The Twentieth Century was a time of great change for the nation in terms of equal rights, with various groups standing up and demanding representation and their right to speak for themselves. Among these initiatives were the Civil Rights Movement, which sought equality between different races, and the Women's Liberation Movement, which sought to achieve parity between the sexes. In Barbara Kantrowitz's 2007 article for Newsweek, "It's Ms. America to You," she tells the story of one of the earliest well-known protests in favor of women's rights; outside of the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City in 1968. Throughout the article, she describes the protest and the reaction- both immediate and eventual- to it, with interviews with some of the participants.
Kantrowitz's article is steeped in a sense of time; it constantly compares and contrasts the actions, feelings, and expectations of the women involved with how the movement has advanced and evolved since them. She starts off by explaining how 'protest' was "relatively tame," and "there were no riots." Contrary to the image of feminists as militant "bra burners," she says, the women involved were simply trying to prove a point, and expectations were low. The event there were protesting, the Miss America Pageant, was viewed as exhibiting "a perfect symbol of racism, capitalism and militarism." At the time, the Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, fears about Communism were rampant, and the Vietnam War (and the opposition to it) were in full swing. In the midst of all this upheaval and social uncertainty, it is small wonder that a simple event like the Miss America protest could garner so much attention.
The favor of the article towards the protesters and against Miss America and things like it is obvious in Kantrowitz's writing. She is a veteran writer for Newsweek, having worked there for over 20 years, as well as at People, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsday and The Hartford Courant. Her extensive background in societal, health, education, religion, and women's issues all give more evidence towards her support of feminism in general and the protesters in this particular instance. An interesting side note to that is although the article makes important the feminist opposition to Miss America, she also takes time to give a sympathetic view to that year's actual Miss America, Judith Ford. (now Judi Ford Nash) Self-described as "kind of a tomboy," the only woman on the men's trampoline team at her high school, and "a little too athletic, a little too masculine because Miss America is not supposed to sweat," Ford "never expected to find a crown on her head." Certainly different from the standard image of Miss America demure and helpless. Despite being happy to have won, grateful to the pageant for the opportunities it gave her, and proud of her work entertaining soldiers in Vietnam, she also "understands the goals of the women on the boardwalk." Krantrowitz goes out of her way to make the symbol of the "opposition" into an ally; like many people's idea of a "liberated woman," Ford worked her whole life and believed in the same ideals.
The article's date of 2007 places it a long way from the humble origins of its subject matter. In a day and age when much progress has been made towards equality, but there is still much debate on just how progressive the state of affairs is, Krantowitz is poised to make a statement on nature of the debate itself.
