Westchester NOW

On March 26, 2007, Luba Fineson and Sioux Taylor gave a talk at Hope House for Women's History month. Hope House is a "Clubhouse" dedicated to the educational and vocational advancement of men and women who have experienced various forms of mental illness. They were organized to help people attend college, work productively and, in general, to integrate into the social fabric of the community. When new members enter Hope House they are asked, "What can you do?" "What would you like to do?", rather than, "What is your problem?" Each person is evaluated for abilities, not disabilities. Hope House attempts to level the field. They help in the selection of appropriate schools, financial aid and applications for federal, state or Hope House scholarships. They offer pre-vocational training; e.g., work ethic, cooperative attitude and grooming. They also provide support in employment placements and for independent and entrepreneurial job efforts. Furthermore, they provide assistance in acquiring affordable housing. Hope House is a unit of Human Development Services of Westchester in Port Chester, NY, and is supported by the county.

In recognition of Women's History month, Hope House invited NOW to speak. Sioux Taylor and Luba Fineson graciously volunteered.

The following are Luba's notes of her talk:

In this, the 25th anniversary of Women's History Month, let's see what Women's History Month meana to us? Usually it's about celebrating outstanding women. Who comes to mind?

• The First Ladies, in particular that great humanist, Eleanor Roosevelt
• Famous Firsts -
  • first transatlantic pilot Amelia Earhart,
  • first doctor Elizabeth Blackwell,
  • first woman scientist Eve Curie,
  • African American liberator Sojourner Truth.

To me, Women's History Month means the story of the women's movement, the civil rights movement to give women equality of opportunity and equal rights.

What do the letters N.O.W. refer to? Yes, the National Organization for Women. It is the leading member of the broadest civil revolution in our nation's history. The first wave of the women's movement started in 1848 with the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Since then, women have been fighting for women, first of all for the vote, and later for equal opportunity and equal rights in education, jobs, health care, property, divorce, and credit.

It took the first wave 70 years, until 1920, to get the vote for women. There was a lot of explaining to refute the opposition claims that the vote would masculinize women, cause mass divorce, child delinquency, dissolution of the family, and prostitution. Well, they were wrong, women's lives did not deteriorate with the vote. But the suffragists were naive. Winning the vote for women did not eliminate prostitution, discrimination, or poverty. It took another 50 years for the second wave of feminism to take hold and start to correct these problems.

The Second Wave started with Betty Friedan's book, The Feminine Mystique, that galvanized women in the late 1960s. Academic theorists showed that women's self-image would have to change to improve women's status. The activists marched and demonstrated all over the country on so many issues. Let's talk about some of these issues important to women's history.

• child care
• equal opportunity for jobs and equal pay
• equal opportunity for education
• an equal rights amendment to the constitution.
• prevention of rape and domestic violence
• health care and medical research for women's needs
• access to financial credit for women in their own names
• legal access to family planning and abortion

The accomplishments have been enormous. Can you think of any changes? In legislation for instance:

• Title IX requiring schools to spend proportionately as much money on women's sports as men's sports. Prior to Title IX, about 5% of girls participated in school sports. Now, with Title IX requirements, 85% of girls participate.
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to include "sex" as a protected condition from discrimination.
• Affirmative action laws provided equal opportunity and equal representation in higher education, government at all levels, and public corporations.

Changes in health care:

• Safe legal abortion
• For the first time, inclusion of women subjects and women's health needs in medical research.
• Frequency monitoring of hysterectomies, which were found to be the most unnecessary medical procedure in the United States.
• Adoption of minimally invasive European surgical techniques in cancer treatment.
• Women and chil centered gynecology and obstetrics.

Language itself changed. Non-gender generalizations changed to include women such as: from "mankind" to "humanity," from "chairman" to "chairperson."

What can we lose if the second wave of feminism dies out as the first one did after women got the vote?

Just as the first wave sat back and saw their victory turn hollow, the prospect of opportunities evaporating, women returned to subservient roles in demeaning, dead-end jobs, restrictions on access to abortion, cuts in funding for medical research on women, reductions in child care, domestic violence shelters, legal aid services, Title IX funding, and fewer opportunities for girls and women coaches in school sports.

If affirmative action ends, will women still get into professional schools in equal numbers to men and will they be able to advance beyond the glass ceiling to higher levels in their jobs and careers?

If women - and men - remain vigilant and involved, we can keep our gains. My generation is dying out. Nevertheless I believe that as younger women encounter discrimination, they will see the need for continuing activism to protect and expand equality for women.

Let's talk about one recent example of three proud young women who are students at John Jay High School in Katonah. For their school's Friday open mike night, they selected an excerpt from The Vagina Monologues, the brilliant, long-running off-Broadway play by Eve Ensler. The principal objected to their using the word "Vagina" in their presentation and suspended them for one day. It raised such an outcry that the superintendent and the school board intervened and rescinded the suspension. In a TV interview, the students defended their actions; the word vagina indicated a part of their body and part of the play's title, not something they felt they should be ashamed of or hide.

What's happening here? What I see is three young feminists sensitive to discrimination against women and deciding to take a stand in public. This is my hope for the future: that young women will perceive the discrimination when it occurs and take appropriate action. The John Jay students, the "Katonah Three," were creative, confident, and brave. For the rest of us who may not be able to carry off a solo demonstration, we can join a group that is concerned with women's rights. For me that group has always been NOW. We take on all comers on all issues. We depend on volunteers. We'll work with you, train you, and, if you have an idea and are willing to work at it, we'll back you up. It's great sisterhood for women and for men, helping to secure a better future for women.

When Luba finished, Sioux Taylor followed with a powerful talk about special issues. for example, the importance of voting. It is our political underpinning and its expression is the power of the people. Positions of power in law enforcement, and education are most often occupied by men, even though women are in the majority. It is as if men rule by birthright! She also stressed the importance of respect for one another, men and women.

Sioux handed out NOW's newsletters and information about women's poverty, abortion rights, childcare, divorce and rape reform. There was also information about human trafficking - the myth that human trafficking is caused by poverty.

Now the struggle for woman's rights goes on and must never be allowed to abate due to indifference, acquiescence or despair.

During the talks both speakers threw out questions which were answered most enthusiastically by the audience. There was a good rapport. All this food for thought was thoughtfully followed by food for the belly.

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