The book mobilized women in a big way with calls to rediscover themselves and support one another through education. Armed with these important tools, many women were able to liberate themselves from oppressive femininity. Our Bodies, Ourselves represented a groundbreaking shift in the former idea that women were dependents to a belief that women can be independents. In the end, it is this fundamental idea that has continued to improve conditions for women today.
The National Organization for Women was established in the year 1966. This organization was built to help women earn jobs in the workplace just like men, allow them to make their own reproductive and abortion choices, and to end all types violence towards females. Today The National Organization for Women also known as NOW, is the biggest organization of feminist activists in the world. NOW was founded by a woman named Betty Friedan. Friedan had a strong passion for helping women throughout the world earn their rights as human begins and to let their voices be heard.
These activist women had crusaded for the promotion of their civil rights, sexual freedom, and pursued careers which were once forbidden to them. Activists women of the 20th century engaged in various crusades in order to emancipate women and change the conventional stereotyping society that continued to compartmentalized people according to their gender. Eleanor Roosevelt was one of those feminists who advanced the political and social freedom of women. Amidst the ongoing racial discrimination against certain groups of people, the Jews in particular, Roosevelt courageously opened the eyes of the people about the worldwide prejudices that were hindering the exercise of freedom of people (Cook “Reading 4” 535). Through her writings, she became very vocal about human rights abuses.
Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.
In the mid 1960’s, the seeds of oppression (which spread from earlier civil movements) were scattered and sown among other dissatisfied women. These seeds began to take root, and grow dramatically, initially within the context of the growth of more general and widespread left radicalism in Western societies. As a result, beginning about 1965, the second wave of women’s rights activists began to emerge with an autonomous agenda for female liberation. The movement’s objective was to secure equal economic, political, and social rights for women. The women’s liberation movement was composed of an association of women working together in a common cause.
The “Feminine Mystique” is a highly influential book in the early second wave feminism movement. It is said that it helped shaped the demands of the second wave by insisting for the right to work outside the home, and to be paid equally; the right for reproductive freedom; the demand that women should not be expected to have children and be mothers if they do not want to. Betty Friedan addresses “the problem that has no name” which is the women who are highly educated, suburban housewives that are bored and want something “more” in their life. This is the point where women knew we needed a second wave. Women’s role had gone backwards and they were beginning to realize that they were all experiencing the same “problem that has no name”.
To elaborate, Scott argues that as a picture interpreter, we must make a distinction between the “ideal and the real,” to understand the true meaning of an image. She argues how the Gibson Girl and the American Girl were two idealised visions of modern beauty and femininity which made women to try to be like them. These two girls became markers of their decade, ... ... middle of paper ... ...mer. I believe that both articles shed a positive light on the emergence of the New Woman in all areas of society; including socially, economically and publicly. Though Scott’s chapter, readers can see how women were influenced by publicities and how they took those messages and brought them into their own daily lives.
Personally, I think that female empowerment means to motivate and encourage women to be who they are and to make the changes that they want to see in the world. We read in Presence by Amy Cuddy that in order to make a change, women need to find their “best authentic selves.” This means being comfortable with who one is and being confident in one’s ability to establish change. In the book Vital Voices, we read many examples of how women across the globe stepped up to make advances for the feminist movement. Each one of those women knew who they were and where they wanted to go. Many were raw with their emotions and experiences and used that to connect with their audience or inspire others to join a cause.
Personally, I think that female empowerment means to motivate and encourage women to be who they are and to make the changes that they want to see in the world. We read in “Presence” by Amy Cuddy that in order to make change, women need to find their “best authentic selves.” This means being comfortable with who one is and being confident in one’s ability to make change. In the book “Vital Voices”, we read many examples of how women across the globe stepped up to make advances in the feminist movement. Each one of those women knew who they were and where they wanted to go. Many were raw with their emotions and experiences and used that to connect with their audience or inspire others to join a cause.
Simply put to get a groups attention you have to know what you are talking about. Pathos, referring to emotions, is displayed... ... middle of paper ... ...y for women today. Eastman played a huge part in showing how women struggled to stamp their existence of being treated equally in society, to be free from discrimination and harassment in the social areas. Eastman would be proud that her life long work for equality for women has been achieved through progress, and wiliness for something greater than themselves. The dedication, which enabled American women the equal status of men, abolished the gender barriers and granted all women the freedom they so deserved.