Joanna Scutts

A really interesting overview of women's (and others') social movements in the 1910s and '20s. Lots of information about the issues in play at the time woven together skillfully—labor rights, civil rights, access to birth control, pacifism—all under the umbrella of women's suffrage, and the Greenwich Village Heterodoxy club, which brought a range of (mostly white, well off) women together to debate and advocate. Scutts makes a point of acknowledging the conflicts and areas where class and race constrained their activism to their particular lanes—particularly, but not limited, to—the gaps between white and Black women's suffrage. There's a lot to be learned here even if you know your history of the period, and plenty that has resonance in today's political climate. Not a quick read, but very rewarding, and I enjoyed getting some background on the women I've only known as names in my reading.… (mer)

Hotbed: Bohemian Greenwich Village and the Secret Club that Sparked Modern Feminism, by Joanna Scutts, is a snapshot of a very specific time and place that speaks to much of what has come along since and what we are still struggling for and against.

While some of the names will be familiar this is about the power of community. I would argue that in particular it is about community that is open to change and greater inclusion as opportunity presents itself. Just like individual people are far from perfect, so are groups of people, so one can certainly find things that, in an ideal world, would have been different. But these women also realized their humanity and when they saw opportunities to include more people and more ideas, they did, and that is the sign of compassionate intelligence.

A book I recently read (The Quiet Before by Gal Beckerman) emphasizes the importance of some form of community that allows ideas to form and be modified through debate and discussion (and yes, sometimes argument) prior to a movement being able to make an impact. Otherwise, what we often get is a flashpoint then a return to something close to what was before. This group would fit nicely in that work, Heterodoxy served as that incubator for the ideas that could serve as the foundation for a movement.

Although suffrage was a major cause at the time these women did not limit their thoughts or actions to just one cause. They were concerned with women's lives as a whole, of which suffrage was a part. They also illustrate for today's movements the power of both formulating ideas within a community as well as of working in groups to accomplish goals.

Whether your interest is strictly in history or in feminist history in particular this book will be a rewarding read. It is well written, engaging, and offers a splendid works cited section as well as excellent notes for those wanting to learn more. Also, please read the acknowledgements page, both as a courtesy and to learn about how you can view a digitized copy of the "Heterodoxy to Marie" album, it is a fascinating thing to view.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mer)