Collecting the Sisterhood
by Elizabeth Hanes

While the Democrats meet to plot campaign strategies at their national convention this week, members of the feminist group “Axis of Eve” will be doing a different sort of plotting. They plan to storm the Republican National Convention in September, protesting conservative politics by flashing panties emblazoned with political slogans like “Expose Bush.” It’s not the first time women have wielded underwear as a tool of political protest. To symbolize their fight for social freedoms, feminist leaders of the 1800s adopted freedom of dress: outfits of loose-fitting, knee-length skirts paired with poufy Turkish pantaloons.

While undergarments have figured prominently in the history of the women’s movement, collectors of this memorabilia probably don’t count bloomers or half-burned bras among their prized treasures. But the fabric of the women’s movement consists of a richly woven tapestry, with many vibrant threads to follow for collectors interested in history and politics.

“[Suffrage] was a relatively uncollected niche,” says Ronnie Lapinsky-Sax, president of the Woman Suffrage and Political Issues Chapter for the American Political Items Collectors (APIC). “More people are getting involved now, though, and about one out of three prospects is very excited” at the opportunities in collecting feminism-related items.

Feminists aren’t the only collectors of these materials, either. Historians and curators compete with dealers and casual collectors for relics associated with the ongoing struggle to obtain equal rights for women.“A typical collector could be someone whose mother left them one small thing, and they thought, ‘How interesting. I think I’ll collect more of this,’” Lapinsky-Sax said.

Recent Causes

Say the words “suffrage” or “feminism,” and people get a strong visual image of a particular era. But collections of women’s movement memorabilia can be grouped not only by historical timeframe but by individual cause. Many of these causes, such as abortion rights, span the entire history of the women’s movement. It’s this variety in the types of collectibles available and the ways to structure a collection that make women’s causes fascinating to collect. As well, new collectors don’t have to spend a lot of money or hunt hard for items. “It’s very easy for a beginner to start up in a recent issue,” Lapinsky-Sax said.

A new collector might want to begin by obtaining a modern item, such as a decorative birth control pill “compact,” currently available online and through eBay for as little as $0.50. Another option is to collect the memorabilia of a local political candidate. In New Mexico, where Congresswoman Heather Wilson seeks re-election, buttons, placards and other collectible items are available free.

Equal Rights Amendment

Those who prefer vintage items might collect a specific issue, like the ERA. Though an equal rights amendment was first proposed in 1928, the ERA is more closely associated with the rise of feminism in the 1970s, which galvanized women to try to push through a constitutional amendment outlawing discrimination against women.

Many women who were part of the Movement now collect its relics, as do their daughters. “ERA items are going up in value now, due to scarcity,” Lapinsky-Sax said.

Yet these items remain affordable. An excellent condition, early 1970s green pinback, 2.25” in diameter, with the words “ERA Now” recently sold for $1.99 on eBay. A 1976 book from Ms. Magazine containing iron-on transfers with various women’s lib slogans realized $13.00.

Reproductive Rights

Over the past century, one of the most contentious women’s issues—and, consequently, one of the most collectible—has been that of reproductive rights, a niche that encompasses birth control and abortion, both for and against.

Seventies-era abortion rights material is readily available and nominally priced. A yellow pinback reading “Abortion / a woman’s right to choose / March on Washington DC & SF / Nov 20 / wonacc” recently sold on eBay for $0.99. A 30-minute, color, 16mm film about abortion, entitled “It Happens to Us,” dated 1972, sold on eBay for a mere $2.00.

Anti-abortion forces also created a wealth of collectible material. A recent eBay search turned up a pro-life 1976 booklet called “Abortion Handbook,” unsold at $1.99. An 1867 anti-abortion print by noted political illustrator Thomas Nast, taken from Harper’s Weekly magazine, fetched $9.99.

If the abortion issue is too hot to handle, there’s always the slightly less controversial issue of birth control. A 1938 issue of “Physical Culture” magazine, containing the scandalous, anonymously penned article “I Went to a Birth Control Clinic” recently achieved $11.26 on eBay. A first edition (1931) copy of “My Fight for Birth Control” by Margaret Sanger netted $26.00. And a whimsical vintage button emblazoned with a Playboy bunny emblem and the words “to hell with birth control” went unsold at $1.51.

 

                                                                           cont Part 2

 

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