Feminism And The Social Movements Of The Twentieth Century

Whereas the women’s suffrage movements focused mainly on overturning legal obstacles to equality, the feminist movements successfully addressed a broad range of other feminist issues. The first dealt primarily with voting rights and the latter dealt with inequalities such as equal pay and reproductive rights. Both movements made vast gains to the social and legal status of women. One reached its goals while the other continues to fight for women’s rights.

Women’s rights and feminism has been an issue in the American culture for many years. The first Woman’s Rights Convention was held in New York in 1948 after women were not able to give their opinions about slavery at Anti-Slavery Conventions (The Woman’s Rights Movement). Now, 168 years later, many people still feel that women do not have equal rights and opportunities that men do. The feminist movement is an important part of our time and people, both men and women, will keep fighting for equality between men and women.

In the year 1848 America held the first gathering dedicated to women’s rights; after decades of fighting for women’s equality, the 1920’s national election was the first for women to cast their presidential vote. The feminist movement, as a unisex advocacy, has had some successes other than voting rights, such as discrimination related to equal pay, having credit cards in their own names, terminating pregnancy, purchasing contraception or “the pill”, attending prestigious schools, becoming an astronaut or supreme court justice, and many more that have now been fixed due to this movement. So the question remains: do we still need feminism? After all, there have been many successes and several women claim they “don’t need feminism anymore”; however,

The women’s right movement began in 1843 in Seneca Falls, New York, which sparked the revolution of women obtaining equal rights. In 1920, females are finally given a voice, however; African American women weren’t given suffrage until the 1970’s. One woman named Sojourner Truth stood up for all women for women’s rights with her famous speech “Ain’t I a woman?” told at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio in 1851. Truth argues that all girls’ specifically African American ladies should have the same rights as men since women can do the exact same thing stating she does the same work a man does and maybe even more since she was a slave at one point. The reason why Truth gets her message across is because she has credibility since she uses pathos by stating that 13 of her children are seized from her, ethos since she is a woman who once was a slave, logos by comparing the work an average white man does versus what the average African American woman do ,allusion by bringing Christ into the lecture stating that Christ came from God and a woman and that man has nothing to do with Christ since a woman gave birth to him, and juxtaposition by announcing that a man is contradicting himself on a statement he said. All

Early feminism was typically focused only on white women, likely because racism was still extremely prominent at the time feminism began emerging. It was not until Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term “intersectionality” in 1989 that feminism started to look at oppressed group’s needs (Nash, 2008, 2). Intersectionality is a way of thinking that acknowledges that when a person has identities that belong to more than one oppressed group, it impacts their quality of life more negatively. In this paper, I will argue that intersectionality is important in the discussion of feminist theories and activism because it ensures that feminism is for all women, not just a select group of them. Intersectionality has changed the way the feminist movement handles the overlapping of different identities, which has helped feminist theorists understand the experiences of women of colour much more clearly. While intersectionality has a very important role in the conversation and practice of feminism, there are certainly critiques of the concept that should be brought up. These critiques, however, can offer a way to improve the study of intersectionality.

The first rumblings of feminism began in the latter part of the eighteenth century with what was later to be called the “women’s movement.” By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the political focus of the women’s movement would center on suffrage—the political right or act of voting, and those who advocated such rights for women suffragists or suffragettes. (Klein 29) During this beginning era of feminism, it is clear that equality means one and only one thing: sameness. That is, being viewed as essentially the same as men; having the same rights, opportunities and privileges as

As the century immediately following the American Revolution, the 19th century experienced a rise in feminism as it harbored the first feminist movement in America. Although some women chose to embrace their “roots” by retaining their domestic sphere of influence, many women began to show discontent with the limited number of rights women held. Soon enough, the fight for women’s rights resulted in women gaining more prominence in society.

Looking back with a historical lens, it’s evident that the fight for women’s rights has progressed in a step wise process. The nineteenth amendment opened a new door of opportunities for women to take advantage of. In modern times, the continued push for equal rights is evident through the fight for reproductive rights and equal pay. Even with the right to vote, women are still being under represented and out of control when it comes to their reproductive rights and in the workplace. Opposing beliefs regarding feminism have prevented the progression of more gender equality in the United States. What originally started as a plea for a political voice helped to shape the history of the nation. Women’s suffrage paved the way for countless groups and further feminist

Around the years 1848 and 1869, the Feminist and Suffrage movement started to take off, and was named "the emergence of an independent women 's movement in America" (Dubois Title). During these times, societal standards taught that a woman belonged either in the kitchen, or serving her family. This presented few opportunities for education and/or careers for women. In turn, many women realized they didn 't want to only serve their families, or even have a family. They decided to stand up for themselves. This was the beginning of a revolution that is unfortunately still going on today.

The Merriam-Webster definition of feminism is “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.” In the past century, gender roles have been challenged because of feminism. The very idea has completely flipped households, workplaces, and the general community and changed it for the better. A plethora of women’s movements were initiated in the 1960’s, and it gave people a look at how powerful women are when we stand united. Feminism has gained many followers in the past thirty to forty years as more people are becoming aware of conflicts pertaining to discrimination. However, there are many that were hesitant both in the 1960’s and in the present day, but for very different reasons. Nevertheless, persistence seems to be a beacon in women’s rights movements, thanks to very strong and level-headed role models.

In my reflection, I realized the massive strides that have been made since the early 1900s. Society today is closer to embodying liberal feminism, where men and women should have equal rights (Source 3 page 61). Women can not only vote now, but they can also join the military, attend college, hold government positions, and work as executives—all opportunities that were either illegal or unheard of a century ago. During women’s suffrage, society more closely resembled a cultural feminism, where men and women have different images of rights (Source 3 page 61). The majority of men held the belief that they were superior to women—in the classroom, in the workplace, in the home, in government—while women were fighting to prove they were equal.

The 1960s was a time of great challenges and changes for our nation. One movement that caused a lot of change was the Youth movement, which altered our views of the Cold War and changed our everyday lives. The Feminist movement was/is a long hard path, they won many rights, but lost many too. The Feminist movement has been a very difficult, but it got a big push during the Civil Right movement. During the 1960s, there was great confusion due to the Civil Right movement, the Cold War, and changing of laws and lives.

Feminism in the 1700’s, 1800’s, 1900’s and continues to be a highly discussed topic for all genders and races. A popular and important quote comes from Freedman(2002) “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies (pg 7).” W.E.B DuBois argues for equal rights for all humans in his writing “The Damnation of Women”. While Anna Julia Cooper wants people to recognize male privilege in her late 19th century writing, “The Status of Women in America”. Mary

Not to dismiss the importance of mainstream feminist organizations such as NOW, but I believe more radical feminist protests had a larger impact on changing gender expectations in the second half of the Twentieth Century. These more radical protests captured the eye of the media which made the world (at least the USA) interested in what the feminist movement was all about. One of the more significant protest that captured the attention of the United States media that the documentary and article both mention, happened at the Miss America contest in 1968. The two main actions of the protest were the ‘Freedom Trash Can’ and the ‘Women’s Liberation’ sign unveiled during the actual contest. Women were filmed throwing symbols of their oppression

In 1776, the then First Lady of the United States was the first to raise her about women’s rights, telling her husband to “remember the ladies” in his drafting of new laws, yet it took more than 100 years for men like John Adams to actually do so. With the help of half a dozen determined, and in this case white upper-middle-class, women the first-wave feminism, which spans from the 19th century to the early 20th century, finally led to their goal after 72 years of protesting. The Nineteenth Amendment, which secured the rights for women to vote finally passed in 1920. This grand victory brought other reforms along, including reforms in the educational system,