Daring to Be Bad: Radical Feminism in America 1967-1975, Thirtieth Anniversary Edition 1517908701, 9781517908706

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DARING TO BE BAD

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DARING TO BE BAD RADICAL FEMINISM IN AMERICA, 1967–1975 Thirtieth Anniversary Edition

Alice Echols Foreword by Ellen Willis

University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis London

This book was originally published in the American Culture series at the University of Minnesota Press. Copyright 1989, 2019 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by the University of Minnesota Press 111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290 Minneapolis, MN 55401-­2520 http://www.upress.umn.edu ISBN 978-1-5179-0870-6 (pb) A Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Printed in the United States of America on acid-­free paper The University of Minnesota is an equal-­opportunity educator and employer. 25 24 23 22 21 20 19

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Contents

Introduction the Thilrti.eili Thirtieth Anruvers:aury Anniversary Edition Introd111ctilon to ilie lEdJ.tilon vii Foreword by lEHen Ellen WilHs Willis xxxvii Acknowledgments xllvii xlvii Adrnowliedgments /D)({//,frltm{g ft({)) !Ee Daring to Be fE({//,@ Bad

Introduction Introd111ctilon lo The Re-­ lRe-lEmergence ilie “Woman "Woman Question” Q111estilon" 1. Emergence of the 20 The Great Divide: The Politico-­ PoHtko-FemJ.ni.§t §chl.§m 2. Feminist Schism 3. the left Left 30 Breaking lBrealking Away from ilie 4. Varieties of Radical Redstockings, Cell 40 V:arietiles JR:adk:ali Feminism—­ FemJ.rusm-lRedstoclkings, Cdli 16,   The Femi.rusts, Feminists, New Yorlk York Radical JR:adk:ali Feminists Femi.rusts 5. Difference 50 The Eruption lEruptilon of Difference 6. 60 The Ascendance of Cultural C111lit111rali Feminism Feminism Epilogue lEpilog111e Notes Notes Appendix A: Discussion Dfac111ssJ.on at :at Sandy Springs Conference,   August 1968 A111g111st Appendix lB: B: Brief lBrief Biographies mographies of Women's Women’s Liberation liberation   Activists Activists Women’s Liberation G111ide to Women's liberatilon Groups Gro111ps Appendix C: A Guide the Oral Appendix D: A Note on ilie Orali Interviews Interviews Index Index

3 23 51 51 103 139 203 243 287 299 369 379 387 391 399

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Introduction to the Thirtieth Anniversary Edition

The women at the heart of this the 'fhe alt ilie tltls book boolk upended so many of ilie that iliey they mighlt might as """'"''°''cu ilimlt norms and conventions of American society well have aimed a bliowtorch blowtorch at it. welili ito Their audaciousness audadousness seems, if anything, even more striking than it was three decades u smlking now ilian ago when I wrote ilifa this book. them book Nearly Neady fifty years separated iliem the firslt first feminislt feminist wave ilimlt that culminated culiminated in women winning from ilie the vote in 1920. the intervenll920o 11 Women activists had persisted in ilie ilie ing years, but feminism nevertheless until ilie the neverthdess remained marginal marginali untili §ooieso 22 Crucial Crucfali in igniting igni.Hng ilie "second wave" era's Sixties. the “second wave” were iliat that era’s movemenlt§o 'fhe bfadk freedom movement and ilie protest movements. The black the new left revealed the gulif gulf between American ideals lieft revealied ilie idealis of democracy and equality . . . and ilie the reality ground. It was only equaliity reaHty on the groundo n W:Jl§ oruy a matter of themselves veterans of these time before young radical radicali women, themsdves their own behalif behalf under ilie the banmovements, began agitating on ilieir liberation.” ner of “women’s "women's liiberaHono" At first ilie the numbers of women involved small and geoAlt involived were smalili graphically concentrated, mostly coastali cities dHes and university graphicaliliy mosdy in coastal townso swdliedo towns. As women's women’s discontent increased, ilieir their numbers swelled. lFor iliose consHltuency of ilie For those who woulid would form the core constituency the movethan the cultural that ranlklied more ilian culiwrali assumption iliat ment, nothing rankled women exist e::idslt to accommodate aocommodate men. meno And nothing nolthmg powered women’s en's liberation HberaHon more effectively effecHveliy than the idea that women matindividualis in their own tered, not as appendages of men but as individuals righL acHvislt§ to attack attaclk restrictive resmctive abortion laws, faws, biased right. 'fhfa This lied led activists violence. n It influenced feminists' feminists’ rape laws, incest, and domestic violience, O

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ded§ion to take on the lthe §ex-§egregated "men'§" and decision sex-­ segregated wodd world of “men’s” “women’s” jobs, women’s near ­ b anishment from electoral "women'§" job§, women'§ banfahment eliectorali polpoliitics, the sexism that wa§ was nearly itics, and lthe §ex:i§m !that nearly hardwired in our medical, medicali, liegali, e§rablii§hmenw, legal, and faw-enforcement law-­enforcement establishments. The United States’ §rate§' initial lni.Hali response re§pon§e wa§ Hbwas to treat women'§ women’s lib(or “women’s "women'§ liib," :JL§ it wa§ deri§ivdy called) calilied) as :JL§ comic eration (or lib,” as was derisively relief from lthe the serious the day. parts of the reliief §eriou§ politics poliitirn of lthe day. Yet parts lthe new movemenf§ me§§age-particufady equali pay for movement’s message—­ particularly the demand for equal equali work~id holid wilth miliHon§ of women, including induding equal work—­did take hold with millions lRepubliic:am women, Femini§m wa§ infectiou§, Kn :at PreslPre§Republican women. Feminism was infectious. In 1975, at ident Gerald that Geralid Ford’s Ford'§ public pubHc signing §igning of the lthe executive order !that led to lthe the observance Women’s Year, First Lady lied ob§ervance of International ITntemationali Women'§ Fir§t lady lthe crowd (and her husband) hu§band) when she §he Betty Ford cracked up the congratufated him for having come “a "a long, liong, long way!" congratulated way!”33 Feminfam'§ second §econd wave induded, Feminism’s included, often une:a§iliy, uneasily, women from across acro§§ the lthe ideological ideoliogicali §pectrum, radicali women'§ Hbspectrum, from radical women’s liberationists to liberal erationi§IB who rejected electoral eliectorali politics poliitic§ li:o Hberali feminists femmi§t§ committed li:o lthe system. §y§li:em, The radical radicali femini§li:§ to working wilthin within the feminists and lthe §Odalii§t-femini§IB identilled as :81§ women'§ Hberationfali:§ the socialist-­ feminists who identified women’s liberationists §:JLW lthem§dVe§ :81§ “movement "movement girls," r:adicafa who were wodd§ saw themselves as girls,” radicals worlds apart from lthe the respectable women” who were lthe the public re§pecrablie “career "career women" pubHc 44 face of the National Nation:ali Organization for Women (NOW). (NOW), Despite De§pite !their con§ider:ablie differences, difference§, §econd-w:ave their considerable second-­wave femini§IB feminists §Ometime§ sometimes que§li: to remake American society. did work togelther together in !their their quest Although African American women, Chicanas, Alllthough Chicana§, and white women generally took “separate feminism, the was gener:aliliy "§eparate roads” road§" to femini§m, lthe movement wa§ bolth multiracial mulitir:acfali :and cro§§-d:81§§, :JL§ a wholie, §econd-wave both and cross-­ class. Taken as whole, second-­ wave femini§m lthe largest §Odali change movement in U.S. U§, history. hi§tory, feminism W:81§ was the largest social [Ii: Wat§ :afao :arguabliy it§ most mo§li: consequential. con§equenti:at55 It was also arguably its focuses on radical feminism, which once ocDaring to Ito Be Bad focu§e§ radicali femini§m, cupied an especially the wome§pecfaliliy dynamic and heterodox corner comer of lthe en'§ liberation liiberation movement. movement, (To be clear, clear, here IIT :am en’s am referring to r:adic:ali iw early e:ady yearn, noli: in its iw current incarnation, inc:am:Jttion, radical femini§m feminism in its years, not which is fa §omewhere :and antagonistic :ant:agoru§tic to somewhere between §keptic:ali skeptical of and §ex work :and righw, 66)) Radical JR:adicali femini§li:§ sex and tr:an§gender transgender rights. feminists provided lthe the intellectual the §econd second wave, wave. They :advanced advanced lthe the idea, inteliliectu:ali core of lthe which !then liike a:a revelation, revefation, ii:h:at :are §tructured then fdt felt like that §Odetie§ societies are structured by viii

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not just and race. Although 1the the idea that “the gender, no1t ju§1t by class cfa§§ :and race, .AJltlmugh ide:a 1th:a1t "1the personal is political”—­ t hat personal life is embedded in larger pernon:al i§ politic:ali"-1th:a1t pernon:al i§ farger circuitries originated wiith with ithe the new left, its circuitrie§ of power—­ power~rigin:a1ted i1t§ meaning w:a§ i1t 1to was extended by radical feimini§1t§ feminists who :applied applied it to everyday in1tim:a1te life, coolk:§ 1the me:afa, does doe§ 1the di§he§, changes change§ 1the intimate life. Who cooks the meals, the dishes, the di:apern, :and m:alke§ 1the :and who§e org:a§m§ matter most, mo§1t, is i§ diapers, and makes the bed§, beds, and whose orgasms not wholliy wholly personal the w:ay way 1thing§ things :are," are,” 1they they :argued, argued, no1t pernon:al or “simply "§imply 1the bu1t instead in1'i1te:ad indissolubly indi§§olubly connected connec1ted Ito §trucrure§ of inequality. inequ:alill:y, but to structures feimiru§m came c:ame 1to emph:a§iZe 1the How radical feminism to emphasize the political dimen§ion§ of personal pernon:al life had h:ad :a lo1t 1to con§dou§ne§§-rai§ing, sions a lot to do wi1th with consciousness-­ raising, which W:at§ mech:ani§m of women'§ libera1tion, was 1the the organizing mechanism women’s liberation. Con§dou§ne§§-rai§ing (c-r) pface in small §m:all groups, group§, in wh:a1t Consciousness-­ raising (c-­ r) 1toolk took place what w:a§ me:an1t Ito "free space” §p:ace" out ou1t of 1the e:arnho1t of men, where was meant to be “free the earshot women could analyze :analyze 1their oppre§§ion, often so §0 unquestioned unque§Uoned their oppression, 1th:a1t i1t W:at§ no1t at :a1t firn1t enUrely vi§ible §Cruthat it was not first entirely visible 1to to 1them, them. Through 1the the scrutiny of 1the the “personal,” feminists came to believe 1th:a1t that 1the the 1tiny "pernon:al," radical feimini§1t§ c:ame 1to re§trucruring in1tim:a1te relationships refa1tion§hip§ should §hould be of primary nn,msnn, sig§igrestructuring of intimate nific:ance, no1t secondary §econd:ary 1to mo§lt of 1the §ixnificance, not to wh:a1t what most the left in 1the the fa1te late Six1tie§ con§idered of paramount p:aramoun1t importance—­ import:ance-1the re§tructies considered the radical restructuring of 1the the economy, 1though though most them also that ruring mo§1t of 1them :afao believed 1th:a1t to be important. Radical feimini§m feminism W:at§ was controversial. media 1to import:an1t, JR:adic:al con1trovernfat The medfa pegged its and 1their their former :allie§ allies on irn adherents :adherenrn “man "m:an haters,” h:a1tern," :and 1the mo§1t part, unsympathetic un§ymp:ail:he1tic as :at§ welt the left were, for 1the the most well. Before long, however, 1the n:aUon'§ best-­ be§1t-lknown the nation’s known feimini§1t feminist group, 1the the liberal feimini§1t feminist NOW, began incorporating feminist demands incorpora1ting radical feimiru§1t demand§ in1to its i1t§ :agenda §1t:arted its i1t§ own c-­ c-rr groups. group§, into agenda :and and even started JR:adic:al femini§1t§ con§dou§ne§§-rai§ing, Radical feminists did more 1th:an than consciousness-­ raising. They formed collectives collective§ 1to high-qu:alill:y, to provide women wi1th with high-­ quality, lowlow-­ co§1t health he:al1th care. c:are, They established e§1t:abli§hed rape crisis cri§i§ centers, cen1tern, shelters §hel1tern for cost battered women, and unions. Their interventions :and credit credi1t union§, in1tervention§ helped 1to c:arve out oult new :are:a§ faw, such §uch as :at§ §e:iru:al to carve areas of 1the the law, sexual h:ara§§men1t, harassment, Ito remake rem:alke faw§ r:ape and :and domestic dome§Uc violence, :and and to laws regarding rape violence. They were in 1the confronil::aUon:al politics, poli1tic§, 1too, the 1thiclk thick of confrontational too. M:any Many American§ came c:ame Ito movemen1t when women'§ cans to learn :abou1t about 1thi§ this new movement women’s libera1tioni§1t§ di§rup1ted 1the liberationists disrupted the 1televi§ion television bro:adc:a§1t broadcast of 1968’s Mi§§ Miss the yearn years 1they they organized m:arche§, marches, sit-­ America pageant. p:age:an1t, Over 1the §i1t:and building occupations. occup:a1tion§, .AJlong o1thern, m:any ins, and Along wi1th with others, many marched ix

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against the Vieltnmm Vietnam War and in support the Black Panther mgmin§1t 1the :5upport of 1the Bfarek JP'mn1ther Party. They held speak-­ o uts about rape and abortion, and they JP'mrty" 1hey helid :5pemk-ou11:§ mboult 1they interrupted the health the birth inlterruplted Senate §enm1te hearings hearing§ about mbou1t 1the hemli1th risks ri§k§ of 1the pilt With other oilier femini:511:§, §Orne foughlt lio:50 bmulie§ mntroli pill. control feminists, some fought (and lost) battles for lthe lEqumli Rights Righ11:§ Amendmenlt (lERA) and federmliliy :5Upported the Equal Amendment (ERA) federally supported childcare, that conservative reon§ervmlti.ve Republicans llkpubliican§ attacked mumreked on rehildrnre, a program 1thmlt the ground§ grounds 1thm1t that it would lead the “Sovietization” 1the ilt woulid liemd to Ito lthe "§ovielti.zmlti.on" of American children. rerulidren" 77 Radk:mli femi.nfalt§ §i.§lter§ in women'§ Radical feminists and 1thei.r their sisters women’s liibermtion liberation were de:5pilte 1thei.r nolt entirely enlti.rdy undeserved unde:5erved reputarepultmdead §eriou§, serious. Yelt Yet despite their not tion for humorlessness—­ their defense lti.on humode§§ne:5~1thei.r defen:5e against mgain§lt being treated tremlted like Hke a joke—­ feminists became adept using humor 1to to rum turn 1the the ltmblie§ tables joke-femi.ni§lt§ mdep1t at alt u§ing mdvernmrie§, Take 1the exmmplie of femi.ni.§1t dvil rights righ1t§ on 1thei.r their adversaries. the example feminist and civil fawyer Fliorynree Kennedy, who developed devdoped a sure­ §urefire lawyer Florynce fire rejoinder Ito mo§lt predictable predic1tmblie of 1tmun1t:5-"AJre to 1thmlt that most taunts—­“Are you lie:5bfan:5?"-when lesbians?”—­when she the lecture together. Gliorim Steinem §lteinem were on 1the lierelture circuit rei.rreuilt 1toge1ther" §he and Gloria Kennedy, at this lti.me time 1the the most prominent African American femalt 1thi§ mo:51t promi.nen1t ini:51t, woulid moliliy size §iZe up 1thei.r hereklier and pause pau§e before asking a:5king inist, would coolly their heckler 8 8 increduliou:5liy, “Are "Aire you mlilternmlti.ve?" [f§ Ito exaggerate exmggeralte incredulously, you my alternative?” It’s hard to the movement felt, bo1th both 1to to 1tho:5e those on 1the the in§ide inside how exhilarating exhifarmlti.ng 1the movemen1t fdlt, and 1tho:5e those wmnlti.ng wanting in. to understand the in, Coming Ito under§rand collectively colilierelti.veliy how 1the levers of sexism the work§, works, and creating lievern §exi.§m operated, opera1ted, gumming up 1the rerem1ting new way§ "[1t Wal§ exd1ting," recalls mcmlili:s wri1tways of being in 1the the woddo world. “It was §0 so exciting,” writmclti.vfa1t Ann Snitow. §nitow, “You "You could coulid die for it.” i1t," 99 er and activist What IIT have wriUen written is with 1the the now all-­ too-­common Whm1t i§ at alt odds odd§ wi1th mlili-1too-common the §econd second wave as woefully benighted, fatally bHnd blind Ito to view of 1the :JL§ woefuliliy benigh1ted, fa1tmliliy The rest Bad, which how privilege shaped :5haped it. i1t, 1he re:51t of Daring to Ito Be Bad, Hfe cycle cyde of radical radicmli femini§m i11:§ improbable i.mprobmblie chronide§ 1the chronicles the life feminism from its ri§e i11:§ gradual gradumli :5hift i§ more sober §Ober 1than rise 1to to its shift in focu§ focus and meaning, is than 10 10 the upbeat account I have just provided. If this new opening 1the upbemlt mccoun1t IT ju§lt provided" ITf 1thi§ §tre§§e§ whm1t rig;h1t, it i1t is i§ in part because bereau§e 1the :JL§ a wholie stresses what wenlt went right, the book as whole emphasizes what wen1t went wrong, wrong. But the bigge:51t biggest reason this empha:5iZe§ whm1t Bult 1the rea:5on for 1thi§ op1ti.mi.§1tic-§ounding i§ 1thm1t optimistic-­ sounding beginning; beginning is that in 1the the 1thmy thirty year§ years §ince since IIT wro1te a1tlti.1tude§ 1toward wrote 1thfa this book, attitudes toward 1the the §econd second wave have :5hifted shifted to somewhere skeptical and antagonistic. Ito §Omewhere between be1tWeen :5keplti.rnli mn1tmg;oni.§lti.c Calling Cmliliing some§Omething “second wave” is tantamount 1to to a slur, down 1thmlt that 1thing ":5ereond wave" i§ now 1tmnramoun1t §liur, a put-­ pu1t-down x

Introduction to the Thirtieth Anniversary Edition 11 The disavowal signifies “naïveté worse.11 the "n:alrve1te and :and failure” failure" or worse, di.s:avow:ali of 1the second w:ave wave is generational and ongoing. (By some accounts, generation:ali :and ongoing, (lBy :accoun1ts, wave.) Perhaps feminism is now in its i1ts fifth w:aveo) lPerh:aps one attraction of such that it provides a shortcut, to establish trashing is 1tha1t shortcu1t, an easy way 1to esrablii.sh one's own radkali U also :afao deflects deflec1ts attention :attention from 1the one’s radical bona fides, fides. It the shortcomings of 1tod:ay's today’s feminism, feminism. wave As a:a college coliliege professor IIT most mos1t often encounter encoun1ter second-­ second-wave cfassroom, bu1t afao come across it i.1t in 1the scholibashing in 1the the classroom, but IIT also the scholarly ady literature liiterarure on feminism, on newspaper opinion pages, and [n spite of 1the rns1tories of 1the in 1the the bliogosphere, blogosphere. In the many histories the second wave 1th:a1t that 1testify testify 1to to its tow:ave i.1ts dynamism dyn:ami.sm and authentic au1then1tk radicalism, r:adk:aHsm, 1today 1the the prevailing that it upper-­ prevai.Hng opinion is 1th:a1t i1t was a:a movement movemen1t of uppermi.drue-dass ampHfying 1thei.r middle-­class whi1te white women committed 1to to amplifying their own 12 (I a1t 1the oichern, 12 ([ have often wondered just jus1t privilege at the expense of others. who 1these [n 1the mi.d-JEi.ghties these women were, were. In the mid-­ Eighties when IIT w:as was conducting 1the the oral that :are are 1the the backbone this book, orali histories hi.s1tori.es 1th:a1t b:aclkbone of 1thi.s boolk, most of 1the the women IIT interviewed mos1t in1tervi.ewed were living Riving precariously, prec:ariousliy, at a1t lie:at§1t p:art because 1they least in part they had been ""~·hrfo~r activists.) Thus far, 1the the his1torie§ no1t succeeded in puncturing puncruring tories of 1the the second wave have not the myths the only well-­known femi.ni.s1t feminist 1to to 1the my1ths about :abou1t it. it Practically lPracticaliliy 1the oruy welili-lknown escape because :as as :aa esc:ape criticism cri.tidsm is Ruth Ruich Bader JB:ader Ginsburg, perhaps bec:ause Supreme Court justice jus1tke she has h:as for so long liong been seen as operating opera1ting a1t a remove from 1the at the women's women’s movement, movement. that 1the the white women of 1the the second w:ave wave There is no denying 1th:at put pu1t forward a blinkered blii.nlkered vision of feminism, which goes some way 1tow:ard toward expfai.rung explaining why women of color their w:ay colior often kept lkep1t 1thei.r distance. women’s lii.bera1tionliberationdi.stance, The presumption presump1ti.on of many white women's is1ts 1tha1t ("patriarchy") is 1the alili opists that malie male domination (“patriarchy”) the taproot of all pression, bonding women in :aa sisterhood :across across boundaries of class and race, alienated many women of color knew 1th:a1t that :aa dass :and aHena1ted m:any colior who !knew shared gender identity racism. i.denti1ty did not no1t inoculate inorufate women against ag:ai.nst radsm, This was one crucial the disjuncture, the only Trns crucfali piece of 1the di.sjuncrure, but not no1t 1the onliy one, The feding negHgibi.H1ty 1tha1t aliso played pfayed one. feeling of negligibility that dogged women also di.fferentliy, especially especfaliliy wi.1th out differently, with bfaclk black :and and white women, women. In contrast 1to to Afric:an African Amerk:an American women whose survival skills tr:as1t slkms were they were often criticized as emascunever in doubt (indeed, 1they cri1ti.dzed :as em:ascufating), mi.drue-dass lating), the competence of middle-­ class whi1te white women, many of

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whom had limited Hml1ted experience in paid employment, emplioymen1t, was almost mlimoi;;t always called into question. For white middle-­ c lass women, bemliwmys rnlilied in1to questiono whi1te middlie-dmss ing put the pedestal the cost pu1t on ilie pedes1tmli came at m1t ilie reos1t of being dismissed dismlssed as ms helpless and hapless. the wri1ter writer 'foni Toni hdpliess hmpliesso For black bfadk women, who, as ms 1the to falili fall back on-no1t on—­not maleness, Morrison put pu1t it, i1t, “had "had nothing 1to mmlieness, not no1t whiteness, not ladyhood, not that pedeswhi1teness, no1t fadyhood, no1t anything,” anything," not no1t being on ilim1t tal required ilim1t that they be hyperresponsible, which was then held 1tmli hyperresponsiblie, whkh helid 13 against them.13 mgmins1t memo these pages, another piece of ilie the story As liI detail de1tmili in 1these s1tory is Black Bfack Power, whkh which in 1966 to change whm1t what counted ll966 began 1to reoun1ted as ms radical. radkmt For Sixties activists, Black turn from Bfack Power marked a decisive dedsive 1tum 14 14 commonality to difference. black commonmlii1ty 1to difference" Increasingly, lincremsingliy, young radicals—­ rmdkmli~-bfack mmlie and femmlie~mme beliileve ilim1t mu1thentic radrmdand whi1te, white, male female—­came 1to to believe that authentic icalism kmHsm required organizing around one’s one's own own oppression. oppression" By contrast, whites had done in civil con1tras1t, working on behalf behmlif of others, as ms whi1tes dvili rights, was condemned as out. For radical white righ1ts, ms a liberal Hberali cop-­ cop-ou1t, radkmli wm1te women, Black Bfack Power was enabling, enmbliing, legitimating liegi1ti.mmting their divorce from ilie the new left and their claim that what was needed was an lieft dmim 1thm1t whm1t mu1tonomous women's movement It li1t also mliso made ilim1t movemenfs autonomous women’s movement. that movement’s racial homogeneity first. Ye1t Yet over time, there radali homogenei1ty less liess conspicuous conspkuous at m1t first the movement’s universal sisterhood was no squaring ilie movemenfs rhetoric rhe1tork of universmli sis1terhood with its whiteness. wi1th i1ts whi1tenesso §1tm, one wonders why the ilie considerable reonsiderablie shortcomings shortreomlngs of other 01ther Still, §ooies movements—­ movemen1ts-se:i:iism, dmss bias, homophobia, and anti-­ antiSixties sexism, class immigrant are not typically invoked in a similar immigran1t bias—­ bfa~mre no1t 1typkmliliy si.milimr fashion to invalidate wholesale. 'fhe The civil 1to invmHdm1te them wholiesmlie" dvili rights righrn struggle suugglie could reoulid be criticized with respectability, cri1tidzed for its i1ts preoccupation preocreupm1tion wllili respec1tmbm1ty, but bu1t one rarely rmrdy encounters encoun1ters such criticism cd1tkism except excep1t in specialist spedaliis1t monographs. monographs" Undergraduates to attack rights activists auack civil dvili righ1ts activis1ts dergradua1tes don’t don'1t show up ready 1to class demeanor and their discomfort with those for their middle-­ mlddlie-dmss in their ranks, such as Rustin, who were queer. ms Bayard lRustin, queer, Nor do undergradum1tes dismlss ilie mcmevemen1ts of Cesar Chavez, deundergraduates dismiss the achievements spite the fac1t fact that spi1te ilie ilia1t his United Uni1ted Farm Workers sometimes some1times responded to employers’ use of undocumented workers as strikebreakers 1to emplioyers' undocumen1ted smkebreakers by supporting ilie the use of La fa Migra (the (ilie border patrol) pmtroD against mgmins1t 15 No one attacks them.15 them" mumcks the ilie new left’s lieft's leading Reading organization, orgmnizm1tion, Stu§1tuden1ts for a Democratic Democra1tic Society §ode1ty or, for ilim1t mmuer, 1the no1torious dents that matter, the notorious

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splinter that broke away from it, Weatherman, for being §pliinter group !that U, Wealtherrmn, 16 M whUeo §eXi§m pervasive perv:at§ive in ithe§e movement§, in most mo§t white.16 As for lthe the sexism these movements, histories it barely barely registers registers as :at§ a:at problem. probliemo hi§tode§ dear, my point is i§ not !that §houlid judge ithe§e To be clear, that we should these other §ooie§ struggles §trugglie§ as :at§ harshly harnhliy as :at§ femini§m h:at§ been judged. judgedo Rather, R:atlther, Sixties feminism has IIT hope !that that students these movements wm will come to un§tudent§ of all alili ithe§e derntand !that hi§tory requires require§ raking seriously the lthe very pastness pa§tne§§ derstand that history taking seriously lthe past. past. [n ca§e it mean§ adrnowliedging lthe dl.§tance of the In lthi§ this case means acknowledging the distance passed for radical rarucali in 1969 11969 and what passes pat§§e§ for it between what passed 17 Judging today, fatero 17 movement§ by current standards §tandard§ today, fifty yearn years later. Judging movements of political feel morally superior, but it only poliitl.cali purity might make us U§ fed moraliliy §Upedor, omy 18 18 hampers our understanding them. hampern under§tanding of themo ]Reading the past pa§t as at§ mere prologue proliogue to the lthe present pre§ent (what (what histohi§toReading rfan§ calili “presentism”) "pre§entl.§m") creates create§ obstacles ob§tade§ to underntanding rians call understanding lthe the pa§t" That §:atid, hl.§todcali inquiry is l.§ often driven at least liea§t in part past. said, historical by a desire understand the present plays a role de§i.re to underntand pre§ent day. day, It ITt plays rolie both 19 in what hi§torian§ historians write about and in how we write about it. ito 19 [t i§ no accident !that ti.me when consensus con§en§u§ hishi§It is that the lFl.ftie§ Fifties Wat§ was a time past predominated or !that lthe period from the lthe late fate torie§ tories of lthe the past that the §ooile§ !through §eventl.e§ produced a bumper crop of histohl.§toSixties through the Seventies ries “from rie§ "from below” beliow" about marginalized marginalii:zed groups. group§" In ITn my case, ca§e, only omy separated the Daring to Be Bad Bad from two decades decade§ §eparated lthe publication publikation of Daring tto Be dayso Yet during itho§e radkali radical femini§m'§ feminism’s gliory glory days. those yearn years American irrevocabliyo Thi§ lthe era in culiture changed fund:atmenraliliy, culture fundamentally, irrevocably. This Wal§ was the Handmaid’s Tale, which Margaret Atwood wrote The The Handmaid's Tale, a novel novd begun shortly §hortliy after Ronald lRonalid Reagan’s lReagan'§ election eliection and inspired in§pl.red by real-­ world backlash. clippety-­ clip, out of the reali-wodd baddat§ho “Clip-­ "Cliip-dippety-dip, lthe newspaper new§patper dipped !thing§" de§cribe§ her process proce§§ as a§ she §he IIT clipped things” fa is how Atwood describes worked on what became her best-­ be§t-known known novet2° novel.20 The§e These were the times which IIT wrote Daring Daring to Be Bado Bad. lthe time§ during whlch Ito Be In was making finali final edits to lthe the manuscript, ITn 1988 11988 when IIT wa§ manu§cript, ]Reagan Wal§ complietilng his hi§ second §econd term as a§ president. pre§idento [t a§ Reagan was completing It fdt felt as !though reverne gear and Wat§ though lthe the country had been yanked into reverse was pl.Roted back to the lthe 1950s, 11950§, that is, i§, to a more conservative con§ervatl.ve being piloted 21 [t timeo ]Reagan “revolution” "revoliutl.on" had limited Hmilted success. §UCCe§§o 21 time. [n In fact, lthe the Reagan It did not undo or even weaken Social §odali Security Security or Medicare, Medi.care, pillars pilfarn xiii

Introduction to the Thirtieth Anniversary Edition

of the United States’ welfare state, the momeniche 1LJnUed §ltalte:§' wellfare state, but it U did stop iche 22 22 tum of iche the Sixties. For some time, conservatives, their ranks §miles, icheilr swollen with newly swollllen wiich newlly politicized pollilitidzed evangelical ev:angellk:all Christians, Christians, had been chipping :away away at the Supreme Court’s abortion rights :alt iche Court's 1973 1973 :abortion righlts decision, Roe 1/J, Wade. Wade, The Equal lEqu:d llights (JERA), iche cision, Roe v. Rights Amendment (ERA), the constitutional amendment ich:alt that had whizzed ichrough through Congress constiltution:all :amendment in 1972 and once seemed poised for easy passage through the 1972 :and ichrough iche states, lay feminists lloslt lost a gruelling grueling lten-ye:ar ten-­year lay dead in 1982 1982 after feminislts 23 School b:attlle, 23 §chooll desegregation :and :affirmative action :action were under battle. and affirmative attack, and iche the War on Drugs, with its attack, :and Us emphasis on tougher policing :and and sentencing, was having a:a disproportionate llidng disproportion:alte effect on America’s minority communities. commurutieso Black Bfadk: men, in particular, p:artkufar, found Ameriic:a's doom swinging wide open for lthem-:and danging shut prison doors them—­and clanging 24 behind ichem, them.24 stillll existed, of course. course, For example, exmmplle, Al!D§ Progressive :activism activism still AIDS activists pushed b:aclk: back :against against a Republican :activists Republlilic:an administration so homophobic that in 1986 related mophobk ll986 it actually mcrumlllly proposed a:a cut in HIV-­ HIV-refated 25 But funding, Bult iche effeclts of neoliberalism, neolliberallilsm, a:a multipronged mulltipronged project funding.25 the effects of privatization, deregulation, and free trade, were already deregtllfation, :and already being felt. Certainly, fellt Cert:ailnlly, neoliberalism’s neollilberallism's agenda of reconfiguring people peoplle as making individuals,” would grow :as autonomous, “contract-­ "contt:act-m:akilng individu:alls," who woulld accustomed Ito to fending for ichemsellves themselves rather looking to the :accustomed raicher than lloolk:ing Ito iche slt:alte for help, hellp, was already already under way :as Reagan's reformulareformufastate as Reagan’s the problem, the solution, tion of government as ms iche probllem, not nolt iche sollution, took ltoolk: hold holld 26 26 among growing numbers of Ameriic:ans, Americans. Conservatism’s backlash Conservatism's resurgence was to Ito some extent a:a b:add:ash against the many achievements of women and r:ad:all racial :and and sexual :against sexu:all minorities who, during iche §mies, faid d:aim Ito the llong long Sixties, laid claim to icheilr their rights dtizen~righlts llong denied them. ichem, Allso cenitrall Ito as American citizens—­ rights long Also central to this resurgence was iche the economy, whkh which was hit ichis hilt by both boich stagstagWith their and patriarchal nation and inflation. infl:aition, Wiich icheilr racial radmll privilege privillege :and pmttfarch:all authority challenged, to :aulthorilty ch:allllenged, increasing increasing numbers of white men began Ito :as vktims change, (Many commentators commenlt:altorn and :and see ichemsellves themselves as victims of change. pundits this shift as a recent phenomenon, but pundillts see ichis buit it ilt predated the presidential the rise of Donald iche presidentimli race of 2016 20Jl6 and iche Don:alld Trump by than ichree three decades.) their counterparts more ichmn decades,) These men had icheilr among women who worried that :among ich:alt feminism, far from liberating llilberalting xiv

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would victimize them becau§e because it woulid would free men from women, woulid 27 27 their 11:raditionali traditional obligations to them. Conservatism, obliig:ation§ themo Con§erv:ati§m, on the margins of national back. gin§ n:ation:ali politics poliitic§ during the Sixties, Sixties, came roaring back My book w:a§ was :afao also conceived :and and written :at at a:a time when feminist fund:amenrafa fundamentals were being debated from within the movement" movement. nfat Academic femlni§t§ po§t§tructuralii§t§, feminists influenced by the work of poststructuralists, femini§t§ colior, :and mlnoritie§ called calilied into question que§tion feminists of color, and §e:iru:ali sexual minorities liong§t:anding §uddenlly interrogating femini§m longstanding femmil§t feminist veritie§o verities. Suddenly feminism W:81§ m:aueredo Had H:ad feminfam'§ emph:aL§JI§ on women'§ was what mattered. feminism’s emphasis women’s victilmiz:ation ob§cured women'§ p:artilcufady as :aL§ regards regard§ sex§extimization obscured women’s :agency, agency, particularly uality? Were white femini§t§ feminists wedded to a:a fali§e false univern:aliit§m universalism in u:aHty? which their experiences experience§ stood §tood in §ynecdochic:aliliy "woman'§" synecdochically for “woman’s” compHdt in the gender binary, or, as :aL§ experience? W:a§ Was femini§m feminism complicit we posed po§ed the question que§tion b:ad: :an back then, w:a§ was feminfam feminism moving in an e§§enti:aliit§t direction? The§e que§tion§ and :and the broader pushback pu§hb:ack essentialist These questions against femlni§t feminist orthodoxies :ag:ain§t orthodoxie§ made my book a:a critical criltic:ali rather than celebratory history. celiebratory history. Writing a:aL history hi§tory :about about recent femini§m feminism W:81§ was :an an uphm uphill b:attlieo battle. Today H:arv:ard University’s Univer§ity's Schlesinger library :and Duke UniToday Harvard Library and versity’s Bingham Center have rich collections wave versity's coliliection§ on second-­ §econd-w:ave feminism. When ITI W:81§ was re§e:arching researching Daring, Daring, that material was femini§mo m:ateriali W:81§ sitting Effectively §itting in storage §tor:age units, unit§, attics, attics, cellars, cdfarn, and :and garages. g:arage§o lEffectivdy :archive-lies§, by conducting lengthy liengthy interviews interview§ archive-­less, ITI created my own by with forty-one :activi§t§, §ome forty-­one former activists, some of whom required a:a good deal twisting before they :agreed agreed to §it sit down with me de:ali of arm-­ :arm-twfating and my rape tape recorder. aca­demic :and recorder" ITI also :afao faced challenges ch:alilienge§ from my :ac:ademlc discipline, second di§cipliine, which regarded historical hi§toric:ali research re§e:arch on the §econd wave as :as both premature :and and m:argin:ali marginal to the main §torie§ stories of the twentieth century. centuryo history of the women'§ women’s Daring eventually eventu:aliliy became a:a canonical canonic:ali hi§tory movement, but in the immediate aftermath :aftermath of its it§ publication pubHc:ation it generated a:a lot liot of heat. he:aito Some §ome readers, p:articufady movement readers, particularly veteran§, hi§tory, :and veterans, wanted a:a fed-good feel-­good history, and on that §Core score my book dfa:appointedo One scholar §Chofar told tolid me that when her Bay Bay Area femdisappointed. inist women’s ini§t reading group discussed dfacU§§ed my book, one member, a:a women'§ historian, insisted hi§torian, in§i§ted that the movement had h:ad never been as :aL§ rancorr:ancorou§, :a§ §hort on sisterhood, §i§terhood, as :a§ my depiction suggested. §ugge§tedo When ous, as short xv

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others with her, she grudgingly might olthern disagreed wilth grudgingliy acknowledged adrnowliedged I migh1t have been right right. “Still,” she declared, “she should never have "§tiH," dedared, "she shoulid 28 28 written it!” i1t!" The book's confllic1t-heavy onliy reason it i1t book’s conflict-­ heavy narrative wasn'1t wasn’t lthe the only Daring was the first history was controversial. controvernfat Darring lthe firn1t hfa1tory of radical radicali feminism, and it neutral account. ilt was not nolt a cautious or neutrali accoun1t, My aim that wha1tever whatever counted was to Ito demonstrate demonstra1te lthalt crnm1ted as radical radirnli feminism in 1989 looked substantially twenty yearn years Jl989 had liooked subs1tan1tfaHy different differen1t some 1twen1ty earHer, Badk lthen, 1the radicali ferrunfa1ts induded left-­ lieftearlier. Back then, the ranks of radical feminists included wing gender rebels rebds who saw no contradiction in being feminists feminis1ts fought for women's women’s sexual freedom. They foughlt fought 1to to expand who fough1t sexuali freedom, women’s sexual fighting the violence that women's sexuali possibilities possibiH1tlles while also afao figh1ting lthe violience ltha1t s1taliked women, s1take stalked women. They were prepared 1to to risk failure and 1to to stake ou1t positions that ltha1t woulid lthem up 1to ridiculie, They were out would open them to ridicule. 29 29 fierce :aind "bad," Not No1t everyone agreed :aigreed wilth and lthey they were “bad.” with my effort to reclaim along lthese these lines. years fa1ter later 1to red:aiim radical radicali feminism :ailiong Hnes, Several §everali ye:airn two feminis1t feminist philosophers volume 1ti1tlied titled Darring Daring to 1two philiosophern coedited coedi1ted a:ai voh11me fto Be Good, “If "U Echols lEchofa and company can ‘dare 'dare 1to '" 1they Good. to be bad,’” they wro1te, wrote, 30 30 "01ther feminists . . . feminfa1ts , , , can Dare to Be Good.” Good, " Still §1tm other olther critics cri1tics “other argued that the rancorous “gay–­ straight split” lth:ai1t my discussion of 1the "g:aiy-straigh1t splii1t" 31 put the bfame blame for divisiveness on lthe the shoulders In pu1t lthe shoulidern of lesbians. liesbiams, 31 truth, I was not with assessing rather in distru1th, no1t concerned wilth asE,e§:§m~ blame bfame but bu1t ralther sec1ting the lthe move (an understandable undern1tandablie one) that ltha1t lesbian liesbfan feminists feminis1ts secting to legitimate the consequences made Ito liegitima1te women loving lioving women and lthe 32 that foHowed followed from it. ltha1t it 32 Daring gave At once spiky, empathic, empalthic, and nonheroicizing, nonheroidzing, Darring readers a largely look inside lthe the movement. readern fargdy unfiltered unfili1tered liook movemen1t, Case in point: to chronicle the reaction of the poin1t: my decision dedsion 1to chronide 1the lthe brilliant, briHfanlt, audadous Shulamith §hufamilth Firestone Fires1tone to Ito a proposed :aiH-women's d:aince, dacious all-­women’s dance. One of lthe the founding mothers molthern of radical radicali feminism, ferrurusm, Firestone Firesltone had been fierce in her defense of all-­ women’s meetings, but aH-women's bult applying appliying that same principle to partying struck her as an entirely ltha1t prindplie 1to en1tllrdy different differen1t proposition, “A "A party wi1thou1t men?" she reportedly reportedlly asked, as if proposition. without men?” this were the women’s liiberation liberation group had lthis lthe craziest crazies1t idea any women's yet hatched. yelt ha1tched, I included induded this lthls incident, indden1t, which likely Hkdy happened in 1969, to criticize to expose her as homophobic. ll969, not no1t 1to critidze Firestone Fires1tone or 1to homophobic, After all, an, how many women who shared Fires1tone's skepltidsm Firestone’s skepticism xvi

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themselves two found icihem§dVe§ iCWo months monicih§ later falter ditching men for women, sometimes for a lifetime? I included §Ometime§ Hfetime? IT induded it to Ito reveal reveali how difficult dilfficulilt it wa§, feminil§it§, Ito was, even for the mo§lt most feade§§ fearless feminists, to avoid famng; falling back certirude§, None of icihe radicafa profiled profilied here knew in on §odali social certitudes. the radicals icihe eady days day§ of the icihe movement how unea§y-making the early uneasy-­making feminfam feminism would be, what the their own resistance woulid icihe areas area§ of iciheilr re§i§ltance might milght be, and they might prove to be. how malleable malilieablie (or not) noO icihey Ito be, ff didn'lt §hy embarra§§ing; incidents, inddenw, neither neiiciher did If Ili didn’t shy away from embarrassing pulili any punches punche§ when it U came Ito depicting; intra­ inltramovemenlt Ili pull to depicting movement conflict, The context conlte:lrt of Daring'§ compo§iltion, as 81§ conflict. Daring’s moment of composition, IIT have suggested, §ugge§lted, played a role rolie here. here, If ITf the icihe book lingered liingered on movement fi§§Ufe§, §m8llili measure mea§ure becau§e radirnli fissures, it W:81§ was in no small because radical femini§m W(!JJ§ a §ilte conltenltilon, where women argued fiercefeminism was site of contention, liy icihe best be§lt way forward in iciho§e high-§itake§ ly about the those high-­ stakes Ume§ times when many radicals radicafa assumed 81.§§Umed (wrongly, (wrongliy, it rumed ouO that icihat revolution revoliution turned out) W:81§ do§e, The§e was tanralii:zingliy tantalizingly close. These were women committed Ito to undoing nicene§§ niceness and politeness. was §hufamith Shulamith Firestone’s pvsu~,U'-,""' What W:81§ filre§ltone'§ prolte§lt? A smile §mile boycott! (This (Thi§ wa§ dream protest? was forty-iCWo forty-­two yeaf§ years before Taityana f:81:zfaH:zadeh'§ 2012 20Jl2 art project “Stop "§top TdHng Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s Telling Women Ito to Smillie,") Thra§hing icihing§ out could coulid be icihrming, 81§ Smile.”) Thrashing things thrilling. Admiluedliy, Admittedly, as lines hardened, icihe the movement’s liine§ movement'§ practice of “personal "pef§onali politics” poliiUrn" §Omeltime§ led lied Ito pef§onali pain. pain, Nevertheless, Neverthde§§, when femini§lt§ sometimes to personal feminists poliiitirn passionately, pat§§ionatdy, not nicely, icihey debated politics they were tran§gre§§ing transgressing icihe boundarie§ of ladylikeness. fadyHkene§§, the boundaries §ub§equenlt §chofaf§hip, §Orne of whlch criUrnli of DatrSubsequent scholarship, some which W:81§ was critical Daring, suggests that ing, §ugge§lt§ icihalt internecine intemedne conflict didn’t didn't characterize all alili fem33 liI now see inism. that icihe the very design wide-­ ini§m, 33 §ee icihalt de§ign of my study—­ §itudy-aa wideanglie view of radical radicali femilnfam, milcroco§milc attention attenUon Ito ilt§ angle feminism, wiicih with microcosmic to its iciheoreticali iCWfalt§ and ltum§~rienlted U toward intramovement inltramovemenlt theoretical twists turns—­oriented it wrangling. So focus on big cities, wrangliing, §o did my focu§ dtie§, particularly particufady New York, who§e §i:ze (and icihe oult§i:ze presence pre§ence of icihe whose size the outsize the medfa) media) encourre§earch revealed revealied Wat§ aged factionalifam, factionalism. What my research was a movement be§elt by factionaH§m calilied “trashing,” "tra§hing,,, beset factionalism and what came Ito to be called whereby leaders Reader§ found icihem§elve§ altracked by other oilier feminfalt§ themselves attacked feminists 81§ elitist eliti§lt for, say, §aty, attracting icihe pre§§, making an as the attention of the press, appearance on a radio or television writing a be§ltbesttelievi§ion program, or wriUng 34 book 34 s­§dHng elling book. xvii

Introduction to the Thirtieth Anniversary Edition

Radilc:ail femulrui§m'§ preoocup:aitilon with process, proce§§, wilich en§urRadical feminism’s preoccupation with ensurilng ili:ait ilt§ fledgHng le:aidede§§, is it§ ing that its fledgling movement be §rade§§, starless, even leaderless, just the reasons that it ju§t one of ilie re:at§On§ th:at ilt lost lo§t its ilrn momentum. momenrum. For now it ilt is it§ §:aty ili:ait radilc:ail femilnil§m enough to say that by 1973 radical feminism beg:ain began to gilve give w:aiy way feminism,” :aa tendency th:ait that grew out of it. to “cultural "cultural femilnfam," ilt Cultural Culrural femilnil§m ex:aiggerated §Orne dement§ of radical r:aidic:ail femilnil§m feminism boili both exaggerated some elements feminism 35 and left other the dust. femi:and oilier parts of it ilt in iln ilie du§t. 35 To be sure, §ure, radical radic:ail femulnil§m iln its llt§ prime W:al§ monoHiliico Radical Radic:ail femilnil§IB nism in was not monolithic. feminists were in agreement :about about ilie the primacy that men :agreement prim:aicy of gender, the ilie central role th:at pfayed in iln women'§ everyd:aiy oppression, oppre§§ilon, and :and the centrality of played women’s everyday personal that :agreement agreement W:at§ was often elusive. pernon:ail politics, poHtilrn, but beyond th:ait du§ilve" about whether ilieir their aim was the They were divided, for instance, RH"'""'"·'""' :about :aim w:at§ ilie rev:ailuilng of “female” "fem:aile" v:ailue§. Radic:ail troubHng troubling of gender or ilie the revaluing values. Radical femini§m le:ained in ilie direwon of the ilie former, but iliere feminism leaned the direction there were §:atW ilie m:atter differently. By contrast, contr:ai§t, cultural culrur:al always ilio§e those who saw the matter 36 feminism came the side the fatter. latter.36 femilnil§m c:aime down firmly on ilie §ide of ilie as wdt well. Where:at§ Whereas radical There were other differences difference§ :at§ radic:ail feminists femilnil§t§ typic:aiHy §:atw ilieffl§dve§ ilie left, cultural culrural typically saw themselves :att:aickilng attacking ilie the left from the femini§IB in§te:aid “as ":at§ a:a le:aip feminists §:atw saw feminfam feminism instead leap out of M:airxfam," Marxism,” :at§ as ilie the poet Adrienne Rich Eich described de§cribed her own initial ilniltil:ail embrace of fem37 By 1973 inism. the new left had because of ilnil§m. 37 ll973 ilie h:aid crumbled, in iln part p:art bec:aiu§e the FBI’s secret counterintelligence wing ilie FBr§ §ecret counterilntemgence program targeting t:argetilng left-­ left-wilng 38 But the left, which W:al§ group§, induding women'§ groups, including women’s liber:aitiono liberation.38 was rife wiili :and v:aingu:aird po§turing, bore :aa good deal de:ail with §ecrari:ainfam sectarianism and vanguard posturing, 39 Its re§pon§ilbilHty for its ilt§ faH. [t§ disintegration dil§ilntegratilon confirmed culturculrurof responsibility fall.39 :ail femilnil§t§' §U§pidon§ that iliat the left and even leftist leftil§t ideas ildea§ were al feminists’ suspicions inimical to femulnfam. feminism. Thi§ This position po§ition had consequences. con§equence§. Concern economulc inequality ilnequaHty diminished dimulnfahed and discussions di§CU§§ion§ about about economic how differences difference§ of class cfa§§ and race play pfay out among women were ilncrea§ilngly dismissed dil§mll§§ed as :at§ so §0 much left-wilng devilou§ne§~an increasingly left-­wing deviousness—­ an effeminists. fort to divide femilnil§rn" Culrural femini§m Cultural feminism’s§ central move wa§ was to reorient femulni§m feminism toward ilie culrure in which what mattered the creation of a woman'§ woman’s culture mo§t refatilng to women. [n culrure iliat most wa§ was women relating In a culture that encourages see each other this approach e§ women to §ee oilier only as 21§ competitors, competiltorn, thil§ the time (and now) one wa§ was had much to recommend it, but at ilie left wondering how reproductive rights right§ or transforming tran§formilng hetero1

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§exualiiJty fit flit into ilnlto iliil§ culirurali feminists, femilnil§lt§, sexuality this vernilon version of feminil§m, feminism. For cultural however, whalt coun1terculi1turali bu§i.ne§§e§ what mauered mattered Wat§ was buillidilng building countercultural businesses and venrure§ ventures that, theory, woulid would support the movement. The ilialt, in iln ilieory, §upport ilie movement 'fhe be§lt known of ilie§e (ilie Mkhilgan best these Wat§ was Mkhfe§lt Michfest (the Michigan Womyn'§ Womyn’s Mu§k Music Fe§tivaD, bult dtie§ and college coUege towns ltown§ boat§lted Festival), but many farger larger cities boasted femilfeminil§lt credillt unions, union§, and health healiili clinics. dilnilrn, Critics dubbed nist book§ltore§, bookstores, credit cultural feminism a “lifestyle that in ilie the end woulid would culilturali femilnil§m "liilfe§ltylie movement” movemenlt" ilialt evat§ilon of patriarchy §trugliead lead Ito to an evasion patriarchy railier rather 1than than a fulili-1throa1ted full-­throated strug40 40 glie agailn§lt it. iJt, Yelt culirurali feminfam harilly apolitical apoli111tkali when gle against Yet cultural feminism w:at§ was hardly flit came to Ito ilie il§§ue ilialt domilna1ted ilie ].980s: pornography and it the issue that dominated the 1980s: ilie rancorou§ debates debalte§ it ilt set §elt off among femilnil§lt§ iln whalt the rancorous feminists in what came Ito al§ ilie "§ex Watrno" U'§ not nolt surprising §Urpril§ing ilialt culirurali to be known as the “Sex Wars.” It’s that cultural femilnil§lt§ acUve in anti-­ anltil-porn :after all, alili, feminists were §0 so active porn femilnil§m, feminism, whkh, which, after ilnvolived pushing pu§hilng bmck against pornography’s pornography'§ role rolie not nolt only onliy in involved back against agailn§lt women bult afao in impeding wompromoting vilolience violence against but also en’s with each other through a regime of compulen'§ relationships refaltilon§hilp§ wiili oilier ilirough compuli41 sory §OfY heterosexuality. he1tero§exuali111ty, 41 'fhe radkali femilnil§m neady fifty yemrn ago, Queer The heyday of radical feminism W::ll§ was nearly years ago. theory, ilie the “third wave,” riot grrrl, lthe the centrality ilieory, "lthilrd wmve," riolt grrd, cenltraliilty of intersectionin1ternectionality transgender activism, alii1ty and tratn§gender acltivil§m, gay marriage and the ilie critiques criltique§ of 42 42 “homonormativity” all of it Daring, "homonormaltivillty" it ilt provoked—­ provoked~alili ilt lay lay ahead. ahead, But Bult Daring, even wlllth with its tight focu§ focus on ilie the mild-§ilxltie§ mid-­Sixties lthrough through 1the the mid-­ JIit§ Ughlt mild43 §evenltie§, §ltilili doe§ a lot liolt of ofwork Remder§ learn, liearn, as at§ ltran§femini§lt Seventies, still does work.43 Readers transfeminist acltivil§lt jfulifa hat§ noted, no1ted, that ilialt many of today's wrilter writer and activist Julia Serano has today’s 44 apparently apparenltliy “cutting "culling edge” edge" debates debalte§ have a much longer lionger history. hil§ltory, 44 For example, the second wave’s frmughlt fraught relaexamplie, my book explains expfain§ ilie §econd wave'§ refationship Ito to transgender reveals 1tha1t that ongoing skirtratn§gender activism acUvfam and reveafa §kilrUon§hilp mi§he§ peoplie on one mishes over lthe the gender binary, binary, beltween between tratn§ trans people hand and advocates advoca1te§ of queerness queerne§§ on ilie oilier (and, for ilialt maltthe other that matlter, tratn§ people peoplie themselves), iliem§dVe§), echo disagreements di§atgreemenlt§ over ter, among trans §Ocfali constructionism con§tructioni§m and essentialism e§§enltfaliil§m ilialt radkali social that once divided radical 45 Daring also feminists and cultural feminists.45 the backfemilnil§it§ culilturali femilnil§lt§, mfao provides provide§ 1the story Ito movemenf§ §ltruggle§ §exualiilty, :at§ story to 1the the movement’s struggles around race and sexuality, as wdli at§ its ilt§ ongoing efforts efforlt§ to Ito yoke ltogeilier pernonali and the ilie well as together ilie the personal political, with #Me'foo, #MeToo. It’s that women'§ women’s liiberaliberapoliillticali, as at§ wilili U'§ indisputable indfapultablie ilialt tion derived much of its to uniquene§§ uniqueness from ilt§ power and its illt§ claim daim Ito Uon

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the way it formufated formulated personal lthe pernonali life liife as 21§ political. poHticat But lBlut in practice “the personal is political” often ended up sanctioning the person"lthe pernonali il§ poliiticali" §anctionilng lthe pernonal site of change. turn, made everything ali as a§ the foremost foremo§t §ite changeo This, in tum, everylthilng from hairstyles hailrntylie§ to sexual §e::iruali preference something §Omething Ito to be embraced poHticali grounds. ground§o Thil§ remain§ true today (inten(ilnltenor critiqued on political This remains sified the near u ­ubiquity biquity of social §iJrned through lthe §Ocfali media) as 21§ personal pernonali life liife is shifting notion§ notions of political i§ corralled to conform to §hilfting poliilticali purity. purityo Revisiting Daring to Be /Bad Bad three decades !Revil§itilng Ito /Be decade§ later fater prompted me to think about how I woulid lthil§ hi§ltory nowo lilke would write this history now. Like many eadie§t histories ru§torie§ of Sixties §ixtie§ movements, movement§, Daring wa§ of lthe the earliest was written up close do§e to lthe event§ it analyzes. :atn:atliy:ze§o Hi§tOri:atn §ara lEvan§'§ the events Historian Sara Evans’s Personal PoUltics, Politics, the firnt first history groundbreaking 1979 book Pe1r§onal hil§tory of women'§ Hberation, W:ffi§ traillibfa:zer in iln lthi§ re§pecto Histories Hi§torie§ of women’s liberation, was a:at trailblazer this respect. lthe p:at§t, when done wdli, reader§ lthe "bethe recent past, well, give readers the fedilng feeling of “belBlut writing this tm§ kind of history hfatory poses po§e§ real reali challenges: chalilienge§: ing !there," there.” But with lthe the barest temporal distance, writes wilthout without bare§t of temporali di§t:atnce, a:at historian hi§torian write§ wilth years on, historians knowing how it all :atlili plays pfay§ out. OUlto Fifty yearn hi§torfan§ are in iln a21 po§ition to underntand con§equence§ of all alili the tumulit better position understand the consequences tumult known as :at§ “the "lthe Sixties.” §ooie§o" So would I do? In Daring I accepted lthe the definitional §o what woulid definiltionali boundarie§ !that r:atdicali femiru§t§ di§tinglli§h lthem§elive§ boundaries that radical feminists drew to distinguish themselves from other olther femini§t§ activi§lt§, Ahhough detailied its ilt§ short§hortfeminists and activists. Although I detailed que§tioned !that radk:atli femilni§m drc:at 1969–­ ll969-7722 comilng§, I never questioned comings, that radical feminism circa wa§ mo§t uncompromi§ing, mo§t radical radkali expresexpre§was lthe the most uncompromising, indeed the most §ion of femini§m sion feminism on offer-and offer—­and !that that what foliliowed followed wa§ was §eriou§serious46 ly deficient. would acknowledge the categories that liy defidento 46 Today I woulid acknowliedge lthe categorie§ !that femini§lt§ feminists once employed, would no lionger longer be beholden emplioyed, but I woulid beholiden to !them, di§tilnguil§hing lthe "bad" them. I woulid would be lie§§ less preoccupied wilth with distinguishing the “bad” from the “good,” "good," and I might milght even dispense dfapen§e wilth "culiwith lthe the term “culturali alitogelther, tural femilni§m" feminism” altogether. Thi§ rai§e§ a bigger question. que§tiono If U I am ready to deemphasize deemph:at§i:ze lthe This raises the usual taxonomy of second-­ wave feminism, the u§u:atli §econd-wave femiru§m, why not rethink lthe very category of femilnil§m it§eH? Perhaps lPerh:atp§ we should §houlid advance :ata feminism itself? big-­ tent underntanding understanding of femilnil§m, feminism, one big enough to include big-tent indude the time with femini§m? feminism? After all, women who did not at lthe tilme identify identilfy wilth :atlili, many women who disavowed di§:atvowed femilni§m iln lthe eady days d:aty§ of its it§ feminism in the early xx

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revilvali dild §O, liilke Tonil becau§e humanism, humanil§m, not femilrevival did so, like Toni Morril§on, Morrison, because feminil§m, moire all-­ alili-encompa§§ilng radilcali approach. approacho It’s [f§ nism, §eemed seemed a more encompassing and radical surprising that humanism gilven given ilie the insistence not §uirpri§ilng iliat many opted for humanil§m iln§il§tence oirganfa:ed femilnil§m ilirough ilie of organized feminism from ilie the Twentie§ Twenties through the mild-§ixltile§ mid-­Sixties iliat rad§m, imperialism, ilmperialiil§m, and ilie explioilration of workern that lta§,Cm,m, fascism, racism, the exploitation workers fay out§ilde femilnil§m'§ bailliilwilck Some §ome femilnil§t§ lay outside feminism’s bailiwick. feminists even argued iliat "malie" issues. il§§Ue§o Alliliough iliil§ history hil§toiry Wal§ that ilie§e these were “male” Although this was not wdli well known in iln the Sixties, enough of that story survived §uirvilved so §0 that iliat when younger radical radilcali women started §tarted to organize as a§ women for women'§ rights, right§, iliey poilnt of distinguishing dilstinguilshilng ilieilir effort§ from en’s they made a point their efforts femilnil§m, a§ railntedo feminism, whilch which iliey they vilewed viewed as tainted. Theilir§ Theirs Wal§ was a movement that signaled identification for “women’s "women'§ liberation,” Hberation," a name iliat §ilgnalied their theilir identilficatilon 47 wilili abroad, 47 with radilcali radical liiberation liberation movement§ movements at home and abroad. Allli il§ to §ay §keptid§m about femilnil§m i\§ liong§tandAll of iliils this is say that skepticism feminism is longstandilng and initially ilnitialiliy characterized even many pioneers piloneern of ilie ing the §econd second wave. Embracing inclusive understanding waveo lEmbracilng a more capacious capadOU§ and ilndu§ilve undernrandilng of femilnil§m feminism woulid would underscore the muhiliradali multiracial and cross-­ class underncoire ilie cro§§-dat§§ dilmen§ilon§ of the ilie second §econd waveo coulid also aliso bring about a more dimensions wave. lit It could §Ub§tantiali reperiodization of ilie substantial the §econd second wave, one iliat that take§ takes onboard ilie the post–­ World War II labor po§lt-Wodd [[ attempts attempt§ by women in iln the ilie fabor dvil rights rilght§ movements movement§ to address addre§§ gender discrimination. dil§crilmilnation, No and civil longer woulid would ilie the hil§toiry history of women'§ women’s liilberation liberation begiln begin wilili with black bfack lionger iln ilie §mile§ civil dvili rights righw movement only onliy to and white women in the Sixties §hairpliy and spotlight §potlight white women, pivot sharply women. And no lionger longer woulid would the Eighties the decade of femilnil§m'§ feminism’s lEilghtie§ be primarily understood underntood as a§ ilie ilie decline. would mark as well ilie the flouiril§hilng flourishing of womenwomen-­ dedilneo Instead lin§tead it ilt woulid a§ welili 48 Expanding of-­ color femilnilsmo feminism.48 the definitional boundaries of of-colior lExpandilng ilie definiltilonali boundarie§ femini\§m enablie u§ undernrand how one­ onetime §keptilc§ feminism woulid would enable us to understand time skeptics femilni\§m reached a rapprochement wilili ilt and how uncomof feminism with it promil§ilng feminists femilni§t§ came to understand undernrand gender not as a§ the ilie priviprivilpromising leged category oppre§§ilon but rather railier as a§ inextricably ilnextricabliy connectlieged categoiry of oppression hilerarchile§ of oppression. oppre§§ilOno ed to other hierarchies §econd, [I woulid a§ a foili Second, would treat Hberali liberal femilnilsm feminism differently, not as foil for a brave and uncompromil§ilng radilcali femilnilsmo hilsuncompromising radical feminism. [n In many histories, milne mine included, feminism appears torie§, ilnduded, liberal Hberali femilnil§m appearn as a§ a circumspect drcum§pect 49 Other and compromised version of femilnil§mo feminism.49 scholars have compromil§ed vernion Oilier §Chofarn §tilili harnher, examplie, political poliiltilcali theorist ilieori§t Nancy Fraser Fra§er been still harsher. For example,

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has argued that liibermli liberal femulrui§m feminism functioned as the “handmaidha§ mrgiued 1thmt :JL§ 1the "handmaid50 5 en” of neoliberalism. Certainly the history of liberal feminism en" neoHbermlii5mo ° Certmilmy 1the hi5tory liibermli femini§m is In dealing with a resurgent right 1thmt that i§ not without blemishes. bliemi5he5, Tin demliing wi1th re5urgent rilg;ht it5df as :JL§ aggressively mggre55hrdy “pro-­ "pro-family," Hbermli feminilsm promoted itself family,” liberal feminism oneUme rmdkmli feminilst Elilien 5ometime§ folided, sometimes folded, opting for what one­ time radical feminist Ellen Willis called that a reWilH§ cmlilied a “politics "poHtirn of appeasement.” mppea§emenL" Calculating Cmkufating 1thmt calibration the center wa§ was what wa§ was needed, some cmHbrmtion to 1the §Orne distanced di5tanced poliitk§ of women'§ Hbermtion, 1them5dve§ themselves from the fang;umg;e language and politics women’s liberation. Aboruon rilg;ht§ became rebrmnded :JL§ “choice” "choke" and efforts effort§ were Abortion rights rebranded as made to reca§t :JL§ pro-­ pro-familliy, change§ recast feminilsm feminism as family. Neither of 1the5e these changes appeased the right, whkh which continued to demonize mppea5ed 1the demonilze feminism. femini§m, InTinstead, feminism more palatable §temd, the effort to make femilni§m pmfatmblie by making it individumli choice choke not only oruy ignored women'§ a matter of individual women’s unequmli unequal mcce§§ to everything everylthing; from employment emplioyment and educational educmtionmli opportuaccess niltie§ hemli1th care, it also downplayed downpfayed 1the 5Ub5tanti:aili nities to health the need for substantial 51 §tructurmli change. chmng;e, 51 structural As others have argued, liberal feminists did not always avoid A5 Hbermli femulrui§t§ co-optation powerfuli force§, exmmplie, as :JL§ 1the co-­ optation by more powerful forces. For example, the §tate state ilnvolived in fighting; §exumli assault :JL§§:atulit and domestic dome5tk vilobecame involved fighting sexual violience, r:aipe crisis cril§i§ centers center§ and :aind battered womlence, femini§t§ feminists running rape en’s that 1their their continued survival them en'§ shelters 5heliter§ found 1thmt §Urvivmli pushed pu5hed 1them 52 52 onto 1the the “terrain feminists, institutionaliza"terrain of the state.” §tate," For femini§t§, in§titutionmHzmtion on the5e blie55ing 1thmt promi5ed greatthese term§ terms w:at§ was a mixed blessing that promised §t:atbilHty but at :ait a:ai cost. CO§t, Often they had h:aid to choose choo§e between er stability their politics attached funding 1thmt that prioritized 1the the 1their poliitk§ and strings-­ §trilng:5-attmched puru§hment of perpetrators over services 5ervke§ to survivors. §Urvivor§, PrelimlPreHmpunishment inary evidence suggests that liberal feminists were more wmwill5ugge5t§ 1thmt Hbermli femini§t§ Hbermtionil§t§ to accept the terms term§ of §tate 5uping 1thmn than women'§ women’s liberationists state supre5ulit 1th:ait 5ometime§ ended up contributing port, wi1th with 1the the result that 1they they sometimes the g;rowlth growth of 1the the carceral state. Liberal feminists may have to 1the cmrcermli §tate, Ubermli femini§t§ “bolstered "bolstered conservative con§ervmtive tendencies tendende§ in penal penmli policies,” poliide5," as :JL§ politpoHtical Marie Gottschalk studkmli scientist 5denti§t Made Gott5chmlik alleges,