Imagine being a woman living in Europe during the war, taking on many important leadership roles and having a good amount of power. All of a sudden, the war ends and all of these roles and powers are taken away. Europe made women feel equal to men when everything was being sacrificed for a cause, and then threw them back into being a housewife and oppressed as soon as the war ended. Once seeing how much a woman can truly have, she was not going to go back to having nothing. This is what some consider to be the initial spark of the Women’s liberation movement and the second wave of feminism across Europe. In the 1960s, women liberationists saw themselves as an oppressed group and started to demand radical change all across the continent. The way each country reacted to this demand however, was somewhat different. Although after the war, women all across Europe were fighting for liberation, they only completed strides in everyday cultural and social life and gained little to no influence in political life.
Italy was considered to be the most reluctant country to give women certain rights and services. They still had laws restricting where a woman could work in the 1960s and were very skeptical about giving abortion, contraception, and divorce rights out of fear of losing the catholic vote. Hitchcock states: “Until 1967, adultery was a crime punishable only for women; until 1976, girls as young as twelve could be married; abortions were strictly prohibited, and only in 1971 was a ban on sales of contraceptives lifted”. Clearly radical change had to occur if it was still considered accepted for a girl to get married at 12 years old. In order to make these radical changes, women formed groups like the women’s liberation m...
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...en will never be fully equal and if it does happen, it will not be for a long time. It took about 90 years for women to get this far and have a much greater influence in new Europe then they ever dreamed to have in the old. Maybe in another 90 years women will be even closer to complete equality.
Works Cited
Ballarin, Pilar, Margarita Birriel, and Candida Ortiz. Women in the European Union Programme,
"Women in the History of Europe." Accessed April 1, 2014.
http://www.helsinki.fi/science/xantippa/wee/wee21.html.
Herzog, Dagmar. Sex After Fascism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.
Hitchcock, William. The Struggle For Europe. New York: Anchor Books, a Division of Random
House, INC., 2003.
Libcom, "The Women's Movement in Italy." Last modified August 14, 2009. Accessed April 5,
2014. https://libcom.org/library/19-womens-movement-italy.
When the war started, women had to take over the jobs of men and they learned to be independent. These women exemplified the beginning of change. Coupled with enfranchisement and the increased popularity of birth control, women experienced a new liberation. When the men returned from the war they found competition from the newly liberated woman who did not want to settle for making a home (Melman 17). This new class of women exercised a freedom that shocked society.
Whereas the women’s suffrage movements focused mainly on overturning legal obstacles to equality, the feminist movements successfully addressed a broad range of other feminist issues. The first dealt primarily with voting rights and the latter dealt with inequalities such as equal pay and reproductive rights. Both movements made vast gains to the social and legal status of women. One reached its goals while the other continues to fight for women’s rights.
From 1960 to 1990 the women’s movement in Canada played a significant role in history concerning the revolution of women’s rights. Although it was a long road coming for them, they were able to achieve the rights they deserved. Women struggled for equality rights to men but primarily their rights as a person. Since the 1960s women’s rights had significantly changed, they had to work hard for the rights that they have in the present day. Females across the nation started speaking out against gender inequality, divorce, and abortion. This uprising coincided with the Women’s Movement. Through the Royal Commission on the status of women they were able to gain equality rights and they were able to have access to legal abortions through the Charter Rights of Freedom and obtain no-fault divorce through the Divorce Act of 1986.
“Imagine living in a world where there is no domination, where females and males are not alike or even always equal, but where a vision of mutuality is the ethos shaping our interaction. Imagine living in a world where we can all be who we are, a world of peace and possibility.” (Feminism is for everybody, page 8). This particular quote from the assigned reading really spoke to me. How amazing would it be to live in a world where no one group dominates another, or more importantly no one group discriminates one another. Obviously, just as bell hooks’ said following this quote, the feminist movement cannot do all of this alone. There are so many other things going on in the world that need attention as well, such as racism, class exclusivity, and imperialism. Over the past few years I have become more informed on the feminist movement and the assigned reading only heightened my
...urred in the past. They provide relevant information at the same time that explain the points of view of feminist groups and how it have changed the history. In addition, the authors agree that the suffragette movements developed a radical way of feminism so women had to go through a series of acts of humiliation and self-sacrifice to achieve their purposes. On the other hand, they disagree with the creation of some women groups and the techniques that they used and in the way that they fought to have an equal pay. However, the authors use the same methods to show the problems in Britain during that time, in all the articles they talk about biographies and experiences of women to describe the historical and political identity in British feminism after the First World War. This identity could be improved thanks to the attempts of women to be considered like citizens.
In order to have a better understanding of this question, this week’s class focused on a couple of different readings that analyzed movements and the reason of their downfall. In their own way, these readings show why movements have failed and the reasoning behind it. The first reading that analyzes this question is “The Decline of the Women’s Movement” by Barbara Epstein. She focuses her analysis on the first and second wave feminism and the reasons they didn’t succeed. The First Wave movement mostly consisted of white middle class and upper class women and began during the abolitionist movement where women affiliated themselves with anti-slavery and anti-racism movements. When the Civil War ended and women weren’t extended suffrage, they abandoned their alliances with the blacks. This movement was then based on women’s suffrage and the right to vote. The problem this movement faced was, “First wave feminism also moved, over the course of its history, toward a narrowness of vision that isolated it from other progressive movements” (pg.377). Even though this movement changed many views in society, the reason they failed was because they pulled back their alliances. Not long after the second wave of feminism began and sexuality became their main goal along with a broader view concerning the workplace, family, and reproductive rights. Women focused their energy on passing the Equal Rights Amendment which would guarantee them social equality and the right to have freedom in the choices they make. “Radical feminists wanted gender equality in the workplace, and most liberal feminists wanted a more egalitarian society” ( pg.379). The second wave used a more of a rebellious approach; the radical feminists viewed patriarchy ...
INTRO: The role of women transformed drastically between the First World War and after the Second World War (1914-1945). Women weren’t required to perform the ‘traditional’ roles anymore. All over the world women’s roles were changing even though many challenges were in their way. Women fought for equality, the trust of the opposite sex in the workforce and basically any other basic human rights, such as voting. Women went through many obstacles to be where they stand today and that should never be taken as granted. Even though a total equality between men and women might not be in existence, women have come really far from where they started.
From the past to present, Women’s rights movement has already been improving and changing. From the 1800’s to the current year of 2014, Women’s groups and programs have always tried to improve on Women’s equal rights, making themselves even with that of men and trying to become leaders in their work environments, political roles and/or any other leadership roles. I will discuss in order, the 19th century and what roles that women played in this time. When did the actual Women’s Movement begin and what happened in its early stages. How Women and what females did during World War II. What transpired and happened during the Cold War time period. Finally, what is the difference in women’s role today in the 2000’s vs. the early era of Women’s Rights.
The feminist movement in USA was one of the most remarkable movements in its history. Women raised their voice and protested to achieve their basic rights which they were deprived of. Every women worked collectively for its success. The history of feminism is primarily described in three secular “waves” - as they consider every aspect of feminism which include the success and failures, goals and accomplishments in that particular period of time.
As time passes things change such as: people, society, beliefs, stereotypes, discrimination. It wasn’t until the Feminist Movement, or also known as Women Movement Act that led women to have the courage to stand up for what they believed in. The first Feminism Movement Act was during the 18th through early 20th centuries, which dealt mainly with the suffrage movement. The second Feminism Movement Act was during the 1960s and 1980s,
One of the main causes of the women’s movement was the loss of their legal rights in society, especially civil and economic rights during the tota...
Social movements refer to informal groups of people who focus on either political or social issues. The goal of the social movement is to change things in society, to refuse to go along with the norm, and to undo a social change. For example, the Women’s Rights Movement that began in the 1840s was geared towards getting women more equality in relation to political, social, and economic status in society (Foner). Along with this, women gained a louder voice to speak out about what they wanted to change and implemented the change. Prior to the Women’s Rights Movement, women were often timid, compliant, obedient, and mistreated. After the 1920s, a movement towards more equality was shifted in society views, however not all were convinced or changed by the new ideas of women. Although women began to get increased rights, the typical gender roles, which they were expected to follow did not loosely lesson. Women still found themselves doing the same gender roles, house roles, and family roles even after the 1920s. It was not until the 1960s when the Feminist movement began (Foner). The literary piece is “Why I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady and the goal of the Feminist Movement was to create new meanings and realities for women in terms of education, empowerment, occupation, sexual identity, art, and societal roles. In short, the Feminist Movement was aimed to gain women freedom, equal opportunity and be in control over their own life.
Social justice organizing has the main goal of eliminating oppression; thus, the Black Panther Party aimed to challenge oppressions seen in the US during the 1960s and 1970s through gender, race, and class. However, their practices did not always follow through with their proposed theory. As a former female member of the Party explains, “[W]e could talk about this stuff [gender and sexism]. We could talk about it just as we talked about capitalism and imperialism. But I don’t know that we internalized it” (Matthews 248). Thus, she acknowledged that discussions between members surrounding gender and sexism occurred; yet, the contradictions between the theory and the practices of the BPP still remained throughout. This translated to women in
The women’s liberation movement was composed of an association of women working together in a common cause. Young radical women who had been active in the Civil Rights Movement gathered in small groups and began to focus on organizing in order to change attitudes, social constructs, the perception of society toward women, and, generally, to raise the
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