How to start your own consciousness-raising
group
Reprinted from a leaflet distributed by The Chicago Women's Liberation
Union (1971)
(Editors Note: The CWLU organized many consciousness raising groups
around the city.)
Consciousness-raising groups are the backbone of
the Women's Liberation Movement. All over the country women are meeting
regularly to share experiences each has always thought were "my
own problems". A lot of women are upset by remarks men make
to us on the street, for instance, but we think other women handle
the situation much better than we do, or just aren't bothered as
much. Through consciousness-raising we begin to understand ourselves
and other women by looking at situations like this in our own lives.
We see that "personal problems shared by so many others--not
being able to get out of the house often enough, becoming exhausted
from taking care of the children all day, perhaps feeling trapped--are
really 'Political problems. Understanding them is the first step
toward dealing with them collectively, whether in forming a day care
center, exploring job possibilities, or planning the best strategy
for getting our husbands to help with the housework. It's easy to
form a group of your own. Here's how:
A consciousness-raising group consists of a small
number of women (generally not more than 12) who meet informally
once a week at a
member's home or women's center. Ask friends to bring friends--it
isn't necessary to know everyone. Sisterhood is a warm feeling!
A different topic could be chosen each week, and everyone
discusses it in terms of her own life. Go around in a circle, each
woman talking
in turn so that everyone speaks; this keeps anyone from dominating
a discussion and helps keep on the topic. After everyone has talked
(when you start your own group you will find it isn't hard to speak
in a small, close group), you might want to discuss the information
you gained as you went around the room.
The first meeting: each person can talk about why
she wants to join Women's Liberation, what she thinks the group will
be like, and tells
a little bit about her own background and how she came to be at the
meeting. This breaks the ice very effectively. Topics: a different
one each week or so. They should be both specific and basic. Here
is a partial list of topics that other groups have discussed:
why did you marry the man you did? (or date the man
you do?)
How do you feel men see you?
How do you feel about
housework? What does
your husband do around the house?
Do you feel guilty when your
house is dirty?
Do you think that what you do with your day is as
important as what your husband does with his day?
What did you
want to do in life?
What kept you from doing it?
How did you learn
as a little girl what "feminine" meant?
Do you worry about
being "truly feminine"?
What does "femininity" mean
to you in terms of your own life?
What did you do as a little girl
that was different from what little boys did? Why?
Did you ever want
to do anything else? What did your parents teach you about sex?
How
do you feel about menstruation?
How did you feel when you had your
first period?
What was your first sex experience?
What is a "nice
girl"? Were you a "nice girl"?
Do you pretend to have
an orgasm?
Have you had an abortion?
How do you feel about being
pregnant?
Do you enjoy taking care of your children? All the
time?
What hopes do you have for your daughter? For your
son? Are these
hopes different? If so, why?
Do you think you could get
a better job? Why not?
Do you compete with other women? In what
ways?
Are you economically dependent on a man?
How do you
relate to
women
of a different economic status and/or race? What
things do you have
in common? What things differ?
What do you
feel about lesbianism? What do you know about it?
Who was Sojourner
Truth? Elizabeth Cady Stanton?
What do we know about our
history as
women?
What
is the
basis of love between a woman and a
man? Between a woman and a woman?
Between parent and child?
You don't have to stick to this list.
Other topics will present themselves.
At the
end of each meeting
you can
choose the
topic for the next
week.
After a period of several months,
your group might want to begin
study or
action projects.
CWLU has
literature available
and a
special introductory packet that
might provide a good basis for discussion.
Your
group might want to start its
own action
project; for
example, a group
in California
joined
the picket
line of women factory workers
who were protesting discriminatory
hiring practices,
a group
in Washington,
D.C. held
hearings on the pill, several
groups began newspapers and magazines.
or,
you can
check to see what on-going
projects are happening in the city that
you might
want to become
involved with:
learning
how to
give pregnancy
tests, having a study group
in the Liberation School for Women,
doing
abortion counseling,
working
for childcare, etc. The
CWLU office
(927-1790) can put you in touch
with these projects.
Starting new groups: Once your
group has begun, you will
find that other
friends want to join.
Some will
want
to come as
guests. But
consciousness- raising really
depends on
participation. Sisterhood
doesn't come from just listening.
It is important to keep
the group small enough for
everyone to participate.
What you can
do is keep
a list of women who express
interest. When your group
has met four
or five times you
will be
confident enough so
that two
or three
of you can help a new group
get started from the list.
Go to
the first
meeting or two, to make sure
the new group gets off
on the right track. Every
week new groups start all over
the country.
Before
you know it, you will have
several groups in your area,
and you
will begin to feel that you
really belong
to a movement.
