Phyllis Schlafly
“Not by Law Alone: From a Debate with Phyllis Schlafly” is a demarcation of the differences between the author and Schlafly on the subject of women’s rights. The author speaks from the perspective of a feminist in 1982 while Schlafly is an icon of the anti-feminist wing of the women’s rights movements. At one time—and by 1982 that time was already coming to pass—Schlafly as famous an anti-feminist as Gloria Steinem was as an icon of feminism. On the verge of being almost completely relegated to a footnote in American history, her stature was ironically reinvigorated in a 2020 TV miniseries about her successful struggle to stop the Equal Rights Amendment from passing in which she—though personally presented as a figure of intricate complexity in a stunning performance by Cate Blanchett—was cast in a villainous role by the clearly liberal creative minds behind the series.
Andrea Dworkin
The book itself is actually dedicated to Andrea Dworkin by the author. Later on, in the Notes section, she also credits Dworkin with being a close collaborator in the development and refinement of the ideas discussed in the chapter titled “Not a Moral Issue.” That chapter is specifically about the issue for which Dworkin is probably best known: a feminist analysis and critique of pornography.
Julia Martinez
Martinez was a member of the Santa Clara Pueblo tribe of Native Americans. On November 29, 1977 the case had reached and was argued before the Supreme Court of the United States which delivered its final decision on May 15, 1978. Martinez was a full-blooded member of the tribe who married a member of the Navajo Nation, a union which produced three children. While the offspring of male members who married outside the tribe were eligible for full membership within the Santa Clara Pueblo, the same did not hold true for the children of female members who married outside the tribe. The author considers the Martinez case in the unexpected light of the Supreme Court upholding the law explicitly discriminatory tribal law by a shocking margin of 7-to-1 (with one justice not involved in the decision.)
Linda Lovelace (Linda Marchiano)
Since much of the book is dedicated to the Dworkin-assisted issues related to pornography, the most infamous figure in the pre-internet pornography business should only be expected to play a major role. That figure is Linda Marchiano who became the first “porn star” to become a household name with the release of the film Deep Throat. Later, Marchiano would write a book which revealed that far from being a willing participant eager for the fame the film brought, she had effectively been held a sex slave and forced to perform under threat of death.
