Analysis of Scarlett O’hara on the Perspective of Feminism

Just one hundred years ago, women in the United States were not allowed to vote. The 19th amendment was not ratified until June 4, 1919. The 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. Women activists had been fighting decades to have such a right. There were many factors that made the 19th amendment possible such as women’s rights organizations, advocates, conventions, and marches. The women’s right movement paved the way to accomplishing the ratification of a female’s right to vote.

The right of all citizens of the United States to vote would not be denied by the United States Government or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power, by appropriate legislation, to enforce the provisions of this article. (Weatherford 245)

The second-wave feminism has been the driving force behind the Women’s Liberation Movement, which is synonymous within the twenty years in the later part of the twentieth century, beginning in 1960 and ending in 1980. The movement, in the past, had an impact on various aspects of social life to men and women; and this impact is still showcased in areas including, but not limited to; women’s health, fertility trends, laws and legislations, personal believes and religious discussions, interpersonal relationships and family roles, feminist issues, and gender relations.

3. In June 1919 a bill was passed by Congress, the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. This bill was made law on August 26, 1920.

Women’s suffrage, or the crusade to achieve the equal right for women to vote and run for political office, was a difficult fight that took activists in the United States almost 100 years to win. On August 26, 1920 the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified, declaring all women be empowered with the same rights and responsibilities of citizenship as men, and on Election Day, 1920 millions of women exercised their right to vote for the very first time.

Women now were educated, voting, and even aiding their states during war times. In the U.S. many activists were fighting for similar issues addressed by the predecessors, however they were able to take things further, since there was a precedent. Instead of just gaining access to higher education, Second-Wavers were pushing for Women’s Studies classes and departments, and for prominent historical women to be included in academia. Women in the U.S. were also beginning the enduring battle of saving the environment. “Second-Wave feminists brought internal attention to the problems caused by violence against women and by poor environmental practices.”

The Second Wave Feminist movement was to increase the rights of women in the workplace, politics, reproductive rights, and violence against women. They created the Equal rights Amendment (ERA) which did not pass and won Roe v. Wade which made abortions legal (Staggenborg 2016). Although the movement embodied issues that affected many women it was still perceived as a movement that was for a certain group of women that being White middle-class. The movement had a lot of support and in turn had a great victory in the reproductive field, with legal abortions and birth control that allowed women to be in control of their body. The ERA was not passed and that led to the decline of the movement, but because these issues are always an issue in women’s’ lives the movement continued to exist just in a less visible

An important aspect of Third Wave feminism, differentiating itself from the First and Second movements is the incorporation of media and technology to their platform. Many of the same goals have been carved from the prior movements, including the equality of women in the workplace, and the elimination of violence and poverty, but have been placed in a new light with the use of technology.

Towards the end of the twentieth century, feminist women in America faced an underlying conflict to find their purpose and true meaning in life. “Is this all?” was often a question whose answer was sought after by numerous women reaching deeper into their minds and souls to find what was missing from their life. The ideal second-wave feminist was defined as a women who puts all of her time into cleaning her home, loving her husband, and caring for her children, but such a belief caused these women to not only lose their identity within her family but society as well. The emotions that feminist women were feeling at this time was the internal conflict that caused for social steps to be taken in hopes of

Second wave feminism first emerged in the wake of World War II in the late 1940’s. It originated as a response to the post war boom. After World War II, the United States’ economy flourished, the population soared, capitalism emerged more triumphant than ever, and suburbia expanded like never before. The socio-economic state of the U.S. at this time lent itself spectacularly to middle-class familial expansion. During this time there was also a marked and, many would argue, a conscious effort to return to the patriarchal gender roles in place prior to World War II. That is to say, the nuclear family was in its glory days with the man being the undeniable head of house, and the woman his subservient housewife. The social movement toward female domesticity was heavily advocated through media propaganda which depicted the woman as a wife and mother exclusively, in the closed sphere of the home. We have previously seen with the emergence of first wave feminism the rise of feminist agenda that comes out of woman’s subordination at the hand of her husband, and misogynistic government policy and paradigm. It is this same sentiment that triggered the need for another wave of feminism, that is to say, the second wave. (Brownmiller, 36-38.)

Some of the major issues that broadened the debate for the second wave femanism were sexuality, family, the workplace, social issues, and reproductive rights (Foster 72). The Third-Wave Feminism challenged the second wave 's "essentialist" definitions of femininity, which was often seen as one universal female identity and over emphasized the experiences of upper middle class white women, and began to introduce women of color and other cultures in developing nations (Drake, Heywood 49). This wave is also resposible for reclaiming sexuality (Drake, Heywood 53) Both movements brought about major changes that affected women 's personal life at home, job opportunities, and culture changes, causing us to changed the way we talk and think. As a result, most of today 's women now believe that their options are/should be as open as men’s. Although femanism was present in both decades, the issues women brought foward and how those issues effected them are different. Linda Hogan 's People of the Whale and Karen

“First wave” of feminism in 1920 advocated women’s suffrage, whereas the “Second wave” targets the societal issues that women in the 21st century are facing. Betty Friedan wrote The Feminists Mystique after World War II exposing female repression and later founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) which ignited the second wave of the feminist movement. Consequently, it became noticeable that women were in multiple wars, as a result branches of feminists were formed (i.e. Liberalist, Marxist, and Socialist). Misogyny’s evolution has its own significant role in the feminist movement, stirring conversations today that affect feminist ideologies. However, in order to fully comprehend what affects second wave feminism along with the tactics utilized by feminists, one must first become acquainted with the many forms.

Gone with the Wind, was published in May 1936. The author, Atlanta born, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for her efforts. The novel was the first and only published novel of her career. Miss Mitchell was a storyteller from the time she could speak. She enjoyed writing stories and plays. She would cast herself and her friends in the different roles. She lived in Atlanta all of her life and she was enchanted in the history of the city. Miss Mitchell was influenced by the stories told to her as she spent her childhood sitting on the laps of Civil War veterans and of her mother's relatives, who told stories of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction of the South. She was an old soul at heart and enjoyed the

Mitchell started writing Gone with the Wind in 1926 and didn’t finish until 1929 (“Margaret Mitchell Bio” par. 5). She was doubtful about her novel, she was only writing for her own amusement (Flora et al. 308). In the creation of her book she manage to master the South on her terms and rules. She defined the terms and rules of southern experience for the

Feminism has become the great issue in this modern era. The emerging of second wave feminism in the late 60s had bring a huge impact toward the position of women in the society. Women are free from the male values, while women have the equal rights in politic. Women also can quit from their domestic sphere. The movement of feminism still continues in the early 90s. The women’s movement experience a phase which the ideology of feminism had changed to be Third Wave Feminism. It is because the existence of poststructuralists, postmodern and postcolonial theories in that era. Third Wave Feminism focus on popular culture which has been construed as a form of post feminist backlash (Gillis and Munford ; p. 2 ,