Women's Liberation Movement

Women’s Liberation Movement “The problems lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States.” (Friedan 1). “Federal laws and business policies discouraged the hiring of married women and mandated that be first fired in cutbacks:” (Coontz 158). “It needs to be made known that much talent and experience are being wasted by this movement when women are not given jobs commensurate with their abilities.” (SNCC 14). The oppression of women has been ongoing for centuries. Women are paid less than men for the same work. Women are sex typed when it comes to jobs, meaning women get paid …show more content…
Male privilege has dominated the world for centuries, and with that women’s rights were often overlooked and women were suffering in their position. Most women claimed to be happy in their roles as wife and mother, but inside the home women were suffering and blaming themselves for their dissatisfaction. Consciousness- raising groups were a very important aspect of the Women’s Liberation Movement. Women from all over the United States were meeting together to share experiences. These groups gave women the opportunity to express their personal problems and understand themselves as women. Women felt more peace of mind in these groups, they felt like they weren’t alone in their battle against the oppression of women. The groups consisted of a small amount of women who met once a week to discuss different topics. After a period of time, the groups may have been interested in starting their own action projects. Women from California who were involved in the consciousness- raising groups began their own project by joining a picket line of women factory workers protesting discriminatory hiring practices. Other protests involving a group of feminists who went to protest the annual Miss America pageant in 1968. These women believed that Miss America represented an image that oppresses women in every area. …show more content…
A lot of women during the 60’s and even today fear rape more than anything. Rape was the most frequently committed crime in America. The American justice system also has a hard time distinguishing rape from consensual sexual intercourse. Myths always described rape as happening to “bad girls” or women who had sexual intercourse prior couldn’t be raped. The reality of it was that no woman was safe and the justice system wasn’t helping women feel safer. Some men use rape as a way to control women and keep them oppressed. “Rape is a form of mass terrorism for the victims of rape are chosen indiscriminately, but the propagandists for male supremacy broadcast that it is women who cause rape by being unchaste or in the wrong place at the wrong time, in essence, by behaving as though they were free.” (Griffin 35). Male supremacists believed that the fear of rape kept women in their roles. Women wouldn’t be out late and stayed home if they feared they would be raped. Rape is not an unknown act of domination. Slaves and victims of war were also raped also all over the world. A part of human dignity is being able to defend yourself. No amount of defense will save the woman from rape., the nature of the male’s behavior and ways of oppression has to change first. (Griffin