Agency, Voice, and the Evolution (AVE) of Women at Saint Mary’s, 1920-2023: Spring 2023Main MenuIntroductionHistoriesAgencyVoiceArchival ArtifactsReflections on SMC EvolutionsSarah Noonan6616b08296cc76f25739fd6dc35367e3165a69b8Katie Clem277dccd2c72fe75559fa3cb6812d91c31d46cbf5Mary Elsingerc2fbf519a404f57de142b733bfd5848db8bc00b8Chancelor Gordon36fa579b81a8e331e31194c0836dd2041fe6491aBridget Marie Justend47f066fb9b4a60eca3891c723dafa495b2bff04Grace Leberf9adb4e66bd91b073ec447dd91b0c57cfa1b1d2fChloe Nosal06dfec1bb7eec59a49971c5d4227a000f9fff209Kaylen Nyhuisddaa703792cbecefb65fa2167c199bb324fffb91Paige Parker1a33153d2a3c63c56a571c9fa52e70dcfc4e6380Mari Pritulsky5b1e90d1504934830e574c7d0432ace4dd555c1dChristina Shadid060abcc9a5cfba44ac7f4fa38e996f3c10379d36Sarah Stephenson3ec5b45f5253cd50aa84814a90dbbd6a9634fedcMariana Taskeye90784c4b94cd2eb8ada789d5a82d75a01491430Evangelina Yarber1bf01cb750f81bde1ab06befb95053b667310e2c
The Observer, "Shapiro attacks"
1media/20230426_111326 (1)_thumb.jpg2023-05-02T10:24:59-07:00Chancelor Gordon36fa579b81a8e331e31194c0836dd2041fe6491a425243Article written by Maria Gallagher. Titled "Shapiro attacks the antifeminism in literature"plain2023-05-16T09:29:59-07:00Archives of Saint Mary’s CollegeOctober 24, 1972Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IndianaRegional CommunityMaria Gallagher20230426111326-0400Sarah Noonan6616b08296cc76f25739fd6dc35367e3165a69b8
1media/Catherine Kennedy Journal p. 81.jpgmedia/20230426_111326 (1).jpg2023-04-27T13:22:05-07:00Literature in the Feminist Movements18plain2023-05-16T09:04:42-07:00Literature played a big role in first- and second-wave feminist movements. In The Feminine Mystique (1963), for example, Betty Friedan challenged the notion that women’s sole role was to manage the household. Friedan criticized the fact that “women had less access to the workplace due to internal and societal pressures to forsake their careers for marriage and a family” (Nally 282). Another important figure, Kate Millett, the author of Sexual Politics (1970), addressed the gendered power dynamics in literature, relationships, and society. Millett also developed a model of criticism regarding feminism and literature that was influential in subsequent decades.
Similar topics of discussion arose at Saint Mary’s College, as displayed by newspaper clippings from 1972 that echo ideas posed by the movement which was particularly influential given the all female population. An article titled "Young Women Torn Between Roles of Wife and Career," published in the South Bend Tribune on July 20, 1972, discusses the struggles that women faced in pursuing a career at that time. The article details that women often have to choose between being a wife and being a member of the workforce. Another article titled "Shapiro attacks the antifeminism in literature," published in The Observer on October 24, 1972, recounts a talk given at Saint Mary’s by Gloria Shapiro on October 23. Shapiro was an associate professor of English at Indiana University at South Bend who spoke on the topic of “Antifeminism in Literature: An Historical Perspective.” According to Maria Gallagher who wrote the article, in her public lecture, Shapiro pointed out that “a ‘gross absence of truth' exists today in contemporary fiction which portrays only ‘half of humanity.'" Throughout her speech, she confronted the inaccurate portrayal of women in literature by men -- a topic clearly of interest to a student body composed entirely of women.