6: Second Wave Feminism 1965-1980

Betty Friedman

• Writer & feminist leader who argued many American housewives felt secretly unhappy and trapped

• Author of “The Feminine Mystique” which became a national best seller

• Helped found NOW (National Organization for Women)

Flight Attendants 1960’s & the EEOC

• Airlines hired hired young, thin, unmarried women based on looks and sex appeal and fired them once they were older or married

• These attendants filed complaints under the Title VII (Civil Rights Act 1964)

• EEOC ignored them at first stating they “weren’t priority”

• They fought back and partnered with NOW to pressure to EEOC

• EEOC finally ruled marriage bans, age limits, weight rules illegal discrimination

Freedom Riders

• Black and White Civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated South to challenge illegal Jim Crow segregation in bus stations

• Faced extreme violence: buses bombed, riders beaten and jailed

• Forced government to enforce anti-segregation rulings

The Feminine Mystique

• Book written by Betty Friedman in 1963

• Argued American women secretly unhappy by societies limiting roles

• Sold over 3 million copies

Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Major law banning discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin

• “Sex” was added as a joke but became huge for women and protected them under federal law

• Title VII: Made sex discrimination in employment illegal

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): Created to enforce the law but refused to take women’s cases seriously at first

Fanny Lou Hamer

• Black sharecropper who became one of the strongest voices in the Civil Rights Movement

• Fought against racist voter suppression, survived extreme violence, and spoke nationally about Black women’s experience

• When she tried to register to vote, White authorities retaliated; fired from job, evicted from home

• While traveling with activists, she was arrested and brutally beaten in Jail

• Helped found MFDP, Challenged Democratic party

• Gave powerful testimony exposing Jim Crow violence on national TV

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• Federal law that banned racial discrimination in voting

• Gave Black Americans real access to the ballet box by outlawing barriers like literacy tests, poll taxes and intimidation

• Gave federal government power to supervise elections in places with long histories of discrimination

Vietnam War

• Long conflict where the US fought Vietnam to stop the spread of communism, lasted 2 decades, over 58,000 Americans died and 3 million of Vietnamese civilians killed, costed 150 Billion

  • North Vietnam (communist government, supported the Soviet Union & China)

  • South Vietnam (anti-communist, supported by US)

  • US joined bc of Cold War fears

• Many women joined antiwar protests bc they believed the war was unjust, violent

• First televised war

• Ended military draft, allowed volunteers

• 1975 Vietnam falls to communists

What was the Vietnam War?

A long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in the South (Viet Cong) against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States.

The Counterculture

• Major youth movement in the 60’s where millions of people rejected America values: conformity, materialism

• Motivated by the Vietnam War, racism, sexism, and distrust of authority

• Hippies— communal living, free love, rock music, drugs, spirituality

Sexual Revolution

• Cultural movement rejecting old rules about sex, marriage, and women’s behavior

• Sex was talked about more openly in media

• Many young women rejected marriage and motherhood as their only life goal

• Helped fuel the women’s liberation movement

Women’s Liberation Movement

• Young radical feminist movement that argued women were oppressed in every part of society

• Started by young women who worked in Civil Rights Movement and felt ignored

• Core idea “The personal is political”

  • Women’s struggles weren’t personal problems, but politcal problems created by sexism

• Speak-outs, protests, groups; More confrontational than NOW

Consciousness Raising Groups

• Groups of women met to talk openly about their personal lives, feeling, experiences

• Goal: Help women realize they weren’t struggling alone

• Topics: Housework, marriage, sex, work discrimination, violence, childcare, reproductive rights

Dolores Huerta

• Mexican American labor leader and civil rights activist who helped farmworkers fight for fair wages, bettery working conditions, basic human rights

• Leader of community service organization, Civil Rights group

• Co-founded the United Farm Workers

  • Delano grape strike

  • Consumer boycotts

  • Marches & protests

Lorena Weeks

• Working mother and long-time telephone operator for Southern Bell

• In 1966, she applied to transfer to a better paid job as a “switchman” (traditionally done by men

• Southern Bell refused to give her the job, using state law as an excuse that said women couldn’t lift more than 30 pounds

• She filed a complaint with the EEOC and took the case to court under Title VII which bans sex discrimination in employment

• Ruled employers cant use sex stereotypes for “protective” ideas to keep women out of higher-paid work

MECHA

• Chicano Student Organization that fought for

  • Better education

  • Cultural Respect

  • Ending discrimination

  • More Mexican American studies

• Organized walkouts, protests, and demanded Chicano studies

• Contributed to the rise of Chicano feminism, many young Mexican American women noticed sexism and began advocating for gender equality

National Organization for Women (NOW)

• Major feminist org founded in 1966

• Main goal: help women gain equal rights in every part of life

• The EEOC refused to take gender discrimination seriously

• Fought for: equal pay, job opportunities, education, childcare, reproductive rights

• Methods: lobbying, lawsuits, protests, media campaigns

• Pushed for the Title VII & Equal rights Amendment

Robin Morgan

• Major leader women’s liberation movement, writer and activist

• Organized Miss America 1968 protest

• Organized consciousness-raising groups

• Deeply involved in protests against sexism

• Editor of Ms. Magazine, spread feminist ideas to national audience

Rita Brown

• Lesbian feminist & writer who called out how mainstream feminist groups were excluding lesbians while relying on lesbian labor

• Feminist were scared of associating with lesbians bc it “would hurt the movement”

• Exposed hypocrisy inside mainstream feminism

• Helped spark the Lavender Menace Protest, lesbians confronted NOW

• Forced movement to include queer women

Charlotte Bunch

• Feminist activist & writer, thinker

• Helped define slogan “The Personal is Political”

• Argued sexism is tied to racism, class oppression, homophobia,

• Wrote essays that shaped feminist political thought

Rose Garrity

• Activist who helped found the early anti-domestic violence movement

• Worked in women’s shelters for rape violence and domestic abuse

• Activism helped push for later refoms protecting women from violence (VAWA)

The Lavender Menace

• “Lesbians inside the Women’s movement” — a term used by Betty Friedan who though their prescience would harm feminist public image

• Excluded from NOW and leadership roles

• At the second congress to unite women, they wore “Lavender Menace” shirts to protest

• Forced mainstream feminists to confront homphobia

• Outcome: Lesbian issues became integrated into second-wave feminism

Gloria Steinem

• Major spokesperson for women’s movement

• Used writing and media to expose sexism and explain everyday gender inequality

• Co-founded Ms. Magazine

• Helped found National Women’s Political Caucus

Ms. Magazine

• Feminist magazine founded by Gloria Steinem, first national magazine created for women by women

• Gave mainstream visibility to the Women’s Liberation Movement

• Published the famous “We Have Had Abortions” petition

• “Never Again” vulgar magazine cover showing a women dead from illegal unsafe abortion

Patsy Takemoto Mink

• First woman of color elected to congress in 1964

• Co-authored Title IX

Title IX

• Federal law passed that banned sex discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal funding

Shirley Chisholm

• First Black woman elected to congress

• Founding member of NOW

• Co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus

• Ran for President in 1972

Newsweek Magazine Lawsuit 1986

• Major work-place sexism case where the employees sued the magazine for gender discrimination

• Women kept in researcher roles, not allowed to advance

Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas 1991

• Controversy when law professor Anita Hill testified that supreme court Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor

The New Right

• Conservative political movement that pushed back against feminism, LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, promoted traditional family values

Backlash of the 1980’s

• Conservative pushback in the 1980’s against the gains women made during the feminist movements in the 60-70’s

• Argued feminism “gone too ar”

• Blamed feminism for divorce rates, working mothers, changing family roles, harming children and families

• Mass media portrayed career women as unappy