Katherine Murray Millett (September 14, 1934 – September 6, 2017) was an American
feminist writer, educator, artist, and activist. She attended
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
and was the first American woman to be awarded a degree with first-class honors after studying at
St Hilda's College, Oxford. She has been described as "a seminal influence on
second-wave feminism
Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It took place throughout the Western world, and aimed to increase equality for women by building on previous feminist gains.
...
", and is best known for her book ''
Sexual Politics
''Sexual Politics'' is the debut book by American writer and activist Kate Millett, based on her PhD dissertation. It was published in 1970 by Doubleday (publisher), Doubleday. It is regarded as a classic of feminism and one of radical feminis ...
'' (1970), which was based on her doctoral dissertation at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. Journalist
Liza Featherstone
Liza Featherstone (born April 21, 1969) is an American journalist and journalism professor who writes frequently on labor and student activism for ''The Nation'' and '' Jacobin''.
Early life and education
Featherstone was born in Washington, D ...
attributes the attainment of previously unimaginable "legal abortion, greater professional equality between the sexes, and a sexual freedom" in part to Millett's efforts.
The
feminist,
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
,
peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
,
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
, and
anti-psychiatry
Anti-psychiatry is a movement based on the view that psychiatric treatment is often more damaging than helpful to patients, highlighting controversies about psychiatry. Objections include the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis, the questionabl ...
movements were some of Millett's principal causes. Her books were motivated by her activism, such as woman's rights and mental health reform, and several were autobiographical memoirs that explored her sexuality, mental health, and relationships. In the 1960s and 1970s, Millett taught at
Waseda University
, mottoeng = Independence of scholarship
, established = 21 October 1882
, type = Private
, endowment =
, president = Aiji Tanaka
, city = Shinjuku
, state = Tokyo
, country = Japan
, students = 47,959
, undergrad = 39,382
, postgrad ...
,
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...
,
Barnard College
Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
, and the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. Some of her later written works are ''
The Politics of Cruelty
The Politics of Cruelty is the debut full-length album by hardcore and metal band Gay for Johnny Depp
Gay for Johnny Depp was an American hardcore band formed in New York, U.S. Members were: Sid Jagger (guitar – Real name: Joseph Gril ...
'' (1994), about state-sanctioned torture in many countries, and ''Mother Millett'' (2001), a book about her relationship with her mother. Between 2011 and 2013, she won the
Lambda Pioneer Award for Literature, received
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
's
Courage Award for the Arts
The Courage Award for the Arts is a private award presented annually by Yoko Ono Lennon to artists, musicians, collectors, curators, writers who sought the truth in their work and demonstrated leadership, courage, resourcefulness in their work, ...
, and was inducted into the
National Women's Hall of Fame.
Millett was born and raised in Minnesota, and then spent most of her adult life in Manhattan and the Woman's Art Colony, established in
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
, which became the Millett Center for the Arts in 2012. Millett came out as a lesbian
in 1970, the year the book ''Sexual Politics'' was published. However, late in the year 1970 she came out as bisexual.
She was married to sculptor
Fumio Yoshimura (1965 to 1985) and later, until her death in 2017, she was married to Sophie Keir.
Early life and education
Katherine Murray Millett was born on September 14, 1934, to James Albert and Helen () Millett in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
. According to Millett, she was afraid of her father, an engineer, who beat her.
He was an alcoholic who abandoned the family when she was 14, "consigning them to a life of
genteel
Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.
Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies
''Gentry'', in its widest co ...
poverty".
Her mother was a teacher
and insurance saleswoman.
She had two sisters, Sally and Mallory; the latter was one of the subjects of ''Three Lives''.
Of
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...
heritage,
Kate Millett attended
parochial schools in Saint Paul throughout her childhood.
Millett graduated in 1956
magna cum laude from the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree
in
English literature;
she was a member of the
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...
sorority.
A wealthy aunt paid for her education at
St Hilda's College, Oxford gaining an English literature
first-class honors degree in 1958.
She was the first American woman to be awarded a degree with first-class honors having studied at St. Hilda's.
After spending about 10 years as an educator and artist, Millett entered the graduate school program for English and comparative literature at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1968, during which she taught English at
Barnard Barnard is a version of the surname Bernard, which is a French and West Germanic masculine given name and surname. The surname means as tough as a bear, Bar(Bear)+nard/hard(hardy/tough)
__NOTOC__
People
Some of the people bearing the surname Ba ...
.
While there, she championed student rights, women's liberation, and abortion reform. She completed her dissertation in September 1969 and was awarded her doctorate, with distinction, in March 1970.
Career
Early career as an artist and educator
Millett taught English at the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
after graduating from Oxford University,
but she left mid-semester to study art.
In New York City she worked as a kindergarten teacher and learned to sculpt and paint from 1959 to 1961. She then moved to Japan and studied sculpture. Millett met fellow sculptor Fumio Yoshimura,
had her first one-woman show at Tokyo's Minami Gallery,
and taught English at
Waseda University
, mottoeng = Independence of scholarship
, established = 21 October 1882
, type = Private
, endowment =
, president = Aiji Tanaka
, city = Shinjuku
, state = Tokyo
, country = Japan
, students = 47,959
, undergrad = 39,382
, postgrad ...
. She left Japan in 1963 and moved to New York's Lower East Side.
Millett taught English and exhibited her works of art at
Barnard College
Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
beginning in 1964. She was among a group of young, radical, and untenured educators who wanted to modernize women's education; Millett wanted to provide them with "the critical tools necessary to understand their position in a patriarchal society."
Her viewpoints on radical politics, her "stinging attack" against Barnard in ''Token Learning'', and a budget cut at the college led to her being dismissed on December 23, 1968.
Her artwork was featured in an exhibit at Greenwich Village's Judson Gallery.
During these years Millett became interested in the
peace
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
and
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
, joined the
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...
(CORE), and participated in their protests.
In 1971, Millett taught sociology at
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...
.
She started buying and restoring property that year, near
Poughkeepsie, New York
Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
; this became the
Women's Art Colony and Tree Farm,
a community of women artists and writers and Christmas tree farm.
Two years later she was an educator at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
.
The 1980s through 2000s
In 1980, Millett was one of the ten invited artists whose work was exhibited in the
Great American Lesbian Art Show The Great American Lesbian Art Show (GALAS) was an art exhibition at the Woman's Building (a feminist art center) in Los Angeles, California with associated events in other locations. It ran from 3–31 May 1980. The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Comm ...
at the
Woman's Building
The Woman's Building was a non-profit arts and education center located in Los Angeles, California. The Woman's Building focused on feminist art and served as a venue for the women's movement and was spearheaded by artist Judy Chicago, graphic de ...
in Los Angeles, although Millett identified as bisexual.
Millett was also a contributor to ''
On the Issues'' magazine, and continued writing into the early 2000s. She discussed state-sanctioned torture in ''
The Politics of Cruelty
The Politics of Cruelty is the debut full-length album by hardcore and metal band Gay for Johnny Depp
Gay for Johnny Depp was an American hardcore band formed in New York, U.S. Members were: Sid Jagger (guitar – Real name: Joseph Gril ...
'' (1994), bringing attention to the use of torture in many countries.
Millett was involved in the controversy resulting from her
appearance
Appearance may refer to:
* Visual appearance, the way in which objects reflect and transmit light
* Human physical appearance, what someone looks like
* ''Appearances'' (film), a 1921 film directed by Donald Crisp
* Appearance (philosophy), or p ...
on a UK television programme called ''
After Dark''. Actor
Oliver Reed
Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...
, who had been drinking during the programme, moved in on her and tried to kiss her. Millett pushed him away but reportedly later asked for a tape of the show to entertain her friends. Throughout the programme Reed used sexist language.
Millett was also involved in prison reform and campaigns against torture. Journalist
Maureen Freely
Maureen Deidre Freely FRSL (born July 1952) is an American journalist, novelist, professor, and translator. She has worked on the Warwick Writing Programme since 1996.
Biography
Born in Neptune, New Jersey, she is the daughter of author John ...
wrote of Millett's viewpoint regarding activism in her later years: "The best thing about being a
freewheeler is that she can say what she pleases because 'nobody's giving me a chair in anything. I'm too old, mean and ornery. Everything depends on how well you argue.
In 2012, The
Women's Art Colony became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and changed its name to the Millett Center for the Arts.
Activism
Feminism
Millett was a leading figure in the women's movement,
or
second-wave feminism
Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It took place throughout the Western world, and aimed to increase equality for women by building on previous feminist gains.
...
, of the 1960s and 1970s.
For example, she and
Sidney Abbott,
Phyllis Birkby
Noel Phyllis Birkby (December 6, 1932 – April 13, 1994) was an American architect, feminist, filmmaker, teacher, and founder of the Women's School of Planning and Architecture.
Early life and education
Noel Phyllis Birkby was born in Nutle ...
,
Alma Routsong
Alma Routsong (November 26, 1924 – October 4, 1996) was an American novelist best known for her lesbian fiction, published under the pen name Isabel Miller.
Early life
Alma Routsong was born Elma Louise Routsong in Traverse City, Michigan, o ...
, and Artemis March were among the members of CR One, the first lesbian-feminist consciousness-raising group, although Millett identified as bisexual by late 1970.
In 1966, Millett became a committee member of
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
and subsequently joined the
New York Radical Women
New York Radical Women (NYRW) was an early second-wave radical feminist group that existed from 1967 to 1969. They drew nationwide media attention when they unfurled a banner inside the 1968 Miss America pageant displaying the words "Women' ...
,
Radical lesbians, and Downtown Radical Women organizations.
She contributed the piece "Sexual politics (in literature)" to the 1970 anthology ''
Sisterhood Is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement'', edited by
Robin Morgan
Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the ...
.
She became a spokesperson for the feminist movement following the success of the book ''Sexual Politics'' (1970), but struggled with conflicting perceptions of her as arrogant and elitist, and the expectations of others to speak for them, which she covered in her 1974 book, ''Flying''.
Millett was one of the first writers to describe the modern concept of
patriarchy as the society-wide subjugation of women. Biographer Gayle Graham Yates said that "Millett articulated a theory of patriarchy and conceptualized the gender and sexual oppression of women in terms that demanded a sex role revolution with radical changes of personal and family lifestyles".
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...
's focus, by comparison, was to improve leadership opportunities socially and politically and economic independence for women.
Millett wrote several books on women's lives from a feminist perspective. For instance, in the book ''The Basement: Meditations on a Human Sacrifice'' (1979), completed over four years, she chronicled the torture and murder of Indianapolis teenager
Sylvia Likens
Sylvia Marie Likens (January 3, 1949 – October 26, 1965) was an American teenager who was tortured and murdered by her caregiver, Gertrude Baniszewski, many of Baniszewski's children, and several of their neighborhood friends. This abuse in ...
by
Gertrude Baniszewski
Sylvia Marie Likens (January 3, 1949 – October 26, 1965) was an American teenager who was tortured and murdered by her caregiver, Gertrude Baniszewski, many of Baniszewski's children, and several of their neighborhood friends. This abuse in ...
in 1965 that had preoccupied her for 14 years. With a feminist perspective, she explored the story of the defenseless girl and the dynamics of the individuals involved in her sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
Biographer Roberta M. Hooks wrote, "Quite apart from any feminist polemics, ''The Basement'' can stand alone as an intensely felt and movingly written study of the problems of cruelty and submission."
Millett said of the motivation of the perpetrator: "It is the story of the suppression of women. Gertrude seems to have wanted to administer some terrible truthful justice to this girl: that this was what it was to be a woman".
Millett and Sophie Keir, a Canadian journalist, traveled to
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Iran in 1979 for the Committee for Artistic and Intellectual Freedom to work for Iranian women's rights. Their trip followed actions taken by
Ayatollah Khomeini's government to prevent girls from attending schools with boys, to require working women to wear veils, and not to allow women to divorce their husbands. Thousands of women attended
a protest rally held at
Tehran University on
International Women's Day, March 8. About 20,000 women attended a march through the city's
Freedom Square; many of whom were stabbed, beaten, or threatened with
acid. Millett and Keir, who had attended the rallies and demonstrations, were removed from their hotel room and taken to a locked room in immigration headquarters two weeks after they arrived in Iran. They were threatened that they might be put in jail and, knowing that homosexuals were executed in Iran, Millett also feared she might be killed when she overheard officials say that she was a lesbian. After an overnight stay, the women were put on a plane that landed in Paris. Although Millett was relieved to have arrived safely in France, she was worried about the fate of Iranian women left behind, "They can't get on a plane. That's why international sisterhood is so important." She wrote about the experience in her 1981 book ''Going to Iran''. Millett is featured in the feminist history film ''
She's Beautiful When She's Angry'' (2014).
Academic works
''Sexual Politics''
''Sexual Politics'' originated as Millett's PhD dissertation and was published in 1970, the same year that she was awarded her doctorate from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. The
bestselling book
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
,
a critique of
patriarchy in Western society and literature, addressed the
sexism
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...
and
heterosexism
Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of female–male sexuality and relationships. According to Elizabeth Cramer, it can include the belief that all people are or should be heterosexual and that heterosexua ...
of the modern novelists
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
,
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...
, and
Norman Mailer and contrasted their perspectives with the dissenting viewpoint of the homosexual author
Jean Genet. Millett questioned the origins of patriarchy, argued that sex-based oppression was both political and cultural, and posited that undoing the traditional family was the key to true sexual revolution.
In its first year on the market, the book sold 80,000 copies and went through seven printings and is considered to be the movement's manifesto.
As a symbol of the women's liberation movement, Millett was featured in a ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine cover story, "The Politics of Sex",
which called ''Sexual Politics'' a "remarkable book" that provided a coherent theory about the feminist movement.
Alice Neel created the depiction of Millett for the August 31, 1970, cover.
According to biographer Peter Manso, ''
The Prisoner of Sex'' was written by
Norman Mailer in response to Millett's ''Sexual Politics''. Andrew Wilson, author of ''Norman Mailer: An American Aesthetic'', noted that "''The Prisoner of Sex'' is structured as a contest. His rhetoric against her prose, his charm against her earnestness, his polemic rage against her vitriolic charges. The aim is to convert the larger audience, the stronger presence as the sustaining truth. ''The Prisoner of Sex'' combines self parody and satire..."
Sexism and sexuality
While Millett was speaking about sexual liberation at Columbia University, a woman in the audience asked her, "Why don't you say you're a lesbian, here, openly. You've said you were a lesbian in the past." Millett hesitantly responded, "Yes, I am a lesbian".
A couple of weeks later, ''Time'' December 8, 1970, article "Women's Lib: A Second Look" reported that Millett admitted she was bisexual, which it said would likely discredit her as a spokesperson for the feminist movement because it "reinforce
the views of those skeptics who routinely dismiss all liberationists as lesbians."
In response, a press conference was organized two days later in Greenwich Village by lesbian feminists
Ivy Bottini
Ivy Bottini (August 15, 1926 – February 25, 2021) was an American activist for women's and LGBT rights, and a visual artist.
Personal life and career
Bottini was born in New York in August 1926. From 1944 until 1947, she attended Pratt Institu ...
and
Barbara Love
Barbara Joan Love (February 27, 1937 – November 13, 2022) was an American feminist writer and the editor of ''Feminists who Changed America, 1963–1975''. With the National Organization for Women, Love organized and participated in demonstr ...
. It led to a statement in which 30 lesbian and feminist leaders declared their "solidarity with the struggle of homosexuals to attain their liberation in a sexist society".
Millett's 1971 film ''Three Lives'' is a 16 mm documentary made by an all-woman crew,
including co-director
Susan Kleckner, cameraperson Lenore Bode, and editor Robin Mide, under the name Women's Liberation Cinema. The 70-minute film focuses on three women—Mallory Millett-Jones, the director's sister; Lillian Shreve, a chemist; and Robin Mide, an artist—reminiscing about their lives. Vincent Canby, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' art critic, wrote: "''Three Lives'' is a good, simple movie in that it can't be bothered to call attention to itself, only to its three subjects, and to how they grew in the same male-dominated society that Miss Millett, in her ''Sexual Politics'', so systematically tore apart, shook up, ridiculed and undermined—while, apparently, tickling it pink."
It received "generally excellent reviews" following its premiere at a New York City theater.
In her 1971 book ''The Prostitution Papers'', Millett interprets prostitution as residing at the core of the female's condition, exposing women's subjection more clearly than is done with marriage contracts. According to her, degradation and power, not sex, are being bought and sold in prostitution. She argues for the decriminalization of prostitution in a process directed by the sex workers themselves.
In 1974 and 1977, respectively, Millett published two autobiographical books. ''Flying'' (1974),
a "stream-of-consciousness memoir about her bisexuality",
which explores her life after the success of ''Sexual Politics'' in what was described in ''
The New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'' as an example of "dazzling exhibitionism". Millett captured life as she thought, experienced and lived it, in a style like a documentary film.
''Sita'' (1977) explores her sexuality, particularly her lesbian lover who committed suicide
and the effect on Millett's personal and private life.
Millett and
Sidney Abbott,
Phyllis Birkby
Noel Phyllis Birkby (December 6, 1932 – April 13, 1994) was an American architect, feminist, filmmaker, teacher, and founder of the Women's School of Planning and Architecture.
Early life and education
Noel Phyllis Birkby was born in Nutle ...
,
Alma Routsong
Alma Routsong (November 26, 1924 – October 4, 1996) was an American novelist best known for her lesbian fiction, published under the pen name Isabel Miller.
Early life
Alma Routsong was born Elma Louise Routsong in Traverse City, Michigan, o ...
, and Artemis March were among the members of CR One, the first lesbian-feminist consciousness-raising group.
Views on pedophilia
In an interview with Mark Blasius, Millett was sympathetic to the concept of
intergenerational sex, describing
age of consent laws as "very oppressive" to
gay male
Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...
youth in particular but repeatedly reminding the interviewer that the question cannot rest on the sexual access of older men or women to children but a rethinking of children's rights broadly understood.
[Via](_blank)
Ipce: "This interview, untitled, first appeared in "Loving Boys," Serniotext(e) Special, Intervention Series #2, Summer 1980. Reprinted with permission. Copyright 0 Semiotext(e) Inc., 1980. It also appeared in Daniel Tsang (Ed), The Age Taboo: Gay Male Sexuality, Power and Consent (Boston: Alyson Publications, 1981)." Millett added that "one of children's essential rights is to express themselves sexually, probably primarily with each other but with adults as well" and that "the sexual freedom of children is an important part of a sexual revolution ... if you don't change the social condition of children you still have an inescapable inequality".
In this interview, Millett criticized those who wished to
abolish age of consent laws, saying the issue was not focused on
children's rights
Children's rights are a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors. but "being approached as the right of men to have sex with kids below the age of consent" and added that "no mention is made of relationships between women and girls".
Millett believes sexual access to children is only one part of a larger goal of liberating children from all forms of parental oppression.
''Mother Millett''
Kate wrote ''Mother Millett'' (2001) about her mother, who in her later years developed several serious health problems, including a brain tumor and
hypercalcaemia
Hypercalcemia, also spelled hypercalcaemia, is a high calcium (Ca2+) level in the blood serum. The normal range is 2.1–2.6 mmol/L (8.8–10.7 mg/dL, 4.3–5.2 mEq/L), with levels greater than 2.6 mmol/L defined as hypercalcemia ...
.
Made aware of her mother's declining health, Millett visited her in Minnesota; their visits included conversations about their relationship and outings to baseball games, museums, and restaurants.
When her mother was no longer able to care for herself in her apartment, she was placed in a nursing home in St. Paul, Minnesota,
which was one of Helen Millett's greatest fears.
Kate visited her mother and was disturbed by the care she received and her mother's demoralized attitude. Nursing home residents who were labeled as "behavioral problems", as Helen was, were subject to forcible restraint. Helen said to Kate, "Now that you're here, we can leave."
Aware of the efforts her mother made to give her life, support her and raise her, Millett became a care-giver and coordinator of many daily therapies, and pushed her mother to be active. She wanted to give her "independence and dignity".
In the article "Her Mother, Herself", Pat Swift wrote: "Helen Millett might have been content to go "gently into that good night"—she was after all more afraid of the nursing home than dying—but daughter Kate was having none of that. Feminist warrior, human rights activists, gay liberationist, writer and artist, Kate Millett has not gone gently through life and never hesitates to rage at anyone—friend or foe, family or the system—to right a perceived wrong. When the dignity and quality of her ailing mother's life was at stake, this book's unfolding tale became inevitable."
Even though Helen played a role in having her daughter committed to the University of Minnesota's Mayo wing,
Kate had her mother removed from the nursing home and returned to her apartment, where attendants managed her care. During this period, Millett could also "bully" her mother for her lack of cultural sophistication and the amount of television she watched and could be harsh with caregivers.
Personal life
Interpersonal relationships
Millett was not the "polite, middle-class girl" that many parents of her generation and social circle desired; she could be difficult, brutally honest, and tenacious. Liza Featherstone, author of "Daughterhood Is Powerful," says that these qualities helped to make her "one of the most influential radical feminists of the 1970s." They could also make for difficult interpersonal relationships.
Millett wrote several autobiographical memoirs, with what Featherstone calls "brutal honesty," about herself, her husband, lovers, and family.
Her relationship with her mother was strained by her radical politics, domineering personality, and unconventional lifestyle.
Helen was particularly upset about examination of her lesbianism in her books.
(Note that Millett identified as bisexual by late 1970.
) Family relationships were further strained after Millett was involuntarily committed to
psychiatric wards and again when she wrote ''The Loony Bin Trip''.
Millett focused on her mother in ''Mother Millett'', a book about how she was made aware by her sister Sally of the seriousness of Helen Millett's declining health and poor nursing home care. Kate removed her mother from the home and returned her to an apartment, where caregivers managed her health and comfort.
In the book, "Millett writes about the situation—her mother's distance and imperiousness, her family's failure to recognize the humanity of the old and the insane—with brutal honesty. Yet she also describes moments of forgiveness, humility and admiration."
During this time, she developed a close relationship, previously inconceivable, with her mother, which she considered "a miracle and a grace, a gift." Her relationships with her sisters were troubled during this time, but they all came to support their mother's apartment-living. The suggestion of her role as the heroine in ''Mother Millett'', however, may have been "at the expense of her two siblings".
Marriage
In 1961 Millett moved to Japan and met fellow sculptor
Fumio Yoshimura.
In 1963 Yoshimura and Millett left Japan and moved to New York's Lower East Side in the Bowery district.
In 1965 they married to prevent Yoshimura from being deported,
and during their marriage Millett said that they were "friends and lovers".
She dedicated her book ''Sexual Politics'' to him.
Author Estelle C. Jelinek says that during their marriage he "loves her, leads his own creative life, and accepts her woman lovers". In 1985 they were divorced.
At the time of her death, Millett had recently married Sophie Keir, her partner for 39 years.
Mental illness
Mental illness affected Millett's personal and professional life from 1973,
when she lived with her husband in California and was an activist and teacher at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. Yoshimura and Sally, Kate's eldest sister, became concerned about Kate's extreme emotions.
Her family claimed that she went for as many as five consecutive nights without sleep and could talk nonsensically for hours. During a screening of one of her films at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, Millett "began talking incoherently". According to her other sister, Mallory Millett-Danaher, "There were pained looks of confusion in the audience, then people whispered and slowly got up to leave."
Sally, who was a law student in Nebraska, signed papers to have her younger sister committed. Millett was forcefully taken and held in psychiatric facilities for ten days. She signed herself out using a release form intended for voluntary admissions. During a visit to St. Paul, Minnesota, a couple of weeks later, her mother asked Kate to visit a psychiatrist and, based upon the psychiatrist's suggestion, signed commitment papers for Kate. She was released within three days,
having won a sanity trial,
due to the efforts of her friends and a ''
pro bono'' attorney.
Following the two involuntary confinements, Millett became depressed, particularly so about having been confined without
due process. While in the mental hospitals, she was given "mind-altering" drugs or restrained, depending upon whether she complied or not. She was stigmatized for having been committed and diagnosed with manic depression (now commonly called
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
). The diagnosis affected how she was perceived by others and her ability to attain employment.
In California doctors had recommended that she take
lithium
Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid ...
to manage wide manic and depression swings. Her depression became more severe when her housing in the Bowery was condemned and Yoshimura threatened divorce. To manage the depression, Millett again began taking lithium.
In 1980, with support of two friends and photojournalist Sophie Keir, Millett stopped taking lithium to improve her mental clarity, relieve diarrhea and hand tremors, and better uphold her philosophies about mental health and treatment. She began to feel alienated and was "snappish" as Keir watched for behavioral changes.
Her behavior was that of psychiatric drug withdrawal, including "mile-a-minute" speech, which turned her peaceful art colony to "a quarrelsome dystopia."
Mallory Millett, having talked to Keir, tried to get her committed but was unsuccessful due to New York's laws concerning involuntary commitments.
Millett visited Ireland in the fall of 1980 as an activist. Upon her intended return to the United States, there was a delay at the airport and she extended her stay in Ireland. She was involuntarily committed in Ireland after airport security "determined from someone in New York" that she had a "mental illness" and had stopped taking lithium.
While confined, she was heavily drugged. To combat the aggressive pharmaceutical program of "the worst bin of all", she counteracted the effects of
Thorazine
Chlorpromazine (CPZ), marketed under the brand names Thorazine and Largactil among others, is an antipsychotic medication. It is primarily used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Other uses include the treatment of bipolar dis ...
and lithium by eating a lot of oranges or hid the pills in her mouth for later disposal. She said of the times when she was committed, "To remain sane in a bin is to defy its definition," she said.
After several days, she was found by her friend
Margaretta D'Arcy
Margaretta Ruth D'Arcy (born 14 June 1934, London) is an Irish actress, writer, playwright, and activist.
D'Arcy has been a member of Aosdána since its inauguration and is known for addressing Irish nationalism, civil liberties, and women's r ...
. With the assistance of an Irish parliament member and a therapist-psychiatrist from Dublin, Millett was declared competent and released
within several weeks.
She returned to the United States, became severely depressed, and began taking lithium again. In 1986, Millett stopped taking lithium without adverse reactions. After one lithium-free year, Millett announced the news to stunned family and friends.
Millett's involvement with psychiatry caused her to attempt suicide several times due to both damaging physical and emotional effects but also because of the slanderous nature of psychiatric labeling that affected her reputation and threatened her very existence in the world.
She believed that her depression was due to grief and feeling broken. She said, "When you have been told that your mind is unsound, there is a kind of despair that takes over..."
In ''The Loony Bin Trip'', Millett wrote that she dreaded her depressed periods:
Views on mental illness
Feminist author and historian
Marilyn Yalom
Marilyn Yalom (March 10, 1932 – November 20, 2019) was a feminist author and historian. She was a senior scholar at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University, and a professor of French. She served as the institute's dire ...
wrote that "Millett refuses the labels that would declare her insane", continuing "she conveys the paranoid terror of being judged cruelly by others for what seems to the afflicted person to be a reasonable act."
Activism
Angered by
institutional psychiatric practices and lenient involuntary commitment processes, Millett became an activist.
With her lawyer, she changed the State of Minnesota's commitment law so that a trial is required before a person is involuntarily committed.
Millett was active in the
anti-psychiatry
Anti-psychiatry is a movement based on the view that psychiatric treatment is often more damaging than helpful to patients, highlighting controversies about psychiatry. Objections include the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis, the questionabl ...
movement.
As a representative of
MindFreedom International
MindFreedom International is an international coalition of over one hundred grassroots groups and thousands of individual members from fourteen nations. Based in the United States, it was founded in 1990 to advocate against forced medication, ...
, she spoke out against psychiatric torture at the United Nations during the negotiations of the text of the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2005).
In 1978, Millett became an associate of the
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press
Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Mo
Basic info ...
(WIFP). WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media.
Bowery redevelopment
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Millett was involved in a dispute with the New York City authorities, who wanted to evict her from her home at 295
Bowery
The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. ...
as part of a massive redevelopment plan. Millett and other tenants held out but ultimately lost their battle. Their building was demolished, and the residents were relocated.
Scholarship
Kristan Poirot, author of ''Mediating a Movement, Authorizing Discourse'', says that the release of Millett's ''Sexual Politics'' (1970) was a pivotal event in the second wave of the feminist movement.
Although there were other important moments in the movement, like the founding of the
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
and release of ''
The Feminine Mystique
''The Feminine Mystique'' is a book by Betty Friedan, widely credited with sparking second-wave feminism in the United States. First published by W. W. Norton on February 19, 1963, ''The Feminine Mystique'' became a bestseller, initially selling o ...
'' by
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...
, it was in 1970 that the media gave greater attention to the feminist movement, first with a front-page article in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and coverage on the three network's news programs about the
Women's Strike for Equality
The Women's Strike for Equality was a strike which took place in the United States on August 26, 1970. It celebrated the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment, which effectively gave American women the right to vote.Gour ...
event that summer.
Millett used psychology, anthropology, the
sexual revolution, and literary criticism to explain her theory of sexual politics,
which is that western societies have been driven by a belief that men are superior to women.
According to Poirot, the book, which received widespread media coverage, "was considered to be the first book-length exposition of second wave radical feminist theory."
Published accounts of Millett's lesbianism played a part in the fracture in the feminist movement over lesbians' role within the movement and reduced her effectiveness as a women's rights activist.
However, Millett identified as bisexual by late 1970.
Scholar
Camille Paglia
Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultu ...
described Millett's scholarship as deeply flawed, declaring that "American feminism's nose dive began" when Millett achieved prominence. According to Paglia, Millett's ''Sexual Politics'' "reduced complex artworks to their political content and attacked famous male artists and authors for their alleged sexism," thereby sending serious academic literary appreciation and criticism into eclipse.
Millett wrote her autobiographical books ''Flying'' (1974) and ''Sita'' (1977) about
coming out as gay, partly an important
consciousness-raising
Consciousness raising (also called awareness raising) is a form of activism popularized by United States feminists in the late 1960s. It often takes the form of a group of people attempting to focus the attention of a wider group on some cause or ...
activity. She realized beginning an open dialogue is important to break down the isolation and alienation that hiding in privacy can cause.
She wrote in ''Flying'' what Alice Henry calls in her ''
off our backs
''Off Our Backs'' (stylized in all lowercase; ''oob'') was an American radical feminist periodical that ran from 1970 to 2008. It began publishing on February 27, 1970, with a twelve-page tabloid first issue. From 2002 the editors adapted it i ...
'' review of ''Sita'' an "excruciating public and political 'coming out'" and its effect on her personal, political, and artistic lives.
While she discussed some of her love affairs in ''Flying'', in ''Sita'' she provides insight into a lesbian love affair and her fears of being alone or inadequate. Henry writes, "Kate's transparent vulnerability and attempts to get to the root of herself and grasp her lover are typical of many women who love women."
Millett recorded her visit to Iran and the demonstrations by Iranian feminists against the fundamentalist shift in Iran politics under Khomeini's government. Her book ''Going to Iran'', with photography by Sophie Keir (1979) is "a rare and therefore valuable eyewitness account of a series of important developments in the history of Iranian women", albeit told from the perspective of a feminist from the western world.
Death
Millett died in Paris on September 6, 2017, from cardiac arrest, eight days before her 83rd birthday. Her spouse Sophie Keir was with her at the time of her death.
Awards and honors
Millett won the Best Books Award for ''Mother Millett'' from Library Journal in 2001.
In 2012, she was awarded one of that year's
Courage Award for the Arts
The Courage Award for the Arts is a private award presented annually by Yoko Ono Lennon to artists, musicians, collectors, curators, writers who sought the truth in their work and demonstrated leadership, courage, resourcefulness in their work, ...
by
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
,
which Ono created to "recognize artists, musicians, collectors, curators, writers—those who sought the truth in their work and had the courage to stick to it, no matter what" and "honor their work as an expression of my vision of courage".
Between 2011 and 2012, she was also awarded the
Lambda Pioneer Award for Literature and a
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
The Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA), is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City that offers financial support and recognition to contemporary performing and visual artists through awards for artistic innovation and potential. It was ...
Grants to Artists award (2012).
She was honored in the summer of 2011 at a
Veteran Feminists of America gala; attendees included feminists such as
Susan Brownmiller
Susan Brownmiller (born Susan Warhaftig; February 15, 1935) is an American journalist, author and feminist activist best known for her 1975 book '' Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape'', which was selected by The New York Public Library as o ...
and
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Steinem was a c ...
.
In March 2013, the U.S.
National Women's Hall of Fame announced that Millett was to be among the institution's 2013 inductees. Beverly P. Ryder, board of directors co-president, said that Millett was a "real pillar of the women's movement".
The induction ceremony took place on October 24, 2013, at the National Women's Hall of Fame headquarters in
Seneca Falls, New York
Seneca Falls is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 8,942 at the 2020 census.
The Town of Seneca Falls contains the former village also called Seneca Falls. The town is east of Geneva, New York, in the nor ...
.
Works
Books
Other publications
* 1968 – "Token Learning: A Study of Women's Higher Education in America". New York:
National Organization for Women
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
.
* 1998 – "Out of the Loop". ''On the Issues''.
Exhibitions
Some of her exhibitions and installations are:
* 1963 – Minami Gallery, Tokyo
* 1967 – Group exhibition, ''12 Evenings of Manipulation'', Judson Gallery, New York City
* 1968 – ''Situations'', Brooklyn Community College, New York
* 1970 – ''The American Dream Goes to Pot'', ''The People's Flag Show,'' Phoenix Art Museum; Judson Memorial Church, New York
* 1972 – ''Terminal Piece,''
Women's Interart Center
The Women's Interart Center was a New York City–based multidisciplinary arts organization conceived as an artists' collective in 1969 and formally delineated in 1970 under the auspices of Women Artists in Revolution (WAR) and Feminists in the Ar ...
, New York
* 1973 – ''Small Mysteries'', Womanstyle Theatre Festival, New York
* 1977 – ''Naked Ladies,'' Los Angeles Women's Building, California
* 1977 – Solo exhibition, Andre Wauters Gallery, New York
* 1977 – ''The Lesbian Body'', Chuck Levitan Gallery, New York
* 1978 – ''The Trial of Sylvia Likens,'' Noho Gallery, New York
* 1979 – ''Elegy for Sita,'' Noho Gallery, New York
* 1979 –
Women's Caucus for Art
The Women's Caucus for Art (WCA), founded in 1972, is a non-profit organization based in New York City, which supports women artists, art historians, students, educators, and museum professionals. The WCA holds exhibitions and conferences to promo ...
* 1980 – Group exhibition, Great American Lesbian Art Show, Los Angeles
* 1980 – Solo exhibition, ''Lesbian Erotica'', Galerie de Ville, New Orleans; Second Floor Salon
* 1981 – Solo exhibition, ''Lesbian Erotica'', Galerie des Femmes, Paris
* 1986 – Group exhibition, ''Feminists and Misogynists'', Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle
* 1988 – ''Fluxus,'' Museum of Modern Art, New York
* 1991–1994 – Courtland Jessup Gallery, Provincetown, Massachusetts
* 1992 – Group exhibition, ''Body Politic,'' La MaMa La Galleria
* 1991 – Solo exhibition, ''Freedom from Captivity,'' Courtland Jessup Gallery, Provincetown, Massachusetts
* 1997 – ''Kate Millett, Sculptor: The First 38 Years,'' Fine Arts Gallery,
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, Catonsville
* 2009 – ''Black Madonna'', multimedia show of 41 artists, HP Garcia Gallery, New York
Film
*
*
*
*
*
*
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Guide to the Kate Millett Papers at Duke University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millett, Kate
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