Why did the women's liberation movement develop? Flashcards
What did Eleanor Roosevelt do to fight for equal rights for women?
She was the wife of the president and she used her position to encourage her husband, and future presidents, to give women important jobs in the government.
She also held women-only press conferences which encouraged newspapers to hire women journalists.
She made speeches and radio broadcasts.
What did Betty Freidan do?
She published ‘The Feminine Mystique’ which was a book which displayed the views of women.
She interviewed women and found out how satisfied they were with their lives. She found out that they were extremely dissatisfied.
The book became a bestseller and changed the way many people thought about women.
What did NOW stand for?
The National Organisation for Women
What did they want to achieve?
They wanted women to become equal members of all areas of society.
What effect did the NOW have?
They changed people’s attitudes towards women and realised that women’s liberation had a lot of support.
Led to the US government discussing the Equal Rights Bill which would prevent any discrimination based on gender.
What was STOP and what were they trying to achieve?
Stop Taking Our Privileges. Phyllis Schlaffly set this up to campaign against the Equal Rights Bill. She said that some women enjoyed their lives at the moment with all the privileges that came with them.
What effect did STOP have?
Due to their campaigning, only 30 states agreed to the Equal Rights Bill which meant it was not passed as 38 states needed to agree for it to become law.
What was Roe vs. Wade?
The law which made abortion legal in the USA.
The NOW and other women’s rights groups protested for this right to change.
