The Feminist Movement Analysis

Fredrick Douglas once said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” During the 1960’s in America, there were major movements the promoted change throughout the country. The Civil Rights movement, which got its start in the 1950’s, strived for racial equality for African Americans. Meanwhile, the Women’s Rights Movement, focused on battling for better pay and equal opportunities for women. While the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement differed in their initial purposes, both groups worked to promote equality in the United States and made a profound impression for the decades to come.

Back in the mid 1800’s the first women’s convention was initiated by Elizabeth Stanton, along with others who founded the Women’s Suffrage Movement. After attending an World Anti-Slavery Society meeting, where the women were required to sit is a separate area away from the men, the women decided that they were little better than slaves and decided to do something about it. (Pearson, 2017)

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.

Various different groups sought to redefine American democracy during the 1960s but most of the groups had a common goal, to be treated better and fairly. From Women, African Americans and even Mexican Americans they all fought for their rights and wanted to be treated better. With all these groups protesting and revolting it put a lot of pressure on the government to satisfy

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)

The women’s rights movement was a huge turning point for women because they had succeeded in the altering of their status as a group and changing their lives of countless men and women. Gender, Ideology, and Historical Change: Explaining the Women’s Movement was a great chapter because it explained and analyzed the change and causes of the women’s movement. Elaine Tyler May’s essay, Cold War Ideology and the Rise of Feminism and Women’s Liberation and Sixties Radicalism by Alice Echols both gave important but different opinions and ideas about the women’s movement. Also, the primary sources reflect a number of economic, cultural, political, and demographic influences on the women’s movement. This chapter

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the United States encountered a variety of different mass social movements that rediscovered the definition of America. Mostly, the different social movements demonstrated a fight for equality and freedom, while others protested against government decisions. Participants of these different social movements underwent a great deal of discrimination and violence from fellow Americans to fight for their rights as American citizens. Two major social movements during this time were the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement. Both of these movements outlined a cry for freedom and a demand for equality amongst their different groups.

This webpage analyses motivation, direct quotes and outcomes of the youth protest in the civil rights movement. This source is reliable as it contains primary sources in the form of quotes to corroborate the opinions presented. This source is representative of an analytical and historical view of the youth in the civil rights movement.

In Ahmed’s Living a Feminist Life, the author describes the power struggle that feminists face when they go against large institutions. The willingness to make change is halted by whether or not the institution wants to actually make change or just appear to. Ahmed describes two forms of “diversity work” which include trying to change an institution and not belonging to the norms in a given institution. They argue that knowledge comes about when trying to change an institution, do you think this knowledge is limited? How can someone know the true nature of an institution when the presence of a diversity worker alters it? Furthermore, if the people who do not display the norms in an institution are asked to change the institution how could they

Daddy’s princess. Big brother’s responsibility. Daddy’s little girl. Some people view these as a sweet pet names for young ladies, but these verbal cues inexplicitly condition women to view themselves as the property of men starting at a young age. These learned notions may take hold as women begin to develop. As young girls mature, they find themselves striving to please their fathers and other male figures as one of their main aspirations in life due to this conditioning from society. (Rholetter p. 1) The submissive nature of young girls is a common theme in literature, but looking through the Feminist Lens offers readers a better understanding of the struggle surrounding remaining submissive or demanding power occurs.

The beginning of the Youth Movement started in schools and affected everyone. As any child they had hopes and believed that if they tried hard enough they could do anything, but when they enter high school and college, they saw the world being controlled by a small group of rich elites, that divided wealth unfairly. Some students wanted a more left side government and created the organization, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). On the Tv and around them, they saw things like war, poverty, and racism, and

Youth fight for free will and moral authority. They belief on providing and that they can offer a grater freedom because they believe free will and moral authority come from God.

In addition, more teens were going to college to receive degrees. This also led to the birth of various different student unions; “Student activists took over college campuses, organized massive demonstrations against the war in Vietnam and occupied parks and other public places. Young people also participated in the wave of uprisings that shook American cities from Newark to Los Angeles in the 1960s” (History.com Staff). These adolescents and young adults used the resource of unions to start social movements. Another component of the environment at the time was the Vietnam War.

"When describing women, language tends to be gendered and loaded with connotations that are often unhelpful. At work, women are more likely to have assessments that label them bossy or aggressive. The blokes would be called go-getters." (Stamp,2017). This quote is successful in conveying the bias towards that of the male gender as well as depicting women as 'victims' without any consideration to how men are treated in the work place. During the interview conducted, when asked the question "What is your opinion on the feminism movement today?", A 17 year old male replied with "My opinion is that they should continue to fight for equal rights, but those who hate men and think they're above others should stop.". This answer shows how a member

The women’s movement also known as the feminist movement is a social movement for the social, political, and educational equality of women. Feminist issues range from sexual harassment and violence, reproductive rights, child care, to workplace rights and equality, changing family roles, and the need for equal political representation.