Carol Hanisch facts for kids

Carol Hanisch (born 1942) is an American activist who played a big part in the women's liberation movement. She was an important member of groups like New York Radical Women and Redstockings. She is most famous for helping to make the phrase "the personal is political" well-known. This idea means that many problems we think are just personal are actually connected to bigger social and political issues.

Carol Hanisch also helped plan the 1968 Miss America protest. During this protest, she and three other women hung a banner over a balcony. This action helped bring attention to the women's liberation movement.

Early Life and Activism

Carol Hanisch grew up on a small farm in rural Iowa. She started her career as a reporter in Des Moines. In 1965, she moved to Mississippi to join the Delta Ministry. This group worked for civil rights, helping African Americans. She was inspired by reports from the Freedom Summer, which was a big effort to register Black voters.

While in Mississippi, she met Anne Braden and Carl Braden. They were leaders of the Southern Conference Education Fund (SCEF). They hired Carol to manage their office in New York.

Feminist Work and Ideas

By 1968, Carol Hanisch made sure the SCEF offices were available. They became the regular meeting place for the New York Radical Women. This group was a key part of the women's liberation movement.

The Personal Is Political

In 1970, Carol Hanisch's most famous essay was published. It was titled "The Personal Is Political." In this essay, she explained a powerful idea. She wrote that when women shared their experiences, they often found common problems. These problems were not just personal failures. Instead, they were connected to how society was set up.

She believed that these "personal problems" were actually "political problems." This meant they needed group action to find solutions, not just individual efforts.

Meeting Ground Online

Carol Hanisch also helped start and now co-edits "Meeting Ground online." This is a website where people can share and discuss ideas. It focuses on strategies for the women's liberation movement. It also looks at how working men and women can work together for change.

Influences on the Movement

In 1996, Carol Hanisch gave a speech about the impact of the Chinese Cultural Revolution on the women's liberation movement. She mentioned how certain ideas from that time, like "speaking bitterness" and "self-criticism," helped shape the idea of consciousness raising groups.

Consciousness-raising groups were important for radical feminism. In these groups, women shared their personal stories. This helped them understand that their individual struggles were often shared by many women. It also showed them that these struggles were linked to larger societal issues.

Speaking Out for Feminist Discussion

In 2013, Carol Hanisch and other feminists started an open statement. It was called "Forbidden Discourse: The Silencing of Feminist Criticism of 'Gender'." They wanted to highlight the importance of open discussion. They believed it was important for feminists to be able to discuss and question ideas freely. This included challenging popular concepts without fear of being silenced.

See also

In Spanish: Carol Hanisch para niños