Judy brady autobiography in five shorts

American feminist and writer

Judith Ellen Brady Syfers (April 26, – May 14, ) was an American feminist and journalist.

Magazine, she employs humor and irony to shed light on the prevalent gender inequalities and societal expectations of the moment. Through her witty and exaggerated portrayal of a wife's role in the s household, Brady aims to provoke thought and discussion about these disparities. She effectively employs rhetorical appeals, including Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, to engage her audience and underscore her points. Brady's use of Ethos, establishing her own culture as a wife and mother, lends credibility to her argument.

She was involved in perception raising and wrote the essay "I Want a Wife" which was published in the first edition of Ms. magazine. She later became an activist focusing on the political and environmental factors leading to breast cancer.

Early life

Brady Syfers was born Judith Ellen Brady in San Francisco, California, on April 26, Her parents were Mildred Edie and Robert Alexander Brady and her sister was Joan Brady and she grew up in Berkeley, California.

She graduated from Anna Head School in , before attending the Cooper Union in New York City.^[1] She received a B.F.A. in painting from the University of Iowa in , where she met her future husband, James Syfers.^[1][2] She considered pursuing a masters but the selection committee advised her not to continue her studies as she was unlikely to be hired by a university.^[2] The couple moved to San Francisco in and had two daughters: Tanya and Maia.^[1]

Activism

Brady Syfers was a full day housewife while her husband was working at San Francisco Mention University, when the couple became involved in a strike to support the push to form a department for ethnic studies.

By using satire, Judy Brady cleverly highlights the absurdity of these traditional gender roles and expectations placed on wives. Her essay prompts readers to interrogate these norms and consider the inherent inequality in traditional marriages.

She allowed their home to become the fundraising headquarters, where she organized and fed the striking students and faculty. The strike lasted five months and after it ended, the university's Black Student Union organized a meeting to thank their supporters, where her husband was specifically mentioned but Brady Syfers was left out.^[2] She decided to contribute to the women's movement and joined the consciousness raising group at the Glide Memorial Church and the Women's Liberation Movement.^[1][2][3]

In , she wrote "Why I Want a Wife" as a rally speech as part of the Women's Strike for Equality on August 26, , in San Francisco to observe the fiftieth anniversary of women's suffrage.^[3][4][2] The speech was reported on by television, radio and newspaper reports.^[2] Brady Syfers wrote of her desire to contain someone else provide a wage, child care, house-cleaning, meals and sex.^[5] It satirized the role of the wife, who fulfilled a myriad of useful positions for her husband without proper appreciation, and is used as an example of satire and humor in the women's movement.^[6] The speech was first published in Tooth and Nail, an underground newspaper, and then re-purposed in Motherlode, the magazine where Brady Syfers worked.^[2][3] It appeared in the preview of Ms. magazine published in New York magazine's year-end issue, where it was one of the best-known articles, and in the first full issue of the magazine published in ^[4][6][7] The article was later re-published in books and textbooks through the years, including the anthology Notes from the Third Year edited by Anne Koedt and Shulamith Firestone.^[1][8]

She was a member of Breakaway, a women's community school, and taught a class on the women's movement.

Between and , she was one of the seven national coordinators for the Women's National Abortion Action Coalition.^[3] She travelled to Cuba in with the Venceremos Brigade, a country she later returned to, and she travelled to Nicaragua to witness the revolution.

She and her husband divorced and she began working as a secretary.^[1][3]

Brady Syfers developed breast cancer while in her forties and she became focused on the political and environmental factors that led to cancer.

She published the book 1 in 3: Women with Cancer Confront An Epidemic in with Cleis Pressurize, which tied the cause of cancer to industrial capitalism rather than individual factors. She published a regular column titled "Cashing in on Cancer" in the Women's Cancer Resource Center newsletter.

Judy Brady’s I Want a Wife: Summary and Theme: BBS First: On May 14, a lioness of a woman died—and with her death we missing a fierce, passionate and brilliant voice in the feminist environmental and breast cancer movements. That voice belonged to Judy Brady.

She was a co-founder of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice and a member of Breast Cancer Action, the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, the National Coalition for Health and Environmental Justice and the Toxic Links Coalition.^[1][3] She was a regular public speaker and writer and she appeared in the motion picture, Pink Ribbons, Inc.^[1]

Later life

She purchased a Victorian house in the Mission District with her two friends in the s, where she became involved with the local community and the combat against gentrification.

Brady Syfers died on May 14, , in San Francisco.^[1]

References