M A R I T A L R A P E I N T H E S C O P E O F S E C O N D - W A V E F E M I N I S M I N O R E G O N

“BUT IF YOU CAN’T RAPE YOUR WIFE, WHO CAN YOU RAPE?”

McKenzie WardenHistory 407 ThesisHSA Presentation

OREGON V. RIDEOUT (1978)

• Primary Sources at UO archives• First marital rape case in the nation• But why is this case important? & what exactly

does it tell us?

Gretchen Kafoury Collection, Box 6, Folder 34, UO Archives, Eugene

THESIS

•Oregon serves as an interesting case study for the success of feminist mobilization in the 1970s, yet demonstrates how legislation did not immediately change society’s deep rooted assumptions about gender, family roles, and sexual violence.

BACKGROUND & EVIDENCE

• History of Marriage & Role of Women• Background on Rape & its Implications• Political Climate in 1970s Oregon• SB 503, the Trial, & General Backlash

Gretchen Kafoury Collection, Box 6, Folder 34, UO Archives, Eugene

THE EVOLUTION OF MARRIAGE, WOMEN’S ROLES, & RAPE

http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~chopping/rs/geospatialwomen.html

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/rarebooks/archive/tags/Blackstone/default.aspx

http://ru-victorian.livejournal.com/36951.html

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/30/why_do_rape_laws_still_protect_spouses/

1970S POLITICAL CLIMATE IN OREGON

http://bluebook.state.or.us/kids/focus/motto.htm

“She Flies With Her Own Wings”

Oregon Women’s Land Trust Meeting, 1970s, © Ruth Mountaingrove  

• Women Legislators• Breadth & Depth of Feminist

Agenda• Active Groups/Organizations

THE BILL, THE TRIAL, & THE BACKLASH

1978

9 7 7

Gretchen Kafoury Collection, Box 6, Folder 34, UO Archives, Eugene

QUESTIONS?