Assignment: Which city, Los Angeles or Portland, will serve best as a model for the future of American urbanism? Show this in a research paper (3-5 pages) by picking a specific topic for your city which is ecological, economic, political or cultural.

FYS 110

The Ladies of Portland

Portland, Oregon: a place of scenic beauty, profitable commerce, and a unique regional culture.  It is also a place where women can be just as politically active as men and have done so in numbers that have drawn the attention of the rest of the nation.  “In 1993-94, for example, women served at the same time as governor, mayor of Portland, chair of the Multnomah County Commission, and Metro executive director” (Abbott 82). The atmosphere and tradition in Portland make it one of the best cities for women’s activism, and the organizations created by women have been a large factor in Portland’s growth into the city it is today.

In Portland, women became active outside the home long before the equal rights movements of the 1960’s and 70’s.  “Excluded from many male institutions, mid nineteenth- century middle- and upper-class women formed women’s clubs and service organizations that allowed them to extend their activities and interests beyond the ‘private sphere’ of home and family and into the ‘public sphere’ of politics and economics” (Dilg 103).  The groups that were created in the interests of women included The Portland’s Woman’s Club, Oregon Federation of Colored Women’s Club, and Portland’s Young Women’s Christian Association or YWCA.  The main focus of these organizations was to help young ‘women adrift’ who were living away from their families.  They were given housing, safe socializing spaces, and vocational classes to help them better provide for themselves (Dilg).

Portland was one of the first cities to advocate for women’s rights in the workforce. When looking for a place to push for a new minimum wage law that included women, the president of the American Association of the Labor Legislation Henry Seager thought Oregon would be an ideal place to introduce such a law.  Seager “believed a ‘favorable decision should this bill become a law’” and that any issues in the law would be more likely to “be challenged in court in Oregon than in other parts of the country” (Dilg 110).  This is due to the success of the Muller v. Oregon Supreme Court case, which set the standard that women were different from men rather than equal and that they were entitled to legal protection.  Women were instrumental in collecting data and providing support on those legal issues.

Women’s civic activism began to grow in the 1950’s and 60’s.  Women began raising “‘funds from bake sales, rummage sales, or book sales with proceeds earmarked for hospitals, schools, nursing homes, or any of a thousand other places where there’s a need’” (Johnson 104). This really helped build Portland’s well-known sense of community.  The women helped set the standard of helping others and being involved in public causes.  It could be said that the men of Portland pushed for progress in a vertical direction while the women moved horizontally, trying to better what was already there.

The organizations that active women create are very instrumental as political forces. “Women’s networks are major CDCs [Community Development Corporations] in Portland with long-standing community ties; they would have a positive effect on community development efforts and on the relationship between the CDCs and citywide intermediaries” (Gittell 336-337). Women in general are very good at smoothing things over and networking between groups.  The connections that these CDCs make help move the city towards progress and reduce friction

between the community and policymakers.  Keeping constituents informed and involved is vital to any activist’s agenda.

The breakthrough years for women in Portland politics came in the early 1970’s.  The activist group Politically Organized Women was formed and began lobbying for equal rights. Twelve women were elected to the Oregon legislature in 1973 and began making strides in

passing equalizing legislation.   According to a study on female legislators in the 1970’s and 80’s, “it appears Oregon’s female legislators were ahead of their national peers in experience, organizational competence, and effectiveness in passing feminist legislation” (Rose and Watson). Much of this success has been attributed to the political atmosphere and prevalence of women’s activist groups in Portland.

Of course, some credit is due to the women themselves and their ability to work together. “With rare exception, all of the women in the legislature–Republican and Democrat, urban and rural, secular and religious, conservative and liberal–were united to pass the proposed feminist legislation” (Rose and Watson).  In doing this, they formed a Women’s Caucus in the legislative body to focus their ideals and organize support for the laws they were presenting.  Their ability

to overlook personal and party differences is one that men in government should admire and aspire to.

The great thing about activism in Portland is that one does not have to be the face of a cause to feel included and important.  Portland resident Marjorie Gustafson reflects on her experience being involved in the 1960’s.  “It was just a wonderful time to be a young woman in Portland.  When I talked to my friends in Washington [D.C.], it was clear that people of equal abilities in Washington were worried about nursery school whereas [my friends] and I were worried about the City of Portland” (Abbott 141).  This kind of community spirit is what pushed

Portland forward as a progressive city because it was the majority of the people forming an opinion on public issues and voting for a proposal, not just a privileged few.  The women were instrumental in giving their perspective and using their social resources to improve communication.

It is not only grown women who take on activist roles in Portland.  Teenage girls are also prevalent on the scene.  Parents play a large role in influencing their children to be active.  Many teenagers have parents who are active in community groups.  The Coalition of Student Activists was one such group that was created by teenagers and campaigned on public issues, though certain inconsistencies between the genders caused many of the girls to withdraw from the

group.  “The contingent of girls who left CSA still had activist clubs at their schools, and opted to withdraw from larger community politics to focus their energies on school-based activism” (Gordon 47).  The important thing is many of the girls found other ways to be involved, and the strong community atmosphere of Portland gave them the confidence to continue.

Portland and women’s activism have been symbiotic forces over the course of the last century, each helping the other to become stronger.  Former representative Barbara Roberts and mayor Vera Katz proved that women can be just as prominent in building their community as men.  The strength of the community supporting women’s activism is a large part of what makes Portland unique in American culture.  After all, Oregon’s state motto reads “She flies with her own wings” (Rose and Watson).