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Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon Research Files on Women's Liberation

Call Number

TAM.210

Dates

1948-1999, inclusive
; 1968-1979, bulk

Creator

Baxandall, Rosalyn Fraad, 1939-
Gordon, Linda

Extent

7 Linear Feet (7 boxes)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Abstract

The Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon Research Files on Women's Liberation contain the research files of feminist historians Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon. Baxandall and Gordon are the editors of America's Working Women: A Documentary History, 1600 to the Present as well as Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women's Liberation Movement. The collection consists largely of printed ephemera from a number of short-lived feminist groups based around the US. This includes broadsides, brochures, cartoons, fliers, newsletters, pamphlets, and other publications. There are also several topical files relating to abortion, African-Americans, beauty standards, gays and lesbians, the media, pornography, and work. While the material ranges in date from 1948-1999, the bulk documents the women's liberation movement of the late 1960s and through the 1970s.

Biographical Note

Feminist historians Rosalyn Fraad Baxandall (1939- ) and Linda Gordon (1940- ) met in 1971 at a women's liberation demonstration. They have been working together ever since. Both teach women's history, Baxandall at SUNY/ College at Old Westbury, and Gordon at New York University. Baxandall and Gordon are the editors of America's Working Women: A Documentary History, 1600 to the Present (1976, 1995) as well as Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women's Liberation Movement (2000).

Rosalyn Baxandall has been a feminist activist for over 40 years, especially engaged in child care and reproductive rights. She first got involved with the New York based New York Radical Women. Linda Gordon too has been active in the feminist struggle since the 1960s. She worked with the Boston area, socialist-feminist group, Bread and Roses.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically by organization and/or subject.

Scope and Content Note

The Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon Research Files on Women's Liberation contain the research files of feminist historians Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon. Baxandall and Gordon are the editors of America's Working Women: A Documentary History, 1600 to the Present as well as Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women's Liberation Movement. The material in the files ranges in date from 1948-1999, but the bulk documents the women's liberation movement of the late 1960s and through the 1970s. The Collection contains primarily research files on organizations and subjects. The majority of the files consist of printed ephemera, including brochures, cartoons, fliers, pamphlets, and other publications, which document many short-lived feminist groups of the era. Many of the documents found throughout the files highlight the grass-roots nature of the women's liberation organizations, shown through numerous hand-drawn fliers and publication cover sheets. The collection contains documentation from groups around the US. Organizations such as the Boston-based Female Liberation/Cell 16 and Bread and Roses, New York City groups, New York Radical Women, the Feminists, and Redstockings, as well as west coast groups, Seattle Women's Liberation and the Berkeley-Oakland Women's Union have materials in the collection. Topical files show Baxandall's and Gordon's interest in among other topics, the intersection of race and gender in the women's liberation movement, with files on African-Americans and civil rights, the fight for access to legal and affordable abortion and birth control, as well as beauty standards, child-care, gays and lesbians, the media, pornography, sterilization, and work. There are also a number of files from some of the early women's liberation conferences, both on the radical feminist side (Lake Villa, IL) and the socialist-feminist side (Ohio). A number of the documents in the collection were found and photocopied at other repositories, notably the Schlesinger and Duke Libraries.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (and related rights to publicity and privacy) to materials in this collection created by Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon Research Files on Women's Liberation; TAM 210; box number; folder number or item identifier; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Materials donated by Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon in 1998. The accession number associated with this gift is 1998.013.

Separated Materials

Irene Peslikis Cartoons (Seven cartoons about Reproductive Rights) have been separated and transferred to the Library's Non Print Collection.

Collection processed by

Adrien Hilton

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:57:19 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information

This collection was reprocessed in February 2012. Folder contents were not shifted during processing. Folder titles were, however, standardized as well as alphabetized. Found in the collection file is a copy of the old finding aid as well as a spreadsheet that outlines the old folder titles and what each was one changed to.

Revisions to this Guide

June 2019: Edited by Megan O'Shea for compliance with DACS and ACM Required Elements for Archival Description

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012