Redstockings

Redstockings Redstockings was a radical feminist collective formed in 1969 in New York City that played a pivotal role in second-wave feminism, linking consciousness-raising with public protest and political analysis. The group brought together activists, writers, and theorists to challenge patriarchy, sexual oppression, and institutional sexism through direct action, publications, and conferences. Redstockings engaged with contemporaries across the feminist spectrum and influenced debates involving socialist, lesbian, and civil rights activists.

History

Redstockings emerged in 1969 amid protests and movements such as the Stonewall riots, the Students for a Democratic Society, the Black Panther Party, and the Women's Strike for Equality. Founders and early participants included figures associated with Vassar College, Barnard College, Columbia University, and the New School for Social Research. The collective organized actions responding to events like the Miss America protest (1968) and aligned tactically with groups such as the National Organization for Women and the Freedom Summer activists while remaining critical of liberal reformism espoused by figures linked to the Kennedy administration and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidency. Internal discussions reflected debates with proponents of Marxism, Trotskyism, and Black Power, and exchanges occurred with writers from publications like The Village Voice, The New York Times, and Ramparts.

Ideology and Goals

Redstockings articulated a radical feminist critique influenced by theorists and activists including Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, and Shulamith Firestone. The group emphasized patriarchy, sexual politics, and reproductive rights, debating positions raised in works by Kate Millett, Germaine Greer, and Noam Chomsky on power and social structures. They debated alliances with Socialist Workers Party members and critiqued liberal feminists associated with National Organization for Women and legal reforms tied to the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Redstockings promoted consciousness-raising as a method in common with practitioners influenced by Paulo Freire and activists from the Chicano Movement and American Indian Movement. The collective prioritized dismantling sexual oppression, advocating for abortion rights connected to later decisions like Roe v. Wade and opposing conservative responses linked to figures such as Phyllis Schlafly.

Key Activities and Campaigns

Redstockings staged public actions, teach-ins, and protests that intersected with campaigns by Sisterhood Is Powerful authors and organizers, collaborating at times with participants from Showdown at Shea concerts and solidarity efforts with Vietnam Veterans Against the War. They produced manifestos, pamphlets, and articles appearing alongside pieces in Ms. (magazine), The New Yorker, and underground papers such as The Berkeley Barb. The collective held speakouts on rape and sexual assault that challenged institutional responses in courts overseen by judges appointed under Richard Nixon and later administrations. Redstockings organized demonstrations at venues linked to Columbia University and staged teach-ins paralleling those at Harvard University and Yale University. They engaged with debates over marriage law reforms connected to landmark cases like Loving v. Virginia and policy fights involving the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and activists in the National Abortion Rights Action League.

Structure and Membership

Redstockings operated as a decentralized collective with rotating membership including academics, journalists, and community organizers from institutions like New York University, Princeton University, and Cornell University. Prominent participants had associations with publishing houses such as Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Pantheon Books and contributed to periodicals like The New Republic and The Nation. The group maintained affinity with networks of activists connected to Women Strike for Peace and international contacts in movements including Women’s Liberation Movement (UK), Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, and feminist groups near Paris and Berlin. Membership debates mirrored tensions present in organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America and factions within the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Influence and Legacy

Redstockings influenced later feminist scholarship and activism, impacting historians and theorists associated with Judith Butler, bell hooks, Nancy Fraser, and Adrienne Rich. Their tactics and writings were cited by advocacy organizations such as National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, and legal scholars referencing cases in the United States Supreme Court. The collective’s emphasis on consciousness-raising and analyses of sexual politics informed curricula at institutions like Smith College, Barnard College, and Rutgers University. Redstockings' legacy appears in movements addressing sexual violence connected to campaigns like Take Back the Night and influenced later organizing around #MeToo by activists and journalists from outlets including The New York Times and BuzzFeed. Scholars of social movements reference the group alongside comparisons to Suffragette campaigns, the Temperance movement, and second-wave contemporaries documented by historians at the Smithsonian Institution and in archives at the Schlesinger Library.

Category:Feminist organizations