Feminist Analysis : Not August Cleaver Edited By Joanne Meyerowitz Essay

For the longest time, women’s role in society was very narrow and set in stone. Women weren’t given the chance to decide life for their own, and there was a very sharp distinction of gender roles. Women were viewed as inferior, weak, and dependant. They were expected to be responsible for the family and maintainance of the house. But as the 19th century began, so did a drastic change in society. Women started voicing their opinions and seeking change. Trying to break away from this ideology called “cult of domesticity” was a lengthy, burdensome, and demanding struggle.

Women’s roles have changed greatly throughout history. As the advancement of culture, laws, and ideas altered ways of life, women’s lives also evolved in numerous aspects of society. Women’s roles changed greatly between 1815 and 1860. During this time, family dynamics changed as the mothers that were placed at the center of the household were given greater freedoms. In addition, women had more opportunity to take on jobs in the workplace. Women also fought for reform movements that altered their ways of life in the community. During the reform era of the United States, factors such as religion, education, and reforms greatly changed women’s roles in the family, workplace, and society.

The economic “market revolution” and the religious “Second Great Awakening” shaped American society after 1815. Both of these developments affected women significantly, and contributed to their changing status both inside and outside the home. Throughout time, women’s roles and opportunities in the family, workplace, and society have greatly evolved.

An average, women during the 1960’s were held accountable for many responsibilities. Women led very different lives during this time period. Punctual, responsible, and reliable were just some of the many standards that were expected from society. At the age of twenty women were expected to be married; soon after they would become pregnant. Raising a family and devoting their lives to be the best housewives possible. Legally women made no earnings or any income for that matter. Child care and in vigorous chores were a part of their daily routine. Women had no say financially. Women had one duty, and that was to be a housewife. Men had all the control in marriages; after all they were the bread winners. Women were stuck in a vicious cycle of controlling and power hungry men. Comparing women from the 10960’s to the women in today’s generation is quite astonishing. The women’s rights movement fought for women to be free. Women no longer need to be chained to such degrading and depressing circumstances. Raising a family and having a husband is a beautiful goal most women dream of. However, we should also have the right to decide when we want to marry and to whom we believe is the right candidate. “Why I Want a Wife” written by Judy Brady raises a powerful message on women in the 1960’s. Judy touches upon the idea that women had constantly been expected to be in confined and submissive relationships. Brady perfectly depicts the

Starting in the nineteenth century women’s rights was a very hushed subject, it wasn’t really talked about because everyone thought of women as being the homemakers, taking care of the family and making meals while the men went out and worked. During

Women’s roles in the American household had been the same since the discovery of America to 1848. Women in the simplest of terms were meant to run the household, raise the children, cook, clean, etc. This began changing in 1848 when women wanted to break free from the social norms and develop a social role outside of the household. Women felt that their lives would be completely transformed if they earned the right to vote; once they earned the vote then they would earn equality across the board. This desire for social change began boiling many years before 1848 when women began reading and writing domestic novels expressing anger towards women’s dependency on men. They began attending women’s academies and formed ladies’ benevolent societies where they pursued their own personal interest and activities. Then in 1848 approximately 200 women gathered together to hold the first women’s rights convention in the United States. This convention discussed the social, civil, religious condition and rights of women. There would go on to be 10 National Women’s Rights Conventions and The National Women’s Suffrage Association along with the National Women’s Party. “Although social change was a constant in the American Republic, women were expected to be the stable unchanging element in a changing world.” Although the Women's rights movement allowed the equal treatment of men and women it did cause so much pain for so many women. The Women's rights movement created equality and justice,

Early twentieth century America is shaped by World War I , the effects of industrial growth, and a beginning of a new age in literature. Despite movements for progressive reforms like the prohibition of alcohol and the movement for women’s suffrage women’s rights were still limited by traditional gender roles. Women are a “detached portion” of their husbands and expected to submit to his every demand. As result of women being viewed as flighty and emotionally unstable, men must take the dominant role and every decision made in the family is approved by them. Moreover, the purpose of a woman’s life is to maintain a household and birth and care for her

Everyday history is evolving and being affected by the past. With history comes questions as to how it came into being, and the fascination that is inscribed with it. Where did I come from, why do wars happen, why is society like this, are all questions that can be explored through the viewing of history. With this in mind, this essay will discuss the possible reasoning’s behind: Why have the roles of American women in society changed since the 1940’s? While this question will not have a distinguished answer, several factors have contributed to forming an answer such as: World War II, Madison Avenue, and contraceptives.

America’s involvement in World War II created significant opportunities for American women on the home front. At the same time, it stirred conflict in the gender roles of Women during wartime. One of the main issues that dominated women’s lives during the war was balancing the role at home, with the new pressures placed on them due to the war economy. In most cases, the strides made regarding women’s rights during World War II were misleading, as policy makers used the female workforce for short-term assistance only. American Women faced varying experiences of life during World War II due to factors such as ethnicity and class largely affected the social implications of war. Nevertheless, the advances made by women during this time frame began a movement that would soon give empowerment to women throughout the country, inspiring independence and personal growth through the ways of unions, employment, and a change in traditional gender roles.

The roles of women in society have changed a lot since the 1800’s. While in the 1800’s women were viewed as housewives, now it is more common to see something such as single working mothers or a household where the wife is the primary “bread winner”. Today’s women have been provided with the opportunity to get educated, started joining the workforce, and even gained the right to vote. Gaining these rights was not an easy task and it took a lot of hard work and dedication to get them. Even though women have been given these opportunities, women’s rights is still a big and controversial topic in today’s society.

Since the dawn of American culture, women have been oppressed. Due to inequalities in the hierarchy of social power, women have been targeted for discrimination. However, women have not sat quietly and let the “man” dictate their lives. Through movement raised through women of all cultures, change has come to all American women. Racism, homophobia and classism created hardships for the American women who rebled through reproductive justice organizations, anarcho-syndicalism, and embracement of their sexual orientation. These helped efforts created the foundation that we live in today and continues to inspire and mold the environment .

During World War II and shortly after, millions of American women experienced new freedom as they lived and worked in the public sphere due to the federal government’s campaign to recruit them to produce goods for the war effort. This new rhetoric directly differed from traditional ideology of republican motherhood and paternalism in which the man is the head of the household, works in the public sphere, and women live in the private sphere instilling virtue into the children while maintaining the household. With the United States’ immediate entrance into the Cold War following World War II, came a dramatic right shift in American politics and rhetoric. This included a return to republic motherhood in which political discussions and the media, through shows like “Father Knows Best”, encouraged women to express their patriotism by staying at home and raising families. Naturally, this right shift led to the continuance of discrimination based on gender. The National Organization of Women (NOW), an organization of the New Left, challenged such discrimination. The organization’s 1966 Statement of Purpose states, “The time has come for a new movement toward true equality for all women in America, and toward a fully equal partnership of the sexes, as part of the world-wide revolution of human rights now taking place within and beyond our national borders… The time has come to

America is the land of opportunity. It is a place of rebirth, hope, and freedom. However, it was not always like that for women. Many times in history women were oppressed, belittled, and deprived of the opportunity to learn and work in their desired profession. Instead, their life was confined to the home and family. While this was a noble role, many females felt that they were being restricted and therefore desired more independence. In America, women started to break the mold in 1848 and continued to push for social, political, educational, and career freedom. By the 1920s, women had experienced significant “liberation”, as they were then allowed to vote, hold public office, gain a higher education, obtain new jobs, drastically change

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

In the early 1950’s gender roles were still one of the most restricting aspects for American women. Though they could interact as regular members of society, traditional aspects of femininity were still the most defining factor for women. They were prevented from being individuals because women, specifically mothers, were forced to live with the label of being a woman instead of a separate individual. John Stuart Mill comments that “The only freedom which deserves the name, is that of pursuing our own good in our own way” (Mill). With this definition of freedom, women could not be individuals due to their forced gender roles as a woman and, eventually, as a mother.