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High School Women Ask:
WHAT IS WOMEN'S LIBERATION?
from Womankind (December
1971)
(Editors Note: The CWLU did a lot of organizing among working class
high school and community college students. Here are some reflections
by high school women.)
Women's
Liberation is a movement of people coming together out of a need to
learn what it means to be human, to understand what it means for forces
around us to keep us from that humanity, and to act together creatively
out of a sense of what it means to be free. Let's begin by sharing how
we can be ourselves, let's move ahead with ideas of what we want to
be:
...some stories and questions about our lives...
Kathy Evans,
age 16, gets up at 6:15 to get to school by 7:45. Why does she need
so much time?
Among the
many things she does, is to smear on foundation to cover up those nasty
pimples, when actually exposure to the air would speed up their departure.
Then eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, etc. to disguise her own natural
beauty, but making her look like those gorgeous covergirls and ad-models.
Blush over her own roses, a touch-up on her nails, and she's ready
to take down her hair.
As she begins
to brush she glances through the pictures in Seventeen magazine with
all those perfect-looking girls and beautiful clothes. The advertisements
cry out to her, "Buy our product and you'll be beautiful ... The
boys will love you and you'll be happy." She sighs thinking of
her small allowance.
Kathy struggles
into a constricting girdle to flatten her tummy, no matter it pinches
and feels hot all day -- she's used to that by now. On with the nylons,
$2.50 stockings that can be ruined the first time by a little snag
and run. She slips on her skirt, not quite mini, but short enough to
be dangerous when sitting or bending over.
By now it
is 7:15 so Kathy grabs a piece of toast; not too much because she's
on a diet (so what else is new?). No matter she'll be droopy through
her morning classes for lack of food.
Finally,
our young lady is all dressed and ready to go. She grabs her purse,
loaded with extra make-up, nail polish, etc., etc., picks up her books
and is out the door, ready to sell her polished surface self to the
world.
Why do girls wear makeup?
Why can't we just dig our bodies?
Do we worry about who we are or what we look like?
What is an honest relationship with a guy?
How are friendships between girls and between a girl and a guy different?
You
come into school in the morning. After the bell rings the PA comes
on and a familiar voice calmly screams at you: "Don't sit at the
open windows in the John, because ladies don't do such a thing."
Following
announcements you stroll through the hall to your first class. Here
you are greeted “good morning" with a warning to shut up and
keep your voice down in the hall or else. “After all you are ladies
and well-bred ladies don't scream, but are softspoken and gentle."
The day
continues and so do the warnings "Speak softly" - "sit
like a lady" - "don't wear tight pants to or from school.
We don't want people to get the wrong idea about what we teach here"...Sound
familiar???????????????????
What exactly is a "lady"?
Sally,
age 15, came home exuberant. She had helped her team win at the swim
meet with Southwest High, by coming in first in the butterfly competition.
But it wasn't just that her team had won, because she loved to swim.
It was her way of expressing herself, giving her such a feeling of
freedom as her body moved swiftly through the water. Her mind and body
were together, smooth and coordinated.
But her
world was soon to shatter, because she returned home to over hear a
conversation that her mother was having with a neighbor:
"Madge,
I don't understand why you let your daughter swim so much. It
just isn't good for her. She is becoming a young woman now. All that
swimming will develop her muscles and soon she will be unattractive
to men.”
Sally was
shocked and hurt. She didn't understand but she began to change.
She started losing races, swimming wasn't as much fun as it used to
be, and gradually she learned to be satisfied with sun bathing alongside
the pool.
Why do girls wear makeup?
How do we know what we want to do with our lives?
How many alternatives do we really consider?
What if we tried to follow our dreams?
(this article was written by high school women as they viewed
their lives)
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