Ch. 23.1: An Era of Activism

Feminism

Feminism

Theory favoring the political,

economic, and social equality

of men and women

Examples of modern feminist

causes???

The Feminist

Movement

The feminist movements of

the late 1800s & early 1900s

did NOT achieve full equality

that women sought

Stereotype of a meek

housewife persisted

Reality: In 1960, 38% of

women had jobs away from

home

Background to

the movement

In 1950, 25% of bachelor’s

degrees were earned by

women

Up to 43% by 1970

That # is now 57%

However, in the 1950s &

1960s many employers

refused to hire women, even

if they were well-educated

Background to the Movement

Employers expected women to leave

the job after a few years to start a

family & didn’t want to invest money in

hiring them

Limited daycare options

Even if hired, women earned less while

doing the same job

Women still struggle to becomes CEOs

& other upper level positions

“Glass Ceiling”

Wage gap between men &

women

1963—Women $0.59 to

every dollar a man earned

1973—$0.57 to every

dollar

Today—Around $0.80

Income Disparity By Industry

Median Weekly Earnings of Full-Time Wage & Salary Workers

Civil Rights & Women

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s & 1960s did not just

help African Americans

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 added gender

discrimination to the list of illegal acts

Gave women a legal framework to challenge discrimination

The movement also provided inspiration & a “how-to” model for

action

The Feminine Mystique

Book written by Betty Friedan in 1963

Created a sensation in the suburbs of America

Often credited w/ sparking the feminist movement

Over 3 million copies sold by 2000

Addressed to women who supposedly had everything (nice house, healthy kids, middle to upper-class lifestyle)

Despite all of this, these women were NOT happy!

Friedan called it “the problem that had no name”

The dissatisfaction of not being able to realize one’s full potential

Friedan gave these women the courage to ask “Is this all?”

NOW

National Organization for Women (NOW)—Est. in 1966 to promote the

full participation of women in American society

Attacked false images of women in the media

Called for balance in marriage responsibilities

Sharing of cooking, cleaning, parenting, etc.

Pushed for fair pay & equal job opportunities

Had 15K members by 1970

500K today, w/ 500+ local chapters & affiliates in all 50 states

Many viewed NOW as too extreme

Others felt it didn’t go far enough

Miss America, 1968

Protest organized by New York Radical Women (NYRW)

400 protesters assembled on the boardwalk of Atlantic City

Published a manifesto titled “No More Miss America!”

Little boys dreamed of being president, but what about little girls?

Signs read “Welcome to the Cattle Auction”

Threw items in “Freedom Trash Can”

Wigs, fake eyelashes, dish detergent, high heels, bras, etc.

Led to reporters coining the phrase “bra burners”

Criticized the “ludicrous beauty standards we ourselves are conditioned to

take seriously”

Also, attacked pageant’s beauty standards as racist

As of that year there had never been an African American finalist

Shifting Attitudes

Movement came of age in early 70s

Our Bodies, Ourselves, published in 1970

Sold 3 million copies by 1990

Encouraged women to understood their own health issues

Gloria Steinem & others founded Ms. magazine in 1972

Tackled feminist issues

Much different than Good Housekeeping or Ladies’ Home Journal

Shifting Attitudes

In 1972, Congress passed a prohibition against sex

discrimination as part of the Higher Education Act

Title IX—allowed for an explosion in women’s athletics

More women entered law school & medical school

Women were finally admitted to military academies to be trained

as officers

National Women’s Political Caucus was est. in 1971

Shirley Chisholm ran, one of NWP’s founders, ran for president in

‘72

Served in House from 1969-1983

Shifting Attitudes

Radical feminists emphasized the need to end male domination

Some even went as far as rejecting men, marriage, & childbearing

Supreme Court struck down law that prohibited the sale of birth control in Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965

Based on the “right to marital privacy”

Use of contraception became more socially acceptable

Supreme Court legalized abortion in controversial Roe v. Wade decision in 1973

Decision based on constitutional right of privacy

Issue of abortion is still extremely polarizing today

Shifting Attitudes

In 1972 Congress approved passage of the Equal Rights

Amendment (ERA)

But 38 states were needed, only 35 ratified the amendment

By 1982, the deadline, ratification had failed

It reads:

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by

the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

“Battle of the Sexes”

September 20, 1973 at the Astrodome in Houston, TX

Attendance=30K+

Nationally televised

90 million watched worldwide

Bobby Riggs (55 y.o.) vs. Billie Jean King (26 y.o.)

King won in 3 straight sets

“Battle of the Sexes”

Odds & Ends

Perfect family shows of 50s & 60s were replaced by new shows

Mary Tyler Moore show, about a never-married, independent career woman

Barbara Walters of ABC became the highest paid TV anchor & 1st woman to co-host the evening news in 1976

Opposition

Phyllis Schlafly led movement to stop

ratification of the ERA

“It won’t do anything to help women, and

it will take away from women the rights

they already have, such as the right of a

wife to be supported by her husband, the

right of a woman to be exempted from

military combat and the the right...to go

to a single-sex college.”

Many men were also hostile towards

the women’s liberation movement

Some women desired to remain at

home and raise children

Women Today