Modern feminism in the USA

Introduction
On Election Day in 1920, millions of American women exercised their
right to vote for the first time. It took activists and reformers nearly 100
years to win that right, and the campaign was not easy: Disagreements
over strategy threatened to cripple the movement more than once. But
on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was
finally ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the
first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities
of citizenship

What is Feminism?
Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining,
establishing, and defending a state of equal political, economic, cultural, and
social rights for women. Feminism in the United States is often divided
chronologically into first-wave, second-wave, and third-wave feminism.
As of the most recent Gender Gap Index measurement of countries by the World
Economic Forum in 2014, the United States is ranked 20th on gender equality

The first wave of feminism

1.

took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emerging out of an environment of urban
industrialism and liberal, socialist politics.

2.

The goal of this wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage.

3.

The wave formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, when 300 men and women rallied
to the cause of equality for women.

4.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (d.1902) drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration outlining the new movement's
ideology and political strategies.

5.

In its early stages, feminism was interrelated with the temperance and abolitionist movements and
gave voice to now-famous activists like the African-American Sojourner Truth (d.1883), who
demanded, "Ain't I a woman?" Victorian America saw women acting in very "un-ladylike" ways
(public speaking, demonstrating, stints in jail), which challenged the "cult of domesticity."
Discussions about the vote and women's participation in politics led to an examination of the
differences between men and women as they were then viewed. Some claimed that women were
morally superior to men, and so their presence in the civic sphere would improve public behavior
and the political process.

The second wave began in the 1960s and continued into the 1990s. This wave
unfolded in the context of the anti-Vietnam War and civil rights movements and the growing selfconsciousness of a variety of minority groups around the world. The New Left was on the rise, and the
voice of the second wave was increasingly radical. In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights were
dominant issues, and much of the movement's energy was focused on passing the Equal Rights
Amendment to the constitution guaranteeing social equality regardless of sex.
This phase began with protests against the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City in 1968 and 1969.
Feminists parodied what they held to be a degrading "cattle parade" that reduced women to objects of
beauty dominated by a patriarchy that sought to keep them in the home or in dull, low-paying jobs. The
radical New York group called the Redstockings staged a counter pageant, in which they crowned a
sheep as Miss America and threw "oppressive" feminine artifacts such as bras, girdles, high-heels,
makeup and false eyelashes into the trashcan.
Because the second wave of feminism found voice amid so many other social movements, it was easily
marginalized and viewed as less pressing than, for example, Black Power or the effort to end the war in
Vietnam. Feminists reacted by forming women-only organizations (such as NOW) and "consciousness
raising" groups. In publications like "The BITCH Manifesto" and "Sisterhood is Powerful," feminists
advocated for their place in the sun. The second wave was increasingly theoretical, based on a fusion of
neo-Marxism and psycho-analytic theory and began to associate the subjugation of women with broader
critiques of patriarchy, capitalism, normative heterosexuality, and the woman's role as wife and mother.
Sex and gender were differentiated the former being biological, and the later a social construct that
varies culture-to-culture and over time.
Whereas the first wave of feminism was generally propelled by middle class white women, the second
phase drew in women of color and developing nations, seeking sisterhood and solidarity and claiming,
"Women's struggle is class struggle." Feminists spoke of women as a social class and coined phrases
such as "the personal is political" and "identity politics" in an effort to demonstrate that race, class and
gender oppression are all related. They initiated a concentrated effort to rid society top-to-bottom of
sexism, from children's cartoons to the highest levels of government.
One of the strains of this complex and diverse "wave" was the development of women-only spaces and
the notion that women working together create a special dynamic that is not possible in mixed-groups
and that would ultimately work for the betterment of the entire planet. Women, whether due to their
long "subjugation" or to their biology, were thought by some to be more humane, collaborative,
inclusive, peaceful, nurturing, democratic and holistic in their approach to problem-solving than men.
The term eco-feminism was coined to capture the sense that, because of their biological connection to
earth and lunar cycles, women were natural advocates of environmentalism.

The third phase of feminism began in the mid-1990s and is informed by postcolonial and post-modern thinking. In this phase many constructs have been destabilized, including the
notions of "universal womanhood," body, gender, sexuality and hetreronormativity. An aspect of third
wave feminism that mystifies the mothers of the earlier feminist movement is the readoption by young

feminists of the very lipstick, high heels and cleavage proudly exposed by low cut necklines that the first
two phases of the movement identified with male oppression. Pinkfloor expressed this new position when
she said; "It's possible to have a push-up bra and a brain at the same time."
The "grrls" of the third wave have stepped onto the stage as strong and empowered, eschewing
victimization and defining feminine beauty for themselves as subjects, not as objects of a sexist
patriarchy. They have developed a rhetoric of mimicry, which reappropriates derogatory terms like "slut"
and "bitch" in order to subvert sexist culture and deprive it of verbal weapons. The web is an important
aspect of the new "girlie feminism." E-zines have provided "cybergrrls" and "netgrrls" another kind of
women-only space. At the same time rife with the irony of third-wave feminism because cyberspace is
disembodied it permits all users the opportunity to cross gender boundaries and so the very notion of
gender has been challenged.
This is in keeping with the third wave's celebration of ambiguity and refusal to think in terms of "usthem" or in some cases their refusal to identify themselves as "feminists" at all. Grrl-feminism tends to
be global and multi-cultural, and it shuns simple answers or artificial categories of identity, gender and
sexuality. Its transversal politics means that differences such as those of ethnicity, class, sexual
orientation, etc., are celebrated but recognized as dynamic, situational and provisional. Reality is
conceived not so much in terms of fixed structures and power relations, but in terms of performance
within contingencies. Third wave feminism breaks boundaries.
Where feminism will go from here is unclear, but the point is that feminism, by whatever name, is alive
and well both in academia and outside of it. Some older feminists feel discouraged by the younger
generation's seeming ignorance of or disregard for the struggles and achievements of the early
movement. They see little progress (the pay gap has not significantly narrowed in 60 years), and are
fearful that the new high-heeled, red-lipped college grrls are letting us backslide. This, however, is not
likely the case. There have always been feminisms in the movement, not just one ideology, and there
have always been tensions, points and counterpoints. The political, social and intellectual feminist
movements have always been chaotic, multivalenced, and disconcerting, and let's hope they continue to
be so; it's a sign that they are thriving.

Historical Background
The campaign for womens suffrage began in earnest in the decades
before the Civil War.

During the 1820s and 30s, most states had extended the franchise
to all white men, regardless of how much money or property they
had. At the same time, all sorts of reform groups were proliferating
across the United Statestemperance clubs, religious movements

and moral-reform societies, anti-slavery organizationsand in many

of these, women played a prominent role.
In 1848, a group of abolitionist activistsmostly women, but some
mengathered in Seneca Falls, New York to discuss the problem of
womens rights.
Most of the delegates agreed: American women were autonomous
individuals who deserved their own political identities. We hold
these truths to be self-evident, proclaimed the Declaration of
Sentiments that the delegates produced, that all men and
women are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator
with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness.

THIS HOUR BELONGS TO THE NEGRO

During the 1850s, the womens rights movement gathered steam,

but lost momentum when the Civil War began.
Almost immediately after the war ended, the 14th and 15th
Amendments to the Constitution raised familiar questions of
suffrage and citizenship. (The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868,
extends the Constitutions protection to all citizensand defines
citizens as male; the 15th, ratified in 1870, guarantees black men
the right to vote.)
Some woman-suffrage advocates, among them Stanton and Susan
B. Anthony, believed that this was their chance to push lawmakers
for truly universal suffrage.
As a result, they refused to support the 15th Amendment and even
allied with racist Southerners who argued that white womens votes
could be used to neutralize those cast by African-Americans. In 1869,
this faction formed a group called the National Woman Suffrage
Association and began to fight for a universal-suffrage amendment
to the federal Constitution.

 Others argued that it was unfair to endanger black enfranchisement

by tying it to the markedly less popular campaign for female
suffrage. This pro-15th-Amendment faction formed a group called
the American Woman Suffrage Association and fought for the
franchise on a state-by-state basis.
THE PROGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN FOR SUFFRAGE
This animosity eventually faded, and in 1890 the two groups merged to
form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. (Elizabeth
Cady Stanton was the organizations first president.) By then, the
suffragists approach had changed. Instead of arguing that women
deserved the same rights and responsibilities as men because women
and men were created equal, the new generation of activists argued
that women deserved the vote because they were different from men.
They could make their domesticity into a political virtue, using the
franchise to create a purer, more moral maternal commonwealth.

This argument served many political agendas: Temperance advocates,

for instance, wanted women to have the vote because they thought it
would mobilize an enormous voting bloc on behalf of their cause, and
many middle-class white people were swayed once again by the
argument that the enfranchisement of white women would ensure
immediate and durable white supremacy, honestly attained.
WINNING THE VOTE AT LAST
Starting in 1910, some states in the West began to extend the vote to
women for the first time in almost 20 years. (Idaho and Utah had given
women the right to vote at the end of the 19th century.) Still, the more
established Southern and Eastern states resisted. In 1916, NAWSA
president Carrie Chapman Catt unveiled what she called a Winning
Plan to get the vote at last: a blitz campaign that mobilized state and
local suffrage organizations all over the country, with special focus on
those recalcitrant regions. (Meanwhile, a splinter group called the

National Womens Party focused on more radical, militant tactics

hunger strikes and White House pickets, for instanceaimed at winning
dramatic publicity for their cause.)
World War I slowed the suffragists campaign but helped them advance
their argument nonetheless: Womens work on behalf of the war effort,
activists pointed out, proved that they were just as patriotic and
deserving of citizenship as men, and on August 26, 1920, the 19th
Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified.

Modern Feminism
"Motherhood is bliss." "Your first priority is to care for your husband and children." "Homemaking
can be exciting and fulfilling."
Throughout the 1950s, educated middle-class women heard advice like this from the time they
were born until they reached adulthood. The new suburban lifestyle prompted many women to
leave college early and pursue the "cult of the housewife." Magazines such as Ladies Home
Journal and Good Housekeeping and television shows such as "Father Knows Best" and "The
Donna Reed Show" reinforced this idyllic image.
But not every woman wanted to wear pearls and bring her husband his pipe and slippers when he
came home from work. Some women wanted careers of their own.
In 1963, BETTY FRIEDAN published a book called THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE that identified "the
problem that has no name." Amid all the demands to prepare breakfast, to drive their children to
activities, and to entertain guests, Friedan had the courage to ask: "Is this all there is?" "Is this
really all a woman is capable of doing?" In short, the problem was that many women did not like
the traditional role society prescribed for them.

Germaine Greer burst onto the feminist scene in 1970 with her book The Female
Eunuch. In it, Greer urged women to break down the societal barriers of the era.
Her 1999 book, The Whole Woman, continued with this theme, telling women
that it was "time to get angry again."
Friedan's book struck a nerve. Within three years of the publication of her book, a new feminist
movement was born, the likes of which had been absent since the suffrage movement. In 1966,
Friedan, and others formed an activist group called the NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN.
NOW was dedicated to the "full participation of women in mainstream American society."
They demanded equal pay for equal work and pressured the government to support and enforce
legislation that prohibited gender discrimination. When Congress debated that landmark Civil
Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination in employment on account of race,

conservative Congressmen added gender to the bill, thinking that the inclusion of women would kill
the act. When this strategy backfired and the measure was signed into law, groups such as NOW
became dedicated to its enforcement.
Like the antiwar and civil rights movements, feminism developed a radical faction by the end of the
decade. Women held "consciousness raising" sessions where groups of females shared experiences
that often led to their feelings of enduring a common plight.

Betty Friedan's 1963 work The Feminine Mystique noted that society placed women almost exclusively in the
role of the homemaker and then challenged women with the question "Is this all there is?" The book proved to
be a catalyst for a women's rights movement and by 1966, Friedan had established the National Organization
for Women.

The word "SEXISM" entered the American vocabulary, as women became categorized as a target
group for discrimination. Single and married women adopted the title MS. as an alternative
toMiss or Mrs. to avoid changing their identities based upon their relationships with men. In
1972, GLORIA STEINEMfounded a feminist magazine of that name.
Authors such as the feminist GERMAINE GREER impelled many women to confront social, political,
and economic barriers. In 1960, women comprised less than 40 percent of the nation's
undergraduate classes, and far fewer women were candidates for advanced degrees. Despite
voting for four decades, there were only 19 women serving in the Congress in 1961. For every
dollar that was earned by an American male, each working American female earned 59. By
raising a collective consciousness, changes began to occur. By 1980, women constituted a majority
of American undergraduates.
As more and more women chose careers over housework, marriages were delayed to a later age
and the birthrate plummeted. Economic independence led many dissatisfied women to dissolve
unhappy marriages, leading to a skyrocketing divorce rate.
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG,

invoking the memory of her mother, evokes the

mood of the women's rights movement: "I pray that I may be all that she would have been had
she lived in an age when women could aspire and achieve, and daughters are cherished as much
as sons."

Women's Rights Movement in the U.S.

Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement
18481920

by Ann-Marie Imbornoni
Discover the key events of the women's rights movement in the United States. This timeline covers
the years of 1848 to 1920, which includes the famed women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y.,
the formation of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and the passage of the
nineteenth amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.

1848
The first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. After 2 days of discussion and
debate, 68 women and 32 men sign a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlines grievances and sets
the agenda for the women's rights movement. A set of 12 resolutions is adopted calling for equal
treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.

1850
The first National Women's Rights Convention takes place in Worcester, Mass., attracting more than
1,000 participants. National conventions are held yearly (except for 1857) through 1860.
Top1869
May
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage
Association. The primary goal of the organization is to achieve voting rights for women by
means of a Congressional amendment to the Constitution.
Nov.
Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and others form the American Woman Suffrage Association.
This group focuses exclusively on gaining voting rights for women through amendments to
individual state constitutions.
Dec. 10
The territory of Wyoming passes the first women's suffrage law. The following year, women
begin serving on juries in the territory.

1890
The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merge to
form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). As the movement's mainstream
organization, NAWSA wages state-by-state campaigns to obtain voting rights for women.

1893
Colorado is the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to
vote. Utah and Idaho follow suit in 1896, Washington State in 1910, California in
1911, Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona in 1912, Alaska and Illinois in 1913, Montana and Nevada in
1914, New York in 1917; Michigan, South Dakota, and Oklahoma in 1918.

1896

The National Association of Colored Women is formed, bringing together more than 100 black
women's clubs. Leaders in the black women's club movement include Josephine St. Pierre
Ruffin, Mary Church Terrell, and Anna Julia Cooper.
Top1903
The National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) is established to advocate for improved wages
and working conditions for women.

1913
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the Congressional Union to work toward the passage of a federal
amendment to give women the vote. The group is later renamed the National Women's Party.
Members picket the White House and practice other forms of civil disobedience.

1916
Margaret Sanger opens the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. Although the clinic is shut
down 10 days later and Sanger is arrested, she eventually wins support through the courts and opens
another clinic in New York City in 1923.

1919
The federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced
in Congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the
states for ratification.

1920
The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the
workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.
Aug. 26
The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is signed into law
by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.

1921
Margaret Sanger founds the American Birth Control League, which evolves into the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America in 1942.

1935
Mary McLeod Bethune organizes the National Council of Negro Women, a coalition of black women's
groups that lobbies against job discrimination, racism, and sexism.

1936
The federal law prohibiting the dissemination of contraceptive information through the mail is modified
and birth control information is no longer classified as obscene. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, birth
control advocates are engaged in numerous legal suits.

1955
The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the first lesbian organization in the United States, is founded. Although
DOB originated as a social group, it later developed into a political organization to win basic
acceptance for lesbians in the United States.
Top1960
The Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pills.

1961
President John Kennedy establishes the President's Commission on the Status of Women and
appoints Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. The report issued by the Commission in 1963 documents
substantial discrimination against women in the workplace and makes specific recommendations for
improvement, including fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable child care.

1963
Betty Friedan publishes her highly influential book The Feminine Mystique, which describes the
dissatisfaction felt by middle-class American housewives with the narrow role imposed on them by
society. The book becomes a best-seller and galvanizes the modern women's rights movement.
June 10
Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than
what a man would receive for the same job.

1964
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex. At the
same time it establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate
complaints and impose penalties.
Top1965
In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court strikes down the one remaining state law prohibiting
the use of contraceptives by married couples.

1966
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded by a group of feminists including Betty
Friedan. The largest women's rights group in the U.S., NOW seeks to end sexual discrimination,
especially in the workplace, by means of legislative lobbying, litigation, and public demonstrations.

1967
Executive Order 11375 expands President Lyndon Johnson's affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover
discrimination based on gender. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must take active
measures to ensure that women as well as minorities enjoy the same educational and employment
opportunities as white males.

1968

The EEOC rules that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal. This ruling is upheld
in 1973 by the Supreme Court, opening the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs hitherto
open only to men.

1969
California becomes the first state to adopt a "no fault" divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by
mutual consent. By 1985 every state has adopted a similar law. Laws are also passed regarding the
equal division of common property.
Top1970
In Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co., a U.S. Court of Appeals rules that jobs held by men and women
need to be "substantially equal" but not "identical" to fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act. An
employer cannot, for example, change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than
men.

1971
Ms. Magazine is first published as a sample insert in New York magazine; 300,000 copies are sold out
in 8 days. The first regular issue is published in July 1972. The magazine becomes the major forum
for feminist voices, and cofounder and editor Gloria Steinem is launched as an icon of the modern
feminist movement.

1972
Mar. 22
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is passed by Congress and sent to the states for
ratification. Originally drafted by Alice Paul in 1923, the amendment reads: "Equality of rights
under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account
of sex." The amendment died in 1982 when it failed to achieve ratification by a minimum of 38
states.
Also on Mar. 22
In Eisenstadt v. Baird the Supreme Court rules that the right to privacy includes an unmarried
person's right to use contraceptives.
June 23
Title IX of the Education Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools. It states: "No
person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be
denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or
activity receiving federal financial assistance." As a result of Title IX, the enrollment of women
in athletics programs and professional schools increases dramatically.