The Whole World Was Watching
an oral history of 1968
Women's Issues

I didn't care for the idea of them demonstrating at the Miss America Pageant, you know, that, it almost seemed to me like, you know, if these women want to do that, you know, want to be Miss America, they have every right to do so and I support the concept in its entirety. I don't think anyone should tell women what to do, including other women who think they know what's best, you know. - Cleveland Kurtz

I have my views on civil rights for the women. First of all, I think women are treated -- were treated poor, just like any, you know, person of color. But when I start looking at the movement, the women's movement... look who they are. They're all white women. So, you know, if we're gonna have a society that is going to be fair and equal to everybody, you know, I agree, I agree that -- and I say this to women all the time. I say, "I agree", you know, sometimes males get a better opportunity, but if you're a person of color, that's not true.-Isadore Ramos

... I wasn't, you know, I wasn't what you would call a bra burning feminist, that was the, you know, that was the conservative nomenclature for women who went out and didn't know their place. I didn't do that. On the other hand, I certainly tried not to fit into the conventional mold. It didn't seem right for me. - Kathy Spoehr

"I couldn't get a charge account, a charge card, because I was married, but my husband [a prisoner of war in Vietnam] couldn't sign his name, and being married at that time, I had no legal rights on my own. My husband had those legal rights, so I couldn't have a charge card. I wanted to buy a house, I couldn't get a mortgage on a house. - Marty Halyburton

"There was a huge shift in everything from acceptable norms of social behavior to sexual activity and a lot of those things were based on communication and health care and, you know, the availability of birth control, of safe, effective birth control changed the way women dealt with their bodies and their sexuality forever." -Deborah Brayton

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