348 Dorothy Chansky the cultural status quo.Lichtenstein quotes long-time AFL president George Meany on what Lichtenstein clearly reads as goals of diminished expectation:"We do not seek to recast American society in any particular doctrinaire or ideological image....We scck an ever rising standard of living."2 Workers themselves seemed primarily interested in their lives outside the factory rather than in improving their situation on the job itself. While labor had inspired artists and intellectuals during the 1930s and 1940s(think Clifford Odets and Elmer Rice,among many others),radicals of the 1950s and beyond looked elsewhere(think Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg,again among many others), especially in the wake of the hearings chaired by Senator John McClellan in 1957 and 1958 whereby major corruption and nepotism were revealed to be part of the ordinary operation of the leaders of several unions(think On the Waterfront).In 1953,labor union membership"stood at its proportional apogee",28 pro-union sentiment dropped steadily, from an all-time high in 1957,before the hearings began,throughout the 1960s. Friedan,then,was not alone in turning away from a belief in the power of union activism,nor was she unusual in her anxiety about being associated with communism, particularly since she was a freelance journalist for women's magazines-notorious for their commitment to safe,middle-of-the-road,traditional,cheery ideology.Union members fantasizing about spending a seven-and-a-half cent per hour raise over a period of five-to-twenty years were not to be the stuff of which Broadway heroines were made.2 Friedan's final book,however,reveals that her concern with equity,ac- cess to adequate child and health care,and a guaranteed safety net for single parents trumped any of feminism's other concerns.This situates her,at the end of her life,in a radical group(which includes Lichtenstein),and hardly as a second-wave fogey whose ideas were totally passe.3 Nonetheless,some of her ideas became almost antediluvian in the eyes of many feminist theatre practitioners and theorists.It is worth examin- ing these ideas in order to ask whether the goals I am situating as still radical can be addressed by theatre and performance as Friedan understood these.Again,while the dominant stream of academic feminist performance criticism of the 1980s and 1990s would say "no,"widening the lens to include most theatergoers and practitioners may yield a "yes." Friedan's work proffers the usual bourgeois respect for theatre as a place where meaning resides in literary texts or where amateurs can display their social and intel- lectual depth(or possibly superiority).31Yet hers was a love-hate relationship with the Meany,quoted in ibid.,147. Ibid. x Nor were they to be the leaders of a national feminist movement,since the work and class that united them financially lost status and ceased to be a primary locus of either identity or pride.Inde- pendent,career-focused women as dramatic characters would come from the middle or upper middle classes,perhaps reflecting a shift in the anticipated sympathies of anticipated audiences. 3In the conclusion of his study.What's the Matter with Kansas?How Conservatives Won the Heart of America(New York:Metropolitan Books,2004),Thomas Frank notes that,even among religious fun- damentalists,the single group that does not cast its votes to reflect concerns with abortion or Jesus (among other hot-button topics)comprises union members,who understand politics as the realm for redressing inequality and social systems that fail to serve the rights of citizens for access to better health,education,and working situations. 3 For example,when she wrote of her outrage at her middle child's college-application process being sabotaged by a resentful private school headmaster,she listed as one of three examples of her son's being"your model everything to everyone"the fact that he played Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dreamt (Triedan,Life So Far,258.) This content downloaded from 183.195.251.166 on Sat,16 Jan 2016 12:04:58 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions348 / Dorothy Chansky the cultural status quo. Lichtenstein quotes long-time AFL president George Meany on what Lichtenstein clearly reads as goals of diminished expectation: "We do not seek to recast American society in any particular doctrinaire or ideological image We seek an ever rising standard of living."27 Workers themselves seemed primarily interested in their lives outside the factory rather than in improving their situation on the job itself. While labor had inspired artists and intellectuals during the 1930s and 1940s (think Clifford Odets and Elmer Rice, among many others), radicals of the 1950s and beyond looked elsewhere (think Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg, again among many others), especially in the wake of the hearings chaired by Senator John McClellan in 1957 and 1958 whereby major corruption and nepotism were revealed to be part of the ordinary operation of the leaders of several unions (think On the Waterfront). In 1953, labor union membership "stood at its proportional apogee",*28 pro-union sentiment dropped steadily, from an all-time high in 1957, before the hearings began, throughout the 1960s. Friedan, then, was not alone in turning away from a belief in the power of union activism, nor was she unusual in her anxiety about being associated with communism, particularly since she was a freelance journalist for women's magazines - notorious for their commitment to safe, middle-of-the-road, traditional, cheery ideology. Union members fantasizing about spending a seven-and-a-half cent per hour raise over a period of five-to-twenty years were not to be the stuff of which Broadway heroines were made.29 Friedan's final book, however, reveals that her concern with equity, ac￾cess to adequate child and health care, and a guaranteed safety net for single parents trumped any of feminism's other concerns. This situates her, at the end of her life, in a radical group (which includes Lichtenstein), and hardly as a second-wave fogey whose ideas were totally pass^.30 Nonetheless, some of her ideas became almost antediluvian in the eyes of many feminist theatre practitioners and theorists. It is worth examin￾ing these ideas in order to ask whether the goals I am situating as still radical can be addressed by theatre and performance as Friedan understood these. Again, while the dominant stream of academic feminist performance criticism of the 1980s and 1990s would say "no," widening the lens to include most theatergoers and practitioners may yield a "yes." Friedan's work proffers the usual bourgeois respect for theatre as a place where meaning resides in literary texts or where amateurs can display their social and intel￾lectual depth (or possibly superiority).31 Yet hers was a love-hate relationship with the 27 Meany, quoted in ibid., 147. 28 Ibid. 29 Nor were they to be the leaders of a national feminist movement, since the work and class that united them financially lost status and ceased to be a primary locus of either identity or pride. Inde￾pendent, career-focused women as dramatic characters would come from the middle or upper middle classes, perhaps reflecting a shift in the anticipated sympathies of anticipated audiences. 30 In the conclusion of his study, What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004), Thomas Frank notes that, even among religious fun￾damentalists, the single group that does not cast its votes to reflect concerns with abortion or Jesus (among other hot-button topics) comprises union members, who understand politics as the realm for redressing inequality and social systems that fail to serve the rights of citizens for access to better health, education, and working situations. 31 For example, when she wrote of her outrage at her middle child's college-application process being sabotaged by a resentful private school headmaster, she listed as one of three examples of her son's being "your model everything to everyone" the fact that he played Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Friedan, Life So Far, 258.) This content downloaded from 183.195.251.166 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 12:04:58 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions