Feminism and Global Political Events

Feminism is driven by the belief that the sexes are equal and should be treated equally.

More political, aiming to change laws and policies.
Fought for laws to prevent women from being fired for becoming pregnant.
Advocated for women's rights to open bank accounts and obtain credit cards without male approval.
Politicized women's lives.

Focused on the issues of women of different races and classes.
Addressed whether all women have the same issues and if laws need to account for different backgrounds and experiences.
Highlighted debates about the differences between men and women, both physically and psychologically
Explored the meaning of equality, considering aspects beyond just human dignity.
Discussed how mental illnesses like autism and ADHD manifest differently in men versus women.
Addressed physical illnesses and the need to base medical standards on women as well as men.
Challenged the traditional male-centric standards in medicine, citing the example of heart attack symptoms differing between men and women.

Driven by social media.
Addresses issues like doxing and online bullying.
Examines how social media affects the view of women.
Linked to discussions of rape culture and the Me Too movement.
Brought attention to accusations of sexual misconduct, leading to investigations and consequences for those accused.
Involved debates about trans women and what defines a woman, leading to disagreements even within the feminist movement.
The Women's March in 2016, organized largely through social media, exemplified the power of fourth wave feminism.

The Feminine Mystique and The Second Sex are important feminist works.
Simone de Beauvoir, despite being highly educated and on speaking tours with Jean-Paul Sartre, faced sexist questions and treatment, highlighting the frustrations of intelligent women in the 1940s-1960s.

International sporting events, particularly the Olympics, are used to make political statements.
Taking a knee at a football game isn't a new thing.
These events can replace war by creating a competition to see which country is the best.

During the medal ceremony for the 200-meter dash, American athletes Tommy Smith and John Carlos, who won first and third place, respectively, raised black-gloved fists during the national anthem as a symbol of black freedom.
Australian Peter Norman, who won second place, wore a human rights metal in solidarity.
All three men faced consequences for their actions.

A group of radicalized Palestinians took 11 Israeli athletes and coaches hostage, resulting in the deaths of all hostages and several terrorists.
Chose the Olympics because it's an international event.

In 1980, the US boycotted the Moscow Olympics due to the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan
In 1984, the USSR boycotted the Los Angeles Olympics in response.
Currently, athletes from countries boycotting or banned due to human rights violations can compete under the Olympic flag.

Cathy Freeman, the Aboriginal woman who won the 100-meter dash, carried both the Australian and Aboriginal flags as a symbol of moving past segregation.
Australia has been dealing with segregation well into the 80's and 90's

In 1979, the USSR invaded Afghanistan under the pretense of helping the Afghans. This increased tensions with The US.

Ronald Reagan believed mutually assured destruction was a suicide pact and ramped up arms production to put pressure on the USSR economy.
Introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), nicknamed Star Wars, to neutralize nuclear missiles, but the technology was not yet available.
Spent billions of dallars.

Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the USSR, introduced policies of Glasnost (openness, freedom of speech) and Perestroika (restructuring of the government and economy).
These policies led to easing of tensions, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the independence of Eastern Germany.

The USSR was officially dismantled on December 26, 1991.
Russia transitioned to a more democratic country, with free elections, until Vladimir Putin came to power.

On November 4, 1979, 52 American diplomats and citizens were held hostage in Tehran, Iran, by a radicalized Islamic Iranian group because the US refused to return the former Shah of Iran.
Jimmy Carter held responsible for the way it was handled.
The hostages were released on January 20, 1981, moments after Ronald Reagan was sworn into office.

The president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, decided to invade Iran
The US Supplied things to people who eventually became the Taliban, Al Qaeda, because they were freedom fighters at the time.

Members of Reagan's administration secretly sold arms to Iran and gave the money to the Nicaraguan Contras, which was against Congress's wishes.
This scandal led to resignations and raised questions about Reagan's knowledge.

In the 1980s, US embassies were bombed by terrorist groups like Hezbollah.
Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist political party based in Lebanon.
The bombings marked a new era of warfare, with terrorist groups not following rules known before.

The 1980s saw the founding of Al Qaeda, and the early 1990s saw the emergence of the Taliban.
This created new challenges to the world because we didn't know how to handle terrorist groups.