Laura X
Encyclopedia
Laura X is the founder and was the director of the Women's History Research Center, in Berkeley, California, which was the first historical archive connected to the feminist movement
. Laura X, a St. Louis heiress, founded the Center in 1968 after a UC-Berkeley professor expressed doubt that there was enough material on women to fill a quarter's course in history. It was also at that time that she changed her last name to X. She declared that, like Malcolm X, "I don't want to have my owner's name, either." She wanted her last name to be her own and not her father's or husband's. By 1970 the Women's History Research Center was widely listed in early feminist publications. The Center put many of the early feminist writings on microfilm, making them available in libraries across the country. In 1978 the Center established the National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape
in Berkeley, California, with Laura X as director. In 1979 Laura X led a successful campaign to make marital rape a crime in California. She also acted as a consultant to 45 other state campaigns on date and marital rape, as well as collecting and maintaining documents about the status of exemptions from prosecution in rape laws. In recognition of her achievements, Laura X received a Woman of Achievement award (from Mademoiselle magazine), a World Congress of Victimology Award for Innovative Programs and Services, and commendations by the American Library Association and then-Surgeon General Everett Koop.
The Women's History Research Center eventually closed, and its collections are now held in the women's history archive at the Schlesinger Library
, which is part of Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
.
In September of 1999 Laura X published her memoir "Accomplishing the Impossible: an Advocate's Notes from the Successful Campaign to Make Marital and Date Rape a Crime in All 50 U.S. States and Other Countries" in Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal.
Feminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
. Laura X, a St. Louis heiress, founded the Center in 1968 after a UC-Berkeley professor expressed doubt that there was enough material on women to fill a quarter's course in history. It was also at that time that she changed her last name to X. She declared that, like Malcolm X, "I don't want to have my owner's name, either." She wanted her last name to be her own and not her father's or husband's. By 1970 the Women's History Research Center was widely listed in early feminist publications. The Center put many of the early feminist writings on microfilm, making them available in libraries across the country. In 1978 the Center established the National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape
National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape
The National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape, founded by Laura X, is a fee-based telephone consultation service which assembles information to aid others working to change the laws in states in the U.S. where men are not held accountable in the eyes of the law for raping their wives or dates...
in Berkeley, California, with Laura X as director. In 1979 Laura X led a successful campaign to make marital rape a crime in California. She also acted as a consultant to 45 other state campaigns on date and marital rape, as well as collecting and maintaining documents about the status of exemptions from prosecution in rape laws. In recognition of her achievements, Laura X received a Woman of Achievement award (from Mademoiselle magazine), a World Congress of Victimology Award for Innovative Programs and Services, and commendations by the American Library Association and then-Surgeon General Everett Koop.
The Women's History Research Center eventually closed, and its collections are now held in the women's history archive at the Schlesinger Library
Schlesinger Library
The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F...
, which is part of Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. It is heir to the name and buildings of Radcliffe College, but unlike that historical institution, its focus is directed...
.
In September of 1999 Laura X published her memoir "Accomplishing the Impossible: an Advocate's Notes from the Successful Campaign to Make Marital and Date Rape a Crime in All 50 U.S. States and Other Countries" in Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal.