TOWN

BLOODY HALL PROJECT Columbia College, Fall 2013

S TILL F ROM T OWN B LOODY H ALL, 1 971, A D OCUMENTARY D IRECTED B Y C HRIS H EGEDUS

Town B loody H all R e-enactment a nd D iscussion

DESCRIPTION Our p roject i s t he r e-enactment o f a p anel d iscussion h eld a t a n a uditorium c alled T own H all i n N ew Y ork C ity i n 1971. E arlier i n 1 971, N orman M ailer h ad p ublished a l engthy, r ather h ostile r eaction t o K ate M illets S exual P olitics in H arpers M agazine. L ater t o b ecome a b ook o f t he s ame n ame, The P risoner o f S ex w as c ontroversial e nough among f eminists t o b ring a bout t his d iscussion, w hich p roved t o b e r iotous. T he p anelists w ere: G ermaine G reer, t he British a uthor o f T he F emale E unuch w ho h ad t eased t he p ress p revious t o t he o ccasion b y b oasting t hat s he w as going t o s educe M ailer; J ill J ohnston, V illage V oice c olumnist w ho r ead a p oem w hose p oint w as t hat every w oman i s a l esbian e ven i f s he d oesnt k now i t, D iana T rilling, w ife o f w orld-famous c ritic L ionel T rilling a nd p art o f a n o lder guard o f l eft l iterary N ew Y orkers; a nd J acqui C eballos, t he h ead o f t he N ational O rganization f or W omen. T he audience i ncluded p rominent i ntellectuals o f t he p eriod, i ncluding A natole B royard, B etty F riedan a nd S usan S ontag. The r e-enactment o f t he d ocumentary, f ilmed b y D .A. P ennebaker a t t he b ehest o f M ailer, i s a imed a t r ecreating t he atmosphere o f t he o riginal e vent w ith i ts i ntense a udience i nvolvement a s w ell a s a t d iscussing t he w ay w omens social c onditions h ave c hanged, o r n ot, s ince t he e arly 7 0s. T he p anel w as h eld a t a c rucial b eginning f or t he f eminist movement. W omen w ho h ad b een p art o f t he C ivil R ights a nd N ew L eft m ovements w ere b eginning t o r ealize t hat their i nvolvement h ad b een l imited b y p ervasive s exism a mong t heir m ale c ounterparts. T he p rovocative b ehaviour, especially o n t he p art o f J ohnston ( who e nded u p r olling a round o n s tage m aking o ut w ith t wo o thers), p lus t he outrage f rom t he a udience, w hich i ncluded h eckling a ll t hrough t he e vent, w as a r eflection o f t he e motional p itch o f those y ears. READINGS Norman M ailer, f rom T he P risoner o f S ex, L ittle, B rown & C ompany, N ew Y ork, 1 971, p p. 9 -15, 1 8-19, 2 8-31. Germaine G reer, f rom My M ailer P roblem, i n E squire , S eptember 1 971, p p. 7 8-80, 8 5-89. Jill J ohnston, f rom Tarzana f rom t he T rees a t C ocktails, i n L esbian N ation: T he F eminist S olution, S imon & S chuster , New Y ork, 1 973, p p. 1 5, 1 8-19, 2 4-31, 3 4-45. Diana T rilling, f rom Prisoner o f S ex i n W e M ust M arch, M y D arlings, H arcourt B race J ovanovich, N ew Y ork, 1 977, p p. 199-203. Jacqui C eballos, f rom e xcerpt f rom b io f rom h ttp//:vfa.us ( Veteran F eminists o f A merica w eb s ite) *The P ennebaker-Hegedus d ocumentary, T own B loody H all c an b e v iewed o n Y ouTube a t http://youtu.be/Z8aHocOPGMQ.

Germaine Greer

Diana Trillings paper, which she read at Town Bloody Hall, was published in a collection of essays and occasional writings called We Shall March, My Darlings: A Critical Decade (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977). The title of the collection is taken from the poet Walt Whitman and is meant to comment on the politics of the younger generation, towards which Trilling had ambivalence. This excerpt is a new introduction to her remarks that evening.

2. The Prisoner of Sex

Diana Trilling

["In the spring of 1971 a curious, highly publicized and much- attended event-tickets twenty-five dollars in the orchestra, ten dollars in the balcony-took place in Town Hall in New York : Norman Mailer, the celebrated author of a recent book called The Prisoner of Sex, his statement on the theme of women's liberation, undertook to defend his views against a panel of women variously critical of the beliefs he developed in that volume. It was no less than a confrontation, though it also turned out to be something of a happening; and it was appropriate that it took place in Town Hall because by imaginative extension the evening might, I suppose, be rega rded as a present-day version of an American town meeting: it offered opportunity for the fullest possible exercise of our democratic right to free opinion and expression. I was a member of the panel that evening, the last of the four women speakers on the platform, but there were times in the course of the meeting when it seemed as if everyone in the audience was, if not a speaker, a highly vocal, often inexplicably angry participant in the goings-on. 199

 JACQUELINE ( JACQUI) M ICHOT C EBALLOS - - E ARLY N OW A CTIVIST, FOUNDER/PRESIDENT Excerpts f rom h ttp://vfa.us/ ( website f or t he o rganization V eteran F eminists o f America) I w as b orn S eptember 8 , 1 925. The V ietnam W ar w as r aging, M alcolm X h ad b een m urdered, a nd t he C ivil R ights movement w as s immering. I f inally f ound t he N OW o ffice ( in B etty F riedan's apartment) a nd j oined f or $ 5. I n N ovember 1 967 I a ttended t he f irst a ctual N OW meeting a t t he R iverside C hurch o n t he U pper W est S ide. T he r oom w as f illed w ith elegant w omen a nd a f ew m en. T he t wo s peakers, M alcolm X c ohorts, f idgeted through t he r eading o f m inutes, t hen s prang u p a nd, u sing s exually o ffensive language, e xpressed t heir d isgust a t t heir t reatment. S tunned, I j umped u p a nd s aid something l ike. " I've j ust c ome f rom a b astion o f m ale s upremacy t hinking t here would b e u nity b etween b lacks a nd w omen i n t he U SA a nd n ow I h ear t his!" T hat ended t he m eeting a nd e veryone g ot u p a nd l eft. N ever a gain w ould I s ee a N OW meeting l ike t hat o ne! Future N OW m eetings w ere d ifferent. R un i n t he t raditional w ay, s ome o f t he members k ept t hings a t h igh p itch. L ed b y K ate M illett, w ith A nselma d ell O lio, Barbara L ove, m yself a nd o thers w e w ere e ver p lanning d emonstrations a nd p lotting how t o t ear d own s exist w alls. I 'll l eave t he d etails f or m y b ook, i f I e ver g et t o i t. This b io i s t o e xplain w hat l ed m e t o N OW. In 1 970 I h elped B etty F riedan o rganize t he S trike f or E quality. M y N Y N OW s trike committee t ook o ver t he S tatue o f L iberty a nd u nfurled a 4 0-foot b anner, W OMEN OF T HE W ORLD U NITE o n t he t op b alcony, a nd M ARCH A UGUST 2 6, 5 0TH ANNIVERSARY O F S UFFRAGE o n t he l ower. I c onceived o f " The N OW Y ork T imes" with " All t he n ews t hat w ould g ive T he T imes f its," a s t hough w omen w ere r unning the w orld. S everal b rilliant N Y N OW m embers p roduced t his c lassic i n o nly t wo weeks. O n A ugust 2 6 w e h anded o ur " Times" a round N YC a nd t o e veryone a t t he NYTimes. From e arly m orning o n t hat g reat d ay I w as i nvolved i n a ctions. B esides d elivering our N OW Y ORK T IMES, I h eld a M ass f or " the R epose o f t he S oul o f M ale S upremacy" 1

with C onstance C omer i n T imes S quare w here w e v owed t o p lace a s tatue o f Sojourner T ruth, d emonstrated a t t he M arriage B ureau, v isited a dvertising a gencies, giving t hem o ur B arefoot a nd P regnant a ward f or t heir s exist a dvertising a nd j oined a m edia g roup o f w omen's l iberationists i n p rotesting t he d earth o f w omen journalists. A t f ive p .m. I r ushed u p W est 5 9th S treet t o F ifth A venue a fraid I 'd s ee but a s mall g roup o f w omen. W hat I s aw w as a c rowd s o h uge y ou c ouldn't s ee t he end. T hus b egan t he g reat M arch w hich e nded i n B ryant P ark. W hat a f abulous d ay that w as! A s K ate M illett d eclared a s s he s poke a t t he a fter M arch r ally, " We a re a Movement n ow." I w as N OW's E astern R egional D irector i n 1 971 a nd i ts r epresentative t o t he 1 972 Democratic N ational C onvention . L ater I s erved a s N OW's r epresentative t o t he United N ations I nternational W omen's C onference. As N OW's r epresentative t o t he I nternational W omen's Y ear C onference i n M exico i n 1975, I h elped B etty F riedan o rganize w omen a round t he w orld. By 1 977 I w as w orn o ut, m y c hildren w ere i nto t heir l ives a nd m y c radle w as e mpty . I r eturned t o L ouisiana t o c ollapse. I n 1 982 t he E RA f ailed t o r eceive t he r equisite number o f r atifications b efore t he d eadline. M en, i ncluding m y d arling b rother, Louis, w ere c onstantly b eing h onored f or t heir g ood w orks - y et f eminists w ho h ad changed t hings r adically f or t he g ood o f w omen a nd l ife i n g eneral w ere n ever honored - i n f act, w e w ere c alled " feminazis!" S omething h ad t o b e d one a bout t his! I m oved t o F lorida a nd r enewed f riendships w ith f eminists a nd s nowbirds l ike Mary J ean T ully a nd N OW c ofounder, G ene B oyer. M ary J ean w anted m e t o i nterview NOW l eaders f or h er S chlesinger L ibrary H istory o f N OW p roject s o b ack t o N YC I went a nd b egan i nterviewing, n ot o nly N OW a ctivists, b ut r adical f eminists a s w ell . We a ctivists h adn't b een t ogether i n o ver 1 0 y ears, a nd a ll, w ith s pecial p ressure from D orothy S enerchia, u rged m e t o o rganize a r eunion. This g rew i nto a n o rganization w hich i n 1 993 b ecame V eteran F eminists o f A merica- -to p reserve t he h istory o f S econd W ave f eminism, t o h onor a ll w ho p ioneered t he Movement, a nd t o p ass t he t orch. I n t he 2 0 y ears o f o ur e xistence V FA h as h onored thousands o f p ioneer f eminists a round t he c ountry: w riters, a rtists, W omen's S tudies founders, l awyers a nd i ndividuals l ike C atherine E ast, B etty F riedan, G loria S teinem, Flo K ennedy, B ella A bzug, M artha G riffiths. T hanks t o h elp f rom t he s tart o f J oan Michel, S heila T obias, A my H ackett a nd M uriel F ox - V FA i s o ne o f t he m ost important f eminist o rganizations t oday, a nd o ur w ebpage, m anaged b y J an C leary, i s considered o ne o f t he b est s ources o f f eminist h istory a nd n ews. We p ioneer f eminists h ad s et o ut t o m ake e quality o f w omen a nd m en h appen, a nd though t here i s m uch y et t o b e d one, w e've a ccomplished a l ot. T oday w e a re u p against C onservatives w ho w ant t o t ake a way t he g ains w e've w on a nd s adly, o ften led b y w omen w ho o nce f ought u s, n ow u se t he p ower w e've e arned f or t hem t o support t he p atriarchal s ystem. S till, I h ave f aith t hat t oday's y oung f eminists w ill pick u p t he b anner a nd k eep u s o n o ur m arch f or c omplete e quality w orldwide, w ith liberty a nd j ustice f or a ll. 2