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The New Woman's Survival Catalog

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The New Women's Survival Catalog is a 1973 book, the collective outcome of an influential survey of second-wave feminist network activities across the United States.[1] It was assembled in five months by Kirsten Grimstad and Susan Rennie.[1] The book was promoted as a "feminist Whole Earth Catalog", referring to Stewart Brand's famous 1968–1972 counterculture magazine.[2]

Content

The New Woman’s Survival Catalog, styled as a typical sales catalog, contains listings, close descriptions, articles, contact information to a variety feminist initiatives and activism nationwide during the Women’s Movement, as well as a "Making the Book" section, showing the publication's research and production process [1].

In the introduction, the editors clarify that the book catalogs and supports women-led businesses across the US and Canada, that have been there already. But more specifically it intents to outline the players, publishers, activists, and everyday women engaged in “the development of an alternative woman’s culture”—and to make it easy for readers to connect with them [3].

The publication's content focusses on nine subjects, each marking its own chapter.

Starting with "I Communications" listing amongst others feminist Presses, Radios and Publications. "II Art" marks the second subject, summarizing Galleries, Collectives, Theatre and other feminist artistic approaches. "III Self-Health" and "IV Children" following with information about the body, medical care, single parents and liberating literature examples. Going on from that, the fifth Chapter is called "V Learning" summarizing Liberation Schools, Feminist Studies and Women in History. "IV Self Defense" and "VII Work and Money" marking the next subjects, giving self help advices and contacts on both issues. The last two chapters "VIII Getting Justice" and "IX Building the Movement" stating information about discrimination, legal sources, Women's Rights, Women's Organizations and Centers, are more focussed on the active fight for Women's Rights in terms of the second wave feminist movement and politically contextualizing the before mentioned subjects [4].

Making the book

The New Woman's Survival Catalog originally started as a women's studies bibliography from the Barnard College Women's Center. Kirsten Grimstad was an alumna of that Barnard at that time and had the task to put it together. She thought "the bibliography needed to have an activist dimension to it, otherwise it wouldn’t be feminist" [2] . Together with Susann Rennie, who was at the board of the Women's Center, they generated a nation wide survey to gather information and sold the concept as “the woman’s Whole Earth Catalog” to the publisher Coward, McCann & Geoghegan [2].

During summer 1973 Kirsten Grimstad and Susan Rennie set out for a two month roadtrip, covering 12,000 miles across the country, to directly speak with groups and get information on site.

On July 13th Kirsten and Susan return, and begin with sorting the material.

In the following August, the production of the book begins. Fanette Pollack and Ruth Bayard Smith are helping the Authors with copy writing and page layouts. MS Marks St. Giles is responsible for the Type setting, which she does on an IBM Selectric Composer.[2]

On September 15th the paste up begins with help of Peggy Lyons and Leslie Korda Krims.

On October 3rd the Camera-ready Copy is delivered to print [5].

The whole Catalog was put together in five month, from which Susan and Kirsten spent two on the road [2]. "The book was therefore made under terrific pressure [5]", which is one factor for the catalog appearing with an aesthetic between DIY culture and commercial sales catalog [2]. Reasons for working so fast were amongst others, the fast aging character, thats implicit to the kind of information that is presented, as well as seasonal commercial timing. The New Woman's survival Catalog should appear in stores before this years Christmas season, so that "people would have an extra incentive for buying it - it could be bought for daughters by mothers; for wives, daughters, sisters, woman friends by men [5]".

Resulting works and projects

Chrysalis

Chrysalis: A Magazine of Women’s Culture was an influential feminist publication. It was collectively produced by artists and writers from the Los Angeles feminist movement and published from 1977 to 1980 by Susan Rennie and Kirsten Grimstad.[6]. Continuing the DIY feminist publishing culture, they got together with Sheila Levrant de Bretteville who did the magazins Graphic Design[2]

Chrysalis was placed in the Woman’s Building, a radical arts community that existed in a spacious building near downtown L.A. [7]. Throughout the 1970s, self-publication was critical to the success and maintenance of feminist communities. Highlighting itself from other similar publications of the time Like Heresies, Chrysalis reached and engaged a broader audience with more progressive issues. With its collaged articles on women’s health, movement politics, as well as commissioning new fiction, poetry, and art portfolios, the Chrysalis magazine covered not only art world politics but rather brought up issues that affected the whole women's community.

The Chrysalis bureaucracy was based on consensus, editorial decisions were outcome of a collective process.

Intended as a quarterly publication, the collective produced only ten issues, before they had to resign in 1980, due to lack of funding [6].

References

  1. ^ a b c "The New Woman's Survival Catalog | Primary Information". primaryinformation.org. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Miller, Meg (2018-08-16). "Behind the Making of the "Feminist Whole Earth Catalog"". AIGA Eye on Design. Retrieved 2022-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "BOMB Magazine | Kirsten Grimstad and Susan Rennie's The New Woman's…". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  4. ^ Grimstad, Rennie, Kirsten, Susan (1973). The New Woman's Survival Catalog (1st ed.). New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc./ Berkley Publishing Corporation.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ a b c Grimstad, Rennie, Kirsten, Susan (1973). The New Woman's Survival Catalog (1st ed.). New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc./ Berkley Publishing Corporation. pp. 216–219.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b "Second Life: Chrysalis Magazine". East of Borneo. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  7. ^ "The Joyful Road Trip that Created the New Woman's Survival Catalog, a Survey of 1970s Feminist Activism". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
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