September 27, 2014

When 100 feminists protested The Ladies Home Journal, they lunged at the editor, John Mack Carter, tried to push him off the edge of his desk, and they smoked his cigars.

John Mack Carter died yesterday, at the age of 86. Do you remember who he is?
John Mack Carter, a Kentucky-born journalist who... was already a veteran editor of women’s magazines when, in March 1970, more than 100 feminists led by Susan Brownmiller stormed Ladies’ Home Journal and held an 11-hour sit-in at his office. Some of the women perched on his desk and smoked cigars. The protesters wanted Mr. Carter to resign and be replaced by a woman. They demanded that the magazine run a “liberated” issue...
That's from the NYT obituary, but let's look at the article the NYT published in March 1970:
More than 100 militant feminists staged a day-long occupation of The Ladies' Home Journal's editorial offices yesterday and demanded a chance to put out a "liberated" issue of the magazine...

Mr. Carter, who is 42 years old, said it had been an "educational" day...

Many of the 47 female and seven male editorial staff members expressed outrage and disgust as the demonstrators crowded into Mr. Carter's office at 9 a.m.

"I like having men around," said 22-year-old Leslie Megear, an editorial assistant. "I think most of their demands are ridiculous."...

"Any group that can come in here and behave like this is not competent to put out a magazine," said Lenore Hershey, the only woman among the Journal's three managing editors....

The demonstrators... read to Mr. Carter about 10 summaries of articles they proposed to include in the special issue. Among the titles were "Prostitutes and the Law," "Can Marriage Survive Women's Liberation?" and a column on "How to Have an Orgasm."

Twice during the initial five-hour demonstration, several of the demonstrators lunged at Mr. Carter, who was sitting on the edge of his desk, and tried to push him off.

At another point, a half dozen girls helped themselves to cigars from a box on Mr. Carter's desk and smoked them....

"Our readers like the Journal the way it is," Ely S. Belil, research director of the magazine Family Weekly, told one girl. "Turn yourself off, baby. If you don't like the magazine, don't read it."
ADDED: So in the obituary "Some of the women perched on his desk," but in the contemporaneous article, it was Carter who "s[at] on the edge of his desk" (i.e., perched) and some of the women "lunged at" him, trying to push him off! Quite a difference!

Another difference is that the old article used the word "girl" more than once to refer to an adult female — to a feminist. You don't see that anymore. But you do see the violence and intimidation laundered out. That's good housekeeping.

25 comments:

chickelit said...

Uppity females

rcocean said...

Surprised to learn he actually serviced the encounter and continued to edit "women's magazines".

It does strike me as odd that a women wouldn't hold his position in 1970.

rcocean said...

I'd expected to read that after the "protest" he'd was fired immediately.

Guess Nixon's "war on women" was going well back then.

Michael K said...

I don't think it was called "Woman's Home Journal" or "Chicks Home Journal" or even "Dykes Home Journal." Maybe that's why he was editor.

Ann Althouse said...

:Surprised to learn he actually serviced the encounter…"

I hope you mean "survived"...

n.n said...

Carter escaped relatively unscathed. Those 100 militants formed a Feminist State in America (FSIA) and today claim around two million human lives annually. The virtue of FSIA and their affiliates, including Planned Parenthood (PP), is that they conduct their decapitations in private. Another moral hazard which will be left for another president and generation to reconcile.

David said...

No mention of what the women were wearing.

Brown shirts, probably.

George M. Spencer said...

Wonder why they didn't go to Hef's pad or Bob 'Penthouse' Guccione's den instead.

Ms. magazine, so far as I know, never turned a profit.

Anonymous said...

What did John Mack Carter and the 100 feminists have in common? They were all scared of black men...

It is turtles all the way down...

rcocean said...

"I hope you mean "survived"..."

Yep. Although, servicing 100 women must be be difficult to survive.

Anonymous said...

White feminists: the only things that make me feel the slightest bit sorry for white men. Has no one noticed that Jim Crow flourished AFTER women were given the right to vote? Anyone?

You white people like to look back on your founding fathers and see wisdom, like people only counting as three-fifths of a man. How about we rectify some things and we say that women only get three-fifths of a vote?

As the Great White Hero George Wallace might have said:

Three-fifths of a vote for white women now, Three-fifths tomorrow and Three-fifths forever!

It is turtles all the way down.

Anonymous said...

I am a genius.

eddie willers said...

I am a genius.

Pull The Tregroes.

traditionalguy said...

100 angry hens would peck a rooster to death. But they don't mention blood.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Among the titles were "Prostitutes and the Law," "Can Marriage Survive Women's Liberation?" and a column on "How to Have an Orgasm."

Well, I'm not sure it survived, but I don't know if Women's Liberation is what killed it. And geez, aren't we teaching "how to have an orgasm" in middle school now? O tempora o mores, I guess.

sean said...

Hmm, these women were Prof. Althouse's political comrades. I'm not making any judgments--as Prof. Althouse would say, before accusing someone else of making a judgment--just observing the facts.

Kirk Parker said...

"Twice during the initial five-hour demonstration, several of the demonstrators lunged at Mr. Carter, who was sitting on the edge of his desk, and tried to push him off."

Sounds like assault.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

"What did John Mack Carter and the 100 feminists have in common? They were all scared of black men..."

Probably true. Look what those feminists have done to black men in the 44 years since.

Pettifogger said...

Occupying the office is one thing. Pilfering cigars is another entirely. A good argument for concealed carry. :-)

Achilles said...

So if 100 men barged in on a woman's office and occupied it you suppose things would have been handled the same way by authorities?

Anonymous said...

The one hundred women then proceeded to sit at typewriters and eventually wrote Shakespeare.

Rich B said...

My wife worked at Good Housekeeping magazine as an assistant food editor. She knew John Mack Carter and said he was a real gentleman. RIP, JMC.

Henry said...

a column on "How to Have an Orgasm."

If he'd only listened to them, the magazine might still be in monthly production.

madAsHell said...

n March 1970, more than 100 feminists led by Susan Brownmiller stormed Ladies’ Home Journal and held an 11-hour sit-in at his office.

The sit-in concluded when they realized no one knew how to make sammiches.

Marek said...

Lunging is just advanced leaning in.