Four-week workshop series

Tuesdays in June, 6:30-8:30

(June 3 through June 24)

Cost: $40

This series is for women who want to understand truths and political causes of the unfairness in our lives; how a feminist movement was organized to change this;what we can do now to build the kind of movement that can put the male chauvinist establishment on the run again; and how each woman can contribute to that effort.

You will learn about the heroic struggle women have waged, individually and collectively, for our survival and our freedom. What lessons and strategies from women’s fighting history can we apply today? Through a combination of lecture, discussion of readings*, and consciousness-raising, participants will learn about the radical ideas and methods that sparked the rebirth of the feminist movement in the 1960s. This class is not about personal liberation through improved self-esteem or an alternative women's culture, recalling a golden age of matriarchy, or how feminism can save the planet. Nor is it about achieving status in the present corrupt system through individual self-improvement or lifestyle changes.

The following will be covered:

• The fight for abortion as an example of how feminist gains have been won & lost.

• The origins of the feminist movement and the how these truths have been buried.

• Consciousness-raising: getting to the root of sexism. Who benefits? Who pays?

• Radical feminist theory: What is radical? What is radical feminism? What is male supremacy?

• Where can we go from here?

Cost includes reading materials. No one will be turned away for inability to pay. Childcare will be provided if needed (RSVP for childcare by May 27.)

Reserve your seat by contacting Stephanie at 352-727-8144 or e-mailing nwl@womensliberation.org.

* Much of the material we’ll be using is from the Redstockings Women’s Liberation Archives for Action, an archive that makes the formative and radical 1960's experience of the movement more widely available. For a full catalog, go to: www.redstockings.org.