Re: : : The Iroquois and the Early Radical Feminists

Lief M. Hendrickson (hendrick@NOSC.MIL)
Sat, 3 Feb 1996 11:15:35 PST

On Feb 3, Holly Martelle-Hayter wrote:

> We must consider we are dealing with socially, historically,
>politically and cross-culturally situated and specific
<interpretations....and transformations. This is what makes better histories
>and they are my no means "filler" anything.

Holly's post was well presented. The discussion shows insight and
thought-out ideas. I hope she will post more to the list. With
reference to "filler", her writing certainly would not be
regarded as filler anything nor should the previous use of the
term imply examination of historical issues related to women are
to ever be automatically characterized as "filler".

On the contrary, woman's studies are an important part of today's
curricula. This is very different from the polarizing influence
of contemporary feminism, and I noted Holly was accurate in using
the term "suffragettes" rather than "feminists" in her post. The
concern over "filler feminism" is the extent to which history is
fabricated as to suit a purpose. This is different from revised
interpretations. A discussion of the process, albeit on the high
school lever, can be found in, "Filler Feminism in High School
History", by Robert Lerner, Athea K. Nagai, and Stanley Rothman,
Academic Questions_, Winter 1991-1992.