Item Detail
-
18647
-
1
-
0
-
English
-
Fascinating Womanhood : Helen Andelin and the Politics of Religion in the "Other" Women's Movement, 1963-2006
-
Pullman, Washington
-
Washington State University
-
Ph.d. diss.
-
In 1975, the New York Times Magazine featured a lengthy essay on the "Fascinating Womanhood" movement--a significant manifestation of the conservative backlash against the growing feminist movement. This dissertation studies Fascinating Womanhood (FW) and its founder, Helen Andelin, locating her and her organization within the larger historical context of American political and religious activism. In addition to using extensive personal interviews with Andelin, this study also draws on hundreds of private letters and supporting materials--such as teaching manuals, newsletters, and teacher application forms created by the FW organization--and which are meticulously preserved in Andelin's private archive. On one level, this dissertation attempts to understand the forces that turned Andelin into a religious reformer. In 1963, she was a disillusioned housewife and mother of eight children, languishing in a lackluster marriage of twenty years. A deeply religious woman, who also had high hopes for a romantic relationship with her husband, she spent long periods of fasting and praying for answers about how to improve her own marriage. After discovering a set of woman's advice booklets written in the 1920s, she had an epiphany that changed her life. She tailored the religious teachings of her Mormon upbringing, along with the booklets, into a philosophy that she called Fascinating Womanhood. In 1964, she wrote and self-published Fascinating Womanhood, which became a bestseller, ultimately published in seven languages. As thousands of volunteer teachers taught FW the movement grew. On another level, the dissertation examines Andelin's quarrels with Mormon leaders and leading feminists. By the late 1960s, Andelin was becoming a celebrity, appearing on radio and television and at sold-out speaking engagements. In her unique way, she helped to shape the "other women's movement''--the conservative response to feminism and perceived national problems concerning home and family. Years later her message continued to find audiences through best-selling marriage and relationship manuals, which drew heavily on her work. [Author's Abstract]