Second Wave Feminism Research Paper

The second-wave feminism has been the driving force behind the Women’s Liberation Movement, which is synonymous within the twenty years in the later part of the twentieth century, beginning in 1960 and ending in 1980. The movement, in the past, had an impact on various aspects of social life to men and women; and this impact is still showcased in areas including, but not limited to; women’s health, fertility trends, laws and legislations, personal believes and religious discussions, interpersonal relationships and family roles, feminist issues, and gender relations.

The women’s rights movement vast and know as one of the most notable movements. Furthermore it is split into three waves to present the difference in time and show how much it has evolved. The first wave was in the mid 19th century to early 20th century. They focused on women’s suffrage, their right to work, education rights, etc. The second wave was in the 60s; this is when they addressed broader perspectives. To include birth control, abortion, rape, pornography, etc. The third wave began in the 1990s and was a response to the second wave, as they only focused on struggles that whites middle class women faced. The third wave extended it to include race, class, gender identity, ability, etc. where focus is less on the political process but rather about individual identities. Which leads to the statement I will address through the essay; Would the third wave women’s rights movement in western countries, achieve what it sets out do, namely; extended feminism to include race, sexuality, class, ability, etc. and work towards dismantling the system that oppress some and privilege others, without the participation of collective action to build stronger, more inclusive society. Furthermore, I will attempt to answer the following questions; how does the Third Wave Women’s Rights Movement differ from the first and second? Does media play a role in the success of the third wave women’s rights movement? And lastly, should we implement Feminist Theory with our

Women now were educated, voting, and even aiding their states during war times. In the U.S. many activists were fighting for similar issues addressed by the predecessors, however they were able to take things further, since there was a precedent. Instead of just gaining access to higher education, Second-Wavers were pushing for Women’s Studies classes and departments, and for prominent historical women to be included in academia. Women in the U.S. were also beginning the enduring battle of saving the environment. “Second-Wave feminists brought internal attention to the problems caused by violence against women and by poor environmental practices.”

As Third Wave feminism is currently unfolding before us, and its aims encompass a wide array of complex issues, it is often hard to describe what Third Wave feminism is. The feminist theories, mainly associated with First and Second Wave feminism attempt to describe the power imbalances that are found in society, and while doing so expose other oppressions, such as discrimination based on race or sexual orientation. As this essay attempts to place a clear definition to Third Wave feminism, feminists are concurrently trying to deconstruct old definitions and open it up for women to determine what feminism means to them. In other words, no clear definition on what is meant to be a feminist is sufficient, as the Third Wave is about

Towards the end of the twentieth century, feminist women in America faced an underlying conflict to find their purpose and true meaning in life. “Is this all?” was often a question whose answer was sought after by numerous women reaching deeper into their minds and souls to find what was missing from their life. The ideal second-wave feminist was defined as a women who puts all of her time into cleaning her home, loving her husband, and caring for her children, but such a belief caused these women to not only lose their identity within her family but society as well. The emotions that feminist women were feeling at this time was the internal conflict that caused for social steps to be taken in hopes of

Second wave feminism first emerged in the wake of World War II in the late 1940’s. It originated as a response to the post war boom. After World War II, the United States’ economy flourished, the population soared, capitalism emerged more triumphant than ever, and suburbia expanded like never before. The socio-economic state of the U.S. at this time lent itself spectacularly to middle-class familial expansion. During this time there was also a marked and, many would argue, a conscious effort to return to the patriarchal gender roles in place prior to World War II. That is to say, the nuclear family was in its glory days with the man being the undeniable head of house, and the woman his subservient housewife. The social movement toward female domesticity was heavily advocated through media propaganda which depicted the woman as a wife and mother exclusively, in the closed sphere of the home. We have previously seen with the emergence of first wave feminism the rise of feminist agenda that comes out of woman’s subordination at the hand of her husband, and misogynistic government policy and paradigm. It is this same sentiment that triggered the need for another wave of feminism, that is to say, the second wave. (Brownmiller, 36-38.)

Second wave feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, in conjunction with other social movements, built a foundation for much of the activist and intellectual work that followed. However, there was an assumption of whiteness in the second wave feminist movement as well as a prominence of heteronormativity, which blinded most of the populace to activist work done by women of color and lesbians. For example, there was a whole strata of work in lesbian and gay scholarship which date from the early 1970s which came out of the gay liberation movement. Lesbians (often in association with Jewish women) led the way among white women in articulating a politic that accounted for white women’s position as both oppressed and oppressor.

“First wave” of feminism in 1920 advocated women’s suffrage, whereas the “Second wave” targets the societal issues that women in the 21st century are facing. Betty Friedan wrote The Feminists Mystique after World War II exposing female repression and later founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) which ignited the second wave of the feminist movement. Consequently, it became noticeable that women were in multiple wars, as a result branches of feminists were formed (i.e. Liberalist, Marxist, and Socialist). Misogyny’s evolution has its own significant role in the feminist movement, stirring conversations today that affect feminist ideologies. However, in order to fully comprehend what affects second wave feminism along with the tactics utilized by feminists, one must first become acquainted with the many forms.

Women made up 50.8% of the United States population in 2013 (United States Census Bureau), yet made only 78 cents to a white man’s dollar (Hill). Women also hold only 17% of the seats in Congress, about 90 seats total, and less than 3% of Fortune 500 businesses are run by women (25 Surprising Stats to Share on Women's Equality Day). And this is just for white women. For many women of color, the statistics are even more grim, Latina women making only 53% of what white men make (Hill). This inequality of the sexes spreads out of the workplace and into women’s everyday lives. Feminism works to even the playing field between males and females by promoting female empowerment and supporting women in their endeavors. The feminist movement

Our visual narrative on women of the 1980’s focused on fitness and women’s increased interest in exercise and the sexual female body. Using images from the popular women’s magazine Cosmopolitan in 1985, the visual narrative attempts to demonstrate the various aspects of the 1980’s fitness craze and emphasis on the strong, healthy, sexual female body, or the “better body,” as often noted by many Cosmopolitan articles. Seeking to provide context for the fitness craze and images shown throughout women’s magazines of the 1980’s, this narrative references the second-wave feminist movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s in the United States for an explanation. Summarizing second-wave feminism in its early years, author J. Zeitz describes the movement:

Third wave feminists, often called a slew of negative names, including; pigs, sjws, feminazis, cows, heifers, cunts, etc, are deemed psychotic, man-hating whores who want to be better than men. God forbid a woman wants to go outside and not be harassed or fear for her life. Forever will the modern feminist be in the shadow of first and second wave women's rights activists, but that does not mean that what they are supporting isnt worth it. Still, in a developed country promoting safety, 1 in 3 women will be a victim of sexual assault, 600 people are raped per day, only 97% of rapists receive no punishment, and 54% of rapes go unreported. Men account for 60-99% of all rapes that occur, and only 27% of rapists consider themselves rapists. This

Gender bias is the gender role that society has developed for males and females (Brym, 2014, p. 77). It is the expectation that society has created for males and females to behave a certain way. For example, women are deemed delicate, and male are deemed masculine. This is a huge problem for society because media has enforced these gender roles for many years, especially in sports. It creates certain bias or stereotypes that a male or female must follow or else they would be deemed different and be socially excluded. Therefore the media is extremely influential to the gender roles each person in society must follow. The feminist theory is the theory that theorists focus on the gender inequality between male and female because of the male dominance

Feminism by definition means the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. But many a time’s people restrict the boundary of these forgetting the very important element of diversity of women living in different places and in varied situations.

When referring to the history of feminism in the manner of the first, second, or third wave, one is undermining the experiences that were ongoing during, in middle of, and before those waves that history defines. What ideologies of oppression were being spoken of to raise awareness and whose experience was being excluded/diminished? The articulation of feminism in using the metaphor of waves to describe how the ideologies peaked and rescinded, is incorrect because it focuses only on the voices of those who were able to bring their problems to the surface and excludes those who had a different experience or may have brought awareness in a quieter manner. There are many feminisms and each interpretation is defined by the collective oppression, rather than looking at the situation in an individual perception, which is what creates disagreements and division between feminists. Many definitions of feminism, feminisms, exist simultaneously because it is evolving as fast (or, well, as slow) as the world is changing and if one group of people are to speak of others experience of oppression (or lack of) in place of them, the result can be the glossing over of experiences and therefore, undermine experiences of others.

The idea of women being equal to men has been debated for a very long time. Even when civilizations were just starting, most women were treated very differently from men. When women started fighting against this oppression they were called feminists. Feminism can be separated into three waves. The first wave of feminism was from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. The second wave was from the 1960s to the 1980s. The third wave of feminism started in the 1990s, but its end is unclear. Some people believe it has ended and the fourth wave of feminism has started, but others believe it continues today. The different waves have been very different in some aspects, but very similar in others. The main differences between the first and third wave of feminism are what they fought for, how they protested, and society’s reaction to their cause.