National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the largest American feminist organisation.
Contents
History
NOW was founded in 1966 with the Jewish Betty Friedan (alias Naomi Goldstein) as the first president of the organisation.
There were many influences contributing to the rise of NOW. Such influences included feminism, the Civil Rights Movement, President's Commission on the Status of Women, Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique, and passage and stated lack of enforcement of the Civil Right Act of 1964 (prohibiting sexual discrimination).
Betty Friedan and Pauli Murray wrote the organization's Statement of Purpose in 1966. The statement described the purpose of NOW as "To take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men." The six core issues that NOW addresses are abortion and reproductive health services access, violence against women, constitutional equality, promoting diversity/ending racism, lesbian rights, and economic justice, with these issues having various sub-issues. The organization goes about creating these changes through laborious lobbying, rallies, marches, and conferences.
Criticism
NOW has been criticized for a stated focus on a leftist agenda rather than on women's rights. One example is a stated double standard regarding criticizing claimed sexual harassment by Democratic and Republican politicians.
Deborah Watkins, who was once the President of the Dallas Chapter of NOW, left NOW in 2003 to found, in the same year, the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the National Coalition for Men, stating she grew tired of what she considered "hypocrisy" and "male bashing" at NOW.[1]
Moreover, the "National Organization for Women (NOW) has caused controversy by putting Little Sisters of the Poor on their "Dirty 100" list", a religious order that according to Fox News "operate[s] homes in 31 countries where they provide care for over 13,000 needy, elderly persons, many of whom are dying".[2]
On 10 and 11 January 2016, the Daily Caller and the Washington Examiner published stories critical of NOW's continuing support of a discredited University of Virginia rape accusation.[3][4] The accusation had been published in Rolling Stone, which later retracted the story.[5] Although the accuser's story changed repeatedly and a police investigation found "no evidence" of rape, NOW referred to the accuser as a "survivor" of sexual assault.[6]
External links
References
- ↑ History of the National Coalition for Men Template:Webarchive "Both the Los Angeles, California and Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas chapters were approved in 2003. Dallas/Ft. Worth was founded by Deborah Watkins, the former President of the Dallas chapter of the National Organization of Women who had grown tired of what she considered hypocrisy and male bashing by NOW."
- ↑ Little Sisters of the Poor Named on NOW's 'Dirty 100' List?!. Fox News (8 July 2014). Retrieved on 9 July 2014.
- ↑ Ross, Chuck. National Organization For Women Defends Rolling Stone Gang Rape Fabricator.
- ↑ Schow, Ashe. Feminist organization still defending Rolling Stone rape hoaxer.
- ↑ Uberti, David (22 December 2014). "The worst journalism of 2014". Columbia Journalism Review. http://www.cjr.org/darts_and_laurels/the_worst_journalism_of_2014.php. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ O'Neill, Terry. An open letter to UVA President Teresa Sullivan.
