HIST 17C Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: New Rights, Cultural Conservatism, Moral Majority
Feminism
Feminism had become as American as apple pie
➔It was considered a good thing to believe in feminism
➔Those who didn’t believe in feminism were on the defensive
◆Afraid to admit that they didn’t support the expansion of women’s rights and
redefinition of gender roles
Second wave feminism
➔Early 1960s - 1970s
➔First wave of feminism was because of wins of voting rights and property rights
➔Goals:
◆Rights of women in the workplace
◆Equal pay for equal work
◆Fair employment opportunities for married women
◆Reproductive rights
In 1950s, popular culture upheld strict gender distinctions
➔The woman’s place was in the home and the man’s place was at work
➔Pink collar jobs
◆Low paying service jobs
◆Made less money than men did doing the same jobs
◆Secretaries, teachers, telephone operators, nurses
The feminine mystique
➔Launched the contemporary women’s movement
◆Gave a voice to the women
➔Suburbs and suburban home had become a “comfortable concentration camp”
◆Women had no outlet for their education
➔The idea that women could only find fulfillment as wives was “burying millions of women
alive”
EEOC
➔Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
◆FDR Jr (EEOC’s first chair) had no interest in enforcing the Civil Rights Act’s
provisions against sex discrimination and treated Title VII’s prohibition against
sex discrimination as a fluke
NOW
➔National Organization for Women
➔Formed by Betty Friedan
➔Called for full equality between the sexes
◆Focused on equal rights in employment, education, reproductive freedom, and
politics
Lesbian feminism movement emerged in response to the women’s liberation movement’s
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Document Summary
Feminism had become as american as apple pie. It was considered a good thing to believe in feminism. Those who didn"t believe in feminism were on the defensive. Afraid to admit that they didn"t support the expansion of women"s rights and redefinition of gender roles. First wave of feminism was because of wins of voting rights and property rights. In 1950s, popular culture upheld strict gender distinctions. The woman"s place was in the home and the man"s place was at work. Made less money than men did doing the same jobs. Suburbs and suburban home had become a comfortable concentration camp . Women had no outlet for their education. The idea that women could only find fulfillment as wives was burying millions of women alive . Fdr jr (eeoc"s first chair) had no interest in enforcing the civil rights act"s provisions against sex discrimination and treated title vii"s prohibition against sex discrimination as a fluke.
