Feminist Movement

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.

Lingering inequalities and other social trends from previous decades brought forth the modern feminist movement in the 1960s. These feminists campaigned for gender equality with causes such as equal pay for equal work, abortion rights, and social parity. In 1963, author Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, which contained reports from a study conducted on female college graduates during the 1950s and early 1960s, which uncovered that most women labelled themselves exclusively as mothers and housewives, and were unsatisfied with the roles forced upon them. Friedan argued fervently that women needed to discover their own identities outside the roles of a wife and mother. Many believe that the arguments made in The Feminine Mystique marked the start of the modern feminist movement (Loveday, 1)

Women have been treated very different from the beginning of time. Life before women's rights movements and activists was terrible. Women were discriminated against and looked down on in a very hurtful way. They could not even do the simple like vote or get a quality education because men believed that the only purpose women serve is to be a home body. It is hard for American women in today's society even believe what went on, better yet think that the ways of life back then are still present in some cultures. Slowly things have started to change and women have gotten more rights and overall life has changed drastically in some spots. In America things have changed for the better, however in the more poorer cultures they are at a standstill.

If women did not start movements for their rights, they would not be accepted into society today. Women were not the only individuals that were affected by these inequalities. Their families were affected as well. Society was impacted heavily by these changes but has slowly adapted to

Not ago, In the nineteenth century, the words that our forefathers wrote in the Declaration of Independence, "that all men were created equal," held little value. Human equality was far from a reality. If you were not born of white male decent, than that phrase did not apply to you. During this period many great leaders and reformers emerged, fighting both for the rights of African Americans and for the rights of women. One of these great leaders was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Stanton dedicated her entire life to the women's movement, despite the opposition she received, from both her family and friends. In the course of this paper, I will be taking a critical look at three of Stanton's most acclaimed speeches "Declaration of Sentiments",

Women’s Suffrage is a subject that could easily be considered a black mark on the history of the United States. The entire history of the right for women to vote takes many twists and turns but eventually turned out alright. This paper will take a look at some of these twists and turns along with some of the major figures involved in the suffrage movement.

Equal rights. A topic that has been craved by women for so many years. The right to be seen as equals to men, the right to not be viewed as weaker or less powerful towards men. The right to have the same opportunities that men are given. The right to equal life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that men are given. The Women’s Rights Movement officially started in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention, but the ongoing battle has still not come to an end. Although the battle is still present in modern society, women’s rights have greatly improved due to determined women filled with the hunger of equal rights. From protests to White House picketing, women have done numerous actions in order to bring attention to the Women’s Rights Movement.

What if the government put laws in place to prevent people that were too short or fat to vote in public political elections? It may seem like an unlikely event that would occur today, but a few decades ago the government went through great length to prevent specific groups from having the right and ability to vote. One group in particular that were deprive voting rights in the past was women. The idea that women wanted to be not above a man, but equal was unfathomable to most men and women. In the past, women were seen as unintelligent servants to their husbands and children. They were deprived many rights especially the right to vote in public state or national elections. This did not change until the few strong women stood up and endured hardships for the many to bring about the 19th amendment assuring equality among the sexes for future generations.

The Black Feminist Movement was formed in response to the rise and success of the Black Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement. In an era of drastic social reform, many black women believed that their needs were not being properly addressed. Black Feminism played a significant role in American History by highlighting the flaws in the various liberation movements that arose. In doing so, it gave rise to many Black Feminist Organizations which in turn fostered a sense of accomplishment and effectiveness in the Black Female Community.

Your place is to make the food, clean the house and take care of the children. And of course you’ll have children because that is what I, your husband, want. You must succumb to everything I want simply because I bring home all of the bacon. If you have a problem with that, then I guess you shouldn’t have been born a woman. But since you were in fact born a woman, shut up and go make me a sandwich. For many years, this was the role of women. Then, in 1848, the Women’s Rights Movement began and allowed for women to change that role to something of more importance. However, I believe that the change from that movement only piled on more things for women to be responsible for instead of giving us the same rights as men. I am hoping to show how women are still oppressed today and how culture has affected how women are viewed.

One of the most notable of breakthroughs in the women’s rights movement was the addition of the 19th amendment to the U.S Constitution on August 18th, 1920. Influence from strong women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, were just a few of the courageous women that helped make progress in our country. Although this was a big accomplishment in the world when a superpower country made such an important change, but these ideas of women’s rights were nothing short of new.

The women’s rights movement in the United States in the early –mid 19th century did not fail to accomplish its goals, as slavery was not an issue women wanted to resolve (address?)

Later on in the years, the Black Feminist Movement was started to try to eliminate these ethnic notions that oppressed black women. In an effort to meet the needs of black women in the U.S., who felt they were racially oppressed in the Women's Movement and sexually oppressed in the Black Liberation Movement, the Black Feminist Movement was formed. "The purpose of the movement was to develop theory which could adequately address the way race, gender, and class were interconnected in their lives and to take action to stop racist, sexist, and classist discrimination"(But Some of Us Are Brave: A History of Black Feminism in the United States, (http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/thistle/v9/9.01/6blackf.html).

In 1945, the Second World War ended and with it much of the progress of the “We Can Do It” style women’s movement. As the war effort stopped, manufacturing overall decreased and returning soldiers expected their jobs back, forcing women out of the workplace and back into the home. Gone were the days of Rosie the Riveter, in the 1950s and early ‘60s there was a new conception of women, particularly white middle-class women, which regulated them to little more than housecleaners and birthers.

A woman is sluggishly walking down the street with a large backpack. In the backpack she carries her children, her husband, her bills, her student loans, her job, the burdens of the world; she is literally carrying the weight of the world. All of a sudden a man in a business suit comes up to her and starts to yell at her telling her she is ugly, will never be good enough, she is stupid, she will never get anywhere in her life. Although the woman hears him she steadily continues walking because she has to be a mother to her children, she has to a be shoulder for her husband to lean on and cannot stop because she is forced to live up to an image of multi-tasking and not showing signs of giving up. Women have been looked down upon, stereotyped, and even not treated as equals but they still continue to hold up the world and put on a winning and convincing smile for the camera. Some women have giving into the oppressions of the world leaving the women that does have hope struggling to carry the world. Women are continuously dehumanized because they are not treated as equals in the work place, the media, and school however the women’s rights movement has given women the right of freedom of speech and right to vote