America has her problems with inequality when it comes to women’s social conduct in which they belong in society. Does a women gain importance from being independent and financially competent in society or do women who aren’t a part of the female work force less of a human than her fellow women. The 1950s society was split on the issue of where women actually fit in our society after their liberations in the 1920s with gaining their right to vote, they began to have a voice in society without much progress in the 1940s had the liberation of being working and having a disposable income for the first time in their lives and being told you need to be in the home with the children this created a tremor before the feminist earthquake. Two major theories that abide with women’s rights these are functionalism and feminism. The first theory is functionalism this discusses what the roles of women in 1950s society. The second theory that persists is feminism, using activism for equality among men and woman cherishes which based on conflict theory. …show more content…
In the 1940s women had a place in the work force for the first time this was during world war two so their efforts went into building supplies for the war. they were taken from being the homemaker to being liberated and independent to do almost anything they wanted. They functioned as a man did for five to seven years, which not only helped the country win the war most importantly, they gained social value which gave them a glimpse towards what equality is truly about. In the movie Mona Lisa Smile there is a scene were Katherine asks Betty Warren
During WWII to most men were drafted to join the military. This some what forced many women to take on the jobs most held by men at the time. When the Baby Boom happened, many Americans viewed this as a chance to get women back as household keepers. Many magazines at the time promoted sending women back to housewives. They would post articles like “Cooking To Me Is Poetry” and “Femininity Begins At Home”.
Looking at the short story written by Meridel Le Sueur, women were struggling trying to find work. Women constantly waited, sat there “hour after hour, day after day, waiting for a job to come in.” When World War II started, it gave women the opportunity they have been desperately waiting for and it benefited the nation greatly. Women worked in all types of jobs ranging from ammunition to being welders and shipbuilders. Even though women faced inequality and gender segregation, women continued to push and demonstrate their competence in the workforce.
During the war women had enjoyed the feeling being independent. The feeling of losing the little power they had during the war was devastating. As the United States was becoming a nation the ideology of separate spheres became more clear and women and men were treated completely differently, “American women never manage the outward concerns of the family, or conduct a business or take a part in political life; nor are they, on the other hand, ever compelled t perform the rough labor of the fields, or make any of those laborious exertions, which demand the exertion of physical strength. No families are so poor, as t form an exception to this rule.” (Dumenil 156).
The 1920s represented the post-suffrage era when women made drastic social and cultural changes that affected the American women way of life. Women began to seek more rightsand equal representation through changes in social values. However, women still observed their primary responsibility for caring for the household; and also depended on men for monetary support (Martin, 1926). The essay brings into perspective, various transformations that took place in the 1920s, resulting in the diversion of the traditional norms.
Although many women went back to being homemakers times would never be the same again (“Women” 3). The experience they had during WWII was remarkable for them, but they were told to go back home while the men go to work. Women were not having it, they wanted to prove that they were capable as men. When the world saw what women were doing other than being a housewife, their perspective on women change. People were now starting to realize that women could do so much more than cleaning and cooking.
Changes, occurring in the 1920’s and continuing into the 20th Century have been significant in the lives of women. However, today, women are still treated unequally with men still being considered the dominant gender. Women were considered as being naturally weaker than men. Since early times, women have been the strength in the home and family. Connecting those periods from the early, nineteenth century into the 20th Century, life for women have changed in so many ways.
Since the beginning of empires, women were often subservient to men. They were underrepresented in politics, forbidden from education and sometimes even the workplace. Women were expected to be homemakers, raise children and be otherwise obedient. World War II began to change this. As men went to fight, women took up their places in the workforce.
This picture, poster, and song inspired many women then and inspire many women still. Women going into the workforce in the 1940s caused changes that are linked to time, are positive and negative, and were caused by people. Both change may be positive or negative and change may be caused by people or may be natural all depend on perceptions of the matter. Whether men and women are equal or not is all based on opinions. Some women think that they are equal, while others think that women still aren’t equal to men.
Women in the 1930’s had much different lives and expectations than today. Due to the depression many people had to change their lives to support their families and that includes women. After the feminist movement of the 1920s, due to the depression, women were forced to return to their previous lives as submissive housewives although many were required to earn an income by getting a job. There were many stereotypes surrounding women that affected the way they lived. Women were believed to be the civilizing force, taking care of the children and home, and that society could not survive without them (Moran).
During this time women were now working as in before they were not, “By 1944 a total of 1,360,000 women with husbands in the service had entered the workforce.” (U.S. Soldiers After World War II) Which means that a year before the final ending of the war a tremendous amount of women were working trying to support their families. Hence resulted in the traditional feminine sex roles to be altered. Programs were placed to the returning veterans such as the, “GI Bill of Rights passed in 1944, provided money for veterans to attend college, to purchase homes, and to buy farms.”
The issue of women’s rights and how different societies and cultures deal with it had been on the table for many centuries. In the United States of America during the 1800s, women began to move toward and demand getting equal rights as men, they decided to speak up and fight for their stolen rights. In the 1960s, continued working toward their goal, women broadened their activities through the women’s rights movement which aimed to help them in gaining their right to receive education, occupy the same jobs that were once titled only for men, and get an access to leadership positions. The women’s rights movement has a great impact on women today, although it started a long time ago, but it did not stop and women are reaping their fruit today,
Beginning with the first wave, dated in the ninetieth century, where members of the woman’s organization movement wanted the right to vote. The second was in the 1960s & 70s, North America, which was focused on work place, sexual harassment, equal pay of value, reproductive and abortion rights. The third extend from the 1990s to the present day, which fixates on the experiences of white middle class woman. Feminist theory emerged from these movements of woman standing up for their equal rights. Feminist theory is a modern approach of looking at the world with a large scale perspective.
Women have always played an important role in the history of the United States. Throughout different time periods, their roles in society and in government have changed in many ways. Whether women were helping the war manufacturing effort, striving for suffrage, helping soldiers during the war, or just raising their children; their roles have been influential to the social structure of the United States today. Their desire for equal rights, their willingness to help American soldiers, and the absence of men in the workplace are responsible for the changing role of women.
Discuss the major contributions of feminist theory to the understanding of social And political life. Feminist theory has come to be recognised as an influential theory that has singled out the social exclusion of women. This could be seen as its main premise but it is a far broader perspective. Feminism has articulated that gender differences subjected to sex as argued have played a secondary role to men in the most influential decision making and power positions in society.
THEORIES OF FEMINISM: There are 31 feminist theories, approximately, which are widely known, apart from other minor feminist theories. THEORIES OF FEMINISM: There are 31 feminist theories, approximately, which are widely known, apart from other minor feminist theories. Some of them are, Amazon Feminism: Focus is on the image of the female hero, both fictional and real, in literature and art, and is particularly concerned with physical equality. Anarcho-Feminism: It is a branch of radical feminism based on the work of Emma Goldman focuses on critiquing society based on race, gender, and social class.