The 1970s was an impactful decade for women’s striving for equality in the United States. Beyond the news headlines of ERA, NOW, and Roe vs. Wade, more women entered the workforce, enrolled in colleges, and took the spotlight in business, politics, and professional sports. The topic of gender discrimination was in the forefront, and with it, strong and diverse viewpoints on the path forward. Minnesota was no exception, and this collection represents some of the views and ways of life for women in this tumultuous decade.
October 1, 1975 - MPR’s Terri Keefe reports on a speech by feminist author Kate Millett at the University of Minnesota about Millet talks about the rules of sexuality in classical literature, Oedipus and Medea, and about erotic literature.
October 13, 1975 - Archie Holmes says equal educational opportunity changes the way people operate.
October 18, 1975 - Columnist Marianne Means speech on women in public life, at Worthington Community College. Means critiques how public perceptions impact the treatment of women, and the changes in women's rights created by ERA and women's movement.
October 18, 1975 - An interview with June Sochen, feminist historian of Illinois State University, who talks about the life and challenges of women in the frontier and on the prairies.
October 18, 1975 - Mary Lynn Myers, director of the South Dakota Human Rights Commission, speaks about the National Organization of Women, and her candidacy for president of organization.
October 18, 1975 - Leona Hansberger, a life-long resident of Worthington, shares her remembrances on the passage of the Women’s Suffrage Amendment (19th Amendment of the United States Constitution).
October 30, 1975 - Randall Tigue, of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union, discusses unconstitutional nature of devising a scholarship, similar to the Williams Scholarship, at the University of Minnesota that would only be awarded to female student athletes.
October 30, 1975 - Stanley Kegler, vice president for Institutional Planning and Regulations at the University of Minnesota, discusses the issues of scholarships, and how funding a women's specific gift is difficult to put into place without a mechanism for funding.
October 31, 1975 - MPR’s Terri Keefe reports on a debate on cultural sexism.
October 31, 1975 - Pro-Equal Rights Amendment attorneys Irene Scott and Mary Sfasciotti speak in Duluth to clear up misconceptions of the Equal Rights Amendment, and to explain the benefits of such a measure.