GS201 Lecture Notes - The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan, Bomb Girls
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GS 201- Class October 30, 2012
The Problem With No Name – Liberal Feminism
- Oppression through opportunities/ legal obstacles, equal opportunity as men
- Living wage- enough earnings to pay rent, bills, buy food, make a living
- Liberal feminists are influenced by the French Revolution, etc/
o Fraternity – meaning man of property (only focusing on men’s issues)
- JSM- women shouldn’t have the same legal opportunities as men
o In constitution (Canada/ USA) states women/ men should have same rights – laws don’t mean people
are willing to hire women (or treat her equally at work)
- Lobbying – realized without education they couldn’t have the same power in the country
o Problem – women need to simply focus of motherhood
o White women- superiority of race- continue to produce children (open ideology in Germany,
implication in North America)
o If you don’t want to focus on the house/ mothering there is a problem
o Women of colour needed to work to support the man (husband’s) earnings so they had less obstacles
o Mt Allison University – 1858 women were accepted for classes in home economice- cooking/ cleaning
A degree doesn’t open many job opportunities
Training for caring for the home
Classrooms were segregated
Until 1940s (men went to war) women couldn’t be in medicine or science
- Rosie the Riveter
o Cultural icon (labour shortages meant women were needed)
o Labour laws against women were relaxed
o Overcome sexism/ racism in union
o She represents women working in the factories during war times (Bomb Girls- TV series)
o When the men return from war women needed to give the jobs back to the men
Women’s job is the 2nd income job
Many women are widowed/ single/ the man can’t work
o Concept of motherhood developed 1950s – women needed to sacrifice everything for their children
o Happy/ glamorous women home working
TV/ magazines represent
Anyone making problems was weird and the problem
Usually had a coloured women helping her (W vs B)
Betty Friedan 1921- 2006
- Based on interviews (The Feminine Mystique book)- wealthy people $50 000/ yr
o Survey of college grads (Smiths College) – elite college in USA – upper/ middle class white women
o Education based/ were they happy/ successful
- Housewives read these articles and agreed with her papers (felt the same)
- The problem that has no name