...Running head: WOMEN IN AMERICA 1 ! Women In America Katarina Davison HIS204: American History Since 1985 Laverne Peralta February 2nd , 2015 WOMEN IN AMERICA 2 ! In the history of the world, women have ruled the world, shaped the world, and changed the world and in the United States, women have had a storied and grand history that has evolved the role of women from typical housewife to leaders of women's rights movements and has shown their true worth and true potential to their male counterparts. In this paper, I will be talking about six key events and time periods that have changed not just women's history but the overall history a nation. Three of these events and time periods will be before 1930 and three of them will be after 1930 to give the reader an overall sense of the evolution of the role women have played. The events that I will be talking about are the roles that women played in World War One beginning in 1914, the second historic event is the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, the third time period I will be talking about before 1930 is that of the roaring 1920s. After 1930, the changes were still happening for women and World War II was a major point in the evolution of what it means to be a woman, this time period was quickly followed by the baby boom. The final time period I will discuss is the Feminist Movement in the 1960s and how those efforts have led to a lasting impression of who women are in today's modern era. WOMEN IN AMERICA...
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...belief. The word family is not restricted to only these instances and can be illustrated in various other ways without a set structure or definition. In the article “American Family Decline”, Popenoe argues that the definition of family is changing and cannot be attributed to just one concept. He argues the state of the changing American family and states the causes for these changes. But due to the complexity of the word he desires to relate family to its traditional view with one father, one mother and the two children to whom they gave birth all living collectively in the same house. According to Popenoe, since the 1960’s up to the 90’s there has been a rapid shift in the percentages of the changing family. He further states that there has been an increase in the divorce rates in the past couple of years, and also a decrease in fertility rates since the 1960’s. Popenoe believes that there has been a decline in the American family, as there was less of a worry about children. Popenoe argues that the changing culture has shown that today the American family is not only thinking about having children. Due to this, the number of children in an American family has decreased since the...
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...Women in the 1960s Regina Wilson HIS/145 07/29/2015 Women's liberation movement became prominent in the 1960s. Women's liberation was the fight for the equality of women and men. In the previous years, men were always dominant over women in every sense of the word. They held the jobs; they made all of the financial decisions, as well any other decisions about the household, as far as sexual relationships, men decided when, where and how. When courageous women were bold enough to speak out about being the inferior gender, and developing organizations that addressed the issue, as well as writing books about it, the idea of women finally having more freedom was appealing and became popular very quick. Organizations were formed promoting Women's liberation, and some are still in existence today. National Organization for Women, commonly known as NOW, was founded in 1966 and is still in existence today. This organization's motto was "to take action, to achieve equality of women." One of the co-founders of the organization was a lady named Betty Friedan. Ms. Friedan was the author of a book called The Feminine Mystique (A.W. 1976). Ms. Friedan was a woman that was not afraid to voice her opinion on anything for jobs to sex, and these are things that women had wanted to do for years, but just did not know how. Because of her brazen and bold conversations, she instantly became famous, and when interviewed...
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...books that the 1960s was one decade full of turmoil and change. During those times the United States was a country that was suffering from social, racial, and gender intolerance that sparked events that would transform this nation and propel it into the future. Women in the 60s were paid salaries well below that of men in every occupation. As time and our civilization have progressed, minority groups and women have both been granted equal rights with the rest of the American citizens. Changes to the family structures have been changed in light of equal rights. Over the past forty years notable changes include changes in women and men roles, increases in divorce rates, and the effects the role reversals have had on the children. Over a century ago more than two-thirds of household consisted of an employed husband, while the wives stayed home with the children. (Mintz, 2012). We all are aware that has changed. Women with children are more likely to work a fulltime job as well as her husband. Studies show that in 2010 there were more American women employed than men. (Castelloe, 2011). In addition, slightly more than half of these women hold U.S. professional and managerial positions which were not allowed in the 60s. There has definitely been a noticeable shift in the men and women roles in the 20th century. There are more men that are staying home with the children and more have become more involved in their child’s activities compared to the time when the man's role was to be the...
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...the choice of a spouse usually had little if any to do with romantic love. In the 1960s, when the dynamics of a marriage followed the breadwinner-homemaker model, couples who married looked for a companionate partnership that would provide a stable living financially since financial stability was often a priority over individual happiness. Fast-forward fifty years, the economic prosperity has turned the United States into an individualistic society, and the lack of connection and chemistry would often be a deal breaker in a romantic relationship. This shift of prevalent love style from companionate partnerships to individualized marriages that stress romantic love can be attributed to women having better access of higher education and becoming economically independent of men, breaking the need for women to depend on a man as the breadwinner of the household. With women becoming financially independent, they are no longer limited to being a homemaker and can pursue the same opportunities that are offered to men. Thus, under the social exchange theory, men are no longer able to offer financial stability to women as a reward to offset the costs such as childbearing associated with marriage. As a result, women seek other benefits that fulfill their individual happiness and only when there are enough rewards for women will they agree to a marriage proposal. Due to their new financial independence, women also have the option of divorce if the comparison level of the marital...
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...The 1960s was a pivotal time for women. Women were fighting for their independence and their equal rights. Despite the ratification of the 19th Amendment, it did not seem to affect women's lack of power and opportunity: “Deep cultural changes were altering the role of women in American society. More females than ever were entering the paid workforce, and this increased the dissatisfaction among women regarding huge gender disparities in pay…” (Walsh). Betty Friedan a female author and activist published her most notable book in 1963 The Feminine Mystique that caused a widespread for women to fight for their own independent lives, which was known as second- wave feminism that sparked the Women's Liberation Movement. In her last book Life So...
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...frustrations felt by women such as Betty Friedan. 2) During the era of “Rosie the Riveter”, what gains did women make in the workforce? How did these women feel about themselves and their contributions? What did society as a whole think? 3) What role did mass media play during the 1950s and 1960s in regard to supporting or undermining the “feminine mystique”? 4) Which television heroine -- Alice, Lucy, or Miss Brooks -- came the closest to TRULY overcoming the feminine mystique, and elaborate on that heroine’s situation and relationship to the men in her life. 1)Describe the post-WWII frustrations felt by women such as Betty Friedan Betty Friedan and other women were frustrated about their roles as women in society and in the household. Many women weren’t pleased being the typical housewife, they wanted to be someone and have their own identity. When women started working during WWII they found the heroine they wanted for themselves. After the war, most women stopped working and went back to being housewives. Betty Friedan was frustrated at this and didn’t comprehend why women stopped working. 2) During the era of “Rosie the Riveter”, what gains did women make in the workforce? How did these women feel about themselves and their contributions? What did society as a whole think? While most of the men were out in the field battling war, women were the only ones left to the do the work the men had left without employment. Advertising at one time dispirited women from opposing...
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...Sexual Liberation Cassandra M. Gonzalez HIS/145 the American Experience Since 1945 Dr. William Frost OCT/10/2012 Sexual liberation The 1960’s in our history of the United States are often described today as the period of profound societal change. Attitudes to a variety of issues changed including changes towards sexual attitudes. This altered view towards sexual attitudes and behavior is often today referred to as the sexual revolution, also known as the time of sexual liberation. Many different political movements were all important components to this period in the sexual revolution, such as Feminists, gay rights campaigners, and hippies just to name a few. American’s during this era faced many controversial issues – from the civil rights, to the Vietnam War, and nuclear arms, and the time was ripe for change. This climate of change led many, particularly the young in significantly shifting social attitudes, behaviors and institutional regulations surrounding sexuality. The Birth of Contraceptives Sexual liberation was a social movement that challenged what society viewed as the sexual norm and typical gender roles. Sex became more socially accepted outside of monogamous, heterosexual marriages, and increased. The increase in acceptance of intercourse prior to marriage gave individuals more freedom. The year of 1962 many advances occurred that supported the freedom of being sexual active and not having to procreate: the first Birth Control pill went on the market...
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...conducted for the national commission on the causes and prevention of violence, ward et al asked ‘are women more aggressive in committing violent crimes today than in the past? Women were viewed as gatekeepers of social morality and the common fear is that women are changing. Ward and his colleagues relied on to document the nature of women ‘violent offences. They have examined whether and how the characteristics and crimes of incarcerated female offenders have changed. This essay also seek to explain the patterns of stability and change over the last third of the 20th century in women’s crimes of violence and the moral panics that explain violent criminality by women. Although boys engage in more delinquent and criminal acts than do girls, female delinquency is on the rise. In 1980, boys were four times as likely as girls to be arrested; today they are only twice as likely to be arrested. In this article, Elizabeth Cauffman explores how the juvenile justice system is and should be responding to the adolescent female offender Reasons why there is less research on female criminality? Smart (1976) stated that throughout history female violence or crime have has been neglected` in criminology theories. The studies show that females were documented to commit less crime, which resulted female offenders being simply conformed within the theoretical aspects of criminology. The fact that women, across most cultures committed far fewer crimes than men was not seriously addressed. There...
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...There is no better time than now for those oppressed from all groups. It’s disconcerting that many reminisce about the 1960’s, idealizing it to the fullest, although the past is no ideal time for women. The hit TV show “Mad Men”, particularly season 2: episode 6, criticizes the gender relations of the 60’s, demonstrating that traditional roles are not worth keeping, and especially not for a woman’s sake, though some of the show's representation of the 60’s are critiqued to be idealized and flawed. Daily occurrences in the show illustrate problems that, although...
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...Disney’s iconic movies play an integral role in shaping countless childhoods, and their princess movies, spanning from 1934’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Moana in 2016, are widely popular, particularly among young American girls. Consequently, the sexist messages of Disney princess movies both pre and post the 1960s Women's Liberation Movement are extremely present in today’s society. Before the Women's Liberation Movement, films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty portrayed messages that reflected women’s confined role in society during the mid-1900s. These princesses, while playing significant speaking roles, were not only dependent on men but the epitome of their life was marriage but the focus...
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...The Difference between the Feminist Movement of 1960 and that of Today In the book “Female Chauvinist Pigs” Levy tries examine and make sense of the radical cultural, social and economic difference in the definition of feminism by two generation. Levy struggles to make sense the two generation mutually exclusive definition of feminism, what it means and what it should stand for. The feminist's movement of the 1960s and 1970s drew inspiration from the civil rights movement. It was made up mainly of members of the middle class, and thus partook of the spirit of rebellion that affected large segments of middle-class youth in the 1960s.Thee feminist movement of the 1960 fought for women liberation, they had series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, voting rights, sexual harassment, and sexual violence. The movement of this period fought to achieve women's civil liberty rights, eradication of gender discrimination at workplace and in education centers, eliminating discrimination in wages, sexual revolution, reproductive rights and subsequently, amending the laws pertaining to cater for women’s need. According to the book the 1960 feminist movement was a major advocate in pushing congress to pass the Equal Pay Act in 1963, which made it illegal to pay a man more money than a woman for doing the same job and the civil rights Act in 1964 that banned discrimination on basis of race, sex and religion. The act...
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...Paper: Woman’s Movement of the 1960’s In the 1960’s and early 1970’s, cultural changes were altering the role of woman in American society. More and more woman were joining the workforce, leaving their traditional roles of stay at home wife and mother. Women coming into the workforce also led to the dissatisfaction amongst them when it came to equality in the workplace, pay differences, and even sexual harassment. One of the biggest changes came woman of age were using birth control after it was approved by the federal government in the late sixties. This freed countless women from unwanted pregnancies and gave them more freedom in their personal lives. Gradually, women were able to get some of their basic goals in the time: equal pay, limits on women in positions of power, end of domestic violence, and equal responsibility when it came to housework and raising children. To best understand this, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of a women during the 1960’s. Her life, was difficult and unsatisfactory. She was denied basic rights, even those to her own body. She was born to be trapped in a home and discriminated against in her own workplace. But, a beacon of hope came during the 1960’s. With that hope, came new ideas, laws, and protests. The idea that a woman was not “the second sex” but equal to her fellow human beings. They wanted to be treated the same, earn the same wages, not feel guilty for not wanting a husband and children and what was expected of them. To make...
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...civil rights movement of the 1960’s when speaking of social movements, however, another major social movement was taking place during this time period. The fight for women’s rights. The women’s movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s sparked the second-wave of the “feminist movement.” Feminism can be defined as “a theory and/or movement concerned with advancing the position of women through such means as achievement of political, legal, or economic rights equal to those granted men (Offen, Pg. 123).” There are still no clear origins for the word feminism...
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...Liberation Movement Emerge in the late 1960’s? Discuss with reference to Britain and the United States of America. In a decade where the whole world was experiencing revolutions due to social discontent, this increased the desire, of women, in the late 1960’s to ‘confront existing structures of oppression,’ giving the impetus for the emergence of the Women’s Liberation Movement. Caine argues the emergence of the movement bought a ‘new tone,’ when discussing women’s oppression. Rather than focusing directly on women’s suffrage, this was a political movement demanding ‘rapid and radical change,’ in an ever increasing ambience of liberalisation. Upon inception, it is vital to highlight one can account different reasons for the emergence of the movement in Britain and America, as different domestic situations led to different reasons for the emergence of a more radical form of feminism. This essay, together with a multiplicity of historians, will consider the importance of World War II and the Civil Rights Movement, and the impact they had on the emergence of the Women’s Liberation Movement. Linked to this is the ever apparent discrimination women faced and increasing desires to change this, coupled with developments of new opportunities, demonstrated by the aforementioned world events. Additionally, the impact of literature such as Betty Friedan’s, The Feminine Mystique, needs to be considered. Whilst all the factors play an important role in contributing to the emergence, it...
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