Feminist hoping convention effects will last

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 7

Feminist hoping convention effects will last

Groups of women with common interests and goals were formed at the United Women’s Convention in Hamilton during Easter. One of the convention’s overseas speakers, Ms Charlotte Bunch, hopes this will continue throughout New Zealand as a follow-up to the gathering. An American feminist, Ms Bunch found a “very high level of energy” among the women attending. An estimated 2500 to 3000 women were there. If new strategies and new work among women were results of the convention it would be a “shot in the arm” that would not be forgotten, said Ms Bunch, who visited Christchurch on a whirlwind tour. Charlotte Bunch, whose political activities began in the American civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements, is editor of the feminist quarterly. “Quest.” She writes and speaks on feminist theory and the lesbian feminist movement, and has maintained her links with the university Christian movement. A much-travelled woman, she has edited several books on feminism.

Although she sees the women’s movement as a world-wide political movement for social change, she is a realist about the degree of its support. “I don’t see a time when ali women will be committed feminists.” she said. However, the women’s movement in the United States was increasingly touching the mass of working women, and those who stayed home with their children. The main progress made was in changing women’s ideas about themselves and their futures. It had created a climate in which there were now many

more alternatives opening up for women. Progress on the legislative front was much slower because changes in entrenched systems took a long time "to bring about. Such changes required male co-operation and as the women’s movement grew in strength the male elements most opposed to it were closing ranks. The backlash against the United States Supreme Court’s liberal ruling on abortion has shocked and mobilised the movement. “It has been very educational for us because we have seen the depth of opposition to freedom of choice and abortion. We thought We had that one won,” Ms Bunch said. Ms Bunch believes that women’s control of their own bodies is a centra! goal for the movement. An integral part of that is, she says, the lesbian feminism movement and its quest for complete self-de-termination. “I see this as a much broader issue than just sexual reproductive control. It means complete control of our minds, and therefore our lives.” The movement in the United States had grown to include and support the lesbian feminist movement. During the time in which lesbians had been excluded. Ms Bunch considered herself a separatist. Now she is happy to work alongside other" women. She also works with men in the Gay liberation movement, and with men in “a political sense.” The feminist movement in the United States had come to accept that there were occasions when it was proper for women to talk and work together exclusively, and that there were times when men who wanted to help were welcome. While the pros and cons for working within or

without established systems continue to rage in the women’s movement in New Zealand, Ms Bunch says American women have’ largely “lived through” this division. She is an advocate for working on both fronts. “We need women work- i ing for change within the ( system, as long as they have strong feminist convictions,” she said. But she is convinced that changes to the status quo come only through the pressure exerted by alternative groups. She was not concerned, she said, that women who achieved success would become power-mad. “That is not to say women are incorruptible, but femin- . ists have a wider loyalty, a broader commitment than just gaining personal power,” said Ms Bunch. 1 “What if some women I were corrupted by power? I It couldn't be any worse ' than it is now.” Charlotte Bunch sees the election of more women as a way’ to “clean government.” The women in Congress were now lib- ; erals, and had considerable - reputations for honesty, I she said. “More women ! would certainly give us I better government every- I where. I’m sure.”