Women's liberation Flashcards
Key Questions: -What issues faced American women in the 1960s? -What action did feminist groups and the US government take to address these issues? -How far had sexual equality been achieved by 1968?
Timeline: 1963
‘The Feminine Mystique’ published
Timeline: 1967
- Executive Order 11375 outlaws sexual discrimination in companies working for the government
- Weeks v. Southern Bell results in first successful prosecution of sexist practice in the workplace
Timeline: 1968
- ‘The Institution of Sexual Intercourse’ published
- New York Radical Women (NYRW) protest against the Miss World pageant
(Intorduction): How do historians describe the progression of feminism
In a series of waves
(Intorduction): What happened in first wave feminism?
- Ended in 1920
- Addressed womens political rights
(Intorduction): What happened in second wave feminism?
Addressed economic issues
(Intorduction): What happened in third/radical wave feminism?
Addressed more fundamental issues
- female identity
- domestic and sexual relationships
Glossary term: feminism
no fixed meaning used to describe the belief that women should have; -political -social -sexual -economic rights equal to those of men. #feminism
Women’s problems and feminist solutions) Economic: What were liberal feminists of the 1960’s 3 major economic concerns?
- employment opportunities
- income
- unpaid work
Women’s problems and feminist solutions) Economic: employment opportunities 1960 fact
1960 –> 23 mil women in workforce
1940 –> 18 mil women in workforce
meaning
3/5 women above 16 not at work
Women’s problems and feminist solutions) Economic: income 1960 fact
working women earned 57% of a working MANZ salary
avg. income for MANZ $27,000
avg. income for WENCH $15,000
Women’s problems and feminist solutions) Economic: unpaid work 1960 fact
women responsible for 79% of Americas unpaid work
notably most women with a job were also unpaid family workers
Women’s problems and feminist solutions) Economic: what did they want that would solve all these problems?
they campaigned for an Equal rights act
Women’s problems and feminist solutions) Identity: What did Betty Friendan’s ‘The Feminine Mystique’, (1963) argue?
that women’s lives and identittys had become focused on their husbands and their children
and not enough on thinly slicing the bread and finely crisping the bacon
Women’s problems and feminist solutions) Identity: What was (sweaty) Betty Friedans solution?
further education
greater involvement in work
Government action under Kennedy and Johnson: What did Kennedy do in response to feminists lobbying his government?
Kennedy set up the Presidential Commission on the Satus of Women. aka. The Kennedy Commision
Government action under Kennedy and Johnson: Which Democratic Congressman proposed an amendment to which Act in 1964 thout would outlaw what sorts of discrimination?
Howard W. Smith
1964 Civil RIghts Act
Sexual discrimination and racial discrimination
Government action under Kennedy and Johnson: Why was the 1964 CRA of Johnson’s presidency was a hollow victory?
Gov. refused to enforce Title VII, the aspect of the act that protected women
Comparison of wage gap between women and men in 1963 and 1963?
Bigger wage gap in 1969 than in 1963
What did government inaction spur some women to do?
Take a more radical approach and form a new organisation National Organisation for Women (NOW)
What are the 3 main reasons feminism grew in the USA in the late 1960s?
1-SNCC + CORE excluded white members who turned their attention to other issues
2-Women such as Jo Ann Robinson and Fannie Lou inspired other women to become politically active
3-SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) = male dominated. As a result, radical white women set up new groups focusing on womens rights
Name America’s biggest feminist group (1960s)
National Organization for Women (NOW)
When and by who was NOW founded?
1966, Betty Friedan
What was NOW’s aim?
‘to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society…in a truly equal partnership with men’
What did NOW campaign for in order to achieve their aim?
an Equal Rights Amendment - a change to the American Constitution
What did NOW’s preliminary campaigns focus on?
Employment
What was NOW’s initial tactic in their preliminary campaigns?
Lobbying President Johnson’s gov. (definition of lobbying: a group of people seeking to influence politicians or public officials on a particular issue)
By mid-1967 NOW had achieved a series of legal victories. What were they?
1- In May President Johnson signed Executive Order 11375 outlawing sexual discrimination in any company that worked for the government
2- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a test case showing that it was now willing to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
3- Johnson promised to appoint 50 women to top gov. posts and asked NOW to advise him on the appointments
Tell the story of the Weeks v. Southern Bell case of 1967
Lorena Weeks had taken Southern Bell Telephone Company to court for promoting a man who had less experience and worse qualifications than her
She lost the first round
Sylvia Roberts, NOW’s chief lawyer in Louisiana took on the case when it went to appeal
Lorena Weeks’ life was made difficult by Southern Bell
NOW’s legal team triumphed
Weeks won the job and $31,000 in back pay
Southern Bell tried a series of delaying tactics
1971 Weeks finally got justice
This set a precedent to challenge sexist practice in the workplace
#feminism #dcj #TEAMjill #badgers @__dcj__
What did many radical feminists believe?
That NOW was not radical enough
Give some examples of more radical feminist groups
Kate Millet left NOW due to its unwillingness to campaign for lesbian rights
Atkinson left NOW to from a New-York based group called The Feminists (excluded men and married women).
What did The Feminists campaign for and against
They campaigned against pornography and marriage and in favour of abortion on demand
What did The Feminists do to the New York City registry office?
Stormed it armed with leaflets advocating female separatism
Glossary term: Title VII
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act explicitly outlaws sexual discrimination in employment
What does NYRW stand for?
New York Radical Women
What did NYRW do?
Organise women’s ‘speakouts’
e.g. speaking out about abortions
What did the public meetings do? Were they successful?
Encouraged many to rethink their perspective on America’s restrictive abortion laws
Yes
What was the NYRW’s most famous protest?
protest against the Miss World pageant in 1968 1968 1968 1968 1968 1968 1968 1968 remember 1968 1968
Why did the NYRW protest against the Miss World?
They believed it turned women into sex objects
How did the NYRW protest against the Miss World pageant?
By crowning a sheep Miss World and throwing their underwear, kitchen utensils and other symbols of male oppression into a “freedom trash-can”
How successful were women’s groups in the 1960s? (posistives)
Title VII and Executive Order 11375 established the legal foundatin for sexual equality in the workplace
Legal campaigns such as Weeks v. Southern Bell showed that the law could be used to secure justice for women
How successful were women’s groups in the 1960s? (negatives)
NOW’s campaigns never led to the passing of an Equal Rights Amendment
Also, the legal victories NOW secured did not achieve better status or pay for da gals in the 1960s
How successful were more radical groups?
Limited success
NYRW’s pro-abortion campaigns did not lead to any legal relaxation in abortion laws
Indeed, in 1970 New York State TIGHTENED its abortion laws
In 1973 America’s abortion laws were relaxed to Roe v. Wade (a more traditional legal campaign)
Female separatism proved unattractive to the majority of women = impossible to achieve
