ABSTRACT
The kind of change Movement Women were hoping to bring about in the self-conceptions of women had been labeled "radicalizing" when used by the New Left on students. As individuals, women could be bullied, mowed down, one by one. But with a community back of them, women could stand up to their oppressors. The young women came to see that it was strategically erroneous to do anything to widen cleavages among women, that with so few allies, they could not afford to reject any women's organization. The challenge to the inferior status of women was far from new. It had begun almost two centuries earlier. But for effective impact it had to wait until there were enough women to whom the issue was relevant. The "psychological antecedents" required for this form of conversion were present in thousands of women who had never shared the New Left experience. Amorphous and leader-shy groups of such women might be, but communication remained essential.
