Our Bodies Ourselves Founders on Book Panel for "The Movement"

On September 23, the Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library in Massachusetts co-hosted a public conversation between author Clara Bingham and a panel of Our Bodies Ourselves founders: Miriam Hawley, Judy Norsigian, Jane Pincus, and Norma Swenson, with comments from Joan Ditzion. The occasion celebrated Bingham’s new book, “The Movement: How Women’s Liberation Transformed America, 1963-1973,” a vibrant, multi-vocal oral history of American feminism during a formative decade.

 “The Movement” draws from interviews with 120 activists to document the “second wave” of feminism in their own words. Oral histories with OBOS founders illuminated the origins of the women’s health movement, which brought about some of the most important changes during that powerful era.

Judy, Miriam, Norma, Jane, and Joan shared personal stories of how they became involved in the movement, striking and sometimes funny memories of their fierce advocacy for women’s health and rights, and reflections on how feminist activism changed women’s lives.

The event doubled as a reunion of many OBOS contributors. An audience of about 300 included OBOS founders Vilunya Diskin, Elizabeth MacMahon-Herrera, Wendy Sanford, and Sally Whelan, in addition to the founders on stage.

Clara Bingham is an award-winning journalist whose previous books include "Witness to the Revolution" and "Women on the Hill."