USA Unit 3(0.3) Flashcards
-When did Betty Friedan publish best seller’The Feminie Mystique’?
-What did she claim in the book? What did it encourage?
-1963.
-A propoganda campaign, engineered by advertisers and women’s magazines, created a false blissful domesticity, whihc had stifled women’s potential.
-The book launched a new phase of female protest.
What was NOW? Who founded it and when?
What was its aims and was it popular? What tactics did it use?
-1966, Friedan and a small group of activists founded NOW.
It grew rapidly and spearheaded efforts to;
-End job discrimination on the basis of gender.
-Legalise abortions(which were illegal in 30 states)
-Obtain federal and state support for childcare centres.
The tactics included litigation, political pressure, public information campaigns and protests.
When did the women’s liberation movement take charge? (Radical feminists)
What did they oppose? How did they protest?
By 1974 how many women felt discriminated against compared to 1960?
-In the late 1960s.
-Radicals opposed sexual oppression and cultrual practices(beauty contests) that objectified women.
-Sought support through newsletters and ‘consciousness-raising meetings’ aimed at raising
awareness of gender inequalities.
-1974 (2/3’s) of women felt discriminated against 1960 (1/4)
How did Congress and the Supreme Court advance the cause of gender inequality in the 1970s?
-1972, colleges were required to institute ‘affirmative action’ programmes to ensure equal opportunities for women.
-1972, Congree approved the Equal Rights Amendment(ERA) which had been stuck in a House committee for almost 50 years.
-The Supreme Court (Roe v Wade 1973) struck down state laws forbidding abortions during the first 3 months of pregnancy.
What new attitudes was there in the 1960s sexuallly liberating women?
What contraception increased the pace of these changes in attitudes?
-Increased acceptance of premarital sex, abortion and extramartial relations.
-The pace of change was accelerated by the widespread availability of the first oral contraceptive for women (the ‘pill’) which liberated women from the fear of pregnancy.
Evidence that the women’s movement was not entirely successful?
-By the late 1970s, divisions within the women’s movement between moderate and radical feminists caused reform efforts to stagnate.
-The movement failed to broaden its appeal beyond the confines of the white middle class.
-ERA failed to get enough state support to become part of the Constitution.
-Many conservatives were opposed to feminism, blaming it for the rising divorce rate and family breakdown.
-NOW’s successful efforts to change abortion generated powerful backlash from Christian groups. Forming a ‘right to life’ crusade.
-Few women were still elected to Congress.
-Women still faced considerable discrimination on the employment front. Women’s wages were 62% those of men’s in 1980. Women still held few top positions.
How did the success of the women’s movement continue to 1980? How many married women and college graduates joined the workforce by the mid1970s?
-Women constituted 51% of the population.
-Their political power, only partially mobilised in the 1970s, had potential for acheiving social change.
-Women’s growing presence in the work force assured them a greater share of economic and political influence.
-By mid 1970s over half of married women & 9/10 college graduates were employed outside of the home.
Did many career women regard themselves as feminists? How did they view their desire to work?
-Many career women did NOT regard themselves as feminists. Instead they worked because they and their families needed the money.
What was the term given to a family with two earners? How did this change gender roles?
-A two-career family. In turn gender roles would change due to the need of accomodating this.
-Differences between masculinity and feminity were disappearing as both genders took on the same roles at work.
