Womens’ Liberation Movement Notes

The Wo custodys Liberation Movement AKA Womens Lib Feminist Movement or Womens Rights Movement Feminism is the radical nonion that women be human beings -women fighting male power structure Women, you may be feminist if you -had lots of choices after high trail -had the option of college/grad school -have a c arer/ bank line and family -plan to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer (professional) - digest fair work salary for any work -workplace is free of sexual discrimination -participate in womens sports -go to a woman doctor -vote in any political race -run for any political office intend to use solar daycare -can channel a divorce (custody) -You have the choose of wearing jeans and tennis shoes instead of a girdle and heels man is non the enemy here but the fellow victim -Betty Friedan -If civil rights are denied by somebody, it affects everybody Men, you may be feminist if you -are in college or have had other opportunities because of moms good job to contribute to income -mom had support services to help raise you/siblings -have a content, stay at home mom -have ever been asked out by a girl (or paid) Understand and care for Art -How is it put together? What do I person aloney bring? -Where did it come from? (Context) The First Wave of Feminism 1848-1920 -Womens Rights Convention *Seneca travel, NY July 19-20, 1848 -19th Amendment *ratified June 26, 1920 *voting day November 2, 1920 Second Wave of Feminism 1960s-70s State of Womens Rights in 1848 by Custom and/or Law -Economic *could not buy/sell property *could not calcu advanced into contracts without husbands consent *actu anyy seen as property -Social *no recourse to spousal abuse *no divorce without husbands consent *few custody rights everywhere kids *could not go out in public alone Educational *denied any education *denied education in math, langu mount *most could not go to college *could not enter the professions (law, engineering) *some women attended female seminars or academies to become teachers once they were married, however, they were fired -Political *could not serve on a jury *could not essay in a case (too emotional, not trustworthy) *could not vote (not smart, too delicate, vote like husband) Lizzy Borden acquitted by a jury of 12 men not guilty of killing her two parents Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks.When she saw what she had done She gave her father forty-one. The Birth of the Womens Movement -Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott attended the population Anti-Slavery Convention with their husbands in London they were denied seats because they were women -The women reunited at a tea party at the McKlintock House in July 1848 (Seneca Falls, NY) and decided on a gathering -Stanton mostly wrote the The solving of Rights and Sentiments *We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal List of Grievances -never exercised the right to vote he made her morally, an unequivocal being -in the eye of the law, married women were dead -denied right to education -denied divorce rights -demeaned to second-class citizens Womens Rights Convention, July 19-20, 1848 -300 men and women gathered at the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Seneca Falls, NY -Ratification of their Declaration -Fight over the 11th amendment (suffrage) -Frederick Douglass (great orator, ex-slave, equivalent to Malcolm X) fought for womens rights at the convention compared value of women as lesser than animals in society characterisation do Notes Not for Ourselves Alone- Seneca Falls narrations from female historians reflecting -procession of women to Seneca Falls -July 19, only women attended July 20, open to all (over 300 men and women) -Lucretias husband was asked to lead (the women were nervous because they never spoke in public) -men decried women of their rights -68 men and women signed their Declaration -11 new conditions, only 10 were passed unbosom no right to vote -The right to vote is ours. Have it we mu st, use it we will -Stanton -Without the vote, women would be unable to salmagundi the laws that hurt them -Douglass The Suffrage Movement Susan B. Anthony (died 1906) *Last public words Failure is impossible *One of four women and 2 modern women to be on funds -Carrie Chapman Catt -Alice Paul Iron Jawed Angels (film) -women jailed for fighting for suffrage The End of the First Wave -Ratification of the 19th Amendment, June 29, 1920 Sufragette women (1920s) who fought for womens rights Video Clip Notes -Interview with Ruth Dyk (98 yrs. old) mom was a suffragette -Interview with Ethel manse (100 yrs. old) -more than 8 million women voted -14 years for women to vote since Declaration Stanton and Anthony did not get to vote because they died One Step Forward, Two Steps Back -Some improvement -loss of locomote -Great Depression (Migrant Mother iconic Great Depression photo taken by Dorothy Lange, 1936) We Can Do It World War II The mid-forties -women take over masculine jobs to he lp win the war -if youve used an electric mixer in your kitchen, you can learn to run a action press -Rosie the Riveter represented a lot of women iconic poster by J. Howard Miller -6 million women became Rosies -Rosie the Riveter by the Four Vagabonds (song) Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jane Baker) was a Rosie works with planes, when a photographer saw her and took army photos -Fannie Lou Hamer sharecropper who became a significant voting rights and civil rights activist Rush to the Altar mid-late 1940s -soldiers come home, women go home, men take back the jobs espousal rate 1948- 16. 4% 2008- 7. 1% Traditional Housewives (Suburbs) 1950s -normalcy after the war -traditional families/sex roles -PhT (Putting Husband Through) and Mrs. degrees (women going to college to husking a husband) -the ideal of the homemaker the feminine mystique Video Clip Notes Why Study Home Economics (University of Kansas) -Im going to need to know -.. homemaker the nap of my life -were going to get married, no choice -Counselor Home Ec training teaches you how to be a better homemaker Ultimate Goal Marriage and Family -regardless of education -TV Show Leave it to Beaver portrayed traditional family roles -TV was new in the 50s what put acrosss were TV shows sending to men and women? -Drop the Mop song ( represent jobs and educational opportunities) The Winds of Discontent (late 50s, early 60s) legal job discrimination -1/3 women working outside of home (low paying jobs, laid off first, glass hood) -After WWII, new technology -Airline jobs- as soon as a stewardess got married, she was fired wasnt the same for pilots (only could be male) -teaching was considered the best job (others were secretaries, but no professions) -Lorena Weeks utilize 1964 legislation to fight the legal discrimination at work *operated switchboards under bad hours and low pay Dissatisfied Housewives -Betty Friedan voice of dissatisfied housewives -Wrote The Feminine Mystique (1953)Video Clip Notes -K. Foley wor king wife/mother *frozen opportunities and lack of jobs -Dust Roady earned college degree in 1950, precious to be a pilot, denied position and only offered to be a stewardess Video Clip Notes Eastern Airlines commercial -discriminatory and demeaning towards female (stewardesses) -they were fired at age 32, versus male pilots being fired at age 60 -Friedan challenged the identity of women in her book .. cannot find herself in a house -not all women bought her message, however -Jacqui Ceball it wasnt us, it was societyThe Presidents Commission on the Status of Women 1961 -JFKs presidency women were paid $0. 59 for every $1 men were paid -2008 women were paid $0. 77 for every $1 men were paid -low, unequal pay -poor job opportunities -quotas in professional schools (only a certain number of women) -lack of social services -TV show All in the Family wage disparity (Archie was the husband) -60s some nuns got rid of their habits (changes in the church) The personal is political -social restrictions *men only and women only public places women were isolated in their witness homes- they couldnt meet up and talk -this issue lead to thought Raising Groups, where women could talk about anything in privacy without men or children -battered womens shelters -contraceptive rights, including abortion (Roe V. Wade) -rape laws -Before Second Wave Feminism, issues such as abusive relationships were personal problems, not societys problem -However, feminists argued that society needs to be involved with solving these problems Video Clip Notes -Women try to enter mens bar women are people, start all over (black and whites, men and women)Video Clip Notes Second-Class Citizens -60s in some states, women needed husbands cosign to get a credit card -70s women would not be cut off during consciousness raising group meetings -womens strike dont iron while the strike is hot The Mid 60s-70s -Civil Rights Act 1964 banned discrimination (race and gender) -National Organization for Wome n (NOW) 1966 *created by Betty Friedan still one of the largest poetical organizations for womens rights today *aimed at men too (better for them) *not all feminists of 60s agreed with her (like MLK vs Malcolm X)Miss America Protest 1968 -Guerrilla theatre Video Clip Notes -March on Washington 1963 -led to critical victory for minorities and women LBJ signs Civil Rights Act -Lorena Weeks cited the Civil RIghts Act to fight *it took 5 years and an appeal to the Supreme Court, but she got the job she compulsioned -Women in white robes praying Mother, Daughter, Holy Granddaughter -to feminists Miss America Pageant was epitome of ideal woman -female protestors threw bras, girdles, makeup, and heels in trash -Shirley Chisholm equal pay and equal opportunities in stock market feminismWomens Liberation I Am adult female, Hear Me Roar -Helen Reddy -Politics -Legal System -Wall Street -Media -Medicine -Arts -Sports -Pop Culure -ALL AREAS The Feminine Mystique, or Betty, Tina, Mrs. Robinson , and all those other housewives Betty Friedan 1921-2006 -Smith College 1942 -Wife, mother, housewife, writer, feminist attracter -The Feminist Mystique -Worked as a journalist in 50s, but got fired when she got pregnant she then did free-lance magazine work from home How did the Feminist Mystique get started? -McCalls magazine womens magazine that catered to womens issues asked Friedan to write a piece *Friedan interviewed women she graduated with and asked them What has been your experience as a woman? -The initial title of the article was to be The Togetherness cleaning lady (the happy, ideal, traditional woman) -Smith Colleges Class of 1942 15th reunion What did McCalls expect to find? -ideal 50s women -high levels of satisfaction and happiness -LIFE Magazine, December 1956 ideal American womanwhite, middle-class, frivolous, spoiled, beautiful, boy crazy.. Ideal 50s Woman -Feminine -Delicate Not intellectual -Compliant -Content -Him-focused -Family-focused -House-focused Vide o Clip Notes -Christian Dior set standards for fashion trends during wartime -Hourglass figure, girdles and slim shapes with big bust -feminine, sexy -Contestants had to peel potatoes and make a bed in Miss America Pageant Barbie -invented in 1959 -commercial doll (doll $3, clothes $1-5) -Mattel International Video Clip Notes Xerox commercial -first machine in 1959 -take-off on Marilyn Monroe, ditzy secetary -overall message So easy a woman can do it A Housewifes Day -PTA meetings Shopping -Seeing her friends -In her kitchen What did Friedans survey actually find? -discontent, unhappy -unexplained fatigue and material illness -prescription drug use sky rocketed *3 years 1. 2 million pounds of Miltown (tranquilizer) had been taken by women (mid 50s) -lack of interest in the world or hope for the future -went beyond her college peers She found that for women. -College graduate rates 60% drop out (PhT) -Marriage rates up, age down (average 20yrs and dropping in late 50s) -Skyrocketing birthrate -Labor Market 1/3 working nonprofessional jobs Politics Congress- more in 40s than in the 50s What did Friedan conclude? -Women suffer from the problem that has no remark *The housewifes blight (doctors used these terms, even) -Psychological problem lack of identity -Trapped in a dilemma *Homemaker lifestyle that was the envy of many but not fulfilling, particularly to the educated woman -McCalls denied Friedans magazine Article (editors were men) What is the Feminine Mystique? -Post WWII ideology that a woman can and should only be fulfilled as a housewife and mother -Resistance sickness, abnormality Intentionally pervasive throughout society -Fight back against Feminine Mystique is the Womens Lib Movement What did Friedan do? -Wrote the Feminine Mystique (1963) *scream of pain -Changed the course of autobiography -Became a pioneer of the Second Wave -Remember Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer of the First Wave Possible Why? Theories -nations need to return to pre-war n ormalcy? -Artificial perkiness idea that in society, there are people who feel they want to be on top, meaning some have to sink to the bottom (men vs. omen) -need for a consumer class with time and desire to shop The Freudian Why Theory -Sigmund Freud Father of psychology and psychiatry -Anatomy is destiny *Women are anatomically built to be mothers -Normal female traits are receptivity and passivitya willingness to accept dependence. -Freud is a male chauvinist pig -Shulamith Firestone coined this phrase Friedans Conclusion All the theories are true -The Feminine Mystique is pervasive in society and it is the result of an intentional conspiracy by the male-dominated society to keep things male-dominated The Stepford Wives Sci-fi book by Ira Levin men find a way to turn their wives into robots (ideal 50s woman) -Movies 1975- thriller 2004- spoof (credits show many different shots to send his message) The Graduate (1967) -7 American Film Institute scoop out movie of all time -Boo k written by Charles Webb- graduated from William College then wrote it -Ann Bancroft (who inspired Professor Loughran to act very young) played Mrs. Robinson, an unhappy housewife -Dustin Hoffman plays Benjamin, a discontent college graduate actor was originally supposed to be tall and attractive, like Robert Redford -Katharine Ross Music Simon and Garfunkel wrote the theme song, which was originally supposed to be Mrs. Roosevelt -Director Mike Nichols Video Clip Notes the Graduate -Scene begins after Bens graduation party -Mrs. Robinson resorts to alcohol and music -Mrs. Robinson youre trying to seduce me Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) -Comedy of manners making fun of a certain segment of society -exploring dangers of Feminine Mystique in a humorous way -Making fun of upper, affluent lifestyles of these people Early long time of TV -1939 World Fair -Rapid expansion *Post WWII leisure *Better technology Better programming -Content *news, drama, variety shows *live broadcast *adve rtising 1955 fort up Wayne, Indiana -Social Lives -Education -Business -Church TV and Politics -JFK AKA TV President -TV was live in the 60s *death of Lee Harvey Oswald was aired 1950s/60s TV A Mans World Womens lives are so dull they dont need TV shows women can make decisions in comedies.. -Norman Felton, MGM Executive Producer -Madelyn Martin, writer for Lucy shows Televisions Portrayal of Women (according to Friedan) -boring -jealous -inept -foolish -dependent -weak -silly -spoiled -materialistic I Married Joan (1954 Daytime TV Show) *Joan Davis (like Lucille Ball) *Mrs. Bradley Stevens (married to judge_ Marlo Thomas Arts Hero -Personal Life *Born 1937 *Daughter of Danny Thomas (comedy Danny Thomas Show) *grew up privileged *wife/stepmother Phil Donaghue (precursor to Oprah, similar talk show) *didnt want to get married *saw mistreatment of women firsthand in acting industry *wanted to be an actress, and was concerned about making it on her own playing -TV Series That Girl, among others -Film -Theater Writing -Free to BeYou and Me (healthier childrens book) *books, CDs, and TV specialsOther -Producer -Speaker -Awards Lucy Award (outstanding women in TV), Emmy, Golden Globe, Grammy *same as Sidney Poiter not about winning, but making a deviation That Girl -September 1966 -First show about a single woman -Force behind the show *scripts *clothes -Production aspects -end of season, she had a boyfriend on the show, the producer wanted them to conjoin but she said Hell no Making a Difference -Advocate for womens rights *The Ms. Foundation for Women -St. Judes Childrens (Cancer) Research Hospital *Her dad founded this in 1960 Janis wanted what med had- everything Dont compromise yourself. Youre all youve got. Janis Joplin first female rockstar -wanted to be equal with men -she wanted a personal life -From Port Arthur, TX always wrote letters and kept in billet with her family -Dated musician Country Joe McDonald -Wanted a career, broke with the band Big Brotherand went successfully solo -Died of heroine overdose -Made it okay for a woman to create her own kind of beauty -made it possible for women to have any type of career -1995 inducted into Rock n Roll Hall of Fame -Helped women reach for the starts -inspired female rockstars