The mid-Seventies represented a watershed era for feminism. A historic National Women's Conference convened in Houston in 1977. The Equal Rights Amendment inched toward passage. Conservative women in the Midwest, however, saw an event like the International Year of the Woman not as a celebration, but as part of a conspiracy that would lead to radicalism and one-world government. Erin M. Kempker delves into how conspiracy theories affected--and undermined--second wave feminism in the Midwest. Focusing on Indiana, Kempker views this phenomenon within the larger history of right-wing fears of subversion during the Cold War. Feminists and conservative women each believed they spoke in women's best interests. Though baffled by the conservative dread of "collectivism," feminists compromised by trimming radicals from their ranks. Conservative women, meanwhile, proved adept at applying old fears to new targets. Kemper's analysis places the women's opposing viewpoints side by side to unlock the differences that separated the groups, explain one to the other, and reveal feminism's fate in the Midwest.

Erin M. Kempker is an associate professor of history at the Mississippi University for Women.

"Kempker's deeply researched Big Sister: Feminism, Conservation, and Conspiracy in the Heartland is a riveting history of how opposing movements shape one another." --Indiana Magazine of History
 

"Kempker provides a fascinating look into the history of conservative women, feminist women, and the relationship between the two groups in the post-WW II US. Highly recommended." --Choice

"This book is useful for understanding why so many Americans found conspiracy theories appealing in the postwar period. . . .Big Sister opens the door for scholars to investigate understudies topics." --The Annals of Iowa

"Kempker illustrates how, even within groups of women such as liberal and conservative, fissures and factions often prevent a solid coalition. She demonstrates the diversity of opinion within feminist and antifeminist groups in a concise, accessible fashion." --Middle West Review