Document 1: “Brave New Women” Conference

Consciousness-Raising at Oberlin College During the Second Wave: Gender and Sexuality Conferences and Workshops

Part 1: Student-Focused Consciousness Raising     |      Part 2: Staff-Focused Consciousness Raising
Part 3: Administrative Response to Consciousness Raising      |     Appendices

Document 1: “Brave New Women” Conference     |      Document 2: George Langeler to Ann Fuller, 23 October 1972
Document 3: “Snakes ‘N Snails ‘N Puppy-Dog’s Tails” Speech     |       Document 4: Questions for Young Men

Document 1: “Brave New Women” Conference

Title: “Brave New Women” Conference

Author: N/A

Date: 20 October 1972

Location: Series I. Administrative Records, Subseries 14. Subject Files, Box 2. Dean of Students Papers, RG 12, O.C.A.

Document Type: Printed Document

Introduction:

This first document is the schedule of events for the 1972 “Brave New Women: Society in Transition” conference, which illustrates the issues that the feminist movement deemed important at the time, particularly those that Oberlin women chose to address. The Oberlin Review reported on a number of clashes between students and the faculty/administration over issues of women’s rights in the previous year, and this conference was one of several attempts to address the issues raised by these conflicts.^[1] The conference was cosponsored by the the Oberlin Women’s Group and the Alumni Association, and was held over the Alumni Weekend in the fall of 1972. It was designed to allow plenty of room for question and answer sessions with the speakers, as well as small group discussions.

The event tackled issues of women’s self-image, collective consciousness, sex roles and stereotypes, and the role of woman at Oberlin College, as well as addressing women in art, and the role of the woman in marriage and family. The speakers were all highly knowledgeable on the subject of “women’s issues;” and most came from within Oberlin College including undergraduate students, alumni, professors and staff members.  Many of the undergraduate students were involved in feminist activities on campus, and several went on to have influential careers in the field of gender and sexuality. The professors who spoke were also involved with women’s empowerment groups that promoted women’s involvement in various academic fields. Overall, this document exemplifies the feminist issues that women at Oberlin had identified by 1972, and reflects a desire to raise the profile of these issues.

Original                       Both                    Transcription

^[1] Peggy Kahn, “Oberlin Women’s Issues: Coming out,” Oberlin Review. 11 September 1973. Source .

^[2] Martha Verda was the Dean of Women at Oberlin College, 1968-1970,  and was also a psychologist with Oberlin College Psychological Services (Finding Guide, Office of the Dean of Students Records (1928-present). Record Group 12, O.C.A. Source).

^[3] An undergraduate student at the time of the conference, Julie Anixter is now the executive director of AIGA: The Professional Association for Design, and has published Beyond Branding and contributed to the another book on corporate branding entitled The Big Moo (“Julie Anixter.” LinkedIn. Accessed 14 July 2016. Source.

^[4] Lynn Keith-Swenson, an undergraduate at the time of the Conference, was a member of the group that began the Faculty Committee on the Status of Women at Oberlin College in 1971 (Bea Camp, “5 faculty, 1 student request committee to examine women’s status on campus,” Oberlin Review, 12 November 1971, Source.)

^[5] Pauline Clance was an assistant professor of psychology from 1974 to 1979 at Oberlin College and was a member of the group that began the Faculty Committee on the Status of Women at Oberlin College (Pauline Rose Clance,  “Biography,” Pauline Rose Clance, Ph.D., ABPP. Accessed 14 July 2016. Source).

^[6] Alice Sargent (1939-1988), an undergraduate at Oberlin at the time of the Conference, became an international management consultant and an author. She published books discussing gender and sexuality in the workforce such as The Androgynous Manager (The Washington Post, “Barnard Welsh, 76, Dies,” The Washington Post, 14 June 1988, Source).

^[7] Peggy Howard (1944-1972) was an assistant professor of economics at Hampshire College, and was “active in founding the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, and in the Union for Radical Political Economics” (“Peggy Howard Grants.” The New York Times, 28 April 1974. Source.; “Peggy Howard Fellowship.” Wellesley College. Accessed 14 July 2016. Source.;“Peggy Howard.” Geni. Accessed 14 July 2016. Source).

^[8] Vicki Hodgetts was a former assistant art director for New York Magazine, and a feminist artist who worked alongside luminaries such as Judy Chicago. In 1972, Hodgetts displayed a piece in the Los Angeles Woman House called “Eggs to Breasts.” This piece dealt with the gendered perceptions of the kitchen, and was the product of what Hodgetts described as a consciousness raising session on kitchens (Vicki Hodgetts, “Eggs to Breasts.” Womanhouse. Accessed 14 July 2016. Source.; New York Magazine. Vol. 3. (New York: New York Media, LLC, 1970) 68. Source).

^[9] Barbara Seaman (1935-2008) graduated from Oberlin in 1956, and was a teacher, journalist and author, publishing works such as The Doctor’s Case Against the Pill, Free and Female, and Women and the Crisis in Sex Hormones. She also co-founded the National Women’s Health Network and testified before Congress on a number of health care related issues, (“Papers of Barbara Seaman, 1920-1983: A Finding Aid.” Harvard University Library. Accessed 14 July 2016. Source.)

^[10] The films shown included “Radcliffe Blues,” which was about the woman student; “It Happened to Us,” about women who had abortions; and a film that was shown to the managers of female factory workers during World War II (“Weekend Conference Spotlights Women; Will Examine Feminist Consciousness,” Oberlin Review, 17 October 1972, Source).

^[11] Larry and Joan Constantine are co-authors of Group Marriage: A Study of Contemporary Multilateral Marriage, which was published in 1973. Larry also wrote numerous other books on non-traditional family structures and software engineering (Larry L. Constantine and Joan M. Constantine, Group Marriage: A Study of Contemporary Multilateral Marriage (New York: Macmillan, 1973) Source).