History Revived in Personal-Political Site

History is always in the eye of the beholder, and many of the beholders have distorted and erased feminist history. That’s why it's such good news that Carol Hanisch opened a website with her original writings from the feminist movement of the '60s and '70s. The site is simpled titled: WOMEN OF THE WORLD, UNITE!

Hanisch was one of the thinkers, writers, movers and shakers of the Women's Liberation Movement and the self-described "Pro-Woman Line" (that women are "really neat people"). Many of her writings ring as true today as 40 years ago.

Carol Hanisch is introduced on the site in this way:

~Founding member of New York Radical Women, 1967
~Originator of the Miss America Protest, 1968
~Author of the groundbreaking paper, The Personal is Political, 1969
~An editor of Redstocking's book, Feminist Revolution, 1973
~Editor of the journal Meeting Ground, 1978 - 1992

Hanisch wrote think-pieces, critiques and analyses, all crisp and clear in articulating radical feminist views. Perhaps the most well-known is a 1969 article titled, "The Personal Is Political." In it, Hanisch writes in defense of women's analyses of their oppression through consciousness raising. Hanisch is careful to note that editors Shulie Firestone and Anne Koedt came up with the tag line, "The Personal Is Political" -- language that soon went viral in its own way. But Hanisch came up with the thinking that inspired the header, and it is republished in full on the site.

Hanisch was also one of the planners of a banner-drop action to draw attention to women's liberation at the 1968 Miss America Beauty Pageat. Afterward, in a rigorous review, she critiques what went right and what went wrong, also reprinted on the site.

To encourage women's liberation and action, Hanisch also wrote songs, such as those included in the songbook "Fight On Sisters," (pictured above). The words to the title song, printed on a link to the site, say:

Fight on, sisters, Fight on,
Fight on, sisters, Fight on
Our power will grow and our dreams will be won
If we fight on, sisters, fight on

But it is in a 1978 speech, "Where Have All the '60s Gone" that Hanisch is, perhaps, her most eloquent for our times. It is an apt tribute for the beginning of a new year:

I don’t have any blueprints for the next ten years. I do know that we must start talking to each other again politically. We need to do consciousness raising about our current political situation. We must build theory as well as actions based on the right here and now truths of our own lives. And we must get serious and take ourselves seriously. No more drugs, religion, macho, psychological cop-outs. No more revolution for its own sake, no more revolution for the hell of it. We must realize that the revolution is to save ourselves and our land.

Many thanks, Carol, for making your voice heard and available to new generations. Carol has also made many original documents available for purchase at the site.

Posted by Cindy Cooper
Pictured above, "Fight On Sisters" Songbook Cover, with permission

 Subscribe in a reader

Introducing: The Words of Choice Trailer

Films have trailers and now events of all sorts do, too. Words of Choice is finally joining their ranks with our own PROMO TRAILER.

It's posted in two places with slightly different openings. One is on YouTube. The other is on Vimeo.

This Words of Choice 3.5 minute trailer was created by a hot young video artist, Diana Whitcroft. Diana took tapes shot by videographers who have come to shows at various locations. From them, she used her own sophisticated techniques to give viewers an idea of how the live shows work. She pulled commentary from audience members and radio interviews, while incorporating peeks at the live performances.

The trailer features the last touring cast of Words of Choice -- Crista Marie Jackson, Carl H. Jaynes and Claudia Schneider, under the direction of Francesca Mantani Arkus, all located in New York. But you see audiences from across the country, and most particularly, in Colorado, where we were joined by activists fighting (successfully, I might add) a horrible state ballot measure that would have outlawed abortion. Our Colorado coordinator Rachel Becker kicks the piece off.

Other shots are composed from photographs and Diana cleverly zooms into them. For example, in one shot, she focuses on a "Words of Choice" sign and then pans up to the location, a church. In great style, Diana keeps this trailer fast-moving, truly capturing the upbeat spirit of Words of Choice. She manages to share the pulse of a live show, drawing all of the text from audio on the clips -- quite a feat.

The trailer presents "Words of Choice II" or the second script of Words of Choice, and is separate altogether from the "Words of Choice DVD."

The Words of Choice DVD uses the first script, which was performed live from 2003-2007. That script is contained in a new book, Front Lines:. Political Plays by American Women, edited by Alexis Greene and Shirley Lauro. The DVD is available from the National Film Network.

But for a few minutes boost, and to see what a live performance feels like, take a look at the exciting Words of Choice trailer on YouTube or also on Vimeo.

Posted by Cindy Cooper
Above" Screen Shot from Words of Choice Trailer on YouTube

 Subscribe in a reader

The Good Women at Northland

Sometimes the measure of how successful creative endeavors are comes from the other side -- the louder the attack, the better the effort. Under that standard, Northland Family Planning Centers in the Detroit area jumped over the top of the yardstick when it released a simple, effective and straightforward video that drove the antis nuts.

The video is about goodness, and good women. And it says, without fanfare, that good women have abortions.

In the video, a woman talks plainly and clearly to the camera with soft music playing behind her. "We know that good women often have to make difficult decisions in life," she begins. "Deciding to have an abortion is a normal experience. We trust you and we believe you are making your decision from a place of goodness…," she says.

According to writer Charlotte Taft on RH Reality Check, this simple message drove the antis crazy when it was posted on YouTube. "The antis have bombarded the clinic with vile, unprintable attacks over the phones directed at the staff," writes Taft. Other antis' with time on their hands and egged on by ultraconservative anti-abortion radio stations and newsletters, posted obnoxious comments on YouTube. Taft notes: "The fear-based hatred has been overwhelming."

So overwhelming, in fact, that Northland's executive director Renee Chelian decided to remove the video from the Internet, although it can still be viewed on Northland's site and in the clinic.

The tactic of anti-abortion groups frequently turn to shouting down and trying to swarm and overwhelm. They want to stigmatize and silence women and their experiences.

Writing in a separate RH Reality Check article, "Thelma" says that she is the woman in the video. "The video speaks to women all over this country and the world who need it the most.... I have had an abortion. I know the kind of woman I am." And then she shares a comment of another viewer who said, "I had an abortion 5 years ago. And this is the message I have been searching for. I know I am a good person, and now I feel it in my heart."

When the fear-mongering fails, no wonder the antis' get upset. Congratulations Northland. Keep up the good work. You good women must be doing something right.

Posted by Cindy Cooper
Pictured above, screenshot, Northland clinic video
p> Subscribe in a reader