2nd Wave Feminism

Reading & Lecture Questions The women's movement First, read the 2-pg intro to the modern women’s movement and answer the questions provided.

Equal pay for equal work In 1963 a government report documented discrimination in employment, unequal pay, lack of social services such as child care, and continuing legal inequality for women. Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, which made it illegal to have different rates of pay for women and men who did equal work. It did not require that private businesses give women and men the same consideration for hiring so employers often refused to hire women for jobs they considered better suited to men.

The Feminine Mystique Betty Friedan’s book The Feminine Mystique, was published in 1963. The “feminine mystique” was the idea that by being a selfless wife and mother, a woman would achieve happiness. Friedan argued that through education and meaningful employment outside of the home, women would regain a sense of self-worth, individuality, and individual accomplishment.

The Feminine Mystique opening paragraph The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States. Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night--she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question--"Is this all?"

The National Organization for Women Founded in 1966, the goal of NOW was to overturn the sexist attitudes dominant in American society by challenging regressive laws, suing business for discrimination, and educating American men and women about the need for women’s equality. In 1967, the organization added to its Bill of Rights for Women the “right of women to control their own reproductive lives” and set a goal to challenge restrictive abortion laws and expanding access to contraception. In 1967, NOW also included to its agenda paid maternity leave, educational aid, job training, and tax deductions for child care.

The Equal Rights Amendment An amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing equality for women under the law, was first introduced at a women’s rights convention in 1923. That same year, the amendment was introduced, and defeated, in Congress. In 1943, Alice Paul rewrote the ERA to read “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” It was introduced and defeated in every session of Congress from 1943 until the 1960s. By 1972, organized labor and an increasing number of mainstream groups joined the call for the ERA. It passed the Senate and the House and was sent to the states for ratification. Only 35 states of the 38 required ratified the amendment before its 7 year deadline.

Birth Control Prior to 1873, most forms of birth control were legal in the United States, as was educational material about contraception. Condoms were available, though not widely used. Abortion was legal in many states until the fourth month of pregnancy. In 1873, Congress passed the “Comstock laws,” which prohibited using the U.S. mail to ship contraceptives or material for sexual education. Abortions were also criminalized. In 1960, the first oral contraceptives were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but were made available only to married women.

Birth control Important legal cases helped liberalize access to birth control in the United States. In 1965, the Supreme Court stated that married couples had a right to privacy under the Constitution which meant that married persons should be able to practice contraception and that doctors must be permitted to prescribe contraceptives. In 1972, the Supreme Court extended the right to privacy to unmarried women. In Roe v. Wade (1973), the Supreme Court extended this right to privacy to include abortions.

Divisions in the feminist movement By the 1970s, many different organizations and voices influenced the women’s movement. Not all women, for example, agreed with NOW’s agenda. Many argued that NOW was too white and middle class to address problems faced by poor women and racial minorities. African-American feminists argued that black women were oppressed not only because of their gender but because of their race. They believed that although black and white feminists had some common goals, African American women needed separate organizations to deal with this dual discrimination.

Divisions in the feminist movement Others wanted feminism to be more radical. One radical group of feminists was the Redstockings, organized in 1969. In their manifesto, the Redstockings insisted that women were “an oppressed class… exploited as sex objects, breeders, domestic servants, and cheap labor… considered inferior beings whose only purpose is to enhance men’s lives… We take the woman’s side in everything.” Lesbian feminists, by contrast, had become frustrated with mainstream feminists’ assumptions that all feminists were straight and were therefore interested in issues of marriage, divorce, child care, and reproduction. NOW was silent about homophobia and discrimination against lesbians.

The 1980s and beyond Ultimately, the message of feminism was expanded to include all ways in which women are oppressed and to recognize that women of different class, race, and sexual orientation are commonly discriminated against because they are first and foremost women. Victories Challenges Women were accepted to colleges on an equal bases with men, it was illegal to discriminate against women in the work place, and women’s access to birth control and abortion was protected by the courts. Women are frequently paid less than men for the same work even when they have the same education. Corporate executives and legislators are still overwhelmingly men. Women and single mothers make up a majority of the poor in America. Battles over abortion and access to birth control continue. There are social and cultural limitations that must be overturned before women achieve full equality.

Primary Documents of Women’s Liberation Please finish analyzing the primary document images around the room and answer the questions on the response sheet provided.

A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions. You will be given an envelope of statements that have appeared in a variety of feminist manifestos. Some are from NOW in 1966 and others are from the current NOW website. In addition, there will be statements from the more “radical” group the Redstockings. Your job is to create a manifesto of belief statements for your own activist group. You can paste as many from the envelope as you want or create “I believe” statements based on any issues you feel strongly about (gender, education, religion, poverty, etc) On the yellow paper provided: What would you call your activist group? Paste/Write 10 manifesto statements

Bellwork

Which women’s group would you fit in? Look at your manifesto Choose 1 color to represent each of the 3 feminist manifesto groups: NOW 1966 NOW 2011 Redstockings 1968 Skim through the statements and color-code your manifesto to show which statements come from which groups.

NOW in action – 1968 Miss America Protest As you read – 1. Make a list of the methods used by activists to get their point across. 2. What was their point? After reading – 3. What is one question would you want to ask a protester? 4. What is one question would you want to ask a contestant in the 1968 pageant? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94240375

Women in the News Find any article about a woman/women. Attach the article to notebook paper Explain why you think it is important and write 3 discussion questions for the class.

Unit Assessment: 5 Paragraph Essay After researching academic sources in the library on Women’s History, write report that that defines “feminism” and describes the goals and strategies of “first wave feminists” and “second wave feminists.” Support your discussion with evidence from your research.

Thesis Statement This is where you define feminism and inform the reader you’ll be supporting your definition with examples from 1st and 2nd wave feminism.

Finding Sources We will be searching for books in the library about feminism, women’s rights, the women’s movement, etc. Today, we probably won’t have access to the computers. For each source you find, please document the following for future reference. Author Title Place of publication Publisher Year of publication Pages used Topic addressed

Main Idea 1 (possibly about 1st Wave feminism) Introduction Hook Thesis Statement Main Idea 1 (possibly about 1st Wave feminism) Supporting detail 1 Supporting detail 2 Supporting detail 3 Main Idea 2 (possibly about 2nd Wave feminism) Main Idea 3 (possibly compares/contrasts 1st and 2nd Wave) Conclusion Restates your thesis So what?

Checklist 1 1. Is my thesis statement concise and clear? 2. Did I follow my outline? Did I miss anything? 3. Are my arguments presented in a logical sequence? 4. Are all sources properly cited to ensure that I am not plagiarizing? 5. Have I proved my thesis with strong supporting arguments? 6. Have I made my intentions and points clear in the essay?

Checklist 2 1. Did I begin each paragraph with a proper topic sentence? 2. Have I supported my arguments with documented proof or examples? 3. Any run-on or unfinished sentences? 4. Any unnecessary or repetitious words? 5. Varying lengths of sentences? 6. Does one paragraph or idea flow smoothly into the next? 7. Any spelling or grammatical errors? 8. Quotes accurate in source, spelling, and punctuation? 9. Are all my citations accurate and in correct format? 10. Did I avoid using contractions? Use "cannot" instead of "can't", "do not" instead of "don't"? 11. Did I use third person as much as possible? Avoid using phrases such as "I think", "I guess", "I suppose" 12. Have I made my points clear and interesting but remained objective? 13. Did I leave a sense of completion for my reader(s) at the end of the paper?

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