Sex Roles in Social Movements: A Case Study of the Tenant Movement in New York City

Many recent studies have documented the presence of sexism in American society, charted the oppressive impact of discrimination against women, and traced its sources.1 So ubiquitous is sexism, and so pervasive the engines supporting it, that, ironically, its trace may be found even within movements for social justice. A literature is now developing that describes the part women have played in social movements and the sexism they encountered there. This is largely descriptive, focusing on the ideological interchange between party leadership and feminists.2