Dolle Mina

Dolle Mina (Mad Mina) was a Dutch feminist group founded in December 1969 that campaigned for equal rights for women. It was named after early Dutch feminist Wilhelmina Drucker,[1] and is a left-wing radical feminist activist group whose aim is to improve women’s rights through playful and humorous protest demonstrations[2].

History

In the first wave of feminism, about 1880-1925, feminists strove to vote and stand for women's rights and their access to colleges and universities. However, the movement largely fell silent after these women's rights were granted and the economic crisis occurred in 1930. During World War II, the mindset surrounding the role of women in society was changed and strong feminist values were propagated in countries such as England, Germany and the United States who deployed women in factories as well as in various combat roles in the war. In the postwar years, women who previously worked in factories were sent home and excluded from unions and other civil society organizations.

In the Netherlands, working women were fired when they got married, and officials prohibited married women from independently performing legal acts such as the conclusion of a contract (incapacitation). Due to the second wave of feminism, which originated among women in Western countries, and dissatisfaction with the social position of women, Dolle Mina emerged from the Socialistic Youth group ‘Socialistische Jeugd’ who wanted a new women’s movement. They were inspired by the campaigning women in the United States and by the Maagdenhuisbezetting (a major university sit-in) in Amsterdam.[3]

Dolle Mina had a Marxist outlook, and brought attention to the struggle by women to gain equality in the trade unions, which routinely avoided expanding the rights of women members when it meant concessions by male "breadwinners". The group had activist campaigns, including protests and publications,[4] to promote women's right to abortion, equal pay for equal work, childcare, and even access to public toilets.[5]

Dolle Mina's protests lasted throughout the 1970s. They were characterized by their humour, often inverting gender roles.[6] In 1970, the group co-organized a "Discrimination Fair" to draw attention to the issue of equal pay. Central to the debate was the Netherlands' failure to ratify the International Labour Organization Convention ILO-100, which mandated equal pay for equal work. The Netherlands ratified ILO-100 in 1971, although it did not have an immediate impact.[7]

Dolle Mina was able to draw attention to the unequal rights of men and women with playful public campaigns. Since October 1968 the group consisted Man Woman Society, one of the Labour Party sympathetic action group in the parliament and the public administration would exert influence to improve the rights of women and their position in society. The founders of Dolle Mina saw MVM as a conformist club too much part of the established order and opted for other purposes and methods. Some Dolle Mina members found MVM also reformist: they saw themselves as members of a new "grassroots" who sought a more fundamental change in society. There should be, according to them, a democratic socialist society. Various groups at the bottom of society ("the base") had to be mobilized in it. This basic strategy groups the line at that time was also the student movement (among others Ton Regtien was turned off).

Notable members

The founders were Dunya Verwey, Michael Korzec, Alex and Rita Korzec Hendriks. Shortly thereafter other members include Anne Marie and her husband Philippens Huub. Dolle Mina of the first hour included Nora Rozenbroek, Friedl Baruch, Claudette van Trikt, Selma Leydesdorff, Marjan Sax, Miklos Racz and Loes Mallée, and Henriëtte Schatz.

Media coverage

One of the most remarkable aspects of the movement is the media coverage. The attention was crucial to the professionality of the Dolle Mina movement. It showed that well-organised and well-documented protest did not only contribute to the demonstration itself, it could also spark a reaction from surrounding countries, especially Belgian and German women's emancipation movements.[8] Another group that was known for their use of media was the Man-Vrouw-Maatschappij (MVM), which translates as the Man-Women-Society. This group was more professional in the way that it had actual functions on their board (chairman, treasurer and secretary), but compared to the Dolle Mina's, it lacked controversiality. The MVM mainly pursued their goals through the political path by for example, lobbying in national and local parliaments, writing reports and organizing conferences. They did several news segments and printed out their statements for everyone to read.[9] However, as said before, the movement of the Dolle Mina provoked a true 'mediablitz' with the use of provocative events or other unconventional ways to get their statements across. For example, tying pink ribbons across (mostly public) male lavatories or, a more direct approach: the kidnapping of a movie-maker who wanted to organise a 'Miss Cinema Pageant'.[9] Even though these acts seem to have had a long-term preparation, most of the acts were carried out days apart from each other, which resulted in weeks long press-headliners about the Dolle Mina movement. The movement was especially exceptional in providing the media with 'readymade' news, such as the pink ribbon-demonstration. Their exceptional use of media with the use of shock and/or materials in an unconventional way was a significant part of the success of the movement.[9]

References

1. Kaplan, Gisela (2012). Contemporary Western European Feminism (RLE Feminist Theory). Routledge. p. 152. ISBN 9780415636810.
2. "Dolle Mina ('Mad Mina') | Feminism in the 20th century". Atria. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
3. "Dolle Mina ('Mad Mina') | Feminism in the 20th century". Atria. 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
4. Kaplan, Gisela (2012). Contemporary Western European Feminism (RLE Feminist Theory). Routledge. p. 154. ISBN 9780415636810.
5. Van Der Vleuten, Anna (2013). The Price of Gender Equality (Epub) Member States and Governance in the European Union. Ashgate Publishing. p. 75. ISBN 9781409498063.
6. Denis, Marie and Suzanne Van Rokeghem (1992). Le féminisme est dans la rue: Belgique 1970–1975. De Boeck Supérieur. p. 43. ISBN 9782873110093.
7. Van Der Vleuten, Anna (2013). The Price of Gender Equality (Epub) Member States and Governance in the European Union. Ashgate Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 9781409498063.
8. Hooghe, M. (1994). De organisatiestructuur van de Vlaamse vrouwenbeweging. Autonomie en integratie in een gesloten politieke cultuur. Sociologische Gids, 41(2), 144–161.
9. Van Zoonen, E. A. (1992). The women's movement and the media: Constructing a public identity. European Journal of Communication, 7(4), 453–476.