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Ladies Against Women, 1980-1983

L.A.W. Network

L.A.W.
NETWORK

Ms. JULY/AUGUST/1982
VOLUME XI, Nos 1&2

Massachusetts passed the E.R.A and look what happened HERE! 

Scum for Life.

News of chapters in Boston, Cinicinatti, Cleveland, Indiana and elsewhere! 

ROSES not RAISES

YOU'RE NOBODY UNTIL YOU'RE MRS SOMEBODY 

Misterhood is Po[obscured]

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Women and others in the Boston area donned their finest attire to give Phyllis Schlafly (below left) a special reception when she came here to debate Karen DeCrow (below right), former president of the National Organization for Women. A local chapter of Ladies Against Women (LAW), described in leaflets as "a natural branch of the Ladies' Non-Movement," was organized especially for Schlafly's visit. 
    Chants shouted by the large number of "ladies" in the welcoming committee included "Fifty-nine cents is to-o-o much!", "Keep our nation on the track. One step forward, three steps back!", "Take away more of our bread, our bosses are underfed!" and "The chromosomes united will never be defeated!" 
    Similar receptions for Schlafly were organized by LAW chapters in Cleveland on Feb. 12 and in Bloomington, Indiana, on March 2. (Photos by Susan Fleischmann.) (GAY COMMUNITY NEWS) 

Further Antics of Ladies Against Women

   When Phyllis Schlafly spoke in Cleveland a few months ago, she was cheered on by a most unusual group of "supporters"—Ladies Against Women. 
    Sporting pillbox hats and white gloves, about 75 "ladies" gathered in front of the City Club,  a private luncheon enclave and self-proclaimed "Citadel of Free Speech," where Schlafly was to speak. (Women have only been allowed to address this select forum since the early 1960s.) Members of LAW and CHICKS (Coalition for Harboring Indefinite Chastity and a Kaffeeklatsch Sentimentality) waved signs that read, "Sperm Are People Too," and "You're Nobody Till You're Mrs. Somebody," and chanted, "Hit us again! Hit us again! Harder! Harder!" and "Fifty-nine cents is to-o-o much!" According to LAW member Barbara Winslow, their antics were inspired by the guerrilla theater of the Plutonium Players of San Francisco, whose members created the national LAW (see "Gazette," April, 1982).
     LAW claimed the rally was cosponsored by such groups as Another Mother for World Domination, The Vulture Forum, Bedtime for Bonzo Anti-Evolution League, Future Fetuses of America, and the National Association for the Advancement of Rich White Straight Men. (A statement released the day of the event was, however, signed by chapters of the National Organization for Women, the National Abortion Rights Action League, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Coalition of Labor Union Women and Hard Hatted Women.) 
   Schlafly's speech, entitled "Do We Want a Gender-free Society?" evoked images of women forced into military combat, and children deprived of "round-the-clock, self sacrificing loving care." Most LAW members maintained their ladylike poses, punctuating her crisp rhetoric with gasps of horror. (LAW members, of course, oppose a gender-free society. "We can't just hand out genders free to anyone who wants them," argues Winslow. "The only thing that should be free in America is the market.") 
    Media coverage of Ladies Against Women far exceeded their expectations. "In addition to the humor and fun," says Winslow, "we had the opportunity to draw attention to important issues concerning women."
     The group continued its efforts in March by teaming with the Reagan for Shah Committee to protest a Jerry Falwell speech. As the "Moral Monopolists," they produced a hymnal that included the memorable "Oh, What a Friend We Have in Jerry," and proved once again that America, in the words of their leader the Rev. Perry Allswell, "is only big enough for one opinion." 

—Deborah Van Kleef 

Schlafly

Saving...

L.A.W. NETWORK Ms. JULY/AUGUST/1982 VOLUME XI, Nos 1&2 Massachusetts passed the E.R.A and look what happened HERE! Scum for Life. News of chapters in Boston, Cinicinatti, Cleveland, Indiana and elsewhere! ROSES not RAISES YOU'RE NOBODY UNTIL YOU'RE MRS SOMEBODY Misterhood is Po[obscured] CAMBRIDGE, MA - Women and others in the Boston area donned their finest attire to give Phyllis Schlafly (below left) a special reception when she came here to debate Karen DeCrow (below right), former president of the National Organization for Women. A local chapter of Ladies Against Women (LAW), described in leaflets as "a natural branch of the Ladies' Non-Movement," was organized especially for Schlafly's visit. Chants shouted by the large number of "ladies" in the welcoming committee included "Fifty-nine cents is to-o-o much!", "Keep our nation on the track. One step forward, three steps back!", "Take away more of our bread, our bosses are underfed!" and "The chromosomes united will never be defeated!" Similar receptions for Schlafly were organized by LAW chapters in Cleveland on Feb. 12 and in Bloomington, Indiana, on March 2. (Photos by Susan Fleischmann.) (GAY COMMUNITY NEWS) Further Antics of Ladies Against Women When Phyllis Schlafly spoke in Cleveland a few months ago, she was cheered on by a most unusual group of "supporters"—Ladies Against Women. Sporting pillbox hats and white gloves, about 75 "ladies" gathered in front of the City Club, a private luncheon enclave and self-proclaimed "Citadel of Free Speech," where Schlafly was to speak. (Women have only been allowed to address this select forum since the early 1960s.) Members of LAW and CHICKS (Coalition for Harboring Indefinite Chastity and a Kaffeeklatsch Sentimentality) waved signs that read, "Sperm Are People Too," and "You're Nobody Till You're Mrs. Somebody," and chanted, "Hit us again! Hit us again! Harder! Harder!" and "Fifty-nine cents is to-o-o much!" According to LAW member Barbara Winslow, their antics were inspired by the guerrilla theater of the Plutonium Players of San Francisco, whose members created the national LAW (see "Gazette," April, 1982). LAW claimed the rally was cosponsored by such groups as Another Mother for World Domination, The Vulture Forum, Bedtime for Bonzo Anti-Evolution League, Future Fetuses of America, and the National Association for the Advancement of Rich White Straight Men. (A statement released the day of the event was, however, signed by chapters of the National Organization for Women, the National Abortion Rights Action League, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Coalition of Labor Union Women and Hard Hatted Women.) Schlafly's speech, entitled "Do We Want a Gender-free Society?" evoked images of women forced into military combat, and children deprived of "round-the-clock, self sacrificing loving care." Most LAW members maintained their ladylike poses, punctuating her crisp rhetoric with gasps of horror. (LAW members, of course, oppose a gender-free society. "We can't just hand out genders free to anyone who wants them," argues Winslow. "The only thing that should be free in America is the market.") Media coverage of Ladies Against Women far exceeded their expectations. "In addition to the humor and fun," says Winslow, "we had the opportunity to draw attention to important issues concerning women." The group continued its efforts in March by teaming with the Reagan for Shah Committee to protest a Jerry Falwell speech. As the "Moral Monopolists," they produced a hymnal that included the memorable "Oh, What a Friend We Have in Jerry," and proved once again that America, in the words of their leader the Rev. Perry Allswell, "is only big enough for one opinion." —Deborah Van Kleef Schlafly