HIST 29 #20 Women in the Christian Right 1978-1992 10/24/12 New Right: It's social, family-based, and religious.

Backlash conservatism, posited against another ideology (feminism) and also nostalgic. Geographical divide between the new and old right: : women who were economically conservative were from the Northeast, socially conservative women from the South, mostly. Meg Whitman (former Ebay exec, currently Hewlett-Packard exec), Carly Fiorina (former HP exec): moderate on social issues, conservative on economic issues. These women position themselves against feminism, but are made possible because of feminism. See big government as a potential threat against family values; government is only a positive if it enforces certain norms. Schools are key in the rise of this movement: prayer in school, creationism, abstinence education. Parent-teacher organizations (PTOs): where is this coming from? We saw it in the Klan; we also saw it in Septima Clark with the community being involved in how schools were run. What rights are these women saying they're not giving up? What control are they claiming over public schools? religious freedom vs. secularism, humanism (science and reason). Think about how school board organizing is done: it is very local, and this is key to some of the success of this movement. Organizing for prayer in schools, organizing for a certain style of teachingwhat successes do they have? Every local board gives you the possibility of success, so this movement is tremendously successful because they did all the things that groups on the left promised to do: they organized in every school district. Michele Bachmann: you couldn't in any way validate homosexuality as normal. They couldn't teach moral condemnation, but they couldn't validate this. This was an article in Michele Bachmann's district that was only overturned after it was revealed that the teen suicide rate in that distract was extraordinarily high. Functions of a school board: control who is hired, who gets tenure, control where the money is allocated (purchase of books, films, any curricular aid). Who is on the school board also changes how the school board functions. Family Protection Act any institution that potentially undermines the traditional family, by teaching that any other family is normal, cannot receive federal funding. This bill has never passed federally, but in the purse-string of local school boards, these things are passed all the time. This movement is operating on a variety of levels. Concerned Women for America formed by a preacher's wife. Her husband wrote the Left Behind series. They saw the feminist movement of the 60s and thought they needed to learn from the popularity of the movement. They have their own consciousness-raising groups. They also think that the personal is political Roe v. Wade as the holocaust of our time. Consciousness-raising groups: churches teach kids, they have bible study groups for adults. What other groups do women have in churches? Volunteer work.

In order to mobilize, you must politicize the personal. How do they do it? They personalize the importance of traditional motherhood in raising the next generation of capable, moral adults. They advocate traditional gender roles, but things have also changed, and you can't put the genie back into the bottle in the 80s. So the kind of motherhood they advocate is different. Equal Rights Amendment: mid-to-late 1970s. Phyllis Schlafly opposes the equal rights amendment, when it had the momentum to get passed, by taking up the mantle of traditional motherhood. Positive woman: wife as a cheerleader of the husband, care-taker of children, etc. So the role of government is to support women in this role. How might the ERA have messed that up? It would forbid tax breaks for traditional families, and tax penalties for non-traditional behavior. The tax structure is one way in which traditional marriage is supported. One argument against same-sex marriage is that it would make available those benefits to others. Family values: mothers who stay at home, protesting no-fault divorce, which would increase divorce rates, and men would leave in greater numbers, since no proof of physical or mental cruelty had to be provided to obtain a divorce. 1983: first Planned Parenthood clinic that performed abortions opened in Fargo, North Dakota, which started a contentious battle on the prairie. Women thought that those who were getting abortions were being irresponsible and selfish in their behavior and choices. Ehrenreich: these women are asserting power by acting in a conservative fashion. They gained economic power, greater parity in the relationship, etc. This is part of what is being discussed in the consciousnessraising groups. They're seeking more power, not just sex; but even pastors and priests are putting a moral tenor on mutual satisfaction. There's a notion of fundamentalist sex is hot sex. In the consciousness-raising groups when men aren't there, you're talking about gaining back power and suasion. There were also sex manuals and information about how to have satisfying sex going on. It's not what you would generally expect to have happen in Christian consciousness-raising. Sex toy tupperware parties, etc. There's a galvanizing of solidarity in the women's only sphere, but also an attempt to transform relationships in the home. What is some of the ideology behind this sex? The strategy? You can have all the fun you want, but you should get just married first. This shows that marriage isn't boring, but actually exciting. It's one of the prizes you get for joining a traditional institution. The age of individuals married also goes down. The rates of 16-year-olds getting pregnant in these communities is also much higher. Transcendence through submission this is a real fetish. It is interesting how the sexual revolution becomes part of this new right organizing. All these women are also happy because they have a boyfriend: the sexualizing of Christ is part of this. This argument made a lot of people uncomfortable.