Conference turris::womannotes-v2

Pardon my mind-boggling ignorance, but...

Who is Bill Baird, and what *are* his feelings on the women's movement?

D!

D!, I have the same reactions, and I've read two articles on him!
There is a dearth of facts to base an opinion on (not that that ever stopped
other topics in notesfiles).
	Mez

>Who is Bill Baird,

Succinctly, Bill Baird achieved national fame/notoriety in the mid
60's, when he was arrested and subsequently jailed for 6 months.

His crime? Passing out contraceptive foam to *unmarried* Boston
University female students, in a deliberate violation of Massachusetts
state law.

From there he became instrumental in helping to open abortion
clinics, before Roe v. Wade became the Law of the Land.

> and what *are* his feelings on the women's movement?

He feels he has been sold out by Ellie Smeal and Mollie Yard. He
is quoted as saying that "I am the victim of vaginal politics".


> D!, I have the same reactions, and I've read two articles on him!

I may be stereotyping, but I guess I'm surprised that younger people
seem to have so little knowledge of the not-so-distant past. 

Granted, these events took place 25 or so years ago............... 

  Alan            

    >I may be stereotyping, but I guess I'm surprised that younger people
    >seem to have so little knowledge of the not-so-distant past. 

    >Granted, these events took place 25 or so years ago............... 
    
    You also have to remember -- not everyone who reads this conference
    grew up in Boston.  Feminist issues in Boston twenty five years ago
    were probably not given a lot of press attention in suburban New
    Jersey (for example).
    
    					andrew

                       <<< Note 801.3 by FDCV01::ROSS >>>

>I may be stereotyping, but I guess I'm surprised that younger people
>seem to have so little knowledge of the not-so-distant past. 

>Granted, these events took place 25 or so years ago............... 

Which was 4 years before I was born.  And contraceptive rights were certainly
not one of the topics we covered in US History my senior year in high school.
Really, do you expect us to know about every event that occured in the woman's
movement between the late 19th century and when we were born?

D!

I attended a meeting where Bill Baird was present over 10 years ago
and he was complaining about the same things then.

I feel however that he did serve the "Women's Movement" and the 
what I call the movement for "Reproductive Freedom" by drawing
attention and gaining publicity at a time when such topics were
not discussed in polite conversation.

I remember when newspaper would not print the word abortion.  They would
refer to medical abortions as "illegal operations" and any spontaneous
abortion was called a miscarriage.  They did not use the word abortion
in any sense.  Not even.....  "The pilot aborted the takeoff......".
When abortion became legal in New York that started to change.  

Bill Baird was considered atrocious, but he drew attention to the movement
and to himself. People needed to learn to say the word "Abortion" and to 
think about it so that they could come out and say they favored legalized
abortion.

I don't know what Mr Baird expected as a result of his efforts. 
It is not unusual for such pioneers to be disappointed with the
recognition they receive.  After all Margaret Sanger has not even been
honored with a postage stamp yet much less a posthumous Nobel Peace
Prize which I think she richly deserves.

Re .3:

<pun>

How fortunate we are to have a venerable scholar in our midst who's gone 
and Baird his facts for us. ;-)

<endpun>

    I must have missed the recent articles.  What is Bill Baird's
    complaint with the current movement?  Too 'anti male'?  Too
    radical?  Not radical enough?

    I remember Bill Baird from when I was in college.....he took great
    risks to come and give lectures, expecting arrest, teaching
    Birth Control (in public!!), promoting abortion rights.
    bob

	Thanks to the wnoters for your replies.  They showed me,
	among other things, how wrong I could be by assuming that
	lots of folks would be affected by something that affected
	me.  It's an interesting, healthy and ego-adjusting exercise
	to just ask a question and then listen for a while.

	To answer (801.8: armstrong) --  from what I read, it seemed
	that Baird's complaints were related not to the direction of
	the movement, but simply that it was moving on without him.

	A comment on wnotes:  I've just started reading in this
	conference; and will probably be 95% a reader.  Each time
	I listen to what you have to say I'm thankful that you're
	there and that you have the openness and strength to speak
	from the heart as well as from the head.  If only we could
	(would?) all do so.

	dave

    I remember when Bill Baird started speaking in Boston.  It was a great
    boost to my morale to think there was a MAN who believed in women's 
    rights enough to ACT.

    re: .5
    
    No, of course we don't expect you to know about stuff that happened
    before you were born -- but for those of us old enough to remember
    ther *personal* effect that Baird's efforts had on our lives and
    choices -- it just makes us feel sad and *OLD* to realize that
    the life-shaping events *we* experienced are not also part and
    parcel of *all* adults' life-shaping events!!  (And I have this
    experience more and more often these days!)
    
    Nancy