Jessica M. Frazier - Womens Antiwar Diplomacy during the Vietnam War Era

GENDER AND AMERICAN CULTURE

Coeditors

Thadious M. Davis

Mary Kelley

Editorial Advisory Board

Nancy Cott

Jane Sherron De Hart

John DEmilio

Linda K. Kerber

Annelise Orleck

Nell Irvin Painter

Janice Radway

Robert Reid-Pharr

Noliwe Rooks

Barbara Sicherman

Cheryl Wall

Emerita Board Members

Cathy N. Davidson

Sara Evans

Annette Kolodny

Wendy Martin

Guided by feminist and antiracist perspectives, this series examines the construction and influence of gender and sexuality within the full range of Americas cultures. Investigating in deep context the ways in which gender works with and against such markers as race, class, and region, the series presents outstanding interdisciplinary scholarship, including works in history, literary studies, religion, folklore, and the visual arts. In so doing, Gender and American Culture seeks to reveal how identity and community are shaped by gender and sexuality.

A complete list of books published in Gender and American Culture is available at www.uncpress.unc.edu.

Womens Antiwar Diplomacy during the Vietnam War Era

Jessica M. Frazier

The University of North Carolina Press CHAPEL HILL

2017 The University of North Carolina Press

All rights reserved

Set in Espinosa Nova by Westchester Publishing Services

Manufactured in the United States of America

The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Frazier, Jessica M., author.

Title: Womens antiwar diplomacy during the Vietnam War era / Jessica M. Frazier.

Other titles: Gender & American culture.

Description: Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, [2017] | Series: Gender and American culture | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016031010 | ISBN 9781469631783 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781469631790 (pbk : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781469631806 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Vietnam War, 19611975Women. | Vietnam War, 19611975Protest movements. | WomenPolitical activityUnited StatesHistory20th century. | WomenPolitical activityVietnamHistory20th century. | FeminismUnited StatesForeign influences.

Classification: LCC DS559.8.W6 F73 2017 | DDC 959.704/31dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016031010

Cover illustration: Nguyen Trinh Thai, Many Thanks to the People of the World for Your Support (pencil and tempera on paper, 1972). Courtesy of Track 16 Gallery.

Portions of chapter 1 previously appeared in the authors work Collaborative Efforts to End the War in Viet Nam: The Interactions of Women Strike for Peace, the Vietnamese Womens Union, and the Womens Union of Liberation, 19651968, Peace & Change 37, no. 3 (July 2012): 33965. Used here with permission.

Acknowledgments

Writing the acknowledgments section is a daunting yet gratifying task because so much support went into the completion of this book. First, I would like to thank the American Council of Learned Societies for its financial support through a fellowship that allowed me to dedicate a year to writing. I also received financial support from the Center for Historical Study of Women and Gender and the History Department at Binghamton University, as well as through a Faculty Development Grant and from the College of Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. Much of the research for this work was possible thanks to travel grants provided by the Sallie Bingham Center at Duke University, the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University, the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, and the Swarthmore College Peace Collection at Swarthmore College. I would also like to thank Don Nieman and Leigh Ann Wheeler for establishing the Wheeler/Nieman Grant through the History Department at Binghamton University. This grant supported research at the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico, the Charles E. Young Research Library at UCLA, and the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University. Jim and Ann Wolf and Kate and Gnni Fuchs were kind enough to house me when I visited archives in Albuquerque and Los Angeles, respectively, and I thank them. I would also like to thank the archivists at these centers as well as those at the Chicago Historical Society, the Simon Fraser University Archives, and the Library of Congress for their assistance. For providing research support from afar, I would like to thank David Stiver at Graduate Theological Union Archives, independent researcher Virginia Martin, and archivist Lee Grady at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Several people at higher education institutions have made life as an academic more fulfilling. At the University of Rhode Island, I have received warm welcomes from many members of the campus community, including Lynne Derbyshire, Cathy English, Tim George, John Kirby, Jody Lisberger, Erik Loomis, Rod Mather, Annie Russell, and Rob Thompson, among many others. I would like to give special thanks to Leslie Kealhofer-Kemp, who has provided both advice and entertainment. For providing comments, support, and guidance at various stages of this project, I would like to thank Nancy Appelbaum, Mary Berkery, Elisa Camiscioli, Tom Dublin, Leslie Gates, Denise Ireton, Sarah King, Carol Linskey, Kelly Marino, Steve Ortiz, Giusi Russo, Sandra Snchez Lpez, Kitty Sklar, Eve Snyder, Diane Sommerville, Jen Tomas, and Leigh Ann Wheeler at Binghamton University. Leigh Ann deserves special recognition, as she has continually motivated me to produce my best work. Mary, Denise, and Kelly read several versions of several chapters; their suggestions made this work much clearer. Sandra has continued to support me both personally and professionally even though we now live on different continents.

Many others have contributed to my thinking about this research over the years, including Caitlin Casey, Ellen Chesler, Chelsea Del Rio, Andrea Estepa, Stephanie Gilmore, Justin Hart, Dan Horowitz, Suzzanne Kelley, Jessica Lancia, Kera Lovell, Edwin Martini, Matt Masur, Hang Nguyen, Grey Osterud, Shelley Rose, Benita Roth, Andrew Rotter, Amy Schneidhorst, Heather Stur, Michele Thompson, Kara Vuic, Judy Wu, Leandra Zarnow, and the anonymous reviewer at the University of North Carolina Press, as well as others I met at conferences and elsewhere who will unfortunately remain unnamed. A version of the first chapter of this book was previously published in the journal Peace & Change , and I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of that article for their comments. I would also like to thank the editorial staff at the University of North Carolina Press for helping to guide this project through the publishing process.

The all-important research trip to Viet Nam in the summer of 2015 would not have been undertaken without an initial push from Hang Nguyen, one of the reviewers of the manuscript at the University of North Carolina Press. Judy Wu was kind enough to put me in touch with Mr. Bui Van Nghi at the Vietnam-USA Society. Ms. Hoang Tuyet Nga deserves special mention for coordinating my trip, for finding an English edition of Nguyen Thi Binhs memoir for me, and for tracking down the artist whose work adorns the front cover. Mr. Khong Dai Minh acted as translator and guide during my entire stay and took care of getting me where I needed to be when I needed to be there. I would also like to thank those who agreed to be interviewed by me, both in Viet Nam and in the United States.