2nd Wave Feminism By: Eternity Williams
Vocabulary Feminism: The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests. A political, cultural or economic movement aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Gender: The behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex. Sex: Either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as female or male especially on the basis of their reproductive organs and structures. The sum of the structural, functional, and behavioral characteristics of organisms that are involved in reproduction marked by the union of gametes and that distinguish males and females.
Key Terms Women’s Liberation Gender Equality Gender Difference
What The 2nd Wave Was All About… The 2nd wave of feminism focused on the workplace, sexuality, family and reproductive rights. Equal rights and equal pay was a huge factor in this movement. The 2nd wave of feminism talked about the choice for abortion. Another goal for the 2nd wave was the right to have sex recreationally and have the choice to use birth control.
What Lead to The 2nd Wave The second wave of feminism started after World War 2 (What). During the war men were over seas and many of the businesses were left without workers, which left the home without an income. Women were moved into the workplace to fill in men's spots. The women were then kicked out of the workplace when the war was over and that triggered the second wave of the feminist movement.
Movements Many movements came out of the second wave of feminism like the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the American Civil Rights Movement. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was established in 1966 by 28 women. The purpose of NOW was to help fight against gender bias in the workplace, and also fought for child care facilities (The).
Important Books The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir: This book was published in 1949, and it discussed how society viewed woman and the role they played in society. In the book Beauvoir said “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman (What).” This quote referred to the thoughts that women were formed into their roles, that gender roles could be taught. The book also talks about how in World War 2 women modified their “normal” gender roles so they can work; the book goes on to say that if a women can change her gender role then does the role really make the woman? The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan: This book was published February 17, 1963, it is considered “the founding moment of second-wave feminism. “ This book talked about Friedan's view of the women’s role as the wife, always being in the household. Friedan surveyed woman and many of them felt the same way as her, she call this “the problem that has no name.” In the book she also talks about how the world portrayed the role of a women in the household as an enjoyable , all around fulling thing when it was in fact the opposite (Sharing).
Accomplishments of The 2nd Wave Outlawing Gender Discrimination: Stopping corporations from discriminating against a person because of race, gender, religion, sex, and national origin. Banning Employment Discrimination: Banning corporations from discriminating against giving women jobs. Right to Abortion and Birth Control “Irreconcilable Differences” for Divorce: The right to divorce because you and your significant other are too different.
How Does Feminism Still Affects Us Today? Jobs: Women are still paid less than men. Politics: Women are still discriminated against when it comes to politics. It is much harder for a women to climb her up through the jungle of politics than it is for a man. Control over our own bodies: President Donald Trump -_- is talking about taking women's right for abortion away.
The Sexualization of Women
The Sexualization of Women Woman are sexually objectified everyday; you can see it in almost anything you watch, from music videos to commercials to even real life events. We are sexualized so much that society is now teaching boys that rape is okay, that the excuse “she was asking for it” is okay.
Equal Pay For Women Even to this day women are still oppressed and paid less than men; for more than 40 years women have been fighting this unfair paying system. “American women who work full time, year round are paid only 80 cents for every dollar paid to men — and for women of color, the wage gap is even larger (Equal).“ There is a $10,000 yearly gap of income between men and women. Did you know that more than 2/3 of women are minimal wage workers; raising minimal wage would also correct this wage gap. Women are pushing for Congress to pass the “Paycheck Fairness Act, a common-sense bill that would make it easier for women to combat wage discrimination, keep businesses from punishing their employees for discussing their pay, and make sure victims of wage discrimination are compensated (Equal).”
My Opinion In my opinion I think the overall feminist movement was a great movement and it opened the door for many women. This movement gave women a lot of leeway. This movement also made it so that in the future women can have better opportunities and laid the ground work for future women's rights movements. I would consider myself a feminist because I defy all the “gender role” expectations of a women and do as I please. I feel that in some way we should all be feministic because we should all want ourselves or our mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, etc to have the same rights and privileges as men.
Works Cited "Dictionary: Search the Merriam-Webster dictionary first. Here's why..." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017. <https://www.merriam-webster.com/>. Dorey-Stein, Caroline, and About Caroline Dorey-SteinI Play on a Team Bound by the Goal to Empower Women in Professional Achievement. We Attack Gender Bias and Challenge Antiquated Work Structures to Create an Equal Playing Field for Women and Men. My Drive for Equality Stems from My Parents, Brother and Sister Who Have All Fought Barriers to Score Successful Lives. "A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism." Progressive Women's Leadership. N.p., 24 Sept. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2017. <https://www.progressivewomensleadership.com/a-brief-history-the-three-waves-of-feminism/>. "Equal Pay & the Wage Gap Archives." NWLC. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017. <https://nwlc.org/issue/equal-pay-and-the-wage- gap/?gclid=CMHPrdvsv9MCFddKDQodt5sJAw>. History and theory of feminism. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017. <http://www.gender.cawater-info.net/knowledge_base/rubricator/feminism_e.htm>. "History of feminism." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Apr. 2017. Web. 21 Apr. 2017. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_feminism>. "What was the Second Wave Feminist Movement?" What was the Second Wave Feminist Movement? - DailyHistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017. <http://dailyhistory.org/What_was_the_Second_Wave_Feminist_Movement%3F>. "Sharing StoriesInspiring Change." Jewish Women's Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017. <https://jwa.org/thisweek/feb/17/1963/betty-friedan>. "The 1960s-70s American Feminist Movement: Breaking Down Barriers for Women." Tavaana. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017. <https://tavaana.org/en/content/1960s-70s-american-feminist-movement-breaking-down-barriers-women>. "The Fight for Reproductive Rights." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2017. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/57b.asp>.