History of the women’s movement

1. History of the women’s movement

2. History of women’s movement • Western beliefs rooted in Christian schema that divided people into ranks according to a divine plan • Rebelling against this amounted to defying the will of God • Late 18th century revolutions in America and France questioned these assumptions • France: bloodshed and repression followed by Napoleon’s dictatorship • American colonies: British Common Law

3. Mary Wollstonecraft

4. History of women’s movement • 18th Century England: Mary Wollstonecraft • A Vindication of the Rights of Woman – 1792 • Heavily influenced by French Revolution • Men and women share a rational nature derived from God • Except for physical strength, all distinctions between the sexes are socially constructed • Primary goal of a woman’s education is to enable her to fulfill the duties she has to herself • Reason is not gendered

5. HISTORY OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENT • British Common Law • Sir William Blackstone: 1765 Commentaries codified English Common Law • Coverture: A man “covered” or stood in place of his dependents before the outside world • The very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband • Husband had rights to all property wife brought into marriage, anything she might earn, property they accumulated together, and custody of their children

6. HISTORY OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENT • Abigail Adams • Wife of John Adams • 1776: in anticipation of formation of a new government, Abigail encouraged John to “remember the ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors” • She wanted new laws to prevent “the vicious and the Lawless to use us with cruelty and indignity with impunity” • He dismissed her: “As to your extraordinary Code of Laws, I cannot but laugh”

7. Elizabeth cady stanton

8. History of women’s movement • Mid-1800s – 1920s America – first wave feminism • Lucretia Mott • Elizabeth Cady Stanton • Susan B. Anthony Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 Declaration of Rights and Sentiments • Modeled directly after Declaration of Independence • All men and women are created equal • Placing women in an inferior position is contrary to nature (God)

9. History of women’s movement • National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) • National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) – merging of NWSA and American Woman Suffrage Association • Today the NAWSA known as the League of Women Voters – concerned with women’s political personhood • Nineteenth Amendment – women’s right to vote (1920)

10. History of women’s movement • Second wave feminism – 1960s and 1970s • One of many social movements that questioned traditional values, racism, poverty, and US militarism • Questioned the culture meaning of being a woman in US society • Work and employment • Family and parenting • Sexuality • Reproductive rights • Violence against women

11. Equal rights amendment • Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. • First introduced in Congress in 1923; reintroduced every year for half a century • 1972 – passed the Senate and House by 2/3 majority. ¾ of states needed to ratify within 7 years. Extended to ten years. Only 35 states ratified (needed 38) • Reintroduced in every session of Congress since 1982

12. CEDAW • Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women • Adopted in 1979 by UN General Assembly • International Bill of Rights for women • 186 of 193 countries have ratified CEDAW • Seven have not: United States, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga • CEDAW has never been brought to the Senate floor for a vote • Similar agreements on genocide, race discrimination and torture have been passed

13. Women’s studies

14. Women’s studies • Questions the nature of knowledge and how that knowledge is produced, as well as the applications and consequences of that knowledge • Questions what is “truth” and what is “objective” by integrating perspectives of marginalized people (women and people of color) or underrepresented groups (religions, cultures, ethnicities)

15. HISTORY of the discipline • Began in the 1960s and 1970s • Inspired by academic disciplines of American Studies and Ethnic Studies • Commitment to personal change and societal transformation • The personal is political

16. History of the discipline • Pay Act of 1963: sought equal pay for equal work • Title V- II of 1964 Civil Rights Act: forbade workplace discrimination • Affirmative Action: extended to women in 1967

17. History of discipline • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): 1970s – created to enforce antidiscrimination laws • Title IX of Education amendment Acts of 1972 – supported equal education and forbade gender discrimination in schools • Roe vs. Wade: protected woman’s right to abortion within first trimester- 1973

18. The women’s movement today • Third wave feminism – 1990s • Postmodern – global, uses technology • Multiracial • Sexuality and identity • Blogs, zines, social media

19. postfeminism • Equality has been achieved • Equality confused with freedom to purchase/personal style • Women are confusing freedom to objectify themselves with authentic freedom • Myths of feminism perpetuated • Feminists are angry • Feminists hate men • Feminists want to be like men • All feminists are lesbians (homophobia) • Feminists reject motherhood • Feminism is only a White, middle class movement