THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Casey Miller

February 26, 1919 – January 5, 1997

“All of society has benefited from the more than two decades of work of Casey Miller and Kate Swift. Speaking and writing have changed, profoundly altering how we think of women, of ourselves, and of all people. The world is richer due to Casey Miller.” – Donna Allen and Paula Kassell

Author, editor, photographer. Casey Miller and Kate Swift were pioneers exploring and exposing the ways standard English reflects and reinforces oppression of women. Their articles include “Desexing the Language,” published in New York Magazine, December 20, 1971, and “One Small Step for Genkind,” published in The New York Times Magazine, April 16, 1972. Member of national NOW in the early 1970s, and area chapters in Connecticut in the 1970s and 1980s. Helped edit the CT NOW newsletter, The Waterfall, in the 1980s. Member of the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C. 

Photo 1. Casey Miller and Kate Swift in 1970 on the steps of their summer cottage on Georgetown Island, Maine (Courtesy of Swift Family). Photo 2. Casey Miller and Kate Swift.