Cell 16 facts for kids
Cover of Cell 16's journal No More Fun and Games, issue 2
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| Formation | 1968 |
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| Founder | Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz |
| Founded at | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Dissolved | 1973 |
Cell 16 was a group of women in the United States who worked for women's rights from 1968 to 1973. They were known for encouraging women to focus on themselves, sometimes by taking a break from relationships with men. They also taught women self-defense, like karate. Cell 16 had its own magazine called No More Fun and Games. Some people thought their ideas were very strong or even too extreme.
How Cell 16 Started
In 1968, a woman named Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz started Cell 16. She put an ad in a newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, asking women to join a "Female Liberation Front". Many women joined the group, including Hillary Langhorst, Sandy Bernard, Dana Densmore, Betsy Warrior, and Abby Rockefeller.
The group chose the name "Cell 16" to show that they were just one small part of a bigger movement for women's rights. The "16" in their name also came from the address where they often met: 16 Lexington Avenue.
The group's magazine, No More Fun and Games, stopped being published in 1973. Cell 16 also ended in 1973.
What Cell 16 Believed In
Cell 16 was one of the first groups to suggest that women might need to focus on themselves and other women, separate from men, to achieve their goals. This idea is sometimes called separatist feminism.
A historian named Alice Echols said that Cell 16 encouraged women to take breaks from relationships with men. However, the group did not suggest that women should only have relationships with other women. Instead, they thought that periods of focusing on oneself were important for women's freedom. In their magazine, No More Fun and Games, Roxanne Dunbar and Lisa Leghorn told women to "separate from men who are not consciously working for female liberation." This meant taking time to focus on their own growth and goals.
See also
In Spanish: Cell 16 para niños
