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https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-public-pash-ons-and-angry-dads-personal-politics-started-with-consciousness-raising-feminists-now-everyones-doing-it-232526>
"On March 17–18 1973, more than 600 women gathered in Sydney for a “Women’s
Commission”. Speaking to broad themes such as motherhood, work and sexism,
dozens of women recounted their struggles: to obtain contraception, or a decent
education, to complain about the chauvinistic men in their workplaces. Women
shared personal stories they had never told in public before, building trust,
forging sisterhood.
While most of the media were excluded from the gathering, a journalist from the
Australian Women’s Weekly was permitted to attend. She explained to her
readers this was not just a chance to complain, but “out of a mass of personal
testimony, the nature and extent of the problems facing Australian women were
gradually revealed”.
The event’s goal was to transform personal stories into shared knowledge and
ballast for political action. It was emblematic of the new politics of gender
and sexuality in the 1970s, and it would go on to produce enormous
transformations in the lives of women and sexual minorities.
Thanks to “personal politics”, the everyday lives of Australians have been
transformed in areas like no-fault divorce, providing safe abortions,
decriminalising homosexuality, and introducing health and welfare programs
tailored to women and LGBTIQ+ people.
Political change continues to be driven by personal stories."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
