Paula Kassell

Paula S. Kassell (December 5, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American feminist leader who founded New Directions for Women, which was the first national feminist news publication in the United States, was an early board member and officer of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press and successfully pushed The New York Times to use the term "Ms." in reference to women.[1]

Paula Kassell
BornDecember 5, 1917
DiedAugust 20, 2012 (age 94)

Early life

Kassell was born on December 5, 1917 in New York City.[2] At age 6, her family moved to Yonkers, New York.[2] Her father was a stockbroker and her mother was a housewife. Kassell graduated from Barnard College in 1939.[3] According to an article published in New Directions for Women in the winter of 1976-77, after graduating, Kassell pursued a job as a social worker, and continued to work until she got married and stayed home to raise her two children. Kassell was inspired to become a feminist after reading anthropological works of Margaret Mead while at Barnard.[4] She started working for Bell Labs in 1955, where she was the first woman employed as a technical editor.[3]

Career

In 1971, she became one of the co-founders of New Directions for Women and used money raised by its inaugural May 1971 conference to create a magazine that she edited out of her home together with other volunteers.[3] The newspaper, which started with a press run of 2,000 copies reproduced by mimeograph and had grown to printing 50,000 copies that were sent to 15 states and to readers in Canada by March 1973, was cited as "the country's first statewide feminist newspaper".[5] Nationwide distribution of the newspaper began in 1975 and by 1977 the paper had relocated to offices in Westwood, New Jersey.[4]

Kassell bought shares of The New York Times and attended the company's April 1986 shareholder meeting, where she spoke about the inconsistent use of the titles "Miss" and "Mrs." used to refer to women and the fact that this usage created confusion and inaccuracies about the marital status of those women mentioned in the paper. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, the publisher of the paper, agreed to look into the issue and make a "rational decision" on the topic after discussion with usage experts.[3][6] Sulzberger agreed with her argument and the paper started using the term Ms. as stated in an editor's note published on June 20, 1986, citing the fact that the term had "become a part of the language" in its decision to change its policy.[3][7] She remained involved with the Morris County, New Jersey chapter of the National Organization for Women until her death.[3]

Personal life

A resident of Dover, New Jersey, Kassell died in her home at the age of 94 on August 20, 2012. Her husband, Gerson G. Friedman, died before her, as did a daughter who died of breast cancer. She was survived by a son and two grandchildren.[3] She donated her body to the New Jersey Medical College. [8]

References
  1. Townsend, Cara. "Paula Kassell, feminist pioneer and Dover resident, dies at 94" Archived January 20, 2013, at archive.today, Daily Record (Morristown), September 1, 2012. Accessed May 29, 2015. "Kassell was a long-time women's rights activist who in 1972 founded the news tabloid, New Directions for Women, and later convinced the New York Times to use Ms. in addition to Miss and Mrs. on the paper's pages."
  2. Administrator. "In Memory of Paula Kassell". Morris County NOW. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  3. Staff. "Paula S. Kassell, 94, of Dover", Parsippany Life, September 19, 2012. Accessed May 29, 2015.
  4. Cook, Joan. "Voice for Women", The New York Times, November 6, 1977. Accessed May 29, 2015.
  5. Cook, Joan. "Feminist Paper for Women Is a Success; A 12-Page Tabloid", The New York Times, March 25, 1973. Accessed May 29, 2015. "A quarterly newspaper staffed entirely by women volunteers is helping to raise the consciousness levels of both sexes. Called New Directions for Women in New Jersey, it is said to be the country's first statewide feminist newspaper."
  6. Wade, Betsy. "Explaining the Origins of Ms.", The New York Times, November 5, 2009. Accessed May 29, 2015. "The minutes of the Times stockholders meeting of April 30, 1986, show that the publisher at the time, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, recognized Paula Kassell, a stockholder and feminist publisher who had long been on this case. Kassell challenged the publisher to convene a debate with language experts to reach a 'rational decision' on the question."
  7. "Editors' note", The New York Times, June 20, 1986. Accessed May 29, 2015. "Beginning today, The New York Times will use Ms. as an honorific in its news and editorial columns."
  8. "Paula Kassell Obituary (2012) - New York, NY - New York Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
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