Three waves of Mexican feminism
The memory of the movement
Three waves of Mexican feminism
* reviews What Women Want By Patricia Ireland Reviewed by Shirley Pashlok What Women Want, an autobiography by Patricia Ireland, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), is an easily readable introduction to feminist ideas. As Ireland relates her experiences growing up in the 1950s, the reader can't help but see how women are socialized to accept sexual discrimination as the norm. Without lecturing or going into debates on feminist theory, Ireland makes her points through a series of personal vignettes. She vividly describes the dead-end low-paying jobs she and other women of her generation were forced into. Lest anyone think this is simply an historic account, later chapters give evidence of women's continuing job segregation and wage discrimination.
It was as a stewardess (as flight attendants were then called) at Pan Am that Ireland first came into contact with NOW. Her husband, a student at the time, needed extensive dental surgery. Ireland was shocked when the insurance company denied him coverage as her spouse. At first, she thought this was some type of clerical error. However, her supervisor explained to her that it was no mistake: Pan Am's "family" insurance benefits only applied to male employees and their spouses. Ireland explained that although she hadn't been politically active, the civil rights and antiwar movements had influenced her, giving her the confidence to act. So, she called Dade County (Florida) NOW. A NOW volunteer explained that what Pan Am was doing wasn't just morally wrong; it was also illegal. She explained what steps Ireland needed to take to solve her problem. Growing awareness