Transcript Document

Women’s Liberation, Free Speech,
Environmentalism, and the New Left
Origins of Women’s
Liberation






American History
Cold War, Consumerism, and the other
side of “The Good Life”
Gendered discrimination within social
movements
Middle class white kids rebel
Vietnam War and opposition
Government suppression of free-speech
The Women’s Movement





19th Amendment
Progressive Reformism
After Rosie the Riveter
“Leave it to Beaver”
Betty Freidan, The
Feminine Mystique,
1963
“Women’s Liberation”








Patriarchy
Biology = destiny
Marriage & oppression
Domestic Violence
Equal Pay & Education
College admissions
The Glass Ceiling
Reproductive Rights and
control over one’s body
Landmark Policies
1961: Kennedy: federal contractors must take "affirmative action to ensure that
applicants are treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or
national origin." Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity.
1964: Civil Rights Act of 1964 Prohibited discrimination by large employers,
whether or not they have government contracts. (Title VII)
1965: Johnson required government contractors to take affirmative action to
expand job opportunities for minorities.
1967: Johnson included affirmative action for women.
1969: Nixon required Affirmative Action programs in Federal employment
1978: The U.S. Supreme Court in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke,
(1978) upheld the use of race as one factor in choosing qualified applicants for
admission. Also ruled unlawful the University Medical School's practice of
reserving seats in each entering class minority students
NOW


1966: National Organization
of Women established due
to the failure of the EEOC to
enforce Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act. 28 women $5
Task Forces: Family Life,
Education, Employment,
Media, Religion, Poverty,
Legal and Political Rights
Landmarks







1960: FDA approved Contraceptive pill
1964: 33 states, Commissions on the Status of
Women
1967: NOW adopted passage of the Equal Rights
Amendment
1968: Women's Equity Action League (WEAL)
formed by anti-abortion, pro-women’s rights
groups
1972: Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman
to run for the U.S. presidency in the primary
1972: The ERA passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of
84-8 and was sent to the states for ratification
1973: Roe v. Wade legalized abortion
Miscellaneous




Catholics used contraception as frequently as Jews
and Protestants, according to a Texas survey
(06/21/60)
Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was sworn in as Prime
Minister of Ceylon/Sri Lanka (1960)
1968: Women's liberation groups, joined by NOW,
targeted the Miss America Beauty Contest in Atlantic
City, leading to the “bra burning” myth
1974: AFL-CIO and YWCA reverse their positions and
support the ERA
Debates & Divisions





Race & Class
Equal rights & labor
unionism
Individual rights
vs. group rights
“Race or gender
first?”
Who and what is
(a) feminist?