Feminism Vs Second Wave Feminism

Second wave feminism took a very different focus than first wave feminism. In the 1960s, at the beginning of the second wave of feminism, two distinct groups sprouted within the movement causing a major split and forming the groups known as the "politicos" and the "feminists" (Freeman, The Feminism Memoir Project, 1998, p???). Jo Freeman, an American feminist, political scientist, and attorney, states, "[The] Politicos emphasized that capitalism was the enemy. Feminists said that women were oppressed by men, or at least by male-dominated institutions" (Freeman, The Feminism Memoir Project, 1998,p???). This is where a visible split between first wave feminism and second wave feminism can be seen. Although there was still political focus during

the time of second wave feminism, the movement began to shift toward the goals of the "Feminist" voice and focus shifted toward social and cultural inequalities. Feminists pushed beyond the early narrow quest for political rights to fight for greater social rights across the board, which touched every area of women's lives. These rights encompassed areas of education, careers, home life, sexuality, health, and reproductive rights. In her article "Women's Movement," University Professor Elinor Burkett paints a picture of the societal climate that prevailed at the beginning of the second wave of feminism.
"In the aftermath of World War II, the lives of women in developed countries changed dramatically.

Household technology eased the burdens of homemaking, life expectancies increased dramatically, and the growth of the service sector opened up thousands of jobs not dependent on physical strength. Despite these socioeconomic transformations, cultural attitudes (especially concerning women's work) and legal precedents still reinforced sexual inequalities. . . . The first public indication that change was imminent came with women's reaction to the 1963 publication of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique. Friendan spoke of the problem that "lay buried, unspoken" in the minds of the suburban housewife: utter boredom and lack of fulfillment. Women who had been told that they had it all - nice houses, lovely children, responsible husbands - were deadened by domesticity, she said, and they were too socially conditioned to recognize their own desperation. The Feminine Mystique was an immediate best seller. Friedan had struck a chord."

This dissatisfaction soon turned into a more aggressive mindset. In her article "The Rising of Women," Canadian journalist Myrna Kostash discusses her involvement in the Women's Rights Movement of the 1960s focussing on social and cultural

inequalities.
"We challenged everything that was male . . . I mean, we saw that even the way buildings are built and streets are laid out is masculine; we felt that in the entire culture there was nothing that had anything to do with us because we had not made it, we had no history, no art, all we had was ourselves, our sisterhood."

Meetings planned by Kostash focused primarily on "the organizing of action projects around the related issues of sexuality" and she petitioned heavily for the legalization of abortion (Kostash, Long Way From Home, 1980, p???). Likewise, Kostash discusses her experience at a conference on women's rights stating: "By today's standards it wasn't very radical - equal pay for equal work, abortion on demand - but in those days it seemed very daring" (Freeman, On the Origins of the Women's Liberation Movement, p???). These quotes illustrate the breadth of the second wave movement and demonstrate the social and cultural focuses.
Education and employment go hand-in-hand.

In the early 20th century, many women went to college and worked professionally, but the mid-20th century myth of the middle-class suburban housewife downplayed the importance of women's education. Feminists knew that girls and women must be encouraged to seek an education, and not just "something to fall back on," if they were to become, and be seen as, fully equal. In her article, "The Long Way Home," Myrna Kostash discusses her experiences as a feminist in university. "It was 1963 and there was none of us who did not believe we would be different from the brigades of women in the suburbs. We were students. We would be clever, and we would travel, and we would have adventures." (Kostash, The Long Way Home, 167.) University provided the perfect place for like-minded women to meet, extend their influence and advocate for change. "Although university women continued to be the support base of the women's liberation groups, it was not unusual when their meetings included young working women, high school students, middle-aged housewives, single mothers, women from old left groups" (Kostash, The Long Way Home, 170.) Yet, although women were more educated then they had been in the past, the only socially acceptable role for them was to get married and have children. The second wave of feminism sought to change this perception and fought to give women opportunities on par with men including wage equality, maternity benefits, and the right

to return to job after pregnancy. Success in this area was evidenced by a number of legal victories: the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which granted women pay equivalent to men in the same positions and, in 1968, made sex-segregated job postings illegal; the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 which outlawed the discrimination of women in the workplace based on pregnancy; the Education Equity Act of 1974, which outlined federal protections against the gender discrimination of women in education; the legalization of no-fault divorce; and the outlawing of marital rape (Cushman, Supreme Court's Decision and Women's Equal Rights, p???.)
Perhaps one of the largest focuses of the second wave of feminism was the emphasis on women's reproductive health and rights, and the legislation that supported these rights. This wave of feminism included the fight for women to have access to reproductive freedom which included access to birth control, the right to choose whether or not to have children, change in abortion laws, access to childcare services, and a call to rethink a woman's "role" in the family household stating that women should not have to bear the sole responsibility for raising children.
"As early as 1962 branches of Voice of Women had been campaigning for the legalization of birth control information distribution. Deliberately disregarding the law, the new groups set up birth control information and counselling booths and centres on and off campus where they made available printed literature on contraception, samples of available contraceptives, and a list of sympathetic doctors who would prescribe to single women" (Kostash, The Long Way Home, 172.)
Kostash goes on to explain:
"There was not a woman alive who did not fear the consequences of her sexual activity; nor one who did not realize, even instinctively, that this fear was a form of social control. Because she become pregnant at any time, and be reduced to economic dependency within the family, she was denied employment of equal pay and value to that of men, placement in professional and graduate schools at the same rate as men, and mobility and independence in carrying out life-decisions as she saw fit. Clearly, women's liberationists were to argue, women's rights to abortion on demand had to be secured before any of the other campaigns for the liberation of women could be undertaken. Only when freed of biological determinism could women address themselves concretely as workers, intellectuals, artists, or politicians" (Kostash, The Long Way Home, 173.)

In most areas that second wave feminists fought for equality there was a fight for both a shift in thinking and a change in legislation. Feminists worked for the Equal Rights Amendment and the addition of sex discrimination to the Civil Rights Act. The success of the fight for reproductive freedom was evidenced by a change in marital rape legislation, access to birth control, child care options, and the legalization of not fault divorce (Cushman, Supreme Court's Decision and Women's Equal Rights, p???).
Second wave feminism caused a shift in society's thinking and there was a movement toward a global "sisterhood" of women. Although the second wave of feminism was still largely Caucasian, it was much more inclusive of other nationalities, cultures, ages, sexualities, and socio-economic status due to its focus on social and cultural inequalities. Myrna Kostash states:
"It was from the American sisters that we appropriated the concepts of 'sisterhood' and our oppression as a 'class', of 'male supremacy' as an ideology, of the 'matriarchy' as the prehistory of women, of lesbianism as 'politically correct' sexuality, of the women's liberation movement as a form of struggle against 'imperialism' in the Third World." She continues: "We are engaged in the same struggle as the Vietnamese, the Laotians, the Palestinians, the Koreans, Black and Brown people, Gay people, and Native Americans. It is a wealthy, white male authoritarianism. We have begun to feel that when bombs strike at Vietnamese bodies, they strike at our own bodies and when they win, we win" (Kostash, Long Way From Home, p???).

The idea of "sisterhood," as detailed in these quotes, shows that the second wave feminist movement was much more inclusive than the first. It had progressive ideas and outlooks that encompassed women on a global scale, during a time where discrimination and prejudice were still very prominent in the West. Although, still primarily Caucasian in the United States and Canada, feminist groups of women of colour began to emerge throughout the second wave of feminism as well as feminist groups emerging throughout countries worldwide. In her memoir "On the Origins of the Women's Liberation Movement from a Strictly Personal Perspective", Jo Freeman recounts her travels throughout Europe to Germany, Holland, and Norway to visit emerging feminist groups. In 1966, NOW (National Organization for Women) represented one of the largest coalitions that sprang from the second wave. Composed of women of all ages, nationalities, and cultures who were empowered by the idea of a global sisterhood this movement experienced much success as evidenced by the addition of women's studies to post-secondary education, by the writing of feminist literature, by the emergence of the feminist art movement, and by attempts to "de-sex" languages to make them gender neutral.
In conclusion, both the first and second wave feminist movements overcame huge barriers and achieved many triumphs. The success of the second wave movement was due to its goals and the manner in which they were carried out. The social and cultural focus of second wave feminism allowed this movement to battle inequalities in health and reproductive rights, and access to education and employment opportunities, as well as instituting the legislative changes needed to reinforce these ideas. This success was measured by a number of new Acts and amendments such as the Equal Pay Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, as well as changes written into previous legislations such as additions to the Civil Rights Act. Likewise, second wave feminism worked to incorporate women of all ethnicities, nationalities, ages, and cultures to provide the idea of a global "sisterhood" and band women together to empower each other. This success is proved through the creation of various organizations and feminist groups worldwide. It was not an easy fight for neither first, nor second wave feminists, yet, in spite of innumerable challenges faced, both movements successfully accomplished great feats for women everywhere and set the backdrop for one of the largest social movements today: the present day feminist movement.