The Second Wave Of Feminism And The Gay Liberation Movement

The 1960’s was a change for the world. One of the major things that happened was the Gay Liberation. The 1960’s was a sensitive decade. Would you want to be punished for your sexuality or liking the same gender.? NO, you shouldn’t. You don’t choose who you like or how you feel.

Both in a subtle and a direct way, Roxane Gay criticizes second-wave feminists in her article Bad Feminist through the use of irony and the juxtaposition of contrasting adjectives. In the article, Gay describes the stereotypes placed on feminists that have led people to shun the cause and refuse to be a part of it. Like many other females, Gay does not fit into the label of an essential feminist. She likes the color pink, listens to thuggish rap, wants babies, fakes orgasms, loves diamonds, and many other things that clash with being a feminist. Subsequently, Gay is in a personal struggle, which she says “keeps her up at night” (8) because she does not fit into the socially constructed definition of what a good or essential feminist is and does but she does believe in the cause and wants to fight for it.

When it comes to the gay rights movement, the structure and the history of how it got to where it is today is a huge factor in today’s society. There have been a lot of things that negatively influenced gay rights. In some ways, things have happened in a positive way as well. The gay rights movement today and legalizing gay marriage has struck some people the wrong way because of their beliefs. For the gay community, though, it has been a very positive thing. Some of the big key moments in history went the way they did because of important events and important people causing it to go that way. These include Jeremy Bentham, Magnus Hirschfield, Henry Gerber, the making of the Mattachine Society, Stonewall Riots, Clela Rorex, the Ryan White

In 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement, was the first gay rights demonstration which led to the gay liberation movement in the 70’s. Being such an impactful commemoration it inspired more liberating groups in the growing gay and lesbian world such as: feminist movements, record labels, music festivals and the National Organization for Women. This quickly evolved into acceptance in a place of worship when the first gay minister was ordained in ’72. Soon after, several large political groups formed in support of the growing “outing” of a gay society in a stand for gay rights. (Morris, 2017)

Homosexuality has been an issue for the public for an extremely long time dating back to even Ancient Rome and Greek. Especially with the birth of Christianity, the religious society has been persecuting anyone claiming homosexuality, forcing people to hide their own sexuality for centuries. It is important to understand and know the past of the homsexuality to understand the reason for their fight and the mentality of their opposition. Homosexuality has never been accepted into the norms of society and was even viewed as a mental disease by the American Psychiatric Association (Bowman). Not until a few decades ago has the movement for gay rights began to kick off. The event that really set off the movement was the Stonewall Riot of 1969. “New York’s gay community had grown weary of the police department targeting gay clubs, a majority of which had already been closed. The crowd on the street watched quietly as Stonewall’s employees were arrested, but when three drag queens and a lesbian were forced into the paddy wagon, the crowd began throwing bottles at the police” (“Stonewall”). This event is regarded as the foundation for the modern gay rights movement including the formation of many gay, lesbian, and bisexual civil rights organizations.

Other than the obvious time differences between first and second wave feminism, the real contrasts are found in what it was the women, and men in some cases, were fighting for. First-Wave feminists mainly fought for suffrage, while their Second-Wave sisters fought for a wider range of women’s rights.

This essay examines the question, “To what extent was the second wave of feminism (in the 1960’s and 1970’s) successful in achieving equality for women?” The essay is introduced by describing why the second wave of feminism developed and the aims of this second wave of feminist. The essay is broken into two parts. The first part of the essay discusses the impact of women 's rights activist on legislation. It is argued that the second wave feminist were unsuccessful in gaining equality in terms of obtaining equal wages and opportunities for women in the workplace. They however were successful in obtaining equal rights laws and reproductive laws for women. The feminist of the 1960’s and 70’s were victorious in securing for many american women the right to have easy access to contraceptives and abortion. The second part of the essay focuses on the extent that the second wave feminist were successful in changing the mindset of Americans. These feminist wanted the view of women to be one that portrayed women less as only a housewife and more as a women who can lead a life that could involve a career in any field. Success ranged in this area. On one side there was women becoming more independent and free as they embarked the sexual revolution while in other regards such as film and music women still held an inferior role to men. The second wave of feminism achieved great success in attaining equality for women however this success was not as far ranging as these mid 20th century

This critique then develops into a standpoint with the emergence of the Final Girl trope, where a female character is shown to take characteristics which are typically masculine and makes them her own, becoming then a figure of empowerment. Just as society at large attempts to repress individuals into, as Wood explains it, “predetermined roles within that culture,” the horror film uses the killer to repress the final girl into a victimized, annihilated state. In Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it was with the subversion of classical family values with the male-dominated, cannibalistic household who tried to objectify Sally. In Carpenter’s Halloween, repression of sexuality and bisexual characteristics in Laurie Strode by Michael Myers led her to become the Final Girl as the film world knows today. Finally in Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs, Clarice Starling takes a step further into the role of the Final Girl by facing head on the “wound culture” state while inhabiting the male-dominated world of law enforcement. With the role of the final girl as the self-empowered figure of the hero who pushes back against her oppressors and by the film’s end, defeats her oppressors, the horror film takes on a more feminist

Ideology we discusses in class from the perspective of Religious Conservatives which argue that the purpose of marriage is to procreate children, and the arguments against same sex marriage is that is goes against the bible and God as well as the timeless and inherent definition. Secular Conservative seeks to guard from people taking advantage of benefits. They also view that children need mom and dad. They also focus on fertility that is more adult focused than child focused. Libertarian views that same sex marriage is needed to promote individual freedom and the government should take their hands off and let people decide. Religious Liberal have a view of love, compassion, and acceptance and are non-judgmental of same sex couples. The Liberal, Feminist and Gay Rights community view that marriage is not necessarily about children. They seek freedom and fairness for everyone. They stride for equality of marriage. They also seek to protect the civil rights of gay groups. These groups view marriage as always changing and adapting. These group view marriage as gender-neutral. The Queer Perspective views that same sex marriage would lose the uniqueness of their culture. The focus on marriage is too monogamous restrictive for their culture. This group is also concerned that stigmas would be created for gay people who do not want to marry. They also view marriage as broken.

The second wave started in the 1960s and proceeded into the 90s. This wave unfurled with regards to the counter war and social liberties developments and the developing reluctance of an assortment of minority bunches the world over. The New Left was on the ascent, and the voice of the second wave was progressively radical. In this stage, sexuality and conceptive rights were prevailing issues, and a significant part of the development's vitality was centered around passing the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution ensuring social correspondence paying little mind to

“You cannot be a humanist unless you are a feminist. You either advocate equality for all or you are a misanthrope” (Michael A. Sherlock). From women’s suffrage to abortion laws feminism has evolved with contemporary battles and a variety of approaches. The

Feminism by definition means the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. But many a time’s people restrict the boundary of these forgetting the very important element of diversity of women living in different places and in varied situations.

When referring to the history of feminism in the manner of the first, second, or third wave, one is undermining the experiences that were ongoing during, in middle of, and before those waves that history defines. What ideologies of oppression were being spoken of to raise awareness and whose experience was being excluded/diminished? The articulation of feminism in using the metaphor of waves to describe how the ideologies peaked and rescinded, is incorrect because it focuses only on the voices of those who were able to bring their problems to the surface and excludes those who had a different experience or may have brought awareness in a quieter manner. There are many feminisms and each interpretation is defined by the collective oppression, rather than looking at the situation in an individual perception, which is what creates disagreements and division between feminists. Many definitions of feminism, feminisms, exist simultaneously because it is evolving as fast (or, well, as slow) as the world is changing and if one group of people are to speak of others experience of oppression (or lack of) in place of them, the result can be the glossing over of experiences and therefore, undermine experiences of others.

The idea of women being equal to men has been debated for a very long time. Even when civilizations were just starting, most women were treated very differently from men. When women started fighting against this oppression they were called feminists. Feminism can be separated into three waves. The first wave of feminism was from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The second wave was from the 1960s to the 1980s. The third wave of feminism started in the 1990s, but its end is unclear. Some people believe it has ended and the fourth wave of feminism has started, but others believe it continues today. The different waves have been very different in some aspects, but very similar in others. The main differences between the first and third wave of feminism are what they fought for, how they protested, and society’s reaction to their cause.

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,