Bread and Roses (collective) facts for kids
Bread and Roses was a socialist women's liberation collective active in Boston in the 1960s and 1970s. The group is named after the slogan of the 1912 Lawrence textile strike, with Bread signifying decent wages and Roses meaning shorter hours and more leisure time. The overarching theme of the original Bread and Roses movement pertained to gaining economic stability and dignity for women across the workforce.
Contents
History
The collective was founded in the summer of 1969 by Meredith Tax and Linda Gordon. Meredith Tax, stated, "We cannot talk of sisterhood without realizing that the objective position in society of most of us is different from that of welfare mothers, of the black maids of our white mothers, and of women in third-world countries. Sisterhood means not saying their fight is our fight, but making it our fight." In 1970, the collective started their search for a physical space and by 1971, they seized one of Harvard University's unoccupied buildings in order to offer classes, workshops, and child care. This space lasted only 10 days. After receiving donations, the collective was able to establish a new space in January 1972, which was a house in Cambridge named the Women's Center. This collective was composed of around 250 members, including Jean Tepperman, Frans Ansley, Judy Ullman and Trude Bennett, who believed that a revolution was necessary in order to gain women's liberation. These members formed a variety of sub-collectives which focused on specific topics, for example, women's health. The organization lasted until 1973.
Collective action
Women's health
A notable piece of work produced by the Bread and Roses collective was called Women and their Bodies: a Course, which was later developed into Our Bodies, Ourselves. This course was published in 1970 under the name of the Boston Women's Health Collective and combined the women's personal anecdotes with factual information regarding feminist issues and women's health. The topics included in this course were Women, Medicine, and Capitalism, an Introductory Course; Anatomy and Physiology; Some Myths About Women; Pregnancy; Prepared Childbirth; Postpartum; and Medical Institutions. This course is often credited as the start to both the national and global women's health movement.
Labor
Related to the slogan from which the collective's name was derived, another notable contribution of the Bread and Roses collective was creating the clerical workers union 9 to 5, which is now known as local 925 of the Service Employees International Union. The creation of this union came about due to the high number of clerical workers in the collective who were underpaid and faced constant disrespect from their employers.
