Women's Rights Movement in the 1970s

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how, even after women were granted the vote, their identity was still largely measured by their success in living up to the idealized role models of wife and mother until the overt feminist movement of the late 1960s. It explains that, until then, the only time that women were allowed to break the traditional, stereotypical mold of femininity and domesticity was during periods such as war, civil strife, or extreme economic conditions.

From the Paper:

"Rossi may have used the three significant milestones of education, suffrage and employment to earmark the progress of women's emancipation in society, but the collection of essays in The Feminist Papers reveal that the roots of the later 1960s movement were formed more than a century ago. In fact, it is only logical to infer that women must have always questioned the restrictions placed on them by a male dominated society. This is evident in the essay On the Equality of the Sexes by Judith Sargent Murray, which was written in the period 1751-1820: "our souls are by nature equal to yours from the commencement of time to the present day, there hath been as many females, as males, who, by the mere force of natural powers, have merited applause wreath of fame." (Rossi, 21) Similarly, the work of Gilman and Lafollette in 1898 and 1926 reveal already existing concern over the exploitation of women as prospective mothers, unpaid domestic workers, economic relations and dependence based on sex and procreation, while calling for the need to liberate women as independent thinking and capable human beings who could make a valuable contribution to society."

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• Book Review # 143421 : "Analysis Of "Women's Movements In The United States"

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