Abstract
Reviewed by: Jaclyn A. Siegel, Western University, Canada
Over the last several years, various sociopolitical events around the world have highlighted the continued necessity of procuring and safeguarding women’s rights. In response, policymakers and celebrities alike have rallied behind a renewed effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in America. The ERA was designed to guarantee equal legal rights for American citizens regardless of sex or gender and end legal distinctions between women and men on matters of divorce, employment, property, and other gender-related issues. The bill was initially proposed in 1972, but it did not receive the support of the necessary 38 states for constitutional ratification. With record-breaking numbers of progressively-minded women voted into Congress in 2018 and running for president in 2020, laws and constitutional amendments that advance women’s social, political, and economic status have newfound potential. If there was ever a time to develop a broader, richer understanding of the history of women’s political movements and moments in the United States, it is now.
Written by two conference delegates, Shelah Gilbert Leader and Patricia Rusch Hyatt, with the assistance of National Women’s Conference commissioner Gloria Steinem, American Women on the Move details the 1977 National Women’s Conference (NWC), along with the tension and turmoil that surrounded the event. While the book is written as a historical account of the NWC, deemed “the most important event that nobody knows about” (p. xiii), the story in itself is as captivating and engaging as if the book were a work of fiction. The book takes readers through the deliberate and meticulous planning phases of the state-wide and national conferences, followed by an emotional journey from the triumph of the NWC to the disappointment of America’s unwillingness to support equal rights for women.
American Women on the Move gives a behind-the-scenes look at some of the key events organized by the National Commission on the Observance of International Women’s Year. The book is divided into nine chapters. Chapters 1 through 3 focus on the events that led up to the NWC arguments that surrounded some of the “critical decisions” (Chapter 3) made by the committee in planning the NWC, most notably the exclusion of sexual minority rights within the NWC agenda. Leader and Hyatt carefully explain the reasoning behind these choices, noting the arguments in support and opposition to the final verdicts. Chapter 4 examines the state-wide conferences that were held before the event to educate community members about the issues facing women at that time, propose additional agendas not originally conceived by the committee, and elect state delegates to attend the NWC. Chapters 5 and 6 center on the conference itself, and the authors skip no details in discussing the organization of the NWC, painting a vivid image of the proceedings, while honestly describing mistakes, mishaps, and oversights. The sections that follow explain the events that came after the NWC, including the warped “media coverage” (Chapter 7) of the event, and the contentious political incidents that trailed the conference (Chapter 8). Chapter 9 provides an overview of the of the NWC, as well as a summary of many issues that continue to face women today.
A highlight of the book is its illumination of the deliberate diversity of perspectives represented at the NWC. The 401 delegates at large (and 370 who attended the Houston conference) ranged in age, socioeconomic status, race, and religion. While various topics were debated and voted upon at the conference (including, but not limited to, reproductive rights, childcare, rights for battered women and those victimized by rape, media, and employment), the most pressing was the proposed ERA. Despite the multiplicity of opinions and backgrounds present at the conference, a five-to-one vote in support of the ERA left the delegates joyously singing a chorus of “The ERA was passed today!” (p. 89). Yet, the political potential of the NWC was stifled by sexist media misrepresentations of the event and a legislative body that was impatient with the demands of a strong woman unwilling to take her subjugation lying down, problems that continue to stall feminist progress today.
Throughout the authors’ historical account, Bella Abzug is positioned as both the hero and anti-hero, whose determination both facilitated and hindered the success of the conference and (potentially) the passing of the ERA. Her unwavering boldness and willingness to speak out against the president of the USA, combined with the backlash it elicited both from within and outside the organization, is a quintessential example of the double bind still facing feminists today. In order to progress the women’s rights agenda, it is necessary to call attention to unjust treatment and challenge the gender status quo. However, those who do, like Bella, risk being trivialized, dismissed, and silenced by those in positions of power.
Leader and Hyatt’s account of the NWC is not the only book that recounts the details of the 1977 conference (see Spruill, 2017). However, by providing a balanced and intentionally-historical account of the NWC from the perspective of those who were actually involved, Leader and Hyatt’s book fills a critical gap in feminist history in the United States. It paints a picture of the laborious effort and organization often necessary for feminist change to occur at the political level, as well as the reality of sexist backlash, the media sensationalizing of feminist activism, and the thrill of progress toward gender equality. The book was published in 2016, when the dream of a female president of the United States was nearly a reality. Yet, its lessons are still important for feminist activists today. Specifically, though feminism has entered into the cultural zeitgeist, and the feminist label is no longer completely abhorrent to most women (Gill, 2016), the book calls into question some of the strategies practiced by modern feminists (see also Zeisler, 2016). Today’s feminism is characterized largely by digital and social media activism, and these efforts have clearly had important implications for shaping the cultural climate (e.g. #MeToo, #SayHerName). The authors suggest that feminist scholars should continue to scrutinize the potential social, psychological, and political implications of “hashtag activism”, it remains unclear how effective these efforts are for protecting women's legal rights in protecting women’s legal rights (p. 155). Feminist activists and policymakers hoping to achieve gender equality may benefit from a close read of Leader and Hyatt’s book to develop a comprehensive understanding of the slow, deliberate, effort that is often necessary for social change to occur, and the challenges and backlash that have long stalled the global gender revolution.
Overall, by detailing the victories and disappointments of the National Women’s Conference, Leader and Hyatt provide a template for progressing a feminist agenda that centralizes women’s lived experiences (e.g., prioritizing representation and diversity of opinion and experiences, meticulous and organized leadership with a clear plan of action, relying on the enthusiasm and efforts of grassroots and volunteer support). However, by examining some of the shortcomings of the conference, it is clear what must be improved upon to advance the women's movement going forward. As evidenced by the pushback following the decision not to include sexual orientation rights on the main agenda for the conference, feminist progress must be inclusive of multiple modes and variations of womanhood. The voices of those who are routinely silenced or brushed aside as auxiliary, particularly LGBTQIA+ women, Black women and women of color, immigrant women, female sex workers, women experiencing homelessness, and those who fall at the intersections of these and other marginalized identity markers, must be amplified. Feminist progress is only possible if it is inclusive, and if a clear and cogent long-term plan is in place for its achievement. American Women on the Move delivers not only a glimpse into the past, but a guide for the future of women’s rights. To be clear, American women still face a country that is resistant to feminist change, but now that history has been written, it can be rewritten.
