Cassandra Radical Feminist Nurses Network nurtured support, encouragement and connection for women who were creating a woman-centered reality in nursing.
The name Cassandra was a tribute to Florence Nightingale who wrote an essay titled Cassandra in 1852. Cassandra provided a place where the passion, intellect and moral activity of women who were nurses could be voiced and heard.
The word “radical” was defined as going to the root or origin. The word “feminist” reflected a woman-centered world view. These terms were used to convey the commitment to theory and action grounded in the reality of women’s experience in nursing and in health care. A “network” was a unified structure formed of the visible and invisible.
The vision of Cassandra emerged during the June 1982 American Nurses Association convention in Washington, D.C. on the eve of the death of the Equal Rights Amendment. Their first Newsjournal was published in October of 1982. Their first continental gathering was held in San Francisco in 1983. From the beginning Cassandra was conceptualized as an alternative to traditional hierarchical structures which required that they create non-hierarchical ways of networking.
Recognizing the power of words in thought and action, Cassandra selected words that reflected their women-centered experience and view. For example, they used the term “websters” as an alternate to “member” or “regular member.” While “member” generally communicates what they mean, it is a term that implies that they are an ordinary “organization” in a patriarchal sense. The word “Webster” is used in Cassandra in connection with their concept of “Web” (local gatherings of Cassandrans). Websters are equally responsible, creative, active women in nursing who participated in Cassandra’s decision-making process.
Cassandra was active in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio in the 1980s.
The Cassandra Radical Feminist Nurses Network Records (1 linear foot) contains material about the organization.
Related collections within the Medical Heritage Center include The Textile Collection and the Rare Book Collection. The Textile Collection contains a nursing cape and a student nursing uniform that came with this donation. The Rare Book Collection contains three books that also came with this donation. The books are:
The collection is open to the public and is available for viewing in the Medical Heritage Center. Materials do not circulate and must be used in the supervised reading room. Restrictions, including copyright, may exist and some materials may be too fragile to photocopy or digitize. The MHC charges for duplication services, which must be performed by staff.
[Identification of item], Cassandra Radical Feminist Nurses Network Records, SPEC.201116.CASSANDRA, Medical Heritage Center, Health Sciences Library, The Ohio State University.