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Rothman, Lorraine (audio interview #1 of 2)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of two recorded interviews with Lorraine Rothman conducted in conjunction with a women's oral history course at CSULB. 3/24/1990
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- 2020-03-16
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- *** File: fhlrothman1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-4:06)... Rothman's grandparents and parents came to the US in 1921 from the Ukraine, arriving at Ellis Island. Her mother and father met in San Francisco and married. Her father worked during the early Depression as a delivery man and repaired slot machines, later apprenticing with an upholster. He eventually got his own shop and her mother helped out in the shop, riding a streetcar there. However, her job was in the home taking care of the children and when she helped out in the shop it was not considered by her father as a "job." (4:06-7:17)... Rothman was born in San Francisco in 1932 at the height of the Depression. She was the middle child; her older sister was like a mother to her but she did not get along with her other siblings. She grew up in a very traditional Jewish family and her brother was indulged as he was the one that was going to carry on the family name. Rothman's father was a strong patriarch; he and her mother spoke Russian and Yiddish. Her father was a "bully" and made life difficult for her and her mother and siblings. Rothman and her sister went to school knowing no English. She attended Hebrew school but left by age twelve. (7:17-11:38)... The community where Rothman grew up was Jewish, and all of the children that she grew up with were children Russian families. Her closest friend when she was growing up was her male cousin of the same age. However, there was such a difference in the way that he was treated that it became very painful for her. Rothman went to a public school every day after Hebrew school and took a streetcar to get to the public school. She did not get home until 6:00 p.m. She learned Hebrew and was proficient in reading and writing. When she was in the twelfth grade, things changed as the boys were pulled out of the class and prepared for Bar Mitzvah. She stopped attending after this and refused to go, which upset her family. The boys are adopted into the community during Bar Mitzvah and are given all the power. She realized that the ceremony for girls was a joke and refused to go, except when she was forced to attend her brother's Bar Mitzvah. (11:38-14:40)... There was a strict division of labor in Rothman's home when she was growing up. Her father worked six or seven days a week and her mother worked at home. Her mother kept a tight budget and she did all of the cooking. Rothman and her sister were expected to clean the dishes after every meal. Her father was served first and her brother second. Neither of them did any housework. Rothman did not have many clothes and had to stuff newspapers in her shoes to make them fit. (14:40-19:08)... When Rothman was about twelve years old, her father decided the family should move to L.A. where he opened up an upholstery shop. Rothman worked in the shop and as long as she did not talk he let her work there. She did not want to be around her mother and siblings so she gravitated toward her father. She learned to set springs in furniture and she also delivered furniture with her father on Sundays. She did very physical tasks and developed a strong upper body. She did "hands on" work and still uses what she learned today. (19:08-21:58)... Growing up in San Francisco, Rothman played with her male cousin who picked all of the games they would play. They rode bikes, threw baseballs, played in the park, and played outdoors. She did not play with dolls; she had one that her brother destroyed but she really did not care about it. She did not play board games and she really did not play with other children. (21:58-24:25)... Rothman's elementary school was six blocks from her home and she walked each way. She wore pants to school because she was asthmatic. She enjoyed her classes and had her cousin in her third grade class until he was pulled out because they were related. Rothman had trouble with English, but after she took Latin in junior high school, her English improved dramatically. (24:25-25:32)... Rothman attended junior high school in Los Angeles after the family moved there. She had to start over making friends and adjusting to life there. The school was middle-upper class though her family was still struggling financially. She had one skirt and two blouses. She felt like a "fish out of water." (25:32-30:46)... When Rothman sexually matured her father pushed her away and did not want her to help in the store anymore. Sexuality was not discussed in the house and her mother gave her older sister a booklet on menstruation to give to Rothman. She did not get along with her sister so she did not want to listen to anything she had to say. She got her period when she was around twelve. When it began, she thought she had hurt herself. She was scared and when her mother found out, she slapped her; this was a Jewish tradition. She took her into the bathroom and showed her how to use a pad. It was shameful to have her period and no one was supposed to know that she was having her period. She learned about sexuality by reading home medical books. End of tape *** File: fhlrothman2.mp3 (0:00-4:16)... Rothman's mother told her that she would catch a cold if she showered during menstruation. Rothman was very uncomfortable during this time and recalls that her aunt lectured her about becoming a woman and told her that she could not play with her cousin or wear pants. She did not want to dress like a woman. She recalls that her mother and sister took her to a store to get a bra. She did not want to wear one and the whole experience was very upsetting. Rothman did things behind her parents backs and she did not conform to what her family wanted. She was not accepted. (4:16-6:45)... Rothman was very frightened when WWII started and she remembers it as a very disturbing time. When the family moved to Los Angeles and the war was declared over, she recalls people coming out into the streets and the tension was released. (6:45-11:01)... When Rothman was in junior high school, she had one girl friend. She was not into the social activities of women; she was used to hanging out with her male cousin and felt like a "fish out of water." She recalls one class in particular because of the teacher. She sat in the back of class and did not talk. One day he pulled her out of class and rammed her up against the wall and was feeling her all over her body. He threatened her and she realized later that he sexually abused her. She did not tell anyone and it was her opinion that she was wrong. Her parents made it clear that she was never to be in trouble in school. (11:01-16:21)... When she was fourteen, until she was sixteen, Rothman had a boyfriend who was twice her age. She thinks he needed a child and she needed a father figure. They went to movies and taught her to drive. They hugged and kissed but didn't engage in any sexual activity. Her family knew about him and made some attempts to stop the relationship but she was doing as she pleased anyway. Her grades dropped dramatically. After the second year of their relationship, he left and she decided to focus on school. She did not want to be around men after that; she did not like how men talked about women. After the breakup of her relationship, she lost a lot of weight. She devoted herself to school and saved money to buy clothes and school lunch. (16:21-20:10)... In high school, Rothman enjoyed Biology . She also took a lot of clothing classes in order to make her own clothes. She did not go to prom and thought it was stupid; but she did decide to go to her grad night celebration. She went with a young man for six months during that time who she dated on weekends. When she went to L.A. City College, her father was very upset that she was going to college. He stopped talking to her for three months. She lived at home but did not eat there, she worked full-time and went to school full-time. (20:10-25:00)... During high school, Rothman knew she would get married because everyone got married and had a family. After WWII the emphasis was pro-natal; we needed to re-populate the country. She knew she would go to college after high school and was told by her counselor that she had to go into preschool training. She decided to get her teaching credential at CSULA. She dated every single weekend in college and wanted to meet people and meet men. If the men were Jewish, they picked her up at home; if they were not, she met them outside. She bought her own car for $200 and drove it to her job at a dress shop and school. (25:00-30:54)... On dates, Rothman went to movies and dances. She did ballroom dancing and Frank Sinatra. She went to a lot of sneak previews and saw movie stars all the time; she lived in the Hollywood community. In college she dated a fraternity guy and they engaged in a lot of different activities. He opened up a new cultural world for her because he played music and they went to concerts and rehearsals. They dated for two years, but did not have sex. She did not have sex until after college. End of tape
- SUBJECT BIO - Lorraine Rothman was a founding member of the feminist Self-Help Clinic movement and a major mover of many successful behind-the-scenes projects. With Carol Downer, she worked on the concept of menstrual extraction as a viable women's home health care technique; and, in 1971, she invented the Del-Em menstrual extraction kit, which was patented n 1974. Born in San Francisco, Lorraine Fleishman was the middle child in a large extended Russian-Ukrainian Jewish family. She frequently helped her father and mother in their furniture store, where she learned how to rebuild distressed furniture. In 1944, the family moved to Los Angeles, where Rothman attended junior and senior high schools and then college. While working full time, she attended Los Angeles City College (LACC) and California State University in Los Angeles (CSULA), where she received a BA and teaching credential in 1954. Many years later, she earned an MA in organizational development and training. After marrying in 1954, she moved to Baltimore with her husband, Al Rothman, who was beginning on his doctorate degree and she began teaching in the Baltimore Public School System. After several moves, Rothman returned to California with her husband and three children in 1964 and resumed public school teaching. Her fourth child was born three years later. In 1968, Rothman first joined a local women's liberation group that met at CSU Fullerton, and then became a founding member of the Orange County chapter of NOW. She became involved in women's reproductive rights activities and actions from the inception of the chapter. Rothman's collaborative relationship with Carol Downer and the Self-Help Clinic movement began when she attended an April 7, 1971 meeting organized by Downer to discuss women's reproductive rights and abortion. At the second meeting, one week later, Rothman shared her idea of a safe home health care tool, demonstrating the prototype of the Del-Em menstrual extraction kit. Shortly afterwards, Downer and Rothman founded the Feminist Women's Health Center (FWHC) in Los Angeles; Rothman went on to open a second FWHC in Orange County, closer to her home and family. Over the next two decades, Rothman traveled widely, taking the Self-Help Clinic concept to women's groups both in and outside the US, including New Zealand (1974). In 1989, she was invited to speak in Seville, Spain at a government-sponsored conference on reproductive health. During these years, even as she took on more policy and administrative work, Rothman wrote health education and political tracts for the FWHCs and was an active member of the Centers' writing team that produced health education books for the general public. In 1999, Rothman produced her own publications that questioned the safety of hormone drugs for menopausal women. She continues to research health and medical literature that pertain to women's health, and today is specifically interested in older women's health concerns. TOPICS - family background; life in San Francisco; home life in Jewish community; Jewish traditional home; early education; social activities; and sexual maturity; sexual maturity; junior and senior high school; social activities; college; attitude of father toward college; dating in college;
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