Documentary on women’s rights comes to Moscow
Kay Keskinen was a freshman at the University of Idaho in 1966 studying math with a minor in physics and psychology. When it came time for her to apply for jobs, job positions were labeled as either for men or for women, and no jobs involving math or physics were available for her or any other women.
Keskinen said although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 included protections against discrimination based on sex, these rules were not enforced at the time.
Keskinen said she didn’t let this stop her. She later worked for the University of Idaho Women’s Center and served on the National Board of Directors for the National Organization for Women (NOW). Keskinen is president of the Moscow NOW chapter, and said when she saw the documentary “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry,” come out in select theaters, she knew she wanted it shown in Moscow.
“It covers the issues that affected women in 1966 and 1971, including the formation of NOW,” Keskinen said. “The women who are pictured in this film are older and some have passed away, but that history could be lost very shortly if we don’t have an opportunity to hear their stories firsthand.”
The film will hit the big screen at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre. The film is free and open to anyone, but donations will be accepted and are encouraged. Donations will benefit the UI Women’s Center, Keskinen said. The Women’s Center, as well as the group Feminist Led Activist Movement to Empower (FLAME), will table in the lobby and pass out information about NOW. The film will include interviews as well as actual film footage from the time period, Keskinen said.
Keskinen said she experienced discrimination based on her sex throughout her life, especially in the workplace, which is a large part of what the film deals with.
“I applied for a job at the University of Idaho in 1972 and was told they wanted to give that job to a man,” Keskinen said. “And those are the sort of things that were happening overtly in that time period.”
Director of the Women’s Center Lysa Salsbury said the film is relevant to the Moscow community as well as to issues going on worldwide. Salsbury said many women in the community now in their 60s helped fight for gender equality in Idaho years ago, and these women lived through the struggles the film depicts.
Salsbury said the film is not only an important part of history, but is also important for today’s issues. She said many women take for granted having some rights, such as job opportunities, and many people believe total gender equality exists today, even though there are statistics showing how women are behind in access to social, political and economic well-being.
“I think that this is a really important part of history that we should honor,” Salsbury said. “These women faced a lot of discrimination and personal risk to move some of these issues forward, and I think that there is a tendency for us to forget that, to forget not only how far we’ve come and that that’s something to be celebrated, but also we’ve got a ways to go yet.”
Kelsey Stevenson can be reached at [email protected]