Editor and author comments on articles from this issue

Cutwright, Karen

Lanam, Linda

Shaffer, Margaret

Wildey, Sharon

Zilli, Marilyn C.

English

Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law

IUSTITIAVolume 2Number 1 Women: Special Issue by Women Article 194-1974ResponsesMargaret ShafferIndiana University School of LawMarilyn C. ZilliIndiana University School of LawLinda LanamIndiana University School of LawKaren CutwrightIndiana University School of LawSharon WildeyIndiana University School of LawFollow this and additional works at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/iustitiaPart of the Gender and Sexuality Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, LawCommons, and the Politics and Social Change CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Repository@ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in IUSTITIA by anauthorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For moreinformation, please contact wattn@indiana.edu.Recommended CitationShaffer, Margaret; Zilli, Marilyn C.; Lanam, Linda; Cutwright, Karen; and Wildey, Sharon (1974) "Responses," IUSTITIA: Vol. 2: No.1, Article 19.Available at: http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/iustitia/vol2/iss1/19Responses:It has been apparent in the effort to win ratification of the equal rightsamendment the objectives of that amendment have never been adequatelyinterpreted to the working class woman. As a result some of the strongestand most pervasive opposition to the ERA has come from those who needit the most. One of the disappointments of the Women's Movement is thatit initially had little interest in reaching working class women and, even oflate, the majority of its members cannot think in terms of the problemsfaced by that group of women. Most disturbing is that the channels forcommunicating the ideas of the Women's Movement have primarily beenthose which are keyed to the middle and upper class women. Televisiontalk shows, the highly successful Ms. Magazine, and conferences; all havebeen aimed at the more elite women. As an initial starting point perhapsthis thinking was tolerable. Today the movement must truly grow beyondthis if it is to effectuate meaningful improvements in the lives of all women.An appreciation must be developed for the goals of those women who maybe working totally from necessity rather than from any desire to developtheir identity. Many of these women would welcome the luxury of stayinghome and caring for their children, and of having time to themselves. Tell-ing them that caring for a home is drudgery and that they should want acareer is not the approach that meets their needs. At some point theWomen's Movement is going to have to fully understand the meaning ofliberation and freedom of choice for an individual. The early movementtended to replace the traditional stereotyped female image with an equallystereotyped and rigid one of the liberated woman. Tolerance is especiallyneeded as is an appreciation for divergent views. The goal of the movementmust be to grow beyond rigid lifestyle patterns of all types and the tendencyto categorize people. When the elite of the Women's Movement begins tolisten more than we may actually have the "freedom to be you and me."by Margaret Shaffer*The article is highly elitist; it betrays precisely the patronizing andsnobbish attitude which middle class women often demonstrate towardworking class women and which I assume it was the author's purpose topoint out and critically analyze.Equality is not a synonym for attainment of professional and intel-lectual status and the middle class can hardly be said to have a monopolyon considering dignity and self-respect important. Further education is notnecessarily a prerequisite to awareness of inequality and questioning of*Ms. Shaffer, the 1973-74 Student Bar Association President and third year Indiana Universitylaw student, received her A.B. in Political Science from Earlham College.108power structures; it does not necessarily have value to an individualdevelopment which the author seems to assign it. In fact, many studies haveproved that the institution of education tracks working and middle classstudents into pre-determined job classifications which perpetuate the classbasis of our society.If anything, working class women became aware of their equality to menlong before their middle class sisters. They have been working side by sidewith men in factories since the Industrial Revolution (and before that incottage, home-based trades). In comparison it is only recently that middleclass women have seen the value in and have attempted to enter the pro-fessions. If the potential of working class women is denied, it is thefault of the middle class, both men and women, whose interest in main-taining a classed and economically structured society is probably thestrongest of any group in our society.From the author's point of view working class women are stupid, un-educated, unmotivated, mindless dolts. Given that they no doubt perceivethis attitude in middle class women, it is no wonder that they refuse to"join the movement" Maybe we should stop telling them that child daycare is only important if women are seeking to leave the home to pursue acareer. What about leaving the home to go to a job that supports ourcapitalist economy?by Marilyn ZilliThe "lack of awareness" of the working class women does not preventfrustration; it only prevents it from achieving a clear focus. The dominationof the current women's movement by the well-educated, then, is a resultof the ability to specify and articulate their feelings.by Linda LanamAll of us who are involved with this issue of Justitia are rather unusuallywell-educated. So far as I know, none of us has expressed a desire to enterthe blue collar-work force or the white collar-clerical work force. In this, Ithink we typify the bulk of women involved in the women's movement.We seek "meaningful" employment. To us, and in the rhetoric of the move-ment, this implies work which will allow us to use our education and training*Ms. Lanam, a second year Indiana University law student, received her B.S. in English andEducation from Indiana University. She is presently the I.U. student representative on the IndianaBar Association Committee on Legal Education and Bar Admissions.109in some way. We have always had the opportunity to work in factories,to serve as waitresses, to work in the fields, to type someone else's thoughts.We chose not to work in these areas because while our education has taughtus that society cannot function without people who will do this work (and,therefore, may be more meaningful ultimately than many of the types ofwork we seek), it has also taught us that we possess the same intellectualcapabilities as males, and can function on a par at the jobs which well-educated males hold. Our goals are as elitist as theirs.There are, of course, exceptions, and the movement has given support towomen entering blue-collar jobs; efforts have been made to eliminate "pro-tective" legislation which precludes women from entering somewhat high-risk, but also high-paying jobs. However, the focus of the movement seemsto be not directed at getting more women into the labor force, but ratherat the exclusion of well-educated women from the jobs that their malecounterparts hold. I agree with Ms. Stam that the movement offers littleto the woman who seeks a job and not a "career" aside from the same moralsupport and work in the day-care center area. It may be that an outgrowthof the movement will be to see all employment as having a value to societyand the view that a particular job is one that "somebody's got to do" willgive it more status than is currently the case. Unless the movement con-centrates on this, however, it will not speak to the majority of the workingpopulation, male and female, and cannot expect much support from thatpopulation.by Karen Cutright*It is obvious, I agree, that the women's movement is dominated by welleducated women. However, I find it less obvious that the fault lies withthe working class women's lack of awareness. It seems to me that peopleinvolvcd in social movements in this country find it easier to kick downwalls than to build bridges.by Sharon Wildey*Ms. Cutright, Admissions Officer and Assistant to the Dean for the Indiana University School ofLaw, received her A.B. in History from Vasser College and her J.D. from Washington University.110

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