The 1960’s was an era defined as an era of change in the United States. The counterculture around emerging throughout the United States had effectively changed the ways Americans were defining social roles. Events like the emergence of bill control pill ,the Vietnam War , and the Civil Rights Movement ignited young citizens and minorities to protest against governmental actions and its systemic injustices . The constant mobilizations by Americans all over the country prompted the emergence of a counterculture to battle the segregated lifestyle found in the United States. The notion of “ the political is personal,” embodied the main idea of the 1960’s counterculture as citizens became involved politically to therefore change nationwide segregation.
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The majority of women in the United States during the 1960’s endured very limited lives, where “ women accounted for six percent of American doctors, three percent of lawyers, and less than one percent of engineers “ (taavana). The clear disparity caused issues for women because their growth in society was extremely limited. Pat Mainardi in her essay “ The Politics of Housework,” tackles the gender misconceptions that dominate her society. Mainardi criticizes her menial status to explain why the patriarchal system continues, she states “ man’s accomplishments have always depended on getting help from other people, mostly women “ (Mainardi 734). The dependence men have on women to supervise the house and kids reveals the troubling relationship present during the time. Mainardi reveals the different gender roles in society to illustrate how ironically men as the dominant gender rely on women for many aspects of their life. The irony presented thus demonstrates the broken patriarchal system because the powerful gender should not depend on the “weaker,” gender for task. The ironic and archaic ideas behind patriarchy in the United States effectively lead many women like Pat Mainardi that understood that through politics , oppressive gender roles could be lifted from society. As a result political manifestations emerged throughout the country emerged to bring change the …show more content…
The massive mobilization and participation of women caused a shift in the manner the political system operated. The National Organization of Women and National Women’s Political Caucus were key actors in organizing the protest required to bring the elevate the idea of equal rights to the national level. Numerous laws during the 1960’s and 1970’s such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 illustrate how the presence of women of in politics had changed the political agenda. Additionally, the “ Judicial and legislative victories include legalization of abortion in 1973, federal guidelines against coercive sterilization , rape shields laws that encourage more women to prosecute their attackers “ (Baxandall and Gordon, 717). Without a doubt, the laws passed during 1960’s and 1970’s represented the demands of a changing nation. Women no longer wished to live limited lives and wanted to experience the freedom they legally deserve. The spread of the women’s right movement accomplished the change many demanded , and as Dubois states “ at the same as these changes in family structure emerged, women’s participation in the workforce continued its twentieth-century trajectory, growing in the decade of the 1970’s from 43.5 to 51.1 percent “ (Dubois 704). The growing number of workforce participant demonstrates how the public image of women had positively
The majority of women in the United States during the 1960’s endured very limited lives, where “ women accounted for six percent of American doctors, three percent of lawyers, and less than one percent of engineers “ (taavana). The clear disparity caused issues for women because their growth in society was extremely limited. Pat Mainardi in her essay “ The Politics of Housework,” tackles the gender misconceptions that dominate her society. Mainardi criticizes her menial status to explain why the patriarchal system continues, she states “ man’s accomplishments have always depended on getting help from other people, mostly women “ (Mainardi 734). The dependence men have on women to supervise the house and kids reveals the troubling relationship present during the time. Mainardi reveals the different gender roles in society to illustrate how ironically men as the dominant gender rely on women for many aspects of their life. The irony presented thus demonstrates the broken patriarchal system because the powerful gender should not depend on the “weaker,” gender for task. The ironic and archaic ideas behind patriarchy in the United States effectively lead many women like Pat Mainardi that understood that through politics , oppressive gender roles could be lifted from society. As a result political manifestations emerged throughout the country emerged to bring change the …show more content…
The massive mobilization and participation of women caused a shift in the manner the political system operated. The National Organization of Women and National Women’s Political Caucus were key actors in organizing the protest required to bring the elevate the idea of equal rights to the national level. Numerous laws during the 1960’s and 1970’s such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 illustrate how the presence of women of in politics had changed the political agenda. Additionally, the “ Judicial and legislative victories include legalization of abortion in 1973, federal guidelines against coercive sterilization , rape shields laws that encourage more women to prosecute their attackers “ (Baxandall and Gordon, 717). Without a doubt, the laws passed during 1960’s and 1970’s represented the demands of a changing nation. Women no longer wished to live limited lives and wanted to experience the freedom they legally deserve. The spread of the women’s right movement accomplished the change many demanded , and as Dubois states “ at the same as these changes in family structure emerged, women’s participation in the workforce continued its twentieth-century trajectory, growing in the decade of the 1970’s from 43.5 to 51.1 percent “ (Dubois 704). The growing number of workforce participant demonstrates how the public image of women had positively