For many women, the discovery of feminism was an awakening, a moment of exhilaration, in which they created a new language to express their perceptions, experiences, frustrations, and dreams. Feminism offered women new opportunities for self-expression and self-understanding. Uncovering and representing the experiences of women from the past also became a way to claim one’s own role in history. Through feminism, Jewish women found a way to move from silence to voice.
Awakening
Many women discovered feminism in a flash of insight that forever changed how they perceived themselves and everything around them – an experience often referred to as a “click” or “aha!” moment. The excitement was palpable and energizing, as women came together to form a movement for their own liberation.
A Voice of One's Own
Empowered by their involvement in the women’s movement, feminists began to experiment with new ways to express themselves and their own experiences, needs, and desires. Through music and writing, rituals old and new, they created forms that placed women’s voices at the center.
Out of the "Silent" Past
One of feminism’s great insights was that women’s voices throughout history had often been ignored or silenced, left out of the public record. As they came to value their own experiences, many feminists sought to recover women’s voices and perspectives from the past, and to represent them through art, publishing, historical projects, and new creative rituals.
