# Joke Smit
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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Short description|Dutch feminist and politician (1933–1981)}}
thumb|Smit in 1974
thumb|Smit in 1978
[[File:Cune van Groeningen - Monument voor Joke Smit - 1997.JPG|thumb|''Monument in honour of Joke Smit'' in [Leiden](/source/Leiden) (by Cune van Groeningen)]]
'''Johanna Elisabeth''' "'''Joke'''" '''Smit''' (27 August 1933 – 19 September 1981) was a well-known Dutch feminist and politician in the 1970s.
== Personal life ==
Smit grew up in a reformed family of six children in [Vianen](/source/Vianen). Her father was a teacher. She attended the Christelijk Gymnasium Utrecht and later studied French language and literature at the [University of Amsterdam](/source/University_of_Amsterdam). She taught French at a number of schools between 1955 and 1966. In 1962, she worked a year in Paris as a freelance journalist, writing articles for the Dutch newspapers ''[NRC](/source/NRC_Handelsblad)'' and ''[Het Parool](/source/Het_Parool)''. She was then appointed [editor](/source/editor) and secretary of the editorial staff of the literary magazine [Tirade](/source/Tirade). She started to work as an associate professor at the Institute for Translation of the University of Amsterdam in 1966. A year later, she became a member of the [Partij van de Arbeid](/source/Partij_van_de_Arbeid) (Labor Party). She represented this party in the municipal government of [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam) from September 1970 until September 1971. Smit also became editor of the party's scientific journal ''Socialisme & Democratie'' (''Socialism & Democracy'') in 1971. As a politician, she became affiliated with many committees, such as the Programmaraad TV (TV Program Council) for the [NOS](/source/Nederlandse_Omroep_Stichting), the Committee Open School and the Emancipation Committee.
Smit married Constant Kool in 1956 and gave birth to two children. Her relationship with Kool ended in 1974. She had a relationship with Jeroen de Wildt from 1978 onwards. Smit died of [breast cancer](/source/breast_cancer) in September 1981 at the age of 48.
== Feminist activities ==
Smit gained a reputation as a feminist and an activist in 1967 when she published ''Het onbehagen bij de vrouw''[{{Cite web | url=http://www.emancipatie.nl/_documenten/js/werk/hetonbehagenbijdevrouw/hetonbehagenbijdevrouw.pdf | title=Het Onbehagen bij de Vrouw | language=nl | trans-title=The discomfort in the woman | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412082405/http://www.emancipatie.nl/_documenten/js/werk/hetonbehagenbijdevrouw/hetonbehagenbijdevrouw.pdf | archive-date=12 April 2018 }}] (''The Discontent of Women'') in ''[De Gids](/source/De_Gids)'' in 1967. The publication of this essay is often regarded as the start of the [second wave of feminism](/source/second_wave_of_feminism) in the Netherlands.[{{Cite web | url=https://research-portal.uu.nl/ws/files/250867647/978-3-031-69138-6_7.pdf | title=Women in Print: Transnational Circulation of Idea(l)s from a Dutch Perspective | website=research-portal.uu.nl | author1=Marijke Huisman | author2=Inge Frank van Vught}}][{{cite web|url=https://isgeschiedenis.nl/nieuws/joke-smit-feministe-en-journaliste|title=Joke Smit: feministe en journaliste|date=6 October 2012|publisher=}}] In this essay, Smit describes the frustration of married women, saying they are fed up being solely mothers and housewives.
Together with [Hedy d'Ancona](/source/Hedy_d'Ancona), Smit founded the feminist organization [Man Vrouw Maatschappij](/source/Man_Vrouw_Maatschappij) (MVM) in 1968. Throughout the 1970s, Smit published articles on a range of topics: women's issues in politics, women's rights, emancipation for lesbian women, feminism and socialism, and education for girls and women.
Smit's was also known to the public for her progressive ideas about a new division in Dutch society between paid and unpaid labor. For instance, she argued that both men and women should work thirty hours a week to earn a living, which would consequently enable a division of a number of unpaid family- and household tasks between spouses.
The feminist magazine ''[Opzij](/source/Opzij)'' awarded Smit the Annie-Romein-Verschoor-prize in 1979.
== Legacy ==
Since Smit's death in 1981, various commemorations were made in her honour, such as a bi-annual Joke Smit-prize, a Joke Smit College, a Joke Smit Foundation, the Joke Smit-countries in [Enschede](/source/Enschede), a Joke Smit Institute and the Joke Smit square in [Utrecht](/source/Utrecht). Various schools and streets in numerous Dutch municipalities were also named after her. A monument for Joke Smit was erected at the Alexandrine Tinneplein, near station De Vink in [Leiden](/source/Leiden).
Feminist magazine ''[Opzij](/source/Opzij)'' republished Smit's essay ''Het onbehagen bij de vrouw'' in their 2007 special edition.
== Publications ==
*{{in lang|nl}} 1967 - Het onbehagen bij de vrouw, ''De Gids'', November 1967
*{{in lang|nl}} 1969 - ''Rok en rol. Vrouw (en man) in een veranderende samenleving'', samen met H. Misset en E. Engelsman, De Arbeiderspers – Amsterdam
*{{in lang|nl}} 1972 - ''Hé zus, ze houen ons eronder. Een boek voor vrouwen en oudere meisjes'', Bruna - Utrecht/Antwerpen
*{{in lang|nl}} 1975 - ''De moeder van Marie kan méér. Gebundelde artikelen 1971-1975'', Bruna - Utrecht/Antwerpen
*{{in lang|nl}} 1984 - ''Er is een land waar vrouwen willen wonen'', verzamelbundel
== Literature ==
{{in lang|nl}} Marja Vuijsje: ''Joke Smit. Biografie van een feministe''. Atlas, Amsterdam, 2008. {{ISBN|978-90-450-1430-2}} (3rd. pr. 2010, Olympus: {{ISBN|9789046708132}})
==References==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.emancipatie.nl/_documenten/js/werk/hetonbehagenbijdevrouw/hetonbehagenbijdevrouw.pdf ''Het onbehagen bij de vrouw'' (1967)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412082405/http://www.emancipatie.nl/_documenten/js/werk/hetonbehagenbijdevrouw/hetonbehagenbijdevrouw.pdf |date=12 April 2018 }}
* [http://www.inghist.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/BWN/lemmata/bwn5/smitj Smit, Johanna Elisabeth (1933-1981)], [Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland](/source/Biografisch_Woordenboek_van_Nederland)
* [http://www.jokesmit.nl Info op jokesmit.nl] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020122201745/http://www.jokesmit.nl/ |date=22 January 2002 }}
* [http://www.emancipatie.nl/_documenten/js/werk/Eriseenland/smit.cv.pdf Integrale tekst van de verzamelbundel ''Er is een land waar vrouwen willen wonen'' (1984)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929125244/http://www.emancipatie.nl/_documenten/js/werk/Eriseenland/smit.cv.pdf |date=29 September 2020 }}
* [http://home.wxs.nl/~evenwild/wsts210/simjes/bio/biojdw.htm Een biografische schets van Joke Smit] Jeroen de Wildt
* [http://www.historici.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/DVN/lemmata/data/Kool-Smit Portret in Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon Nederland ]
* [http://www.parlement.com/9291000/biof/09204 Drs. J.E. (Joke) Smit (Kool-Smit)] at www.parlement.com
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smit, Joke}}
Category:1933 births
Category:1981 deaths
Category:Dutch feminists
Category:Dutch women non-fiction writers
Category:Municipal councillors of Amsterdam
Category:Labour Party (Netherlands) politicians
Category:Politicians from Utrecht (city)
Category:Dutch socialist feminists
Category:Utrecht University alumni
Category:Deaths from breast cancer in the Netherlands
Category:Burials at Zorgvlied Cemetery
Category:20th-century Dutch non-fiction writers
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joke Smit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke_Smit) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke_Smit?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.