Breaking the Wave: Women Their Organizations and Feminism 1945-1985

<p><em>Breaking the Wave</em> is the first anthology of original essays by both younger and established scholars that takes a long view of feminist activism by systematically examining the dynamics of movement persistence during moments of reaction and backlash. Ranging from the "civic feminism" of white middle-class organizers and the "womanism" of Harlem consumers in the immediate postwar period, to the utopian feminism of Massachusetts lesbian softball league founders and environmentally minded feminists in the 1970s and 1980s, <em>Breaking the Wave</em> documents a continuity of activism in both national and local organizing that creates a new discussion, and a new paradigm, for twentieth century women’s history.</p><p>Contributors: Jacqueline L. Castledine, Susan K. Freeman, Julie A. Gallagher, Marcia Gallo, Sally J. Kenney, Rebecca M. Kluchin, Kathleen A. Laughlin, Lanethea Mathews, Catherine E. Rymph, Julia Sandy-Bailey, Jennifer A. Stevens, Janet Weaver, and Leandra Zarnow.</p> <p>Foreword</p><p>Introduction The Long History of Feminism, Kathleen A. Laughlin</p><p>Part I Mainstream, Leftist, and Sexual Politics </p><p>Chapter 1 Civic Feminists: The Politics of the Minnesota Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, 1942—1965</p><p>Kathleen A. Laughlin </p><p>Chapter 2 The Legal Origin of "The Personal Is Political": Bella Abzug and Sexual Politics in Cold War America</p><p>Leandra Zarnow</p><p>Chapter 3 "I’m Glad as Heck that You Exist": Feminist Lesbian Organizing in the 1950s</p><p>Marcia Gallo</p><p>Part II Women’s Global Visions </p><p>Chapter 4 Exporting Civic Womanhood: Gender and Nation Building</p><p>Catherine E. Rymph</p><p>Chapter 5 The National Council of Negro Women, Human Rights, and the Cold War</p><p>Julie A. Gallagher</p><p>Chapter 6 From Ladies Aid to NGO: Transformations in Methodist Women’s Organizing in Postwar</p><p>America</p><p>Lanethea Mathews</p><p>Part III The Politics of Location </p><p>Chapter 7 The Consumers Protection Committee: Women’s Activism in Postwar Harlem</p><p>Julia Sandy-Bailey</p><p>Chapter 8 Pregnant? Need Help? Call Jane: Service as Radical Action in the Abortion Underground in Chicago</p><p>Rebecca M. Kluchin</p><p>Chapter 9 Feminizing Portland, Oregon: A History of the League of Women Voters in the Postwar Era,</p><p>1950-1975 </p><p>Jennifer A. Stevens</p><p>Chapter 10 Barrio Women: Community and Coalition in the Heartland</p><p>Janet Weaver</p><p>Part IV Feminist Consciousness and Movement Persistence </p><p>Chapter 11 "Stop That Rambo Shit. . . This is Feminist Softball": Reconsidering Women’s Organizing in the Reagan Era and Beyond</p><p>Jacqueline L. Castledine and Julia Sandy-Bailey</p><p>Chapter 12 "It Would Be Stupendous for Us Girls": Campaigning for Women Judges Without Waving </p><p>Sally J. Kenney</p><p>Chapter 13 Building Lesbian Studies in the 1970s and 1980s </p><p>Susan K. Freeman</p><p>Conclusion Looking Backward, Looking Forward </p><p>Jacqueline L. Castledine</p>