (1817-1884). by Maryo A. Conk and Uenny
H a r r i yan. vo1.7. no.3, pp.3-6.
Haney, Uava ti.. "Amer~canFarm Yon~en: Uork and
vo1.7, no.1. pp.23-27.
Fami l y [book review].
"Archives: Uarnn o f t h e Right
vo1.7, no.1, pp.4-6.
'Items o f Note.'by Linda Shult. vo1.7, no.1.
23; vo1.7. 110.2.
p.22; vo1.7, no.3, pp.19-21;
110.4.
pp.24-26.
."
by Kathleen Blee,
Audi e-Fl p e r o a , A l i c e . UCcnnparable Uorth [book
pp.30-33.
review].
vo1.7, 110.4,
Blee, Kathleen, 'Archives:
vol.?. no.1, pp.4-6.
Uomen o f t h e Hight
.'
!leier, Ruth. Diane K r y e t z , and Suzanne P i n rw.
N w r from W-Wdison, vo1.7. no.2, pp.12-1%
" C l e r i c a l York and C l e r i c a l Y o r k e n [book r e ~ i e w l . ~
by Cynthia C o r t e l lo, vo1.7. 110.2. pp.25-29.
r
"From t h e Editor:
Nancy F d r s h a l l l .
pp.3-4.
"Conparable Yorth [book revirw]."
F i yueroa. vo1.7, 110.4,
pp.30-33.
by A l i c e Audle-
Conk. k r g o A., "Nineteenth-Century C m u n l t i e s o f
S i n g l e Yonrn i n B r l t a f n and t h e U.S. [book review],"
vo1.7. 110.2, pp.23-25.
end Renny Harrlgan, "Archives:
Conk. M r g o A,.
Recovering Our Past: Math1 l d e Franziska Anneke
( 1817-1084)
v01.7. n0.3, pp.3-6.
.'
pp.22vol.7.
Kent. Deborah. " Y m n and O i s a b i l i t y . P a r t I [book
rrvlewl,' vo1.7, no.3, pp.21-24.
Kent. Oetorah, " U m n and O i sabl 11t y
review],
vo1.7. 1104.,
pp.26-30.
.
Part II [book
Loeb. Cathy, " ~ m i i i s tPubl?shlng [ r e p o r t on e i y h t
presses. f i v e of them n d . vo1.7, n0.3. pp.lU-11.
Loeb. Cathy, " F m l n l s t P u b l l s h i ny [;evorts
on t h r e e
feminist presser. two o f them n w ] , vo1.7. no.1.
pp.11-12.
Loeb. Cathy, * P e r i o d i c a l Notes." vo1.7,
22; vo1.7. 110.2.
pp.19-21; vo1.7, 110.3;
vo1.7. 110.4, pp.19-24.
no.1. pp.18pp.17-19;
Loeb, Cathy. "Yoinen i n P r i n t [Part 11: n w s on
recent and upccnni nq w w n - i n - p r i n t gatherings ]
vo1.7. no.1. pp.10-11.
.'
C o s t e l l o , Cynthia, n C l e r i c a l York and C l e r t c a l
Y o r k e n [book review].'
vo1.7. 170.2. pp.25-29.
Mouser. Bruce. "Archives: W s o f Women's H i s t o r y
Out There, I f You Are W i 1l i n g t o Look f o r It: l l ~ c k
Yomen i n La Crosse." vo1.7, 170.2. pp.4-9.
E l l s w o r t h , Elizabeth. "Feminist Vi!iom:
Comvuter
E q u i t y Through Genderad Software?, vo1.7. 110.3.
pp.6-9.
"New Reference Works i n M e n ' s Studies." by Susan
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E l l s w o r t h , Elizabath. YFeminist Visions: Media f o r
F i g h t i n g t h e Double D i s c r i m i n a t i o n of Ableism and
Sexism.' vol.7, 110.2,
pp.9-11.
" F w i n f s t P e n e e c t l v e s on A n t i - S a l t i s m and Racism
[book review].
by J u d i t h G. S t l t z e l . vo1.7. no.1.
pp.27-30.
" F m i n l s t Pub?ishl ng ( r e p o r t on e l ght presses. five
o f thmn new].
by Cathy Loeb, vo1.7, no.3. pp.10-11.
" F e d n l s t P u b l i r h l n g [repol+s on t h r e e f m i n i s t
presses, two of t h a n new], by Cathy Loeb. vo1.7.
no.1, pp.11-12.
" F m i n l s t !isions: Computer Equity Through Gendered
Software?. by E l i z a b e t h Ellsworth, vo1.7. no.3,
pp.6-9.
"News from UU-Madison," by Ruth B l e i e r . Uiane
and Suzanne Plngree. vo1.7, 1102..
pp.12-13,
,Kravetz.
'News from UY-Stevens Poi n t
110.3.
pp.11-12.
"News froln UU-Stout
no.1. pp.12-13.
,'
.'
by Kathy H i t e , vo1.7,
by Janet Polansky. vo1.7.
"Nineteenth-Century Cinnmunities o f S l ngle Women i n
B r i t a i n and t h e U.S. [book review]." by Margo A.
Conk. vo1.7. no.2. pp.23-25.
"Note t o SubscribenU[Recent changes i n New Books on
Women and F e d n l sm].
"Periodical Notes," by Cathy Loeb, vo1.7. no.1,
pp.18-22; vo1.7. 110.2, pp.19-21; vo1.7, 170.3. pp.1719; vo1.7. 110.4,
pp.19-24.
" F m i n i s t Visions: *dl a f o r F i g h t i n g t h e Double
D i s c r i m l n a t i o n o f Ableism and Sexim," by Elizabeth
E l l s w o r t h . vo1.7. no.2, pp.9-11.
Polansky. Janet. "News f r a UU-Stout.'
pp. 12-13.
"Feminist W r i t e n i n New Zealand. 1975-1985."
Kate Reed, vo1.7, 110.4, pp.9-13.
Reed, Ka!e. "Feminist Writers i n New Zealand. 1975
t o 1985, vo1.7, no.4, pp.9-13.
by
"From t h e E d l t o n [Feminist Collections now
a v a i l a b l e on tape],* by lusan Seanng and Cathy
Loeb, vo1.7, 170.2, pp.3-4.
vol .7, no.1.
Sapi ro. V i r g i n l a , "Sex, Gender and t h e State [boor
revlew] ," vo1.7, no.3. pp.24-27.
Schmltz. Betty. "Selected New Resources f o r
l n t e g r a t l ng Y q m ' s Stud1as l n t o the Currl culum
[book revlew].
vo1.7, no.2, pp.29-34.
S t i t z e l . Judith G., "Feminist Perspectives on AntiS m l t l s m and Racism [book review].' vo1 .I.no.1.
pp.27-30.
Searlng. Surm. "frm t h e Ed!,ton [Goodbye t o Karen
Mrrltt and Nancy Manhall],
vo1.7. no.4. pp.3-4.
Yhite. Kathy. "Nms from UU-Stevens Point
no.3, pp.11-12.
Searlng. Susm. " F r m the E d l t o n [Reflectionr on
two recent n m changer I n the O f f i c e o f the Yanwn's
S t u d l a Llbrarlan].'
vo1.7, no.1. pp.3-4.
U u I r ~ ~ n rBlbliographler
ln
i n Yomen's Studlrs."
vo1.7, no.2. pp.22-23; vo1.7. n0.4. y.26.
Searlng. Susan, 'New Reference Yorkr I n Y a r n ' s
S t u d l r , ' vol.7, no.1, pp.14-17; vo1.7, no.2. pp.1418; vo1.7, no.3, pp.12-16: vo1.7, 130.4, pp.13-19.
Searlng, Susan. "women I n P r l n t [Part I: Feminist
p u b l l r h l n g m d r c h o l a n h l p I n Yestern Europe],'
v01.7. n0.1, pp.6-10.
Searlng. Susan. and Cathy Loeb. " F r m t h e Editors
[Femlnlst C o l l u t l o n s now available on tape].
vo1.7. 130.z. pp.3-4.
4
."
vo1.7.
"Ymen and Olsabl l l t y . Part I [book revlm].*
Oeaorah Kent, vo1.7, no.3, pp.21-24.
"Uomm and Olsabl l i t y . Part 1 1 [book revlew],"
Deborah Kent. vol.7, n0.4, pp.26-30.
by
by
"Uomm I n P r l n t [Part I: Femlni?t publlshlny and
scholrrshlp I n Uestern Euroyel, by Susan Searing,
vo1.7, no.1. pp.6-10.
'Yomen I n P r l n t [Part 11: news on r e p n t and
u p c a l ng women-1 n-prl n t gather1 ngr J. by Cathy Loeb.
vo1.7. no.1. pp.10-11.
"Selected New Rasourcrr for I n t e g r a t i n g U y ' s
Studies l n t o t h e Cur!lculum
[book r e v l m l . by Betty
S c h d t z , vo1.7. no.2, pp.29-34.
'Uomn's History Through Alfifacts,'
Uoodhoure. ~ 0 1 ~ 7no.4,
,
pp.4-9.
'Sea. Gender m d t h e State [book r e ~ l e * ] . by
~
V I r g l n l a Sap1ro, vo1.7. no.3, pp.24-27.
"Umm's Studler I n Ulsconsin [Third e d i t i o n o f
Yomen's Studlrs I n Ylsconsin: Who's Wlo & Yhere no*
avatlableJ." V01.7, no.1. p.17.
Shult. Linda, ' I t m s of Note,' vo1.7, no.1. pp.2223; vo1.7. no.2. p.22; w1.7. 110.3. pp.19-21; vo1.7.
110.4.
pp.24-26.
UOO~~OUI.~A~M,
Artifacts,
vo1.7,
by Anne
'Yomen's History Thrwyh
n0.4. pp.4-9.