# Woman (TV series)

Woman was an American weekly half-hour television series which aired on WNED-TV. Each episode featured a discussion with one or more guest speakers on issues relevant to women and their lives. The series was produced by Sandra Elkin and hosted by Samantha Dean. The series was syndicated for nationwide airing on PBS, a first for one of WNED-TV's programs. Following syndication, Elkin became the series' host. The show premiered in September 1972 and ended in 1977, having produced around 200 episodes.
As a host, Elkin was praised for her "candid and honest approach," and the program was praised for its informational nature. In Elkin's words, "we don't play the usual talk show games on Woman...There's no baiting guests or embarrassing them. Our purpose is to provide information".

## Development and production

Elkin approached WNED-TV with the idea for the series in 1972, after hearing from local women that they wanted access to more information on women's issues, and women's health in particular. The station's program director liked Elkin's proposal, and after two weeks of negotiation the station agreed to fund production of the show's first season. Elkin had no experience working in television at the time.
The show was well-received upon its debut. Six months after the series premiered on WNED-TV, the Eastern Educational Network began airing the show as well. PBS picked up the show after its first season finished airing; by 1974, the show was broadcast on 185 member stations across the country.
All episodes of the show were filmed in Buffalo, with the exception of two episodes focusing on women in prison, which were filmed at KECT-TV in St Louis, Missouri.
In the mid-1980s, feminist Andrea Dworkin and the president of WNED-TV exchanged communications on preserving and archiving the tapes of Woman still being stored by the station.

## Episodes

All information comes from the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

### Season 1

| Ep. No | Title | Guests | Air Date |
| 001 | Frigidity | Psychoanalyst Robert Seidenberg, gynecologist Stanford Copley, and psychologist Gloria Roblyn. | September 24, 1972 |
| 002 | Menopause | Writer Mary Lou Fox, gynecologist Wayne Johnson, and psychiatrist Bohdana Salaban. | October 8, 1972 |
| 003 | Birth Control | Ruth Miller of The Buffalo Planned Parenthood Association. | October 17, 1972 |
| 004 | Alternatives to Traditional Marriage | Nena O'Neil, author of Open Marriage, and Karen DeCrow, a feminist lawyer from Syracuse, New York | November 12, 1972 |
| 005 | | | |
| 006 | | | |
| 007 | The Childless Couple | Ellen Peck. | December 7, 1972 |
| 008 | Sexual Problems in Marriage | Richard A. Spitz and Mae A. Biggs, a co-therapy team at the Masters and Johnson Clinic in St. Louis, Missouri. | |
| 009 | The Medicine Cabinet Addict | Dr. Christopher D'Amanda, Jana Henderson, and Richard Metter | |
| 010 | The Woman Alcoholic | Michael Merrick of the Buffalo Area Council on Alcoholism, and two former women alcoholics | |
| 011 | Sudden Infant Death Syndrome | Lynn Runfola, Paul Dyson, and Judy Choate, the founder and executive director of the National Foundation of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome | |
| 012 | What to Tell Children about Birth, Death, Adoption, and Divorce | Cynthia Clayton, M.D. and Audrey Worrell, M.D. | |
| 013 | Sex Education | | January 7, 1973 |
| 014 | Role Definition | Wilma Scott Heide, president of the National Organization of Women | January 17, 1973 |
| 015 | The Bright Child | Joan Hovorka and Thomas Ahern | January 25, 1973 |
| 016 | Teens and Drugs | Thomas Regent, Chief of Toxicology in the Erie County Laboratory, and James Creighton, Erie County Medical Examiner. | February 1, 1973 |
| 017 | Special Medical Problems of Children | Roberta Glick | February 8, 1973 |
| 018 | Teenagers Today with Dr. Benjamin Spock | Pediatrician and author Benjamin Spock | February 15, 1973 |
| 019 | The Sexually Active Teen | Dr. Stanford Copley and Steven Salyer, who argue in favor of teenagers having access to birth control | January 10, 1973 |
| 020 | Birth Control Part 2 | Fordham professor William Mara | March 22, 1973 |
| 021 | | | |
| 022 | Self Examination, Part 1 | | February 6, 1973 |
| 023 | Self Examination Part 2: Another View | Dr. Theodore Schulman and Dr. Virginia Rubenstein | March 8, 1973 |
| 024 | The Older Woman and Ageism | Peggy Niven and Dorothy Tennov | March 22, 1973 |
| 025 | Black Women | Dorothy Pitman Hughes and Julia Van Metre | March 29, 1973 |
| 026 | | | |
| 027 | Women and Psychology | Psychologist Dr. Jo Ann Evansgardner | April 26, 1973 |
| 028 | Women and the Law | Attorneys Cathy Douglas and Karen DeCrow | March 15, 1973 |
| 029 | | | |
| 030 | Women as a Political Force | | May 2, 1973 |

### Season 2

| Ep. No. | Title | Guests | Air Date |
| 101 | Our Bodies Ourselves | Wilma Diskin and Judy Norsigian of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective | December 18, 1973 |
| 102 | Why Women are Dissatisfied with their Gynecologist | Columnist Ellen Frankfort and author Barbara Seaman | October 25, 1973 |
| 103 | The Woman Alone | Authors Harriet La Barre, Patricia Obrien and Gail North | November 1, 1973 |
| 104 | Men's Liberation | Author and activist Warren Farrell | November 8, 1973 |
| 105 | Image of Women in Media | Broadcasters Jan Chaney and Joyce Snyder | November 15, 1973 |
| 106 | Equal Rights Amendment, Part 1 | Anne Scott and Karen DeCrow | November 29, 1973 |
| 107 | Equal Rights Amendment, Part 2 | Phyllis Schlafly and Geline B. Williams | December 6, 1973 |
| 108 | Sexism in Religion | Audrey Gellis and Patricia McQuilllan | December 13, 1973 |
| 109 | Re-Entering the Job Market | Felice N. Schwartz, president of Catalyst, and career consultant Janice LaRouche | December 20, 1973 |
| 110 | Woman's Liberation, A Dissent | Midge Decter and Lucianne Goldberg | January 3, 1974 |
| 111 | Divorce Insurance | Lawyer Diana DuBroff | January 10, 1974 |
| 112 | Menstruation & Pre-Menstrual Tension | Cynthia Clayton, M.D. and Leah Cahan Schaefer | January 17, 1974 |
| 113 | Consciousness Raising | Judy Sullivan and Claudia Dreifus | January 24, 1974 |
| 114 | Betty Friedan | Author and activist Betty Friedan | January 30, 1974 |
| 115 | Sexism in Religion, Another View | Fordham University professor Dr. William A. Marra and Rabbi Robert Alper | January 31, 1974 |
| 116 | Mastectomy | Suzanne Johnson | February 7, 1974 |
| 117 | Sex Bias in Education, Part 1 | Judy Wenning and Phyllis AlRoy | February 21, 1974 |
| 118 | Sex Bias in Education, Part 2 | Andrea Ostrum and Barbara Rothberg | February 21, 1974 |
| 119 | Childbirth. Part 1 | Dr. Mortimer Rosen and Doris Haire | March 7, 1974 |
| 120 | Childbirth, Part 2 | Dr. Sumner Yaffe and Doris Haire | February 8, 1974 |
| 121 | Women and Insurance | attorney Kathleen Peratis | March 14, 1974 |
| 122 | Female Homosexuality | Barbara Love | March 28, 1974 |
| 123 | Viveca Lindfors | Viveca Lindfors | |
| 124 | Corporate Wives | Dr. Robert Siedenburg and Robert O. Soman | April 11, 1974 |
| 125 | Credibility Gap Credit for Women | Nancy Polokoff | April 18, 1974 |
| 126 | Economics & The American Woman | Elizabeth Forsling Harris | May 2, 1974 |
| 127 | Food for Thought | Maruka Fernandez and Dr. Eleanor Williams | May 9, 1974 |

### Season 3

| Title | Guests | Air Date |
| Margaret Sloan on Black Sisterhood | feminist writer Margaret Sloan | August 4, 1974 |
| Unlikely Addicts: Middle Class Women | journalist Barbara Kerr | August 14, 1974 |
| The Marriage Savers | Professors Catherine S. Chilman and David Olson | August 21, 1974 |
| Mothers Who Leave Home | author Judy Sullivan | August 24, 1974 |
| Female Sexuality. Part 1 | | |
| Female Sexuality. Part 2 | Helen Singer Kaplan and Shere Hite | September 4, 1974 |
| Menopause: How to Cope | Mary C. Howell, M.D. and writer Paula Weideiger | September 12, 1974 |
| Picking up the Pieces: One Widow Speaks | author Lynn Caine | September 18, 1974 |
| N.O.W. Now | Karen DeCrow | September 18, 1974 |
| Women Workers | historian Barbara Wertheimer and union organizer Margie Albert | September 19, 1974 |
| Write on Women Playwrights | playwright Myrna Lamb | September 25, 1974 |
| Women and Children's Liberation in China | author and social worker Ruth Sidel | October 16, 1974 |
| Congresswoman Bella Abzug | Bella Abzug | October 22, 1974 |
| The Remarrieds | psychologist Dr. Hanna Kapit | October 30, 1974 |
| Two Profession Marriages | Gail Parker and Tom Parker, President and Vice President of Bennington College | November 6, 1974 |
| Mister Midwife | Midwife Norman Casserly | November 14, 1974 |
| A Conversation with Gloria Steinem | Gloria Steinem | December 5, 1974 |
| Non-Sexist Non-Racist Toys for Children | Jane Galvin Lewis, a co-founder of the National Black Feminist Organization | December 5, 1974 |
| Single Parent Experience | reporter Marjorie Margolies | December 20, 1974 |
| The Youngest Consumers: How TV Food Commercials Program Children and Parents | Joan Gussow and Catherine Clancy | January 9, 1975 |
| Suffragist Florence H. Luscomb | architect and women's suffrage activist Florence Luscomb | January 16, 1975 |
| Occupation Mother | counselors Ruth Armin and Phyllis Broady | February 6, 1975 |
| The Perfect Mother | author and activist Shirley L. Radl and nurse Angela Barren McBride | February 6, 1975 |
| Changing Motherhood | sociologist Jessie Bernard | February 6, 1975 |
| The IUD Controversy: More Information | Richard Dickey, M.D. and lawyer Marcia Greenberger | March 6, 1975 |
| Dr. Jean Mayer on Nutrition | Jean Mayer | April 1, 1975 |
| Feminist Therapy | sociologist Pauline Bart | April 8, 1975 |
| Mental Health Care for Women. Part 1 | psychologist Naomi Weisstein and psychiatrist Anne Seiden | April 10, 1975 |
| Mental Health Care for Women. Part 2 | psychologist Naomi Weisstein and psychiatrist Anne Seiden | April 10, 1975 |
| Cosmetic Surgery | surgeon Sida Prono | April 10, 1975 |
| Household Workers | attorney Edith Barksdale Sloan and LPN Josephine Hulett | April 15, 1975 |
| Beyond the Beauty Myths | author Deborah Chase | April 15, 1975 |
| Female Homosexuality | author Barbara Love | April 28, 1975 |
| Women in Policing | Margaret Gates | April 29, 1975 |
| Women in Prison. Part 1 | filmmaker Nancy Margolis | May 16, 1975 |
| Women in Prison. Part 2 | inmates Carolyn Dillard and Peggy Russell | May 16, 1975 |
| Rape. Part 1 | | June 24, 1975 |
| Rape. Part 2 | Susan Brownmiller | June 24, 1976 |
| Affirmative Action | Barbara Boyle Sullivan | June 26, 1976 |
| Women's Studies | academics Catherine Stimpson and Liz Kennedy | July 1, 1975 |
| Photographer Elsa Dorfman | Elsa Dorfman | July 1, 1975 |
| Child Custody | Dan Molinoff and attorney Doris Sassower | July 9, 1975 |
| A Conversation with Florynce Kennedy | Florynce Kennedy | July 17, 1975 |
| Title IX | Margaret Dunkle and Michael Blouin | July 23, 1975 |
| Women and Depression | academic and writer Myrna Weissman | July 24, 1975 |

### Season 4

| Ep. No. | Title | Guests | Air Date |
| | Female Sexuality. Part 1 | Dr. Mary Jane Sherfey and Barbara Seaman | August 8, 1975 |
| | Mothers and Daughters | author Signe Hammer | August 19, 1975 |
| | A Conversation With Elizabeth Janeway. Part 1 | author Elizabeth Janeway | August 20, 1975 |
| | A Conversation With Elizabeth Janeway. Part 2 | author Elizabeth Janeway | August 20, 1975 |
| | Feminist Art | artist Judy Chicago | August 25, 1975 |
| | Unnecessary Surgery | authors Barbara Ehrenreich and Barbara Seaman | September 9, 1975 |
| | Women in Transition: Separation and Divorce | authors Carolyn Kott Washburne and Jennifer Fleming of Philadelphia-based support group Women in Transition | September 23, 1975 |
| | Sisters In Crime | Frieda Adler | September 23, 1975 |
| | Puerto Rican Women's Federation | co-founders Sisten Elida Rodriquez and Lourdes Vasquez | September 23, 1975 |
| | The Battle For The Vote. Part 1 | director and writer Midge Mackenzie | September 24, 1975 |
| | The Battle For The Vote. Part 2 | director and writer Midge Mackenzie | September 24, 1975 |
| | Women's Health Care: A History | historian Virginia Drachman | October 21, 1975 |
| | Birth Experiences | Lolly Hirsch | November 6, 1975 |
| | One Woman's Divorce | editor and writer Susan Braudy | November 10, 1975 |
| | Nora Ephron on Everything | columnist Nora Ephron | November 17, 1975 |
| 326 | Breast Cancer Controversies | author Rose Kushner | December 4, 1975 |
| 327 | Househusbands | Reese Sarda and Ross Bachelder | December 4, 1975 |
| 328 | Sterilization and Consent | attorney Antonia Hernandez and journalist Claudia Dreifus | October 22, 1975 |
| 329 | Controversies within the Women's Movement. Part 1 | Karen DeCrow | December 19, 1975 |
| 330 | Controversies Within the Women's Movement. Part 2 | Betty Friedan | December 23, 1975 |
| 331 | | | |
| 332 | Women, Money and Power | psychologist Phyllis Chesler | December 2, 1975 |
| 333 | Money and the Single Woman | author Martha Yates | December 16, 1975 |
| 334 | | | |
| 335 | Mental Health Care: One Patient's View | author Janet Gotkin | December 18, 1975 |
| 336 | | | |
| 337 | Battered Wives | Del Martin and Lisa Leghorn | January 26, 1976 |
| 338 | The Myth of the Happy Child | Carole Klein | January 9, 1976 |
| 339 | The Proper Place for Women in the Church | Loyola University professor Mary Griffin and Patricia Hughes, a member of the Executive Committee for Women in Future Priesthood, a Call for Action | January 30, 1976 |
| 340 | | | |
| 341 | Sex Therapy. Part 1 | Dr. Helen Singer Kaplan | January 24, 1976 |
| 342 | Sex Therapy. Part 2 | Dr. Helen Singer Kaplan | January 24, 1976 |
| 343 | Food Additives: Harmful or Helpful. Part 1 | Beatrice Trum Hunter | February 6, 1976 |
| 344 | Food Additives: Harmful or Helpful. Part 2 | Beatrice Trum Hunter | February 6, 1976 |
| 345 | The Lady Vanishes: Where are the Women in Films? | Midge Kovacs and journalist Marjorie Rosen | March 26, 1976 |
| 346 | Women's Image: Down The Tube | Joyce Snyder and Kathleen Bonk, co-coordinators of the NOW Media Task Force | February 13, 1976 |
| 347 | Women's Pages | journalists Barbara Hinton and Judy Klemesrud | February 24, 1976 |
| 348 | Feminist Press | Nancy Borman, founder of Majority Report, and Janis Kelly, member of the Off-Our-Backs Collective | February 17, 1976 |
| 349 | Chris Williamson and Women's Music | Chris Williamson | March 4, 1976 |
| 350 | Political Parties: Women's Clout | Carol Burris, founder of The Womens Lobby, Inc and political scientist Susan Tolchin | April 2, 1976 |
| 351 | Unnecessary Surgery: Physicians React | Grady Duke, M.D., and James Walker, M.D. | April 1, 1976 |
| 352 | Women's Coalition for the Third Century | activist Wilma Scott Heide | March 25, 1976 |

### Season 5

| Ep. No. | Title | Guests | Air Date |
| 401 | Humor by Women | writers Anne Beatts and Deanne Stillman | August 5, 1976 |
| 402 | The Estrogen Controversy, Part 1 | Dr. Takuma Nemoto, Rose Kushner, and Dr. Rose Ruth Ellison | July 20, 1976 |
| 403 | The Estrogen Question, Part 2 | Dr. Takuma Nemoto, Rose Kushner, and Dr. Rose Ruth Ellison | July 20, 1976 |
| 404 | Contemporary Women Poets | poets Audre Lorde and Marge Piercy | August 3, 1976 |
| 405 | New Image for Nurses. Part 1 | June Rothberg, Ph.D., Jean Spero, Ph.D., and Joanne Ashley, Ph. D. | September 2, 1976 |
| 406 | New Image for Nurses. Part 2 | June Rothberg, Ph.D., Jean Spero, Ph.D., and Joanne Ashley, Ph. D. | September 2, 1976 |
| 407 | The Two Earner Family | economist Susan Edmiston and writer Carolyn Shaw Bell | September 24, 1976 |
| 408 | Legislative Report | Carol Burris | September 13, 1976 |
| 409 | How to Start Your Own Business. Part 1 | Claudia Jessup and Genie Chipps, co-authors of The Woman's Guide to Starting a Business | October 12, 1976 |
| 410 | How to Start Your Own Business. Part 2 | Ann Smith, founder of Annie's Firehouse Soup Kitchen, Inc. and Ava Stern, founder of the journal Artemis for Enterprising Women | October 14, 1976 |
| 411 | A Conversation with Jeanne Moreau. Part 1 | actress Jeanne Moreau | October 22, 1976 |
| 412 | A Conversation with Jeanne Moreau. Part 2 | Jeanne Moreau | October 22, 1976 |
| 413 | Engineered Foods: What Are They? | Beatrice Trum Hunter | September 27, 1976 |
| 414 | Commentary on Filmed Interview with Simone de Beauvoir | Elizabeth Janeway and Gloria Steinem on Dorothy Tennov's interview of Simone de Beauvoir | November 12, 1976 |
| 415 | Working Class Women | writer and advocate Nancy Seifer and social worker Mary Sansone | November 12, 1976 |
| 416 | New Roles for Women in Sports | sprinter Linda Huey and Jane Fishman | November 5, 1976 |
| 417 | | | |
| 418 | Women and Taxes | author Martha Yates | December 16, 1976 |
| 419 | Sexual Abuse of Children | Social workers Florence Rush and Linda Sanford | October 26, 1976 |
| 420 | Masculine, Feminine, and Androgyny | psychologist Joan Bean | January 6, 1977 |
| 421 | Women and Heart Attacks. Part 1 | cardiologist Nanette Wenger and physician Harriet Dustin | December 21, 1976 |
| 422 | Women and Heart Attacks. Part 2 | Nanette Wenger, M.D. and Dr. Harriet Dustin, M.D. | December 21, 1976 |
| 423 | Lesbian Mothers and Child Custody. Part 1 | attorneys Margo Hagaman and Barbara Handschu | January 18, 1977 |
| 424 | Lesbian Mothers and Child Custody. Part 2 | couple Ann Foreman and Mary Jo Risher | January 12, 1977 |
| 425 | Legislative Report Update | activist Carol Burris and lobbyist Susan Tenenbaum | February 18, 1977 |
| 426 | Pregnancy After 35 | Alice Rothchild, M.D. and author Carole Spearin McCauley | February 17, 1977 |
| 427 | Teen Pregnancy | Georgia McMurray and nurse specialist Barbara Wallace-Catalano | February 28, 1977 |
| 428 | Women's Astrology | Astrologer Tiffany Holmes | January 25, 1977 |
| 429 | Women and Age, Part 1: Age is a Woman's Issue | Tish Sommers | January 28, 1977 |
| 430 | Women and Age, Part 2: Age is Money Blues | Tish Sommers and Laurie Shields (National Coordinator of the Alliance for Displaced Homemakers) | January 28, 1977 |
| 431 | Women and Age, Part 3: Age is Becoming | Tish Sommers, Lydia Braggar, and Marjorie Collins | January 28, 1977 |
| 432 | DES and DES Daughters. Part 1 | Health researcher Kay Weiss | February 24, 1977 |
| 433 | DES and DES Daughters. Part 2 | Health researcher Kay Weiss | February 24, 1977 |
| 434 | International Tribunals on Crimes Against Women | Diana Russell and Judith Friedlander | February 28, 1977 |
| 435 | A Conversation with Robin Morgan | Writer Robin Morgan | March 15, 1977 |
| 436 | | | |
| 437 | A Conversation with Lotte Jacobi | Photographer Lotte Jacobi | March 28, 1977 |
| 438 | Northern Irish Question: Another View | | March 31, 1977 |
| 439 | The Great Pretenders: The New Foods | Writer and natural foods advocate Beatrice Trum Hunter | April 4, 1977 |
| 440 | Pornography | Loretta Darling (Citizens for a Decent Community), feminist writer Susan Brownmiller, and psychologist Anke Ehrhardt | April 14, 1977 |
| 441 | Sexual Harassment on the Job | Karen Sauvigne and Susan Meyer | March 24, 1977 |
| 442 | Concerns of American Indian Women | Connie Uri, M.D. and Marie Sanchez | April 15, 1977 |
| 443 | Women and Success | Dr. Adeline Levine | May 19, 1977 |
| 444 | Alternatives to Estrogen | Gideon Seaman, M.D. and Barbara Seaman | May 5, 1977 |