Feminists

My grandmother was a suffragette in Estonia.
My mother was a member of N.O.W. in the early 1970s.
I always considered myself a feminist, but never liked joining organizations.

Some time after my first child was born, I decided to attend a N.O.W. meeting in the next town. There was a lot of talk about lesbian issues, and I listened to it with interest. Later in the meeting I raised a hand and asked if anyone else was interested in the issue of inadequate child care. Nobody else was, but one woman I knew slightly actually jeered "Breeder, breeder, breeder" at me. I think another woman did too. I left in disgust, knowing I would never go to another N.O.W. meeting.

It's one thing to not be interested in another woman's issues, but it's fucking rude to verbally abuse a woman because she doesn't happen to be coming from the same place.

It didn't stop me from being a feminist and raising daughters who are very conscious of women's rights issues.

As far as I'm concerned, N.O.W. was hijacked by women who hated other women.