8 FEMINISM IS FOR EVERYBODY CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING 9 many hurt and exploited women used the consciousness-raising in printed matter so as to reach a wider audience,groups dismantled. group therapeutically.It was the site where they uncovered and The creation of women's studies as an academic discipline provided openly revealed the depths of their intimate wounds.This confes- another setting where women could be informed about feminist sional aspect served as a healing ritual.Through consciousness- thinking and feminist theory.Many of the women who spearheaded raising women gained the strength to challenge patriarchal forces at the introduction of women's studies classes into colleges and uni- work and at home. versities had been radical activists in civil rights struggles,gay rights, Importantly though,the foundation of this work began with and early feminist movement.Many of them did not have doctor- women examining sexist thinking and creating strategies where we ates,which meant that they entered academic institutions receiving would change our attitudes and belief via a conversion to feminist lower pay and working longer hours than their colleagues in other thinking and a commitment to feminist politics.Fundamentally,the disciplines.By the time younger graduate students joined the effort consciousness-raising(CR)group was a site for conversion.To to legitimize feminist scholarship in the academy we knew that it build a mass-based feminist movement women needed to organize. was important to gain higher degrees.Most of us saw our commit- The consciousness-raising session,which usually took place in ment to women's studies as political action;we were prepared to someone's home (rather than public space that had to be rented or sacrifice in order to create an academic base for feminist movement. donated),was the meeting place.It was the place where seasoned By the late'70s women's studies was on its way to becoming feminist thinkers and activists could recruit new converts. an accepted academic discipline.This triumph overshadowed the Importantly,communication and dialogue was a central agenda fact that many of the women who had paved the way for the at the consciousness-raising sessions.In many groups a policy was institutionalization of women's studies were fired because they had in place which honored everyone's voice.Women took turns speak- master's degrees and not doctorates.While some of us returned to ing to make sure everyone would be heard.This attempt to create a graduate school to get PhDs,some of the best and brightest among non-hierarchal model for discussion positively gave every woman a us did not because they were utterly disillusioned with the university chance to speak but often did not create a context for engaged dia- and burnt out from overwork as well as disappointed and enraged logue.However,in most instances discussion and debate occurted, that the radical politics undergirding women's studies was being re- usually after everyone had spoken at least once.Argumentative dis- placed by liberal reformism.Before too long the women's studies cussion was common in CR groups as it was the way we sought to classroom had replaced the free-for-all consciousness-raising group. clarify our collective understanding of the nature of male domina- Whereas women from various backgrounds,those who worked tion.Only through discussion and disagreement could we begin to solely as housewives or in service jobs,and big-time professional find a realistic standpoint on gender exploitation and oppression. women,could be found in diverse consciousness-raising groups,the As feminist thinking,which emerged first in the context of academy was and remains a site of class privilege.Privileged white small groups where individuals often knew each other(they may middle-class women who were a numeric majority though not nec- have worked together and/or were friends),began to be theorized essarily the radical leaders of contemporary feminist movement of-8 FEMINISM IS FOR EVERYBODY many hurt and exploited women used the consciousness-raising group therapeutically. It was the site where they uncovered and openly revealed the depths of their intimate wounds. This confes￾sional aspect served as a healing ritual. Through consciousness￾raising women gained the strength to challenge patriarchal forces at work and at home. Importantly though, the foundation of this work began with women examining sexist thinking and creating strategies where we would change our attitudes and belief via a conversion to feminist thinking and a commitment to feminist politics. Fundamentally, the consciousness-raising (CR) group was a site for conversion. To build a mass-based feminist movement women needed to organize. The consciousness-raising session, which usually took place in someone's home (rather than public space that had to be rented or donated), was the meeting place. It was the place where seasoned feminist thinkers and activists could recruit new converts. Importantly, communication and dialogue was a central agenda at the consciousness-raising sessions. In many groups a policy was in place which honored everyone's voice. Women took turns speak￾ing to make sure everyone would be heard. This attempt to create a non-hierarchal model for discussion positively gave every woman a chance to speak but often did not create a context for engaged dia￾logue. However, in most instances discussion and debate occurred, usually after everyone had spoken at least once. Argumentative dis￾cussion was common in CR groups as it was the way we sought to clarify our collective understanding of the nature of male domina￾tion. Only through discussion and disagreement could we begin to find a realistic standpoint on gender exploitation and oppression. As feminist thinking, which emerged first in the context of small groups where individuals often knew each other (they may have worked together and/ or were friends), began to be theorized CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING 9 in printed matter so as to reach a wider audience, groups dismantled. The creation of women's studies as an academic discipline provided another setting where women could be informed about feminist thinking and feminist theory. Many of the women who spearheaded the introduction of women's studies classes into colleges and uni￾versities had been radical activists in civil rights struggles, gay rights, and early feminist movement. Many of them did not have doctor￾ates, which meant that they entered academic institutions receiving lower pay and working longer hours than their colleagues in other disciplines. By the time younger graduate students joined the effort to legitimize feminist scholarship in the academy we knew that it was important to gain higher degrees. Most of us saw our commit￾ment to women's studies as political action; we were prepared to sacrifice in order to create an academic base for feminist movement. By the late '70s women's studies was on its way to becoming an accepted academic discipline. This triumph overshadowed the fact that many of the women who had paved the way for the institutionalization of women's studies were fired because they had master's degrees and not doctorates. While some of us returned to graduate school to get PhDs, some of the best and brightest among us did not because they were utterly disillusioned with the university and burnt out from overwork as well as disappointed and enraged that the radical politics undergirding women's studies was being re￾placed by liberal reformism. Before too long the women's studies classroom had replaced the free-for-all consciousness-raising group. Whereas women from various backgrounds, those who worked solely as housewives or in service jobs, and big-time professional women, could be found in diverse consciousness-raising groups, the academy was and remains a site of class privilege. Privileged white middle-class women who were a numeric majority though not nec￾essarily the radical leaders of contemporary feminist movement of-