last womens history paper!!!!

A Legacy of Success
Janet Belisle
Marissa Chappelle
History 363
12/08/08














There are many legacies of second wave feminism that are found today. The presences of these legacies are reflected within the constantly changing social climate that increasingly provides ever more opportunity for women, in the labor force, in education and in freedom of expression and choice. Despite occasional setbacks suffered by the movement such as the failing to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, there have been many successes throughout the evolution of the second wave women’s liberation movement of the 1969’s and 1970’s.
The women’s movement was not just a unified front under one agreed upon cause but rather a number of small fronts based on the specific needs of the women behind them. It was this ability to be flexible that allowed the movement to last. These micro-movements were most often divided by class, social status and marriage among other things. The hallmark of the second wave of feminism is the movement’s incorporation and acceptance of the fact that not all women had the same needs or concerns. It is the small triumphs made by these groups that stand as the movement’s greatest legacy. As said in The Declaration of American Women, “[W]e seek these rights for all women, whether or not they choose as individuals to use them”.[1]
The movement faced many obstacles, the biggest of which was itself. There was severe fragmentation amongst its members based on class, race and sexuality. This division prevented the movement from reaching its full potential or using the resources available to their best ability.
The second wave women’s movement branched off from the multiple movements of the era, most notably, the civil rights movement and incorporated many of that specific movement’s messages and strategies into women’s fight for equality. Sadly, the civil rights movement offered little opportunity for black women to express their opinions or have their needs heard. This led to increased identity or gender politics within both the civil rights groups as well as the women’s movement. Women of color, who were oppressed not only as women or people of color but instead as both, were expressing their frustration at having no where to turn. The identity politics can be seen most clearly in the work by The Combahee River Collective when stating “Our situation as Black people necessitates that we have solidarity around the fact of race, which white women do not need to have with white men.”[2]
Women’s struggle for equality much like the struggle of other oppressed groups was created by a growing number of issues such as social stereotyping, unequal pay, unequal job opportunity and unequal education as well little to no say regarding decision about their bodies. This issue was a bridge over the gap between class and gender. Women of lower socio-economic status, a group that frequently included women of color needed ways to support their families, have a say in events and current affairs outside of the home and most critically, decisions regarding their own bodies. According to the Combahee River Collective, “The sanctions in the black and white communities against black women thinkers is comparatively much higher then for white women, particularly ones from the educated middle and upper classes”.[i][3] Once the women’s movement took root, women of color as well as those of lower classes were given tools that they were familiar with and therefore, an opportunity to make their voices be heard.
The women’s movement shared many goals with the civil rights movement. The major goals were equality and increased opportunity for women. Equality was sought in employment, education and decisions regarding family. The movement wanted increased opportunity for women of all classes and backgrounds though there would be some indecision among the various sub-groups as to just what that opportunity looked like.
One very important legacy of second wave feminism would be the techniques used by the movement to reach its goals such as consciousness raising. This tool proved itself to be critical to bridging gaps and helping women realize their full potential as individuals and as a group. Tools such as these allowed the movement to be flexible and continue to change with the times to meet the changing needs of women. In Orleck’s book consciousness raising is described as “[W]omen… meeting in kitchens and living rooms…talking to each other for the first time about concerns they had previously to cope with alone…”. [4]This tool helped to cross barriers of race as well as class. Other tools that were used to make their voices heard were protest, boycotts and community building.
The start of the women’s liberation movement grew out of women’s struggle to have a voice outside of the home. According to Betty Freidan in The Feminine Mystique, “The feminist had only one model, one image, one vision, of a full and free human being: man”.[5] Women wanted to move beyond just being an expert in cleaning and cooking. They wanted to be able to use the education they received while waiting to meet their husbands and be a contributing member of society. Women were directed in to Home Economics course tracks. M. Carey Thomas, president of Bryn Mawr College, says “[W]omen like men are immeasurably benefited, physically, mentally, and morally, and are made vastly better mothers…by subordinating the distracting instincts of sex to the simple human fellowship of similar education”.[6]This easier home economics track was thought to be better for them as it required less thought and stress while at the same time providing women with the skills that they would need in their future. There was little to no expectation of a woman entering the labor force and needing training in anything else. Today, women have access to the same education as men and much more mobility in the job market with that education though some pay inequalities still exist.
An issue that the movement had great success with was reproductive rights. Before the 1960’s there was little access to birth control, especially among the lower classes who expressed the highest need. According to Emma Stampley, in Storming Caesars Palace “I would have preferred to have fewer children…but there wasn’t any birth control on the market for black peoples like there was white”.[7] White women of lower classes also struggled to gain access to birth control.
The women’s movement has within it many fractions. Women of lower economic status had different struggles then the middle class housewife. In Annelise Orlecks’ Storming Caesars Palace, women were engaged in a fight to be able to support their children and hold a job that offers security and subsistence wages. The women Orleck spoke with were trying to institute welfare reform that provided enough funds to house and feed the family and allowed the women, in this case mostly single mothers of color the same opportunity to provide her children with the same advantages as the middle class homemaker.
Women gaining acceptance in the workforce was and remains to be a serious issue faced by many. This is one area where it is difficult to distinguish whether there has been much success. This is due in part to the fragmentation of the movement. A strong example of this would be the 1908 Muller v. Oregon case where the state was granted the right to place a maximum hour restriction on women’s labor. This verdict was received with mixed feelings. Some women felt this was a success for the movement as it prevented women from being exploited. This view was help mostly by middle class activist. Today there is still great inequality in pay and job access for many women, though this has been slowly changing.
There are many legacies of second wave feminism. These legacies can be seen every time a woman cast a vote at the polls or works beside a man or stands next to that man on the picket line to fight for fair wages to raise her family. These are but a few of the legacies of the movement’s overall successes. The fight for women’s liberation is still fought today and referred to by some as third wave feminism. The movement has continued to thrive and transformed to meet today’s needs and will continue to do so because of its ability to evolve to meet the needs of the time. According to A Third Wave Manifesta, the needs of women today have changed but still reflect concerns at the core of the movement such as reproductive rights and the E.R.A.[8] The movement is more encompassing at this time. There is more acceptance of homosexuals and women of color for example.
The legacies of the movement are most apparent in the evolution of public attitudes toward women outside of the home. Society has grown to be more accepting, and in some cases even supportive of the struggles of women. According to Emma Goldman in A Radical View of Women’s Emancipation “I hold that the emancipation of women, as interpreted and practically applied today, has failed to reach that great end”.[9] I disagree with this thought, though there are many more hurdles to overcome, Second Wave Feminism has served to get the ball rolling and show that a difference can be made.
[1] Declaration of American Women Houston 1977 103
[2] Black Feminism Combahee River collective 98
[3] Black Feminism Combahee River collective 253
[4] Annelise Orleck Storming Caesars Palace 100
[5] Betty Freidan The Feminine Mystique 140
[6] M. Carey Thomas Present Tendencies in Women’s Education 6
[7] Annelise Orleck Storming Caesars Palace 30
[8] A Third Wave Feminist Manifesta Jennifer Baumgardner Amy Richards 139
[9] Emma Goldman A Radical View of Emancipation 25