1. Feminist Movements

2. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, 1963
Inspired white, middle class, suburban housewives
Friedan’s solution to “The Problem with No Name” = Education & Employment
Used surveys of women from high school – 40s

3. Causes of 1960s Feminist Movement
Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, 1963
Civil Rights Era & Anti-Vietnam War Protests
Large population of educated women in U.S.
The Sexual Revolution

4. The Sexual Revolution
1960s = New emphasis on casual dating, self- fulfillment, & open talk about sex in society
Rise in pre-marital sex, couples living together out of wedlock
1960 = F.D.A. approved the first Birth Control Pill
Religious groups issued statements against the Pill

5. (NOW) National Organization for Women
Formed by 28 women in 1966
Members were professional, politicized women & unhappy former housewives
1967 = 1,000 members vs = 15,000 members
Betty Friedan was first president
The major organization for women in the 1960s feminist movement

6. Consciousness Raising
Recruitment tactic of younger feminists
Transformed a woman’s perception of herself and society
Sought to make “private” issues public: rape, domestic abuse, child abuse, anti- pornography

7. Roe v. Wade (1973)
Supreme Court upheld a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion
1972 = Over 2,500 illegal abortions performed per day
Maternal deaths from abortions declined

8. Pervasiveness of Sexism
Sexism exists at all levels of society: in family, law, economy, religion, media
Ending sexism means changing attitudes as well as laws
Feminist groups debated HOW to end oppression of women

9. What About Other Feminists?
Moderate = Betty Friedan, fans of The Feminine Mystique, NOW members
Working-class, lesbian, and women of color left out of 1960s feminist movement

10. Believed racism & sexism needed to be eradicated together
1970s = Black Feminist movement began with women who were left out of both the Civil Rights Movement and Black Panthers
Believed racism & sexism needed to be eradicated together
Combahee River Collective

11. (ERA) Equal Rights Amendment
1st Proposed in 1923 by suffragist Alice Paul & the National Women’s Party
Constitutional Amendment would have guaranteed equal rights for women and men

12. Passed by Congress in 1972
Expired in 1982 with only 35 out of 38 states required to approve
Opponents feared it would eliminate women’s protection laws (that were based upon women’s inequality)

13. Title 9 A step to bring equity to women’s sports on July 1, 1972
“Intense forms of physical and psychic conflict…tend to destroy girls’ physical and psychic charm and adaptability for motherhood”
--“Olympics for
Girls?” 1929
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
Althea Gibson
Billie Jean King