Laura L. Lovett

Dorothy Pitman Hughes is perhaps most widely known from the famous photograph taken in the 1970s of her standing next to Gloria Steinem, both women with their fists raised. However, while Steinem is still a highly visible public figure to this day, Pitman Hughes—a community activist who went on a national speaking tour with Steinem—is far less well known. In this, the first biography of Pitman Hughes, Laura Lovett outlines Pitman Hughes' life and work, and shows how race, class, gender, and motherhood put her on a different trajectory to Steinem.

Early on in this slim book, Lovett argues that it's not only the famous with certain kinds of achievements who are deserving of autobiographies—that there is much to be gained from studying the lives and communities of those who are more representative of everyday experiences. I think that is certainly true! But it's undeniably true that Lovett has less surviving primary source material to work with when telling Pitman Hughes' story than she would have with other important second wave figures—it doesn't seem that the texts of her speeches have survived, for instance, unlike those of many of Steinem's. And perhaps because Pitman Hughes is still alive, Lovett doesn't delve too deeply into her personal life—this is mostly focused on Pitman Hughes' organising career.

Still, a worthwhile read.… (altro)

A collection of short essays on the general topic of Free To Be You and Me and feminist ideals about childraising and gender socialization in the 1970s, including reminiscences from several of the key people. If you think pop culture doesn’t matter, you probably aren’t reading this, but the book offers direct testimony from children and adults who were profoundly affected by the messages in the book. William’s Doll shows up most often, probably, both as promising vision and as unfulfilled promise given that masculinity’s hold seems to have loosened less than femininity’s in many ways.… (altro)