Oral History with Joan Bartl

When Joan Bartl moved to Princeton in 1969, she was denied service at the Yankee Doodle Tap Room because she was a woman. Shortly after, she joined the central New Jersey Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW). The group’s first action was to stage a successful sit-in at the Tap Room. Alongside fellow NOW colleagues, Joan went on to analyze sex-based stereotyping in early childhood readers. In this interview she speaks about the work of Women on Words and Images, an offshoot of the central New Jersey NOW. This team of women, which worked with the activists setting up the University NOW Day Nursery, went on to influence both publishers and public opinion—and to inspire Joan throughout her career.