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