Women Centered Publications
By Caroline Lancaster
It was 1974 when an intelligent, bold, and progressive woman by the name of Sharon Morisi decided to promote change and raise women’s rights awareness at her college. In the small town of Danville, Kentucky, Morisi attended Centre College where she became inspired to take a stand. In an in-depth interview with Morisi the realities she faced and attitudes she felt in the 1970s came to the surface and revealed many points of intrigue. However, the most invigorating topic mentioned in the interview revolved around the role of women centered publications produced during the women’s movement.(VII) In a busy time of intentional media, publications worked to inspire many women, and specifically Sharon Morisi. Throughout the interview it became evident that Morisi’s efforts to promote change at Centre College were not deliberate or self-inspired. Instead, the actions taken by Morisi were results of frustration, fatigue, and raised consciousness brought on by the reality of women’s societal position and an uptick in women centered publications. These realities, which were shared by many women, drove Morisi and others to create the first feminist newsletter on Centre College’s campus titled, The Flame.(VIII)
Like many publications, The Flame started as just a flame that eventually spread and caught entrenched systems of patriarchy on fire. The Flame was a powerful and effective publication because it reached the female world in ways the college campus had never experienced before.(VIII) It capitalized on homosocial relationships and raised consciousness amongst the women on campus. As a result, Centre College women became more aware of their stifling realites and grew closer to one another. The power of The Flame matched the energy being expressed by national women centered publications and was congruent with their goals and motivations. Women centered publications, specifically The Flame, created visibility and established permanence; and for the first time women’s legacies could not be erased.(VIII)
The first edition of The Flame was released in 1974, Morisi’s senior year of college. This date is significant because it follows the release of other influential women centered publications such as, Ms. Magazine and Feminine Mystique. Publications such as these enabled women to find community, share experiences, and engage in active liberation under patriarchal systems. The Flame, Ms. Magazine, and the Feminine Mystique are three examples of publications which situated women at the center of the story and allowed them to, “better understand themselves as well as one another.”(VIII) Women centered publications were not just about words on a page; no, these publications were activating and encouraged women to envision lives different from the ones they had. Furthermore, partaking in written discourse helped to create disparate communities through shared lived experiences and activated women like Sharon Morisi to bring the impacts of written discourse down to the local level. The impacts of women centered publications were meaningful because they encouraged women to declare independence and claim authority through writing. In general, writing allows for wide dissemination of different groups claiming their identities The use of pen and paper opened new outlets of expressions and ultimately gave women the opportunity to leave the legacies they wanted.
Ms. magazine played a major role in incorporating women into national publications and effortlessly reached women from all over America. Specifically, Ms. magazine reached Sharon Morisi and aided in her motivation to create The Flame. Morisi references the influence of Ms. magazine in her interview when she says:
Yeah you know at the time there was a lot of energy kind of simmering under the surface with, you know, these kinds of dynamics. Ms. magazine was published in 1972. It was midway through my college career and there were a lot of people beginning to question a lot of ideas about sisterhood and consciousness raising.(VII)
When Morisi alludes to energy simmering under the surface she is referencing subtle shifts in attitudes, changes in orientation, potential for change. Publications such as Ms. magazine, Feminist Mystique, and The Flame aided in the creation of that energy and eventually released it from being trapped beneath the surface.
Ms. Magazine, published in 1972, quite rapidly became a force behind the women’s movement.(IX) Women such as Sharon Morisi, were encouraged by the publication and recognized its ability to create community. A particular section of Ms, however, did more than build community. A section titled, “Letters to Ms.” helped many women participate in raising consciousness, voice their concerns, and alleviate the pressures they felt as women.(V) Flipping through the pages of this section, women of all ages, ethnicities, and status write to “Letters to Ms.”, an anonymous recipient who would not take time to judge. Intense experiences and feelings swarm this section and reveal numerous commonalities amongst the women. Specifically, the section reveals several women felt oppressed due to active discrimination in the workforce. For example, a female letter carrier exposed the prevalence of discrimination in the postal field. As a letter carrier, she felt discriminated against regarding her uniform. Women letter carriers were not allowed to wear shorts or have pockets. She explains this was problematic because it was difficult to carry several pieces of mail in one hand and men with pockets stuffed the mail into their short pockets.(V) The rage of the letter carrier was palpable in the letter to Ms. and was consistent with another woman’s experience a few pages over. Similarly, a female highschool student reveals the ways in which she felt discriminated against in her classes and states, “In my highschool automechanics class, if I do something right it is called luck; if I do something wrong, I am suddenly representing my sex.”(V) This statement is incredibly powerful because it forces other women to recognize if they are being deemed as lucky or as a worthy representative.
The ways in which “Letters to Ms.” urged women to become more aware and conscious of their realities is one of the primary purposes it served.(V) This particular section of Ms. changed the game for many women because it became an outlet to publicly share feelings, frustrations, and complaints. This caused women to recognize systems of patriarchy and question the ways in which they were being treated. Furthermore, the section resulted in raised consciousness and a more empowered woman. Sharon Morisi, for example, proves this to be true because Ms. empowered her to create a women centered publication. It is evident The Flame was inspired by publications such as Ms. because they share many similarities. An overarching similarity which permeates the two publications, however, is their purpose. As stated in The Flame, “One prerequisite to the beginning of understanding is that women must first come together to exchange experiences, emotions, and ideas.”(VIII) This purpose embedded in The Flame is reflected throughout the “Letters to Ms.” section where women came together and actively exchanged their experiences. Morisi created The Flame in order to mimic Ms. magazine’s efficacy in establishing a community of women at Centre College. In this way, publications were vital in the representation of women because they allowed women to experience alternative realities and behaviors through the discourse of writing.
In general, the influx of women centered publications presented women new opportunities and understandings of their identity and femininity. In publications such as magazines, the presence of advertisements were powerful forces behind the representation of women because they informally presented women with new roles and identities. In this way, advertisements collectively activated women to envision different lives. In The Flame Morisi wrote, “It is easier to operate under traditional models of clearly defined roles than to face the problems of a new orientation and new lifestyle.” (VIII) As Morisi indicates, operating under a traditional role was much easier than taking on a brand new orientation. Changing this role was contested, controversial, but also the thing to do. The presence of advertisements in publications actively represented a new type of woman otherwise known as, “a model woman”. The “model woman”, or new identity for women, was rapidly changing and advertisements were forced to keep up. Advertisements were forced to recognize the importance of keeping up with the “new woman” because they had to appeal to a new audience and a “new woman”. On the first page of a 1973 copy of Ms. Magazine there is an advertisement for United Airlines.(III) For this advertisement, there is a woman with her legs wrapped around a motorcycle with a confident smirk on her face. In bold reads, “Women do not travel the way they used to”- clear commentary on the shift of woman’s orientation and role in society. Beneath this headline is a small explanation which states, “Used to be a lady only tagged along. But not today. Today’s woman goes far on her own merits, thank you.”(III) The idea of “today’s woman” is fascinating because it opens up the door to a new identity and role in which women leaned into. “Today’s woman” in 1973 was bold, confident, fearless, and went far on her own merits, thank you.(III)
On the front page of a Ms. Magazine issue, there is a clear depiction of what “today's woman” meant and represented. On the cover is a photo of Billie Jean King and beneath it reads, “BJK evens the score”.(VI) This begins to encapsulate the way Billie Jean King influenced womanhood in the 1970s and inspired other women. A particular moment of Billie Jean King’s influence is connected to her tennis match versus male professional, Bobby Riggs. For women like Sharon Morisi, Billie Jean King’s success over Bobby Riggs was monumental. As Morisi claims, it offered a sense of validation because her success proved that women could not only compete but also win.(VII) Publications capitalized on this realization because they were able to use “model women” such as BJK to provide a source of inspiration for other women. Another woman, by the name of Belva Davis is featured in Ms. and also serves as a “model woman”. Belva Davis was the first ever black woman hired as a news anchor for KPIX television. Davis’ acquisition of this position was important because the interaction of her identities is reflective of intersectionality.(I) Embracing intersectionality was not a liberty many women were able to experience; therefore, the ability for women, specifically women of color, to turn the pages of Ms. Magazine and find another woman of color finding success on a public platform was deeply moving.(I) In this way, women centered publications served as a discourse of inspiration and hope for all intersecting identities. It is important to note, the words written on BJK and Belva Davis were not responsible for the direct changes in 1970 society. But, the ability for the average woman to interact with model women and engage in their success is, in fact, responsible for direct societal changes.
Ms. Magazine was an extremely vital publication for women in the 1970s and it had clearly defined impacts on women such as Sharon Morisi. However, it is important to note women centered publications were not limited to magazines. To better understand the environment The Flame was born into, the pages of Sharon Morisi’s 1974 Centre College yearbook were examined and the realities of her college experience were uncovered. One point of interest that is disclosed within the yearbook is the lack of endorsement granted to women centered clubs or organizations.(II) For example, there is a section in the yearbook that recognizes all of the journal based organizations on campus but there is apparent unequal representation of each club. There is a large write up on the “Social Board” and “Human Liberation” clubs which are both male dominant. The substantial and impressive write ups on the male led clubs, are adjacent to a minuscule paragraph with a small photo to the right of it. The measly paragraph turned out to be the write up about The Flame, a female led club.(II) It is assumed the sentence length feature of The Flame was a result of intentionally sanitizing the past and avoiding the success of the women centered publication. The Flame was intentionally ignored in the yearbook because others did not want its success to outshine other clubs and organizations- specifically those led by men.(VIII) It is also worth noting, Centre College’s yearbooks were primarily created by men. Morisi reveals this truth in the interview when she explains the influence men had on Centre’s campus. It became evident throughout the yearbook men feared The Flame and the women in charge of it. But a small write up in the yearbook was not going to stop them; throughout examining women centered publications it became clear, nothing was going to stop a motivated woman.
In the interview with Morisi, another publication that was incredibly important to the women’s movement and the development of the “new woman” was Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan.(IV) Ten years prior to Morisi’s time at Centre College, the publication was released and played a pivotal role in consciousness raising through its blunt description of housewive’s misery; otherwise known as, the “problem that has no name”. Friedan describes the unspoken misery felt by many housewives as the “problem that has no name” and situates it as the ‘is this all’ yearning women deeply felt as they served their families and cooked dinners. Freidan writes, “It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that middle class women suffered.”(IV) This description of women’s realities featured in Feminine Mystique was one of the first times women had the opportunity to discover that their lives were shared lived experiences. Feminine Mystique actively criticizes the women who openly accept their role as a housewife as Betty Friedan writes in such a way that makes this lifestyle seem highly limiting, unsatisfying, and miserable. A middle class housewife who read this publication learned a lot about herself and began to question the life she for so long accepted. The central outcome of Feminine Mystique was housewives, for the first time, became self aware and understanding of the life they had chosen to pursue.(IV) In many ways, the realisation which resulted from this publication strengthened the women’s movement and caused more housewives to partake in a new life. Specifically, a life of choice, independence, and consciousness.
Throughout Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan discusses many aspects of womanhood during the 1960s and prior to then. She reveals, “She was so ashamed to admit her dissatisfaction that she never knew how many other women shared it.”(IV) However, women did not know they shared dissatisfaction until women centered publications were visible. In the interview with Morisi, her desires and motivations for attending Centre College were discussed. Morisi reveals that her parents urged her to attend Centre as a means of life insurance, or as a means of getting married.(VII) The stigma that women should go to college in order to find a husband was very common and Freiden takes the liberty to address this in Feminine Mystique. Freidan reveals in 1920, 47% of women went to college and by 1958 the percentage dropped to 35%.(IV) This number dropped because there was no longer an emphasis on pursuing education for your own good. No, women pursued higher education to find a suitable husband and this is further proven in the interview with Morisi.
Women centered publications were booming during Morisi’s time at Centre College and significantly encouraged and motivated Morisi and her peers to discuss the women’s movement and different avenues for their lives. It is important to note, however, that women centered publications were not the only publications hitting the shelves. Women centered publications were constantly being attacked by sexist publications attempting to slow down the pace of the women’s movement. Morisi experienced this first hand when a poet came to speak at Centre College. In an interview, Morisi did not give specifics on the poet or the poem’s content but she does reveal how startling it was to hear the poet actively combat women’s rights through its imagery.(VII) Morisi described this experience as startling, enlightening, and disconcerting. This portion of the interview was important because it stands as a reminder of the prevalence of publications which reinforced structures of hierarchy and patriarchy.(VII)
Women centered publications such as, The Flame, Ms. Magazine, and Feminine Mystique were transformative and meaningful sources for women in the 1970s. Their presence allowed women to envision alternative lives and construct a more rigid homosocial world. The role women centered publications played in consciousness raising was vital and activating for women like Sharon Morisi. Ms. Magazine successfully capitalized on the idea of the “new woman” through sections like “Letter to Ms.”, advertisements, and its focus on model women. These sections inspired the creation of The Flame at Centre College and brought the women’s movement down to a local level. Examining women centered publications reveals the importance of writing and the meaningful impacts writing as a discourse had. Shared, lived experiences were expressed and communities of women grew stronger. The impact of women centered publications is not entirely encompassed within the pages of The Flame, Ms. Magazine, and Feminine Mystique. However, examining these publications was a start and it revealed a glimpse of the vast, complex, and empowering nature of women at Centre College in the 1970s.
Bibliography
(I) Braudy, Susan, ed. “Woman in the News.” Ms. Gazette: News From All Over 11, no. 1, July 1973.
(II) Centre College, Old Centre, 1974, Centre College Digital Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
(III) Doolan, Kathi, and Terry Kay Nance , eds. “Women Don't Travel like They Used to .” Ms. 11, no. 1, July 1973.
(IV) Friedan, Betty. “The Problem That Has No Name .” Essay. In The Feminine Mystique, 15–32. New York, New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2013.
(V) Gordon, Shelley. “Letters to Ms. .” Ms. 11, no. 1, July 1973.
(VI) King, Bill, ed. “Billie Jean King Evens the Score .” Ms. 11, no. 1, July 1973.
(VII) Morisi, Sharon. Interview by Caroline Lancaster, March 10, 2021, Centre College Digital Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
(VIII) Morisi, Sharon. The Flame , no. 1, January 1974, Centre College Special Collections and Archives, Danville, Kentucky.
(IX) Ms. 11, no. 1, July 1973, Centre College Special Collections and Archives, Danville, Kentucky.