10. Mormon Women and Second Wave Feminism

Before we explore the current issues facing Mormon women, it's interesting to talk to women who were around during the 1970s as the church took a position on the Equal Rights Amendment. Give your mom a call or raise your hand and share what it was like to be a Mormon in the era of Women's Lib. This would also be a good time to review recent conference talks by women.

READINGS

This podcast gives an overview of the movement to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and shows how Mormon women played a significant role in preventing its passage. It also shows how the conflict over the ERA bore the seeds of today's Religious Right movement.

A brief overview of how often women have spoken in General Conference.

Barbara B. Smith was the tenth General Relief Society President. You may recall her impressive bouffant but she was also a colorful and thoughtful speaker. This video of one of her classic speeches gives some insight to practices and concerns of the day: She Stretcheth Out Her Hand to the Poor.

Sister Smith was often called upon to be the voice of LDS women in the tumultuous heyday of the Women’s Liberation Movement. Smith said about her tenure during the rise of Second Wave Feminism:

“Very soon, it became apparent that I must be part of the continuing discussions going on about the role of women in today’s society. I do not suppose that a more vocal [or] more strident questioning of that role has occurred than during the seventies. The first part of that decade found many women involved in a consciousness-raising campaign to help others become acquainted with, and more concerned about, their situations in life. There was an enormous effort to uncover all the inequities and problems that women faced, and to push for changes. Against this backdrop, a defense of the more traditional role of wife and mother was rarely represented, especially by the media, and when represented, it was seen to be anti-woman or a defense of the stereotype.”--Barbara B. Smith, A Fruitful Season

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

If you were an adult during 1970s, what messages did you hear regarding women's roles and women's liberation? If you are younger than that, take this opportunity to ask your mother and grandmother about this time period.

1. What did you or your mother hear about a woman's role from the pulpit? Have the messages changed at all over your lifetime?

2. If you or your mother were not members of the church during this time period - what messages did you hear? Have those messages changed over your life time?

3. Were there messages that you/she resisted?

4. How did you/she feel supported by the church during this period?

5. Things have changed a lot since the 1970s, but the political divide has only grown wider. How do you maintain civil dialogue with others in today's polarized world?