Lecture Notes
If we think historically, the answer is no: social systems have long privileged males and masculinity. We discussed this point briefly when we were defining modernity and looking at the rise of modern society. Women have been struggling for equal rights for many centuries. What you see on this slide is a very brief overview of some key moments in the history of feminism. In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention is one of the first organized meetings in the country concerning women's rights. The women and men who attend publish the Declaration of Sentiments - a play on the Declaration of Independence - that urges the country to recognize women as equal partners with full rights. It is not until 70 years later that women finally earn the right to vote. In 1920, the 19th amendment is finally passed. Women have the right to vote. Can you believe that was only 90 years ago?? During WWII, women make some strides for equality as they rally behind the war effort in factories and in the military as nurses. In addition, many women played baseball back home to adoring fans. Of course, this liberation was short lived; once the war was over women resumed their positions in the home during the 1950s - a decade of hyper-femininity. By the 1960s and 1970s radical feminists came on the scene. Instead of demanding equal access and equal rights (right to vote, right to an education) they began to question the larger systems of oppression. Radical feminists wanted to change ideology, power systems, and patriarchy. They succeeded in some respects, but not in others. Women are still paid less than their male counterparts, we have yet to have a female president, and women are still sexualized by American culture. The final date on our brief history of feminist activism is 1972, when Title IX was passed.
