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[[left page]] 308 The Los Angeles Woman's Building of a second move. Also, I expect some of the more modest physical improvements will have been accomplished, making the present building more usable. The possible revitalization of the downtown area may bring more people to our part of town, particularly if we can set up a minibus service from the nearby tourist and ethnic areas to the Woman's Building. By having a planning committee start at once, we might find a building that we could buy or get another for little or no rent through some municipal program— as yet undiscovered. But a crisis could easily develop, particularly if through an overextension of staff we continue to deal with problems on a day-to-day basis without any long-term planning. The size of our institution in terms of the number of events and classes, as well as the ambitious goals we have for ourselves are backed up by personal commitment and energy, but little money. This poverty has an erosive effect that we try to counteract by broadening involvement. It is the people who are at the building daily and those who handle the books who know best our precarious financial position. It has been suggested that we hold only those functions that pay for themselves, but then we would not be fulfilling the real purpose of the Woman's Building. The accomplishment evident in the building's physical environment expresses the dignity and presence not associated with our inability to take care of ourselves without help. Accomplishments of the Woman's Building The accomplishments of the Woman's Building have been various; symbolically, it has expressed the vitality of feminism and served as a model for others; physically, it has united diverse aspects of the feminist community and provided opportunities for communication and a nucleus for organizing around specific issues. A major strength of the Woman's Building as an actual environment is its symbol-making function. The sheer existence and persistence of an environment created for women by women is expressive of the vitality of the second wave of [[right page]] Sheila Levrant de Bretteville 309 feminism. For women in other areas of the world, as well as for those who can visit and work at the building, it is an inspirational model. The Woman's Building has brought into focus the precarious existence of independent thought and action in daily public life. Understanding the Woman's Building as a cultural sign reaffirms an important function of the material world: that it can be given meaning and can nourish people in relation to the significance they have assigned it. The larger physical environment of the Woman's Building— in comparison with the private home, studio, office, or storefront —has acted as a vehicle for physically uniting diverse elements of the women's community, bringing them together at the same time in the same place. In the mid-1970s fragmentation of women's interests have made this progressively more difficult, though recent threats to the ERA, gay rights, and racial integration may provide a new wave of combined activity. But generally there has been some focusing again on the differences between women as a result of socioeconomic class, sexual preference, profession, and life-style. This fragmentation and reghettoization cannot be halted by the sheer physical presence of the Woman's Building, but our very existence, stated goals, and inclusive accomplishments imply an alternative. Despite the avowed intentions of the Woman's Building to involve a broad spectrum of women and the existence of an outreach program aimed at ethnic and disadvantaged women, the largest constituency consists of women in their early twenties to late thirties who are essentially homosocial and homosexual. In order to accept the Woman's Building as their place, all women have to see their own experience represented at the Woman's Building and be able to see others like themselves. To this end, members of the Feminist Studio Workshop have created numerous in-house, as well as outreach, programs that provide various groups with a familiar context in the hope of wider participation by members of diverse ethnic, economic, and political groups. The orientation, accomplishments, and difficulties of this Woman's Building can provide a useful model for women elsewhere who might wish to create an independent cultural and feminist institution. As the goal of this institution is to pro-
Transcription Notes:
last word = project ('-ject' from next page)
