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Once upon a time, there was a brand new academic discipline called women’s studies. I was the founding director of a women’s studies program at North Carolina State University in 1989. Soon thereafter, feminist scholars recognized that while the study of women was important, it was also necessary to examine the power dynamics between women and men. Consequently, most women’s studies departments evolved into women and gender studies departments. We couldn’t lose the word woman because women were still invisible in so many areas of study. Still, I had hoped that within a few decades, that would be remedied, and we could focus on the study of gender. My own career has focused on the sociology of gender, not just women.
But here we are, in 2025, and once again, we are reminded that women still do not matter, that women’s history still does not matter. Without any Congressional approval or city permits, the current administration has demolished the East Wing of the White House. While a formal planning process was not required, every other architectural project to renovate the White House has consulted with the National Park Service and other agencies. The East Wing was demolished without public input or review. The wing was originally constructed in 1902 and then renovated in 1942. It was the site of much of women’s history in the White House, the traditional offices of the First Lady. Betty Ford was known to say, “If the West Wing is the ‘mind’ of the nation, then the East Wing is the ‘heart.” The East Wing is the traditional power center for first ladies.
For over one hundred years, first ladies and their teams worked from the East Wing. Each first lady had her own priorities, ranging from combating drug abuse to promoting literacy to encouraging children’s fitness. The offices of the first ladies’ staff have always been located in the East Wing, but it was Rosalyn Carter who established the tradition of having her own office there as well. Each first lady and her advisors met there to plan the White House state dinners and decorations for holiday themes. Anita McBride, chief of staff for Laura Bush, has reminisced that it was a place of purpose and service. Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, policy director for Michelle Obama, said the demolition was a symbolic blow to the East Wing’s legacy as a place where women made history. It was the place where modern first ladies evolved from hostesses to policy advocates.
That is, until Hilary Clinton became First Lady. She wanted her staff to be part of the White House staff, and her own office to be located in the West Wing, as were the offices of the other policy advisors. As a feminist, First Lady Clinton broke new ground in how the White House treated women. The change was brief, however, as Laura Bush moved herself and her staff back into the East Wing, where First Ladies and their staff have been ever since. Of course, not all First Ladies are feminists, and Melania Trump did not use her East Wing office at all during her husband’s first term in office. But then Jill Biden, following Hilary Clinton, broke feminist ground as First Lady, continuing her job as a community college teacher. However, she also utilized the East Wing to serve as an advocate for military families and women’s health.
There was so much women’s history in the East Wing, and none of it remains physically intact. No one really knows what will happen to the important artifacts from the East Wing. The White House Historical Association informed PBS that a comprehensive digital scanning project has been created to preserve a photographic record and that some artifacts have been preserved.
Once again, we are in a historical moment when women’s rights are at risk, and our history is being denigrated. All government programs that helped women overcome obstacles to entering male-dominated professions have been discontinued. As a faculty researcher, I’ve been involved with grants on several university campuses: these were designed to help women scientists succeed in the academy. But now, when I try to find out if any university still has federal funds to help women overcome sexism in science, I see a sight that brings tears to my eyes. The grant website is closed, with a small box that says “Status: Archived.” Once again, women’s needs are ignored, our hopes for equality archived.
Gender matters. And so do women.
