Women’s Liberation
Second-Wave Feminism
The second wave of feminism originated during the early 1960s in the
United States and soon spread throughout the entire Western world. It lasted
roughly until the early 80s. Unlike first-wave feminism, which took place in
the early 20th century and focused specifically on suffrage, the second-wave
encompasses several civil issues — traditional gender roles, reproductive
rights, workplace discrimination, and legal inequality. It also put the spotlight
on the battle against violence by proposing marital rape laws, establishing
battered women’s shelters, and creating changes in custody and divorce laws.
Many historians credit the publication of The Feminine Mystique by activist
Betty Friedan as the spark of the women’s liberation movement in the United
States.
Gloria Steinem
One of the most important activists to the women’s liberation movement was Gloria Steinem, who was also its leader and media spokeswoman
in the 1960s and 1970s. Originally a columnist for New York Magazine, she
had risen to national political fame after her famous feminist article entitled,
“After Black Power, Women’s Liberation.”
In 1969, Steinem famously covered an abortion rally which was held in
a church basement in New York City. She had gotten an abortion herself at
age 22, and spoke of the experience as “the first time [she] had taken responsibility for [her] own life.” The rally was “a big click” for her; Steinem
claims she didn’t begin her life as an active feminist until that day. Since
then, she has co-founded the feminist-themed magazine Ms., actively campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment, signed the “War Tax Protest”
pledge, and founded several groups—which include the Women’s Action
Alliance, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and Women’s Media Center. Steinem was also involved in several political campaigns, including
advocacy for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the 2008 election.
The Equal Rights Amendment
The first famous “bra burning”,
in which female undergarments
were lit and then tossed into a
“freedom trashcan”
The universal symbol
for women’s liberation
The Feminine Mystique
The Feminine Mystique was first published in 1963, after Betty Friedan
was asked to conduct a survey of her former classmates from Smith College
for their upcoming 15th anniversary reunion. The results showed that many of
her friends were unhappy with their lives as housewives, though their lives
had unfolded just as they were expected to. This prompted Friedan to begin
researching the feminine position, which she did by interviewing suburban
housewives and conducting research of psychology, media, and advertising.
Friedan came to realize that there was what she called “a problem that has no
name,” an observed widespread unhappiness amongst women in the 1950s—
an unhappiness prominent in housewives despite living in material comfort
and being married with children.
Friedan deduced that female oppression was at fault, and abated society
for trying to convince women that their natural environment was not only
limited to, but scientifically bound to, the home. She had originally planned to
publish her writing on the subject as an article, but no magazine would feature
such an “outrageous” idea, so she published it as a book. Women all over the
nation read the book and empathized with these sentiments.
Nicole Vaynshtok 11-1
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was an amendment proposed to
the US Constitution, meant to guarantee equal rights for women., stating:
“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State on account of sex.”
Written by Alice Paul and introduced to Congress in 1923, the ERA
was finally passed in both houses of Congress in 1972. However, the ERA
failed to acquire the necessary number of ratifications, and was not adopted
into law. The failure was largely due to the effort of Phyllis Schlafly, who
mobilized conservatives to oppose the amendment. Schlafly argued that the
ERA would “take away gender specific privileges currently enjoyed by
women, including ‘dependent wife’ benefits under Social Security and exemption from Selective Service registration.”
Title IX
Also called the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, Title
IX was part of the Education Amendment of 1972; it was signed into law
on June 23rd, 1972. It states:
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded
from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any education program or activity receiving
federal financial assistance.”
A common feminist political slogan
Works Cited.
"Betty Friedan Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. <http://www.biography.com/ peo
ple/betty-friedan-9302633>.
"The Feminine Mystique Quotes." Quotes by Betty Friedan. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://www.goodreads.com/
work/quotes/809732-the-feminine-mystique>.
"Gloria Steinem." The Official Website of Author and Activist. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://
www.gloriasteinem.com/>.
"History." TitleIX.info. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.titleix.info/>.
Richards, Marlee. America in the 1970s. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century, 2010. Print.