The revival of women’s liberation over the United States in the 1960s introduced a progression of changes to the circumstances that still today have an effect. In women’s personal conditions, and in the media, 1960s women’s activists roused remarkable changes in the structure of our society, changes with expansive political, cultural and economic outcomes. Probably the most critical achievements of these activists for female empowerment were: the feminine mystique, consciousness raising groups, protests, women’s liberation groups, the National Organization for Women (NOW), use of contraceptives, lawsuits for equal pay, fighting for reproductive freedom, the first women’s studies department, and opening the workplace for women. In 1960’s societies, women were seen as lesser than the male population and the weaker sex. Men did not …show more content…
They could not even think for themselves. A woman was had to follow one path, which was to marry young, start a family soon after getting married, and devote her life to homemaking. On average, women spent more than 50 hours each week on household chores. While doing all the household chores, cleaning the house from top to bottom, women had to still look physically attractive for their husbands. They also had to indulge to their husband’s every aspiration and every need without complaining. Women had no legal rights to any of their spouse’s property or profit, however, husbands would control their wife’s income and property. If the wife worked, the husband had control of everything as well. So, if the wife did or did not work, she could not have any access to her money without consulting her husband first. If the marriage was not doing well, divorce was hard to acquire, and the women were forced to demonstrate bad behavior in order to get a divorce. The American women who worked in the 1960’s were limited to jobs such as nurses, teachers, secretaries, or beauticians/cosmetologist and that was made up of only 38
“Women’s Liberation.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 9. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 112-116.U.S. History in Context. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
They were mostly in charge of raising children and keeping the house clean and properly functioning. They were mostly financially dependent on their husbands because it was it was considered odd for them to earn money themselves. When factories and new machines begin to revolutionize the American economy, women's roles were changed entirely. The Marketing Revolution creates opportunities for women to earn their own wages and buy things, like clothes and food, which they may not have been able to buy previously themselves without the permission of their husbands to use their money. Women were trying to change the views of gender roles that was implied in society. Most of these women had left their families and worked to achieve a future for themselves while only a small portion of them decided to stay with family back
Women in the sixties were very limited on what they did. A woman was expected to marry in her twenties, and then start a family with her husband. A woman’s main duty was to raise her children, and focus on the home. Author Stephanie Coontz states in her book about sixties women, “The women is not to expect a whole lot out of life. She is someone’s keeper she is her husband and her children’s keeper.” (Coontz, 42) Back in those days, the husband was the head of the household; he made all of the decisions. If there was a divorce to take place the wife would end up with nothing, all the husband’s earnings and property belonged to the husband.
There was the desire to be a Liberated Woman and there was also, during this time, the women's liberation movement. The whole time leading up to the women's liberation movement in the late 60's, it became evident that a change in the lives of women would be necessary. The Civil Rights movement was taking place as well as other social movements. Women began to realize that although they were t...
To begin with, there are many events in United States history that have shaped our general understanding of women’s involvement in economics, politics, the debates of gender and sexuality, and so forth. Women for many centuries have not been seen as a significant part of history, however under thorough analyzation of certain events, there are many women and woman-based events responsible for the progressiveness we experience in our daily lives as men, women, children, and individuals altogether. Many of these events aid people today to reflect on the treatment of current individuals today and to raise awareness to significant issues that were not resolved or acknowledged in the past.
Every citizen of the United State was grant the right to vote since their birth in the United State or when they passed
But when the “Women’s Movement,” is referred to, one would most likely think about the strides taken during the 1960’s for equal treatment of women. The sixties started off with a bang for women, as the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman, and Betty Friedan published her famous and groundbreaking book, “The Feminine Mystique” (Imbornoni). The Women’s Movement of the 1960’s was a ground-breaking part of American history because along with African-Americans another minority group stood up for equality, women were finished with being complacent, and it changed women’s lives today.
In the 1960’s women were still seen as trophies and were beginning to be accepted into the work industry. They were still homemakers, raised the family, and made sure their husbands were happy. That was the social norms for women during that time period. They were not held to high work expectations like men were. But something amazing happened that would change women 's lives for centuries; it was the 1970’s. The 60’s put the equality movement in motion but 70’s was a time of reform where women were finally able to control their own paths. Not only was the 70’s a historical marker for the fiftieth anniversary for women suffrage, it was also a marker for the drastic change of different social norms, the changes of the American Dream, and the
To ensure that women would have the same opportunities as men in jobs, education, and political participation, the National Organization for women was formed in 1966 (Foner 944). The sixties also marked the beginning of a public campaign to repeal state laws that banned abortion or left the decision to terminate a pregnancy to physicians instead of the woman (Foner 945). Although the sixties were a decade in which the United States became a more open, more tolerant, and a freer country, in some ways it became less of a thing. During the sixties, America intervened in other nations and efforts were made to stop the progress of the civil rights movement. Because of America’s foreign policy and Americans fighting against the civil rights movement, it is clear that the sixties in America were not purely a decade of openness, tolerance, and freedom in the United States.
Social movements refer to informal groups of people who focus on either political or social issues. The goal of the social movement is to change things in society, to refuse to go along with the norm, and to undo a social change. For example, the Women’s Rights Movement that began in the 1840s was geared towards getting women more equality in relation to political, social, and economic status in society (Foner). Along with this, women gained a louder voice to speak out about what they wanted to change and implemented the change. Prior to the Women’s Rights Movement, women were often timid, compliant, obedient, and mistreated. After the 1920s, a movement towards more equality was shifted in society views, however not all were convinced or changed by the new ideas of women. Although women began to get increased rights, the typical gender roles, which they were expected to follow did not loosely lesson. Women still found themselves doing the same gender roles, house roles, and family roles even after the 1920s. It was not until the 1960s when the Feminist movement began (Foner). The literary piece is “Why I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady and the goal of the Feminist Movement was to create new meanings and realities for women in terms of education, empowerment, occupation, sexual identity, art, and societal roles. In short, the Feminist Movement was aimed to gain women freedom, equal opportunity and be in control over their own life.
As a woman she wants to be able to support herself and not depend on others, but she cannot because she has to do all the duties that are required as a wife and does not have time: “I would like to go back to school so that I can become economically independent, support myself, and if need be, support those dependent upon me” (229). Women were discriminated against, and their needs were not thought to be as critical as men’s and children’s. The wife is expected to take care of everyone else's needs before her own. Wives were supposed to get groceries, make meals, arrange schedules, do the shopping, and clean. Wives do not have time to do what they want and take care of their own needs because of those duties. Eventually, these duties turn into burdens to wives. Not only were wives expected to fulfill all those duties, but some were expected to have and keep another job outside the house to help provide for their families. As a man, they expected the wife to plan and arrange every fraction of the men's life: "I want a wife who will take care of the details of my social life. When I meet people at school that I like and want to entertain, I want a wife who will have
As the movement progressed into the twentieth century, women’s activism focused largely on their role in the economy and traded in their piety and temperance for socialist ideologies, aggressive tactics, and a newfound focus on issues of labor and poverty. Through
“The history of the past is but one long struggle upward to equality,” this was stated by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a very crucial women’s suffragist. Over time, women’s history has evolved due to the fact that women were pushing for equal rights. Women were treated as less than men. They had little to no rights. The Women’s Rights Movement in the 1800’s lead up to the change in women’s rights today. This movement began in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention. For the next 72 years, women continually fought for equal rights. In 1920, they gained the right to vote which ended the movement and opened the opportunity for more change in women’s lives. Because of the Women’s Rights Movement, women today are able to vote, receive
In the early 1960s, the civil right’s movement was in full swing. Although the fight for racial equality launched in the 1950s, the non-violent approaches began to unfold in the following decade. Civil rights activists challenged segregation and often faced harsh consequences as a result. Indeed, the “hard part”, the 1950s, was over, however, the fight for equality was no where near complete. Some forms of peaceful protest include marches, gatherings, freedom riders, and sit-ins as pictured in the photo from the textbook on page 773.
Although by the 1960s women were responsible for one-third of the work force, despite the propaganda surrounding the movement women were still urged to “go back home.” However the movement continued to burn on, and was redeveloping a new attitude by the 1970s. The movement was headed by a new generation that was younger and more educated in politics and social actions. These young women not only challenged the gender role expectations, but drove the feminist agenda that pursued to free women from oppression and male authority and redistribute power and social good among the sexes (Baumgardner and Richards, 2000). In just a few decades, the Women’s Liberation Movement has changed typical gender roles that once were never challenged or questioned.