Redstockings facts for kids
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| Predecessor | New York Radical Women |
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| Formation | January 1969 |
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| Founded at | New York City |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | New York City |
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Redstockings, also known as Redstockings of the Women's Liberation Movement, is a group that supports women's rights. It was started in January 1969 in New York City. Their main goal is "To Defend and Advance the Women's Liberation Agenda."
The group's name comes from two words. "Bluestocking" was a term used long ago to make fun of smart women who wanted more rights. "Red" stands for ideas about big changes in society, like a revolution.
History of Redstockings
The Redstockings group was started by Ellen Willis and Shulamith Firestone in January 1969. This happened after another group, New York Radical Women, broke up. Other early members included Kathie Sarachild and Patricia Mainardi.
The group was mainly active in New York City. Later, they also had members in Gainesville, Florida. A separate group called Redstockings West started in San Francisco in 1969. However, it was not connected to the East Coast group.
Redstockings had times when they were very active and times when they were not. They first split up in 1970. They officially started again in 1973 with members like Sarachild and Carol Hanisch.
In the early 1970s, Redstockings were known for their "speakouts." These were events where women shared their personal stories. They also used "street theater" to get their messages out. This meant performing short plays in public places.
More recently, the group has worked to make old writings about women's liberation available. This project is called the Women's Liberation Archives for Action. It helps people learn about the history of the movement. The group also writes new ideas about how women are treated unfairly.
In 2001, they released a book called Confronting the Myth of America: Women's Liberation and National Health Care. As of 2006, the group is still active and has a website. Kathie Sarachild is the only original member still working with the group.
Redstockings' Main Ideas
Redstockings strongly believed in something called "consciousness raising." This was a way for women to meet and share their experiences. By talking about their lives, women realized that many of their personal problems were actually shared by many women. They understood that these problems were caused by bigger societal issues.
They also believed in "The Pro-Woman Line." This idea said that women's actions were smart ways to deal with not having much power. They believed women were not simply "brainwashed" into accepting their roles. Instead, they saw women as making choices based on the unfair system they lived in.
Redstockings thought that all men had more power than all women as a group. They believed it was up to individual men to give up this power. They did not think it was women's job to change themselves.
The group had complex relationships with other women's rights groups in the 1970s. They often disagreed with "liberal feminist" groups, like the National Organization for Women. Redstockings felt these groups only wanted small changes to laws. They thought these groups ignored the everyday power men had over women.
Redstockings were influenced by some ideas from Marxism, which is about how society is divided by class. However, they strongly disagreed with "socialist feminism." They felt this type of feminism put the fight for women's rights second to the fight for workers' rights. Redstockings believed women's liberation should be the main focus.
They also did not agree with "cultural feminism." This idea focused on creating separate women's communities and cultures. Redstockings believed it was more important to be involved in political action to change society. They felt that building a separate culture was not enough to bring about real change.
Important Writings
Some important writings from the group include "The Redstockings Manifesto" and "Program for Consciousness-Raising." Another key essay is "The Politics of Housework" by Pat Mainardi.
"The Redstockings Manifesto" and "The Politics of Housework" were put into a famous book in 1970. This book was called Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings From The Women's Liberation Movement. It was put together by Robin Morgan.
The Manifesto has seven parts:
- The first part talks about how women are coming together to fight for freedom from male power.
- The second part says women are an "oppressed class." It explains how women's relationships with men are political.
- The third part states that male power is the oldest and most basic form of control.
- The fourth part discusses how institutions (like schools or governments) help oppress women. It says that women are not to blame for their oppression. Instead, it says men must change. It also says any man can give up his power if he is willing to be treated like a woman by other men.
- The fifth part explains Redstockings' main goal. This goal is to help women understand their shared experiences. They wanted to show how male power is at the root of all institutions. To do this, they believed in being honest about women's oppression by men.
- The sixth part briefly says that Redstockings members support all women. They wanted to break down barriers between women, both inside and outside the movement.
- The final part is a call to action. It asks women to unite and break free from male control. It also asks men to give up their special advantages and support women's freedom.
The group that started again later published a journal called Feminist Revolution. A collection of almost all the articles from this journal was published in 1979. This collection did not include a report about Gloria Steinem and a youth group. This created a lasting disagreement between Redstockings members and feminists who were close to Steinem.
See also
In Spanish: Redstockings para niños
- SCUM Manifesto
- Valerie Solanas
- Bluestocking
- Red Stocking Movement (Denmark)
