Summary Of Phyllis Schlafly's Essay

Looking in from the outside, the journey of Women’s rights was a lengthy one, and it has come a significant way from what it began as. It was a long road to freedom that started with just a few women protesting together for change in the mid 1800’s to the large movement it is today. What started only as an effort to put women on equal footing with men in the voting realm blossomed into a full on fight against gender norms and independence through protesting, speeches, and gatherings. Gender norms or ‘roles’ are (as defined by Webster’s dictionary) “a set of societal norms dictating what types of behaviors are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on their actual or perceived sex” and they are one thing that modern feminist have set their sights on to change for the better. Traditional gender roles have continued to exist for hundreds of years through perpetrators such as religion, government and society, and its effects have been felt by every woman, whether they realize it or not.

The need for social change arose when women’s rights were blatantly unequal to that of men’s rights. A paper published in 1968 “Towards a Female Liberation Movement” and the formation of groups such as Redstockings, a radical feminist group, in 1969 were the first vocalized and nationally recognized complaints of the serious political conflict of gender inequality. In the late 60s and early 70s women in the United States were seen as the stereotypical housewives and were not very competitive as they are now with white-collar jobs. The basis of political conflict and need to force change was that men had been controlling all political, economic and cultural institutions and used their power to keep women in an inferior

Feminists just want to prove that there is more a woman can do than taking care of a house or children. These women would like to expand their limitations that society keeps them in, “These limitations of Feminism bemoans and urges women to break through. It laments that a woman, by looking forward matrimony, should diminish her interest in her factory work. It would reverse condition: make wage earning permanent and marriage transient, salary the major and children the minor interest (Martin 42).” Feminism by engaging the mother in daily occupation for wages outside the home, would make comprehensive that separation between mother and child which, unhappily, is common among the frivolous rich (Martin 197).”

The women’s rights movement focused on gender equality. Liberal and conservative women disagreed on many issues that the second wave of feminism, the basis of the women’s rights movement, brought to light. Two documents reveal the differences in the opinions of the opposing sides during the women’s rights movement. In an “Interview with Phyllis Schlafly” by the Washington Star, published on January 18, 1976, Ms. Schlafly opposed both the ERA and the Women’s Rights movement. Comparatively, the “Statement of Purpose” by the National Organization for Women, published on October 29, 1966, stated that NOW stood for Women’s Rights and equality.

Criticisms of Althusser Althusser ignores the active struggles of the working class which can change society. There are also criticisms that he assumes that the communist party knows what is best and that workers should blindly follow the policies. In his satirical book based on the Russian Revolution “Animal Farm”, George Orwell shows how the Russians overthrew one elite group, only to replace them with another. JK Galbraith comments that Marxists ignore the point which Karl Marx made; that the state apparatus and rule by dictatorship of the proletariat as being a necessity in the short run but not in the long run. His criticisms is not so much about Karl Marx as the way that people calling themselves Marxists have misused his name to introduce

Throughout the ages women have faced varying degrees of sexism and during the progressive era this was a very prominent issue, women had finally had enough of being treated as second class compared to white males and simply males in general. They weren’t allowed to vote, own property if married, they were extremely restricted in what types of jobs they could get and often encouraged to just stay home, not to mention the large wage gap between white males and white females ensuring that on their own women would be hard pressed to survive. In many of the divorce cases the women were still required to take care of the children even though the male technically had custody. Sexism all though not as prominent today is still a very big issue, ranging

Phyllis Schlafly started the campaign of ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923 and I am beyond certain that the ERA activists today will not stop until it is ratified and accepted into the constitution. At the end of ERA battle, Sonia Johnson made an incredible and uplifting statement for all women. She said, “I am sure I am not the only feminist who is occasionally clear-sighted enough to be grateful to Phyllis Schlafly for making us have to fight so hard for the Equal Rights Amendment. Whether in the end this amendment is the way women will achieve legal equality or not, it is still true that the struggle over its ratification has provided the greatest political training ground for women in the history of the world”

Though it was frowned for a woman to act, think, write, and speak like men, that didn’t stop them. In the book, Revolutionary Mothers by Carol Berkin, we learned that women were prohibited to exercise anything out of field and house work, especially politics, this book demonstrates that over the decades, women had altered that perception.

The Women’s Movement was a symbolic movement in achieving political and civil equality. It assisted women lifestyles in the United States, granting them equal opportunities as men. Therefore, the Equal Rights Amendment guaranteed equal rights with men and the Equal Pay Act guaranteed equal pay. But these opportunities rarely helped women since they were prohibited and discriminated from universities and communal school, young girls have to be taught at home by mothers due to the segregation from males and females. In the 1960s, organizations were predominantly constructed for women since they were driven away from society of men and can’t attend schools and colleges.

During the 1960s the Women’s movement began to build progress, giving women higher status. Women were encouraged to be more confident and independent within their working and living environments. As a result, divorce rates increased, because “when women no longer depend on men for status and income, they are less likely to stay in unsatisfying marriages” (Clarke-Stewart and Brentano 10). This movement is just one cause that affected societal change. During the era, everything in the United States was being questioned, from personal values, to marriage and even other institutions.

Women spent most of their time doing household work or working in the service industry. Women did not get the same job opportunities as men, however; there were a few women that spoke out against and help to aid women of all types. In the end, women 's right have improved quite a bit compared to almost 80 years ago. Yes, everybody still has a different view on women, but we owe it all to the brave ones that spoke out against society to protect others

When feminism was becoming more common in Europe after World War I, many judged feminists harshly, describing them as a “shrieking sisterhood” and manly, neglecting their duties at home. The negative feedback made many women negligent to describe themselves as feminists(“Feminism in

Before the 1920’s, during World War 1, women were pushing social boundaries by creating large emphases on education, wage gaps, work conditions, and breaking the traditional gender roles that society puts in place . These women were encouraged to leave their housework behind and join the war efforts by taking over their husband’s jobs. During this time, many women's organizations, clubs, and unions were forming all trying to create spaces where women felt safe enough to address their experiences and issues publicly. Although these were very progressive advancements, there was a latent understanding that once the war was over women were expected to go back to their housework, and give the men their jobs

In relation to that, the women in the article “Female Chauvinist Pigs” use that approach to feminism to define different aspects of life. More so than not wanting to be treated like shit, they just want to be recognized by their male counterparts to even get a start. Based solely on their gender, women are already placed at a disadvantage in the workplace

Many women later began to use the term “feminism” to describe their reform efforts that stressed social justice, economic equality, and sexual freedom. (Book, 533) Margaret Sanger is a woman that pushed for widespread use of contraception. Early advocates of women’s rights thought that only educated women should vote, but progressive reformers wanted all women to have that right. The nineteenth amendment gave women the vote to in national