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From Housewives to Protesters: Mormons for the ERA: LDS Church as Oppressive

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LDS Church as Oppressive

SCAMSS0225Bx007Fd22-001.pdf
“Mormon Money Worked Against Florida’s ERA” [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 7, Folder 22.)
SCAMSS0225Bx007Fd22-002.pdf
“How the Mormons Helped Scuttle ERA” [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 7, Folder 22.)
SCAMSS0225Bx007Fd22-020.pdf
“Mormon Muscle . . . Members’ Funds Fought ERA” [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 7, Folder 22.)
SCAMSS0225Bx007Fd22-010.pdf
“Mormon Men Call All the Shots” [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 7, Folder 22.)
SCAMSS0225Bx007Fd22-011.pdf
“Mormonism Swallows You Whole” [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 7, Folder 22.)

While MERA portrayed themselves as freeing Mormon women, several national newspapers portrayed MERA as victims of the LDS Church’s patriarchy and the LDS Church as overreaching politically. Headlines such as “Mormon Men Call All the Shots” and “Mormonism Swallows you Whole” portray the LDS Church as oppressive, all-encompassing, and restrictive.

SCAMSS0225BX023Fd09-001.pdf
Political cartoonists depict the LDS Church as oppressive of women using the imagery of Muslim women’s religious dress [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 23, Folder 9.)

A political cartoon by Shaw McCutcheon appearing in the Spokesman Review on December 7, 1979, depicts an older man next to a woman dressed in a chador (outer garment or open cloak worn especially by Muslim women) holding a sign that reads, “Mormon women for ERA.” The man, who is labeled as the “Mormon Church,” puts a veil around the woman’s face, only leaving her eyes exposed. The caption along the bottom of the cartoon reads, “Chador veils right here in the U.S.?” This cartoon demonstrates a common portrayal of the LDS Church silencing Mormon women who support the ERA.

SCAMSS0225Bx023Fd09-002.pdf
Cartoon that characterizes the LDS Church as a boys club that only allows women if they know their proper place. The tree house is high in the tree symbolizing the exclusive nature of the Church and the difficulty women face in reaching the top. [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 23, Folder 9.)
SCAMSS0225Bx023Fd09-004.pdf
Characterization of Mormon men as controlling their wives and requiring they have several children and maintain the home [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 23, Folder 9.)
SCAMSS0225Bx023Fd09-003.pdf
Cartoon depicting Sonia Johnson as a Christ figure who is sacrificing her church membership for her cause [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, Collection MSS 225, Box 23, Folder 9.)

These cartoons, along with newspaper headlines and articles, demonstrate the characterization of the LDS Church as having numerous resources and the ability to stop the ERA. The media portrayal of MERA protesters was overwhelmingly positive; they regularly covered events and provided important publicity for their cause. The LDS Church did not have a favorable depiction in the national media with headlines criticizing their political involvement, use of money, and church patriarchy.