A Feminist in the White House

Midge Costanza, the Carter Years, and America's Culture Wars

Doreen J. Mattingly

Draws on Midge Costanza's previously unavailable personal papers from her time in the White House and after, including memos, letters, photos, previously unreleased interviews, Costanza's unfinished memoir, and scripts for an unmade movie and television series based on Costanza's life
Provides a new perspective on the role of the Carter administration in the emergence of the culture wars that have come to dominate US politics
Complicates our understanding of second-wave feminism through Costanza's wide-ranging and, at times, contradictory activist agenda and personal identity

A Feminist in the White House

Midge Costanza, the Carter Years, and America's Culture Wars

Doreen J. Mattingly

Description

A feminist, an outspoken activist, a woman without a college education, Midge Costanza was one of the unlikeliest of White House insiders. Yet in 1977 she became the first female Assistant to the President for Public Liaison under Jimmy Carter, emerging as a prominent focal point of the American culture wars. Tasked with bringing the views of special interest groups to the president, Costanza championed progressive causes even as Americans grew increasingly divided on the very issues for which she fought.

In A Feminist in the White House, Doreen J. Mattingly draws on Costanza's personal papers to shed light on the life of this fascinating and controversial woman. Mattingly chronicles Costanza's dramatic rise and fall as a public figure, from her initial popularity to her ultimate clashes with Carter and his aides. While Costanza challenged Carter to support abortion rights, gay and lesbian rights, and feminist policies, Carter faced increased pressure to appease the interests of emerging Religious Right, which directly opposed Costanza's ideals. Ultimately, marginalized both within the White House and by her fellow feminists, Costanza was pressured to resign in 1978.

Through the lens of Constanza's story, readers catch a unique perspective of the rise of debates which have defined the feminist movement and sexual politics to this very day. Mattingly also reveals a wider, but heretofore neglected, narrative of the complex era of gender politics in the late 1970's Washington - a history which continues to resonate in politics today. A Feminist in the White House is a must-read for anyone with an interest in sexual politics, female politicians, and presidential history.

A Feminist in the White House

Midge Costanza, the Carter Years, and America's Culture Wars

Doreen J. Mattingly

Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Making It in a Man's World
Chapter 3: Vice Mayor of Rochester
Chapter 4: Sex, Power and the Campaign to Elect Jimmy Carter
Chapter 5: Window to the Nation: Midge Costanza Opens Up the White House
Chapter 6: Abortion, Controversy, and the Limits of Loyalty
Chapter 7: International Women's Year and the Battle to Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
Chapter 8: "It Isn't Enough": Fighting for Feminist Policy
Chapter 9: The Decline and Fall of Midge Costanza
Chapter 10: It Never Rains in California

A Feminist in the White House

Midge Costanza, the Carter Years, and America's Culture Wars

Doreen J. Mattingly

Author Information

Doreen J. Mattingly is Associate Professor of Women's Studies at San Diego State University.

A Feminist in the White House

Midge Costanza, the Carter Years, and America's Culture Wars

Doreen J. Mattingly

Reviews and Awards

2017 Los Angeles Book Festival Winner

"...a splendid, wholly engrossing biography." --Women's Review of Books

"The biography is a fascinating and thorough look at the way second-wave feminism played out in the political arena, and highly relevant at this particular political moment." --Publishers Weekly

"I covered Midge Costanza for Newsweek, and the controversies described in this book give Midge her due as a principled advocate while raising questions about the appropriate role of a White House staffer. Drawing on a wealth of material, the author documents her subject's increasing feminism and her clashes with the president who made history when he named her to his staff. In the end, each felt betrayed by the other and the reader will feel torn too knowing how the story ends." --Eleanor Clift

"For anyone interested in presidential politics this book is a must read. The meticulously documented story of the life and career of Midge Costanza lays open the inner workings of the Carter White House at a time when the role of women was changing dramatically. It also sadly portrays how badly Carter was served by his top male assistants who sought to crush and marginalize the influence of strong loyal women throughout his administration." --Peter Bourne, Former Special Assistant to President Jimmy Carter, 1977-1981

"The lessons learned from Midge Costanza's life have informed the political path of the modern LGBTQ movement-even for those who didn't know it. The seeds that were her passion, including uncompromising idealism, drive and political risk-taking have grown into a fierce forest of activism and change. A Feminist in the White House skillfully surfaces political and cultural tensions that we still see playing out today in the work for women's equality and LGBTQ freedom. This should be required reading for anyone interested in how far we've come and how far we have left to go." --Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force