Identity politics were a major part of social reform in the Sixties and Seventies. Yet, the advent of identity politic reform originates in the Fifties, a decade that saw the African-American Civil Rights Movement start to gain momentum. On the heels of the Civil Rights movement, we also see the Women’s Liberation Movement begin to gain steam, shortly thereafter followed by the Gay Liberation Movement. And as an offshoot of these reform movements, we observe the dawn of lesbian identity politics – a movement very much its own amongst its predecessors. One sect would come to be coined the “lavender menace” of feminism – a group of mostly Caucasian lesbians – followed later by the black lesbian feminist group, The Combahee River Collective. The infamy and separation these “menaces” were ascribed from feminist colleagues – as well as respective male colleagues on the Gay Liberation and the Civil Rights fronts – very much set them apart from other movements. And yet, despite the institutions these two groups sought to abolish, such as patriarchy and feminist hierarchy, they came from different viewpoints concerning these issues, and saw them with the eye of their own experience.
When we think of the celebrities of social reform in the Sixties and Seventies, the most popular are men: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez and so on. At a grassroots level, social movements of these two decades were lead in similar fashion – men were the public voices and faces of movements such as the Vietnam War protest, while women took up the manual labor and menial jobs that were the backbone of these demonstrations. Karla Jay describes a similar experience at Columbia University. When Jay left her neighboring Barnard College to...
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... across racial divides. And it makes even more sense that the Combahee River Collective would see this problem the clearest. All this begs a question though: can one separatism be more egregious than another? It seems logical that neither of these two groups could think that – such a statement requires an hierarchy. But, I think that both of them would agree that multiple separatisms add up. At least, all lesbians at the time faced multiple infringements upon their equality, based upon both their sex and sexual preference, and maybe even their ethnicity. Yet, as the Combahee River Collective Statement so aptly implies, those at the bottom of society’s hierarchy are best suited for understanding society’s problems. And thus, bringing those problems to our attention. If nothing else, that Lavender Menace of feminism and the Combahee River Collective did exactly that.
Dye drew together the essays of esteemed scholars, such as Ellen Carol DuBois, Barbara Sicherman, and Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, to shed light on the intersectionality between race, gender, and social class at the turn of the 20th Century. While many believe that it was a period of widespread activism and reform, these scholars support the idea that the Progressive Era was more of a conservative than liberal movement, in that it failed to challenge stereotypes about the female’s role in society and created a limited public sphere for women. While the women’s suffrage movement provided more opportunities for white middle-class women, it failed to lessen, or even worsened, the marginalization of immigrant and minority women. Many white-middle class women sympathized with European and Jewish immigrants and were willing to overlook socioeconomic class, but few supported the cause of colored women for labor and education
Women faced multiple challenges to establish themselves as equals to men throughout history however, this would have never been possible if not for social progress movements to eliminate gender barriers. Consider the statements of “that is woman’s work” and “that is man’s work”. First, imagine the year is 1920; what vision instantly comes to your mind in what was woman’s work and what was man’s work? Now, fast forward to current day; what instantly comes to mind in consideration of what is woman’s and man’s work? The comparison of the differences of 1920 and 2014 is night and day. Crystal Eastman, a socialist feminist, observed that the 19th Amendment was an important first step but that what women really wanted was freedom and equality. She was campaigning for the equivalence of women in social, political, cultural, and economic status. In the essay titled "Now We Can Begin," she laid out a plan toward this goal that is still relevant today and shared her vision of life that she wanted for herself and women across the nation. (Eastman)
It is often found that the stereotypical “butch” and “femme” pairing are more visible than other lesbian relationships. However, this does not mean that they do not exist. The ever-growing popularity of the lesbian social sphere has symbolized both difficulties and effects of identifying with such a label. The label or identity itself, though distinctly separating lesbians from “normal” heterosexuals begins to exhibit pre-existing conflict experienced by gay males: “there’s always been something wrong (Aldrich, 38).” This quote implies the conditioned and ingrained belief that homosexuality’s “taboo” existence was more than just wrong, but distasteful and something that society should look down upon for being an “abnormality.” Sometimes, this social reality for lesbians made it hard for them to “come out the closet” and be visible. This experience is exemplified as “The repressed lesbian has a harder time of it, for she is less aware of her abnormality (Aldrich, 41).” Additionally, to be able to clearly and accurately identify “the lesbian is to meet the many women she is at close range; to see her against her various backgrounds, hear her sundry voices, and familiarize yourself with the diverse facades of her several lives (Aldrich, 42).” Here, the presence of the “double life” is demonstrated to further analyze the lack of privileges that the lesbian community had, including the social aspect of their
This movement which was inspired by the ideologies of courageous women and fueled by their enthusiasm and sacrifice is often unacknowledged by most historians in the chronicles of American History. Today the movement is often misunderstood as a passive, white upper class, naive cause. But a deeper study would reveal that the women’s suffrage movement was the one that brought together the best and brightest women in America, which not only changed the lives of half the citizens of United States but also changed the social attitudes of millions of Americans.
Chalmers, David. And the Crooked Places Made Straight: The Struggle for Social Change in the 1960s. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
The fight for the liberty of women, above all, has not been well constructed. It has been driven by selfish, militant agendas propelled by women with strong hate for both men and family, and some of whom drive lesbian causes. Although this is not the whole picture, those who follow the movements may bear witness to some such overtones. But women as well as men are bearers of the image of God and therefore must be treated accordingly.
Rosen, Ruth. The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed America. New York: Viking Penguin, 2000. 196.
But when the “Women’s Movement,” is referred to, one would most likely think about the strides taken during the 1960’s for equal treatment of women. The sixties started off with a bang for women, as the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman, and Betty Friedan published her famous and groundbreaking book, “The Feminine Mystique” (Imbornoni). The Women’s Movement of the 1960’s was a ground-breaking part of American history because along with African-Americans another minority group stood up for equality, women were finished with being complacent, and it changed women’s lives today.
Gloria Steinem’s “Living the Revolution” commencement speech highlights the hardships and stereotypes placed on women and men of all ethnicities in general society of the 1970’s decade, and suggests a necessary change is needed in the way we view people in general. Steinem goes on to support her ideas with numerous pieces of evidence. Foremost, she calls attention to the past and present stereotypes and prejudices and suggests that these ideas are “imbedded so deeply in our thinking” that we don’t often realize they are there (5). Secondly, she points out our society’s lack of female and African American role models and that the traditional white male leader is outdated and overdue for an upgrade (12-16). Steinem also puts for...
There are certainly various points in history that can be construed as trailblazing for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. One event in particular, however, sparked awareness and a call to action that previously could never have been conceptualized in the United States. This unforgettable incident, the Stonewall riots of 1969, altered the public’s view of the gay community and arguably jumpstarted the next revolution in an entirely new civil rights movement.
In the 1960’s women were still seen as trophies and were beginning to be accepted into the work industry. They were still homemakers, raised the family, and made sure their husbands were happy. That was the social norms for women during that time period. They were not held to high work expectations like men were. But something amazing happened that would change women 's lives for centuries; it was the 1970’s. The 60’s put the equality movement in motion but 70’s was a time of reform where women were finally able to control their own paths. Not only was the 70’s a historical marker for the fiftieth anniversary for women suffrage, it was also a marker for the drastic change of different social norms, the changes of the American Dream, and the
A growing population of women’s activists can be attributed to the growing number of courses being offered and information available. Only a few decades ago this would not have been heard of. It is due to the increasing amount of awareness on the topic of women’s status as second class citizens that activism has increased. Through various media, we have learned of topics such as the “glass ceiling”, the working conditions of women in Third World countries, the current injustices against women being carried out in the First World, reproductive rights, as written about by Angle Davis, and other limitations imposed on women.
In just a few decades The Women’s Liberation Movement has changed typical gender roles that once were never challenged or questioned. As women, those of us who identified as feminist have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at...
By positing the lesbian as ‘excess’ in the patriarchal system we may fail to note the identities that function as ‘excess’ within our own newly created lesbian community.
One can hardly talk of a single united feminism, but rather, manifold feminisms. The US feminist movement ‘s main global struggle has been to enable ‘womankind’ to fully lead her existence and live her humanity by standing against the injustices of the dominant patriarchy and sexist discrimination . Throughout history, the dominant mainstream Feminism ( with capital F) tends to have been related to conform to the aspiration of the educated middle-class heterosexual white women who have traditionally been given unequal power to widen their significance--but the movement has lately had more ramifications. Currently, there are different kinds of feminism whose disagreements stem from fundamental intrinsic understanding of what feminism, sexism or phallocentrism mean. Each trend views it from a different perspective as in accordance with its motives or concerns. Nonetheless, they share common claims as to “the body, class and work, disability, the family, globalization, human rights, popular culture, race and racism, reproduction, science, the self, sex work, and sexuality.”