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Ain't I A Woman? newspapers, June 1970-July 1971

1970-07-10 "Ain't I a Woman?" Page 2

Rising up photo] Together
   We wake up one morning realizing we have been blind for 2000 years. We have been deceiving ourselves for so long that the undoing process seems insurmountable. We see that we must take a look at our beginnings, figure out where we are and where we can go.
   Women are doing a lot of questioning now. It is a very painful process because we must examine the very core of our natures which collectively forms this money-motivated, sexually obsessed, imperialistic nation. 
   Oppression is a difficult state of mind and body for women to admit to. We tend to take two opposing and equally blinding views. Etiher we cling to the myth that we are happy in the roles we play, that we do control our bodies and that we can be liberated on our own, or else we give in too readily and sink into depths of self-pity and solitary torture, becoming cynical without knowing it, and robbed of self-confidence. I think the important thing to remember is that the essence of revolution is the struggle for human dignity. I believe that women are capable of unlimited strength which we must allow to surge forth in the struggle. 
   In order to be strong, we women must carve a place for ourselves where we can listen to ourselves, listen to each other, give of ourselves, and support one another. We are terribly trapped; together we must find a way out. Somehow we must find alternatives to the stifling roles we have been stuck with: the sexual, the economic, the social roles. For too long we have let ourselves take the path of least resistance. We have clung to a self-conception of weakness which only allows us to set limits for ourselves. We need to undergo a mass transformation of consciousness in order to realize that there are no boundaries. 
   We must give birth to a new morality that figures in the needs of all people instead of conforming to warn-out forms of politics and religion. This new morality will not allow us to copy our oppressors who fearfully grab for power. It should allow us to become angry for we have not become angry soon enough. Only, we must be careful to direct this anger not toward ourselves, not toward her sisters, but toward the enemy.
   And we must work together. The fanaticism of individualism is really warped our minds in this society. Somehow we believe that if we do something all by ourselves it is done better. So much stress is placed upon the individual to prove herself, to produce, to be completely responsible for her actions, that we have almost forgotten how to work together. The result of this kind of thinking is that each one of us carries around huge bundles of guilt and futility. We think it is unheroic to admit openly what is deepest inside of us. We have learned to be gratified only on an individual basis. We have forgotten how to take pride in each other’s achievements. This is so completely isolating because it teaches us to protect our individual egos and we never learn the gratification of limitless reaching out to our sisters. We are responsible for all women. We cannot rise up alone.      Elsie

   Collective workers: Vicki, Pat, Debbie, Lori, Linda, Dale, Penny, Carole, Julie, Anne, Carol, Pat, Sue and Linda

   You can contribute by sending us articles, reviews, opinions, rages, etc. You can also contribute by committing your women’s liberation group to a page, either in each issue or in every other issue. This kind of committment is the best way to make a mid-west paper of AIN’T I A WOMAN? The page can be articles (or any kind of printed material), pictures, drawings, cartoons, poems, etc. Fill it, lay it out; it’s yours! Write choose will if your group is interested. We’ll send details, deadlines, etc.

   If your group wants to receive bundles of AIN’T I A WOMAN?, send 15c per copy (minimum bundle: 20 copies) in advance.

   Below are some good articles that the Grinnell WLF suggests for you to read:
   1) “More of the Same Thing” by Roxanne Dunbar in the third issue of “No More Fun and Games.”
   2) Radical Feminism and Love” by Ti-Grace Atkinson. Send away to the New England Free Press in Boston or to the Feminists to get this.
   3) “The Institution of Sexual Intercourse” by Ti-Grace Atkinson.

[hand drawing]
Notice:
   It would be appreciated if anyone who has information about women’s collectives would write to Ain’t I A Woman.

AIN’T I A WOMAN? is published on the second and fourth Fridays of each month by the Publications Collective of the Iowa City Women’s Liberation Front, P.O. Box 1169, Iowa City, Iowa 52240

AIN’T I A WOMAN?
SUBSCRIPTION
NAME_______________
ADDRESS_________________
__________________________

24 issues $4.00

FROM ALBUQUERQUE
   AIN’T I A WOMAN received the following announcement from the Southwestern Female Rights Union:

   THE SOUTHWESTERN FEMALE RIGHTS UNION HAS CALLED OFF THE WORKCAMP OFFERED THIS SUMMER IN NEW MEXICO, NEAR TAOS.
    We talked with a more experienced group of women and decided that we had no right to have a camp in the midst of a Chicago community. It would be like offering such an experience in the center of a Black ghetto in the city; the mountains and cabins only change the setting; the reality of poverty and racism still exist.
   We had changed the coordinating of the workcamp from San Francisco to Albuquerque because it was too complicated doing it in two areas. The women in San Francisco have not heard of our decision. We will be sending a detailed analysis of our reasons, as well as a reprint of an editorial from “El Grito del Norte,” on the Anglo situation in Taos. If you want a copy of these articles, and/or more information, please write: The Southwestern Female Rights Union, 804 Vassar N.E., Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87106.
   “A WOMAN REALIZES HERSELF A PERSON WHEN HER VIEWPOINT TRANSCENDS EGOISTIC INTEREST.” (From a statement by Josifina and Sarita, two University of Havana students, taken from “The Youngest Revolution,” by Elizabeth Sutherland.)

An Open Reply from the Publications Collective:
Dear Sisters,
   We applaud your decision. For whites to meet in the midst of us a Chicano ghetto— even in its beautiful natural setting— is racist in the same way that “going slumming” in Harlem used to be. We say used to be, because now that the blacks have gotten it together very few whites would dare do that anymore. In other words, the blacks can no longer be treated with the condescension bestowed by a self-designated Superior Race upon their almost invisible “inferiors.” Even the most racist whites have gotten that part of the message. And the blacks are no longer invisible.
   For militant women to treat another oppressed group as invisible is ironic indeed. The Chicanos of New Mexico, imprisoned in their beautiful setting, are like the woman whose options are mainly limited to childbearing and doing shitwork for the man. Both are in jail; only the jailers are different. Surely we, as radical women, should know this.
   By your action and calling off the workcamp, you have reminded all of us how easy it is to unthinkingly commit racist acts. For this, we thank you very much.

2           Vol.1 No.2            [hand drawn arm]Ain’t I

Saving...

Rising up photo] Together We wake up one morning realizing we have been blind for 2000 years. We have been deceiving ourselves for so long that the undoing process seems insurmountable. We see that we must take a look at our beginnings, figure out where we are and where we can go. Women are doing a lot of questioning now. It is a very painful process because we must examine the very core of our natures which collectively forms this money-motivated, sexually obsessed, imperialistic nation. Oppression is a difficult state of mind and body for women to admit to. We tend to take two opposing and equally blinding views. Etiher we cling to the myth that we are happy in the roles we play, that we do control our bodies and that we can be liberated on our own, or else we give in too readily and sink into depths of self-pity and solitary torture, becoming cynical without knowing it, and robbed of self-confidence. I think the important thing to remember is that the essence of revolution is the struggle for human dignity. I believe that women are capable of unlimited strength which we must allow to surge forth in the struggle. In order to be strong, we women must carve a place for ourselves where we can listen to ourselves, listen to each other, give of ourselves, and support one another. We are terribly trapped; together we must find a way out. Somehow we must find alternatives to the stifling roles we have been stuck with: the sexual, the economic, the social roles. For too long we have let ourselves take the path of least resistance. We have clung to a self-conception of weakness which only allows us to set limits for ourselves. We need to undergo a mass transformation of consciousness in order to realize that there are no boundaries. We must give birth to a new morality that figures in the needs of all people instead of conforming to warn-out forms of politics and religion. This new morality will not allow us to copy our oppressors who fearfully grab for power. It should allow us to become angry for we have not become angry soon enough. Only, we must be careful to direct this anger not toward ourselves, not toward her sisters, but toward the enemy. And we must work together. The fanaticism of individualism is really warped our minds in this society. Somehow we believe that if we do something all by ourselves it is done better. So much stress is placed upon the individual to prove herself, to produce, to be completely responsible for her actions, that we have almost forgotten how to work together. The result of this kind of thinking is that each one of us carries around huge bundles of guilt and futility. We think it is unheroic to admit openly what is deepest inside of us. We have learned to be gratified only on an individual basis. We have forgotten how to take pride in each other’s achievements. This is so completely isolating because it teaches us to protect our individual egos and we never learn the gratification of limitless reaching out to our sisters. We are responsible for all women. We cannot rise up alone. Elsie Collective workers: Vicki, Pat, Debbie, Lori, Linda, Dale, Penny, Carole, Julie, Anne, Carol, Pat, Sue and Linda You can contribute by sending us articles, reviews, opinions, rages, etc. You can also contribute by committing your women’s liberation group to a page, either in each issue or in every other issue. This kind of committment is the best way to make a mid-west paper of AIN’T I A WOMAN? The page can be articles (or any kind of printed material), pictures, drawings, cartoons, poems, etc. Fill it, lay it out; it’s yours! Write choose will if your group is interested. We’ll send details, deadlines, etc. If your group wants to receive bundles of AIN’T I A WOMAN?, send 15c per copy (minimum bundle: 20 copies) in advance. Below are some good articles that the Grinnell WLF suggests for you to read: 1) “More of the Same Thing” by Roxanne Dunbar in the third issue of “No More Fun and Games.” 2) Radical Feminism and Love” by Ti-Grace Atkinson. Send away to the New England Free Press in Boston or to the Feminists to get this. 3) “The Institution of Sexual Intercourse” by Ti-Grace Atkinson. [hand drawing] Notice: It would be appreciated if anyone who has information about women’s collectives would write to Ain’t I A Woman. AIN’T I A WOMAN? is published on the second and fourth Fridays of each month by the Publications Collective of the Iowa City Women’s Liberation Front, P.O. Box 1169, Iowa City, Iowa 52240 AIN’T I A WOMAN? SUBSCRIPTION NAME_______________ ADDRESS_________________ __________________________ 24 issues $4.00 FROM ALBUQUERQUE AIN’T I A WOMAN received the following announcement from the Southwestern Female Rights Union: THE SOUTHWESTERN FEMALE RIGHTS UNION HAS CALLED OFF THE WORKCAMP OFFERED THIS SUMMER IN NEW MEXICO, NEAR TAOS. We talked with a more experienced group of women and decided that we had no right to have a camp in the midst of a Chicago community. It would be like offering such an experience in the center of a Black ghetto in the city; the mountains and cabins only change the setting; the reality of poverty and racism still exist. We had changed the coordinating of the workcamp from San Francisco to Albuquerque because it was too complicated doing it in two areas. The women in San Francisco have not heard of our decision. We will be sending a detailed analysis of our reasons, as well as a reprint of an editorial from “El Grito del Norte,” on the Anglo situation in Taos. If you want a copy of these articles, and/or more information, please write: The Southwestern Female Rights Union, 804 Vassar N.E., Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87106. “A WOMAN REALIZES HERSELF A PERSON WHEN HER VIEWPOINT TRANSCENDS EGOISTIC INTEREST.” (From a statement by Josifina and Sarita, two University of Havana students, taken from “The Youngest Revolution,” by Elizabeth Sutherland.) An Open Reply from the Publications Collective: Dear Sisters, We applaud your decision. For whites to meet in the midst of us a Chicano ghetto— even in its beautiful natural setting— is racist in the same way that “going slumming” in Harlem used to be. We say used to be, because now that the blacks have gotten it together very few whites would dare do that anymore. In other words, the blacks can no longer be treated with the condescension bestowed by a self-designated Superior Race upon their almost invisible “inferiors.” Even the most racist whites have gotten that part of the message. And the blacks are no longer invisible. For militant women to treat another oppressed group as invisible is ironic indeed. The Chicanos of New Mexico, imprisoned in their beautiful setting, are like the woman whose options are mainly limited to childbearing and doing shitwork for the man. Both are in jail; only the jailers are different. Surely we, as radical women, should know this. By your action and calling off the workcamp, you have reminded all of us how easy it is to unthinkingly commit racist acts. For this, we thank you very much. 2 Vol.1 No.2 [hand drawn arm]Ain’t I