Questions
1.
Why is the word "feminism" considered taboo?
(consider the meninist movement)
2.
Do you believe feminist culture is still effective today? Why or why not?
3.
What is your opinion regarding the "third wave" of feminism?
Legacy
The liberation's For Women
Positives
Negatives
- Control over their futures and bodies
- Prevented route of illegal abortions
- Socially acceptable outside the strict boundaries of heterosexual marriage
- Higher education
- Employment Policies
- Women's Clinics
- Employment Policies
- Wage Gap
- Sexist Language: "Feminazi"
- Rape Culture
Controversy
- Separating sex from procreation
- Premarital sex and out of wedlock births
- Affairs
- Control over reproductive rights
- Increase in sexually transmitted diseases and divorce rates
Sexual Revolution
Modern Movements
Influences
- Reproductive rights
- Right to abortion
- Safe accessible birth control
- Have desired amount of children or no children at all
- Right to have sex
- Health services
- "The Pill"
- Important part of the drive for sexual equality in the 1960s
- President Lyndon Johnson created his social reform policy "The Great Society"
- Allowed the pill to be endorsed and distributed by doctors
- Estelle Griswold campains in 1965 went all to the U.S. Supreme Court and it was ruled that it was not the business of the government to dictate the usage of contraception by married couples
- 1972, a further ruling extended that right to unmarried couples
Culture Of Free Love
- Goal to separate the state from sexual matters
- Sex was not just about reproduction
- Access to birth control was considered a means to women's independence
- Leading birth-control activists embraced free love
- Sex radicals relied on the written word, books, pamphlets to express message
Problems with Reproductive Rights Today
Protests & Organizations
The Montréal Women's Liberation Movement
&
Front de libération des femmes du Québec (FLF)
Women's Strike for Equality: August 17, 1970
- The FLF was formed with the merge of the Montréal Women's Liberation Movement & the Front commun de Québecoises
Two different cells:
- Cellule II: Believed female oppression was related to capitalism and the family structure. Required collaboration amongst revolutionary groups to deal with the patriarchy, sexism, and collonization
- Cellul X: Believed the patriarchy was a system of oppression and that autonmy was a result of those male groups
- believed Montréal should provide daycare services, legallized abortion, and educate doctors on female sexual health
- Supported by the McGill Students Society's "The Birth Control Handbook"
- Believed liberation could only be achieved through complete separation from the patriarchy
- Denounced the Church
- Radical Feminist group
What the strike hoped to accomplish:
- A repeal of the United States' anti-abortion laws
- Establish childcare centers & community playgrounds
- Establish equality within the workfoce and education sectors
Took place in over 90 cities and 42 states
Important Figures
The Peace Movement
The Vancouver Women's Caucus
1962
1962-1971
- First Women's Liberation Movement Organization in British Columbia
- Presented the Standing Committee of Health and Welfare with three bills regarding the revision of the Criminal Code -hoped to legalize abortion and birth control
- Believed all women deserved the right to equal access of health services and care; regardless of one's socio-economic status
- Believed nationalism, imperialism, and war were related to exagerated forms of masculinity
- Encouraged improvements within the social sector: equality of power & money
- Focused on the gender gap between militarism, racism, and sexim
- Ignored typical "Single Cause" mentality; sought unification of all women
The Abortion Campaign and Caravan: April-May of 1970
- Began with 17 women departing from Vancouver and driving accross Canada to Ottawa -they hoped to appeal the government on a revision of the Criminal Code
- Parliment refused to meet with them
- Members were evicted from the House of Commons upon disruption
- The Supreme Court of Canada did not officially revise the Criminal Code until 1988
Betty Friedan
Marsha "Pay it No Mind" Johnson
1921-2006
1945-1992
- African American drag queen
- Gay liberation activist
- Played huge role in the Stonewall Riots
- Credited with starting the "second wave" of feminism
- Writer of "The Feminine Mystique"
- Co-fonder of the National Organization of Women (NOW) in 1966
- Believed the feelings of frustration & anxiety that women felt was a result of the need for "feminine fulfillment" to overcome the oppression of "domesticity".
Stonewall Riots
- June 28, 1969, The Stonewall Inn
- Against police raiding gay establishments (ex. bars)
- Violent, 3 day long protest
- Sparked gay liberation movement
Black Feminism
- Emerged in the 1960s
- Inspired by the civil rights movement
- Class oppression, sexism and racism are interrelated
- Looks at how black women fit into different roles
"Men is not the enemy here, but the fellow victim."
"Marsha rose above being a man or a woman, rose above being black or white, rose above being straight or gay" - Journalist Randy Wicker
Gloria Steinem
1934-
Shulamith Firestone
- Canadian Born Feminist
- Central Figure in the early development of radical feminism
- Influenced by Ghandi
- Wrote "A Bunny's Tale" for "Show" magazine in 1963
- Co-founded "The New York Magazine" in 1968
- Co-founded "Ms." magazine in 1972
- Passionate about politics and social justice
- Supports reproductive rights, equality, and independence
- Has founded numerous unions, foundations, and organizations that support female innovation, ingenuity, and feminism
- She was a founder of three feminist organizations :
1.New York Radical Women (1967-1969)
- 1968 - Miss America Pageant Protest
2.Redstockings (1969)
- 1969- Abortion speak out
- 3.New York Radical Feminists (1969)
"A liberated woman is one who has sex before marriage and a job after."
1970- The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution
- “The division of labour would be ended by the elimination of labour altogether (through cybernetics). The tyranny of the biological family would be broken.”
— Shulamith Firestone, The Dialectic of Sex
Royal Commission on the Status of Women
Presidential Commission on the Status of Women
- American and Canadian government commisioned research into the status of women in the 60's
- gave suggestions as to how to resolve inequalities
Radical
Marxist & Socialist
Liberal
Different Streams of Feminism
Lesbian Separatist
Cultural
Ecofeminist
Second Wave Feminsim
- Important Issues:
- sexuality
- women's role in the family, the workplace
- domestic violence
- (marital) rape
- reproductive rights
History
Defined as:
- the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities
- organized activity in support of women's rights and interests (Merriam-Webster)
- Consists of three waves:
- 1st Wave (19th and early 20th century ) Women's suffrage movement
- 2nd Wave (1960-1980's)
- 3rd Wave (1990's-Present)
What Do You Think of When You Hear...
The Feminist Movement of the 1960's