The Weatherwomen

Assertive, tough, and idealistic, the Weatherwomen—members of the Weather Underground Organization (WUO) from the late 1960s—were determined to stamp out sexism and social injustice. They asserted that militancy was necessary in the pursuit of a socialist revolution that would produce gender, racial, and class equality. This book excavates their long buried history and reclaims the voices of the Weatherwomen.
The Weatherwomen’s militant feminism had many facets. It criticized the role of women in the home, was concerned with the subordination of women to men, attacked the gender pay gap, and supported female bodily integrity. The Weatherwomen also refined their own feminist ideology into an intersectional one that would incorporate multiple identity perspectives beyond the white, American, middle-class perspective. In shaping a feminist vision for the WUO, the Weatherwomen dealt with sexism within their own organization and were dismissed by some feminist groups of the time as inauthentic. This work strives to recognize the WUO’s militant feminist efforts, and the agency, autonomy, and empowerment of its female members, by concentrating on their actions and writings.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Mona Rocha is an instructor of classics and history at Fresno State. She has published on women’s history, feminist theory, and pop culture, including articles on Buffy, Sherlock Holmes, Dungeons & Dragons, and Veronica Mars.

Mona Rocha
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 235
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2020
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7665-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3880-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1
Militant Feminism in the Weather Underground Organization 15
Chapter 2
Resistance Amidst Sexism 41
Chapter 3
Female Leadership and Authenticity 75
Chapter 4
As Women to the Cause of Women 108
Chapter 5
The WUO’s Third Wave Approach 133
Conclusion 160
Chapter Notes 167
Bibliography 205
Index 221

• “Rocha describes the Weatherwomen’s feminist ideology as intersectional; that is, it embraces diverse perspectives, not just those of the white, middle-class members of the revolutionary movement. Rocha’s fresh look opens with an essay in which the Weatherwomen are viewed through the lens of feminist history and an overview of the chapters that follow, which delve deeply into such topics as sexism, female leadership, and authenticity. … a good choice for women’s, political, and American history collections”—Booklist

• “The Weatherwomen: Militant Feminists of the Weather Underground is more than just a discussion of theory and the Weather Underground Organization. Well-researched and persuasive, it is also a history of the period that describes the role of other militant groups of the period”—Counter Punch

• “The Weatherwomen uncovers the voices of Weatherwomen in the Weather Underground Organization and makes a compelling defense for the organization as a source of female empowerment. Creating their own brand of feminism—militant feminism—the WUO practiced elements of second wave feminism and even third wave feminism, decades before intersectionality defined feminist beliefs.—Ashley Baggett, North Dakota State University