Lesbian Herstory Archives AudioVisual Collections

Feminist Radio Network, c. 1974-1978

Title

Feminist Radio Network, c. 1974-1978

Description

The Feminist Radio Network (FRN) arose out of the WGTB collective Radio Free Women in 1974 amidst alienating conditions at the Georgetown University radio station. As an independent radio network, FRN sought a wider audience and distributed feminist audiotapes nationally.

This collection contains a compilation of episodes from the Feminist Radio Network digitized by students at Pratt Institute’s Library and Information Science Program. The original materials are held in off-site storage by the Lesbian Herstory Archives.

Source: Alexa Freeman et. al. (1976). Quest: A Feminist Quarterly, 3(2).

Creator

Lisa Cowan

Date

1974-1978

Rights

The information available on this site, including any text, data, artwork, video, audio, images or graphics may be protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Entities other than the Lesbian Herstory Archive may own copyright of the material. Material from the website may be used for non-profit or educational purposes. However, if copies are printed or displayed, copyright notice must be included. Except as provided above, you may not reproduce, republish, post, transmit or distribute any material from this website in any physical or digital form without the permission of the copyright owner.

For information regarding any further use of the materials contained on this site, please contact the Lesbian Herstory Archives:

LHEF, Inc. 484 14th Street Brooklyn, New York 11215
Telephone: 718-768-DYKE
Email: lesbianherstoryarchives@gmail.com

Language

English

Collection Items

  • LC032BatteredWomen.jpeg

    Interviewee discusses helping a domestic abuse victim retrieve their personal belongings, and shares statistics on reported domestic abuses.
  • LC051ChildrenSexualAbuse.jpeg

    Interviewee discusses the statistics of child sexual assault, and how they are not reported accurately. They claim that girls face more assault than boys, but much of it goes unreported. Conversation circles around parental assault, parental protection, and social services. The host and interviewer talk about the role of the patriarchy, victim denial, abuse, and the need for child abuse education for children. They advocate for child’s rights, and children’s need for peer relationships.
  • LC056Audition.jpeg

    Recording starts with an introduction from the Feminist Radio Network, with female vocalizing, singing, and performing. The recording then begins to talk about women in the food service industry, and the statistics of how many women are waitresses. Upon interviewing a waitress, the conversation moves towards the low wages, and need for unionization in waitressing, since there is such a reliance on tips. Segueing through empowering music, the discussion shifts to women’s speeches, performances and testimonies on women’s liberation. The recording then moves on to a panel with Maxine Kumin, Grace Paley, and Alice Walker, discussing their thoughts on women’s writing.
  • LC052.jpeg

    Four women from working-class backgrounds critique leadership and individualism in second-wave feminism. Karen Kollias, Rita Mae Brown, Dolores Bargowski, and Beverly Fisher discuss the exclusion they experience by middle-class feminists who do not hold the same values of strength and leadership, which are viewed as masculine and therefore threatening. Feelings of guilt and the role of the mother in lower-class homes are also discussed.
  • LC055.jpeg

    Anne Imelda Radice, an art museum director and arts administrator, discusses the life and art of Romaine Brooks. Romaine Brooks was a lesbian portrait artist born in Rome, Italy in the late 19th century. She was known as the "thief of souls" for her ability to capture emotion in her art. The host and Radice have a conversation on how lesbianism was perceived during Brooks' time period, as well as her relationship with her lifelong partner, Natalie Barney.
  • LC045.jpeg

    In this recording, Sally Gearhart discusses how the Church enforces ideas of masculinity and feminity. The host argues that feminism is incompatible with Christianity and lesbianism allows a woman to love herself and let go of the self-hatred that society and the Church impose.
  • LC040.jpeg

    This episode is titled Women in Welfare and features discussions from Carol Brill, the director of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and welfare advocates Kayla Taylor, and Susan Moore. This episode covers the topics of the welfare system structure, stereotypes and myths about welfare recipients, double standards working mothers face based on class, and the classism within the social work profession. Furthermore, it includes clips from governmental proceedings related to welfare and proposed cuts to welfare benefits. It ends with a discussion on how the issues within the welfare system relate to the Women’s Liberation Movement and demands economic change from politicians who fund big business and the military while disregarding the poor through welfare cuts.
  • WomenWritersProdMother.wav

    The radio episode, which is part of the Feminist Radio Network, includes recordings from a conference panel which included the writers Maxine Kumin, Alice Walker, and Grace Paley. They discuss the challenges of being women writers, how their writing processes are affected by societal gender norms, and how important women’s stories are within the individualistic, middle-class American society where female bonding is not encouraged. This episode also includes excerpts from Living, by Grace Paley, and Everyday Use, by Alice Walker.
  • WomensMusicNetwork_1.jpg

    Interview with Kay Gardner, executive director and co-founder of the Women's Music Network, and Lou Crimmins, performer. 1974 production of the Feminist Radio Network. Discussion of the nonprofit Women Music Network's ideals and operations supporting women in the music industry. including Lavender Jane.

Collection Tree