Creating a “Feminist Nation”

Abstract

Drawing on archival records, oral histories, and the 1970s underground press, this article retraces the history of International Videoletters, a feminist video exchange network that operated from 1975 to 1977. Though primarily based in the United States, the network expressed global aspirations to transform the televisual landscape, a goal it shared with other activist video collectives of the era. However, in contrast to many male-led guerrilla television groups, International Videoletters prioritized its independence from broadcast television, structuring its network instead as an autonomous, women-run media system. I argue that by emphasizing the relationship between video producers and viewers through nonhierarchical organizational structures, independent distribution systems, and dynamic feedback sessions, International Videoletters fostered a feminist counterpublic committed to transforming media representation of women. Through analysis of the network’s operations and output, this article asserts the centrality of grassroots feminist media initiatives like International Videoletters to the history of guerrilla television, where they have largely been overlooked.