Jim Devine wrote:
As someone who was outside the process, my impression was that the recent
wave of feminism that came out of the 1960s anti-war and other movements in
the US was a reaction to the male chauvinism of the "New Left" leaders.
I can give one dramatic instance (with the proviso that I have forgotten my
source so cannot guarantee its accuracy). SDS at one point had a national
program called J.O.I.N. (Jobs or Income Now), a community organizing
project. I believe there were units in Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago, and
(way down in the sticks) Cairo, Illinois among other places. The program
was coordinated from the National Office, the Director being Rennie Davis
(who I remember as a most unpleasant character -- he ended up as a
Christer of some sort). Or at least he was *officially* in charge. As I heard
the story most of the actual work was done by Heather Booth, while
Davis trapised the world being a big shot. When he resigned the position
to go on to better and greater things, SDS dissolved the project, since
there was no longer anyone to coordinate it.
I think it was also at some SDS meetings (local and national) that some
women carried noisemeters -- measuring the amount of background noise
in the room when men were speaking as compared to when women were
speaking.
But on these issues let's also record an important footnote. The CPUSA
had a terrible record on race -- merely being better on race than any other
organization, left or right, in U.S. history. The CPUSA had an even more
terrible record on gender -- merely being better on gender than any other
organization, left or right, in U.S. history.
Carrol
