New Activist Movement

Two forces which gathered strength in the last half of the twentieth century now dominate the world religions at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The first is the globalization of religions and their resulting encounter with each other, and the second is the need to redefine attitudes toward gender as women have stepped forward to insist that their full humanity be acknowledged in the religious as well as the social realm.

Kerber, Linda K., Jane Sherron De Hart, Cornelia Hughes Dayton, and Judy Tzu-Chun Wu. Women's America: Refocusing the Past: Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon, “The Women’s Liberation Movement”. 8th ed. NY, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016.

The second wave of the feminist movement began in the late 1960’s and continues to the present day.

"Reforming Their World: Women in the Progressive Era, The Status of Women in the Progressive Era." Nwhm.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 October 2016.

First wave feminism addressed many issues including employment, marriage laws, and education. Voting rights were later embraced the voting rights movement.

This correlates exactly to WOW’s involvement at the Kotel. These women are taking their own faith in their own hands and attempting to get closer to God. In the video, “Praying in Her Own Voice: Women of the Wall,” Rabbi Lauren Geller emphasizes that the

Waves ebb and flow. After a wave crashes, it recedes back to the ocean and gains momentum before crashing onto shore again. The feminist movement have been described as waves because it experiences similar motions. After the solidary force of the first wave, there was a recession in feminist activities that accumulated until it formed the second wave. The first wave feminist movement narrowed their principles and left a legacy of single-mindedness to the second wave feminist movement. The first wave’s focus caused the lull that is the unnamed problem and started the second wave.

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.”

After women won the right to vote, the second wave of feminism began in the 1960s and continued on to the 90’s. This wave was highly associated with the anti-war and civil rights movement and the movement started growing conscious to a variety of minority groups all over the world. Out of three waves, the second wave’s voice was increasingly radical and theoretical as sexuality and reproductive rights were dominant issues. Protest began in Atlantic City in 1968 and 1969 against the Miss America Pageant. Many activists thought it to be a degrading “cattle parade” that reduced women to only objects produced by the patriarchy. Along with fighting against sexism in cartoons and politics, second wave feminists found their voice among other movements such as Civil Rights and the Anti-War movement. While the first wave was fought by middle class white women, the second wave invited and incorporated women of color and developing nations demonstrating that race, class, and gender oppression were all related and seeking sisterhood and solidarity (Rampton).

Feminist women rarely spoke to each other about their feelings of subjection and loneliness. These emotions led them to feeling ashamed of themselves due to the idealistic image of feminists that society felt was so appropriate. “She was so ashamed to admit her dissatisfaction that she never knew how many other women shared it.” A huge social advancement and rather large step towards understanding feminist women at this time was the formation of rap groups. “They are the heart and soul of the Women’s Movement.” Rap groups were organized and structured meetings that allowed women to openly engage in one another’s thoughts, feelings, and concerns without the input of men or the rest of society. “The rap groups have become mechanisms for social change in and of themselves.” These social groups let women know they were not alone and gave them hope to believe in women’s liberation. Rap groups helped to unify feminist women all over America and brought them together in a structured interaction. “Talking to other women, we came to realize our oppression by understanding the nature of our upbringing and of our lives as, women.” Discussion of past feelings and experiences led to plans of new reforms and steps to achieving full social equality.

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.

While the second wave seemed centered on the rights of upper middle class white women, the third wave embraced women of all races, classes, and cultures. Many more specialized types of feminism arose from this wave, such as ecofeminism, which combines environmentalism and feminism, and womanism, which is aimed toward the rights of women of color. While the third wave has ended, there are still many active feminist movements happening today.

Having the United Nations Fourth World Conference to be specifically over women, was a great pleasure. During the conference, Hillary Clinton on many occasions explains in depth on how far women has come in the world. For example, women are now seen as wives, sisters, daughters, educators, workers, citizens, and leaders.” We are no longer viewed as property”.

What do Kishino Junko, a former journalist, Kurihara Nanako, an expatriate who settled in America, and Miki Soko, a former housewife turned author, have in common? These three women come from different echelons of society, have had different experiences, and continue to lead different lives. However, each of these women has had encounters with the Women’s Liberation Movement (commonly referred to as “Lib” in Japan), and each has developed their own “feminine consciousness” as a result of their interactions with the Lib Movement. Although there is no true definition of what a feminine consciousness is, Kishino, Kurihara, and Soko have all viewed the Lib Movement as a catalyst of change within themselves, by surrounding themselves by women