English project

12LH2



The Role of Women
in American Society
From the 50s to a hopeful future



















Cludia Santos, 13
Jessica Galvo, 19
Sofia Santos, 29
Index
1 Introduction.. 1
2 The Fifties.... 2
3 The Sixties.... 3
4 The Seventies 4/5
5 From the Eighties until today 5/6
6 Conclusion... 7
7 Webgraphy... 8

















1 Introduction
Women do not have the same role as men in society, though much progress has been
made to bring women to a stage where they have equal rights, equal pay, and equal
independence, but still it is not achieved. In fact, that progress dates back to the 19th century
and the early 20th century with the first wave of feminism, focused mainly on womens
suffrage. Therefore, women like Lucy Stone or Susan Brownell Anthony fought for equal
political rights and were considered the first big reformers of womens role in society - the
right to vote was achieved in 1920.
However, in this project well focus the decades when there were bigger changes in this
subject, which started around the Fifties. As we have studied before, besides the role of
women in the Fifties was still inferior and submissive, that standard was less rigid than in
previous decades. The stage for the Sixties and then the Sixties and the Sixties themselves
were the most tumultuous and remarkable years for womens emancipation. They fueled the
feminist movement and prompted the Womens Liberation expression, and were followed
by many other political and economic changes all over the world. The next decades also met
several changes and achievements for women emancipation, which are still reflected in
todays society.
It took more than sixty long years for women to get more and more independent from
men in society, without being judge or disrespected. In fact, formerly they won the battle,
because in legislative terms they achieved gender equality. However, many traditionalist
stereotypes still demean them and theres a lot to be done yet.



2 The 50s
During World War II, when men went there, women were also encouraged to join the
war effort. At that point, they had to replace men at the factories by doing their jobs. This had
never been seen before: women were doing mens job. This meant something huge; this
meant that women could do the same things as men and that they werent much different,
after all. When the World War II ended, the number of working women dropped, as there
were already enough men able to come back to their former jobs. Nevertheless, women
started to wonder what they could and should do besides being housewives. By this time,
many women got angry and resentful because they had found a degree of self-definition they
had not previously known and that was being taken from them. But yet, as they didnt feel
fearless enough to claim their wishes, women came back to their usual duty: housekeeping
and taking care of the children.
The advertisements often showed smiling women with their arms loaded with cooked
food, or a woman cleaning the house and looking happy and satisfied to be doing that and
nothing else. This was actually the typical woman of that decade. Her jobs were to get
married with a prestigious and respected man, to take care of the house, have children to
ensure the family legacy and generation , to take care of them and raise them as close as
possible according to the rules and traditions of society. Their only goal in life was to
guarantee the pleasures of their husband and children.
Yet, in the second half of the decade, society started to open up a little bit the concepts
of the role of women. A few of them, the more wealthy and influent ones, could attend
colleges and extend their knowledge and skills. However, most of them werent able to finish
the degree as they were forced to quit to get married. Even if they actually made it to the end,
women didnt plan to get a subsequent job.
In 1959, three revolutionary books on women were published: "A Century of
Struggle" by Eleanor Flexner, which concerned the 19th century women's movement; "A
Century of Higher Education for American Women" by Mabel Newcomer, about the position
of women in the academic world; and "Women and Work in America" by Robert Smuts,
which concerned women's role in society between 1890 and 1950.
However, the period of the World War II wasnt forgotten by many women, as it is
considered to be the first step into their afterward emancipation. The woman had managed to
keep the family up in times of war, proving her true values. That was one of the most
important accomplishments that occurred in this decade and that served to show to everyone
that women were able to do much more things than only the housekeeping. Most of all, that
they could do the same things as men, and, therefore, they werent so different after all.
3 The 60s
In the Sixties, deep cultural and political changes were altering the role of women in
American society. It was a complex decade, surrounded by the rise of the counterculture,
protests against Vietnam War and the nationalisms, and the increasing of activism in national
issues, such as civil rights, which included the protection of womens rights. Therefore, the
growing entering of women in job market created dissatisfaction among women regarding
huge gender disparities in pay and advancement and sexual harassment at the workplace.
Considering that, one of the main points of womens emancipation of the Sixties was
to dismantle workplace inequality, such as the denial of access to better jobs and salary
inequity, via anti-discrimination legislation. Thus, in 1961, President John F. Kennedy took
the advice of an assistant secretary of labour, Esther Peterson, and established a commission
on the status of women to create a plan to help women fill their dual public and private roles.
In 1963, Congress ratified legislation prohibiting differentials by sex in wage rates in private
industry, the first such employment discrimination law. But the way women were seen by
society also changed in other areas. In 1961 the governments approved a birth control pill,
which freed many women from unwanted pregnancy and gave them many choices and
freedom, in their personal lives. In 1963, the publication of The Feminine Mystique, by
Betty Friedan, captured the frustration and even the despair of a generation of college-
educated housewives who felt trapped and unfulfilled, and mobilized a growing number of
women who followed their ideology. The civil rights and anti-war movements politicized and
radicalized a growing number of women bombarded with contradictory expectations and
images about work and family.
Therefore, Betty Friedans activity is considered to have originated the second wave of
feminism, essentially focused on the fight for cultural, social and politic equality, and was
based on the creation of NOW (National Organization for Women), in 1966. Another
remarkable occurrence in this decade was the Miss America peasant protest in 1968, when a
group of women threw into a Freedom Trash Can feminine symbols they considered related
to oppression such as high-heeled shoes, corsets, and girdles. This protest was led by activists
such as the famous Betty Friedan, Robin Morgan and Carol Hanisch.
All these happenings were crucial in the revolution of womens role in society,
because they helped people changing gradually their minds and accepting some of the basic
goals of the Sixties feminism: equal pay for equal work, an end to domestic violence,
restriction of severe limits on women in administrative jobs, an end to sexual harassment, and
sharing of responsibility for housework and child rearing. Meanwhile, as expectations for a
comfortable middle-class lifestyle rose, having two incomes became indispensable to achieve
this lifestyle, making women's participation in the workforce something more acceptable.
However, the achievement of total gender equality was still incomplete even in the end of the
Sixties, which generated new activist movements in the subsequent decades.

4 The 70s
In the Seventies, women started to experience many ways of freedom at several points
of their lives, due to the revolutions that marked the previous decade. With the arrival of the
birth control Pill in 1961, women realised that they finally could complete years of training or
study and launch their careers without being interrupted by pregnancy. Therefore, a wave of
young women began applying to medical, law, and business schools in the early 1970s.
Many subjects considered as taboos in the former decades, as sexual and reproductive
liberation, could be discussed more openly, as the whole country had become more sensitive
to issues of fairness, equality and individual freedom. In the early 1970's the abortion issue
was suddenly settled by the U.S. Supreme Court in the feminists' favour. Moreover, the
Congress finally passed an Equal Rights Amendment stating "Equality of rights under the law
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." No
matter how difficult and lengthy the struggle for ratification may turn out to be, and no matter
how often it may fail, feminists were hopeful that the amendment will ultimately be adopted.
Meanwhile, the women's movement was producing a huge number of newspapers and
magazines in local communities across the country. While these were produced largely
concerning just the members of the movement, Gloria Steinem's Ms Magazine, founded in
1971, expanded the audience to the general public at a national level. It revealed the struggles
ordinary women faced, publishing inspirational stories of successful women, and covering
several activists efforts across the country.
At the same time, the womens movement also proceeded at the law level, using class
action lawsuits, formal complaints, protests, and hearings to create a legal change. By the late
1970s, they had made concrete huge improvements, including the outlawing of gender
discrimination in education, college sports, and obtaining financial credit; the banning of
employment discrimination against pregnant women; the legalization of abortion and birth
control, etc. Members of the women's movement were really excited by these successes.
In the August of 1970, Women's Strike for Equality, a nationwide wave of protests and
marches, started to become optimistic. However, it soon gave way to a backlash represented
by the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The Equal Rights Amendment was a
proposed constitutional change that would protect women's rights and the gender equality.
The Congress approved it right away in 1972 and it was ratified by 30 states by the end of the
following year. Still, it was unable to gain the 8 additional ratifications necessary, so it
expired by 1982. At first, there was widespread public support for the ERA. However, an
amount of people was still very conservative when it came to the changes of men's and
women's roles. Furthermore, this time also matched a movement against gay and rights,
carried out particularly by the Christian right wing. Moreover, while the women's movement
failed to communicate the benefits of the ERA and, therefore it was hard for the public to
see how positive could the amendment be , the ERA's opponents, on the other hand, painted
a vivid picture of the terrible effects the ERA could have on the country, arguing that it would
dismantle the foundations of American society, especially the family. Although the ERA had
failed, and the backlash against feminism has continued, the struggle for women's rights has
also continued, leaving a lasting impact on American society.
Finally, we can affirm that the Seventies were a decade of truly rough changes. It was
a continuation of the ideals and rights protected and advocated by the rebel and revolutionary
movements of the Sixties. In other words, the Seventies were the concrete resolution and
application of what the Sixties claimed for, changing dramatically the role of women in
society from that era to beyond.

5 From the 80s until today
With the decline of ERA, the public opinion shifted toward acceptance and
conformism. Many believed that all issues had already been settled, that the activism coupled
with the influx of women into professional positions had created equality. The ERA was
unnecessary where women were content with their roles in society. Unfortunately, that
perception was not realized, and in the 1980s, many achievements of the equal rights
movement were eroded. Moreover, social problems for women accelerated. Domestic and
other violence against women increased, as their poverty, rendering many women and their
dependent children homeless. At the same time, women in the professions began to realize
that their progresses in their fields were not conquered, after all.
The increased economic fissure between social classes began to affect attitudes at this
time, and women who stayed home in a traditional lifestyle started to be rejected by others,
while at the same time there seemed to be an attitude of choice between work and kids, as
they couldnt do both. Many of these women, of course, felt indignant of the idea of choice, as
they were working longer and harder in the same jobs for fewer salaries than men. They,
really felt the necessity to work, as they were stuck into long-term mortgages. So women, at
this time, were not only under pressure to prove that they could be as successful as men in the
workforce, but to keep the home fires tended and keep their appearance up, too, to remain
attractive to men.
Besides this pressure around the role of women, the Eighties brought an important
number of triumphs in new domains of society: in 1981, Sandra Day O'Connor was the first
lady to act as Supreme Court Justice; in 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman
nominated for Vice President by a major party; also in 1984, Katherine Sullivan became the
first American walking in space.
In the 1990s, American women learned that they could rise to leadership roles besides
the bigger effort needed, and that they must devote a great deal more time than men. Thus,
1992 was known as the "Year of the Woman" because many women were elected to political
office that year, as they had never been like that before. However, gender seemed to stand as a
problem in society and people considered the first and second waves of feminism had failed.
Therefore, the Nineties gave voice to a third wave of feminism, which tried to revitalize the
goals of the previous decades, but made its own contributions as well. Black women such as
Gloria Anzalda, Chela Sandoval and Audre Lorde developed new concepts focused on the
intersection between race and gender.
From those decades until nowadays there wasnt much more remarkable changes
influencing the role of women in society. When comparing to the primordial of womens
liberation movement, we can see the drastic transformations that occurred over the past
decades, considering the achievements around the politic, economic and social equality. In
fact, all the feminist goals were achieved until nearly Nineties in a legislative and formal way.
However, there is still much to change in peoples consciences, and thats not as easy as it
seems. Changing societys morality is more difficult than change the laws, so these ones can
be approved without the acceptance of part of society. Consequently, there are still many
gender stereotypes that need to be changed, even in a more and more globalized world, which
block a complete execution of an egalitarian womens role in their society.









6 Conclusion
We can now assure that the role of women has gone through plenty of changes
throughout the Twentieth Century, which can also be reflected in our nowadays society.
Although American women achieved the right to vote in 1920, some other changes
and victories have been a longer time coming, and the journey of progress has often been
uneven. During the Sixties, in the United States began a period of considerable social
changes. In womens matters, the result was a phenomenon known as the womens
movement. Influenced by the success of the civil rights movement for racial equality and
other progressive currents invading the nation during the Sixties and Seventies, a wide part of
organizations and lobbying groups claimed for full equality for American women as well.
Their purpose was not only for a revision of American institutions, customs and values, but
also for a revolution in peoples awareness in the minds of women as well as men and
especially in the way women thought about themselves. Not everyone welcomed the resulting
changes, as evidenced by the formation of a number of organizations intent on contradicting
what they viewed as uncontrolled feminism. Although this circumstances, there is no doubt
that the changes have been hugely productive. American women are living very different lives
in the Nineties than they did in the Fifties and earlier.
Women have achieved their goals and have won the struggles they have been fighting
for, along these fifty years. Its now fine to say that women have the same rights as men at
least legally and that they achieved all this changes by themselves, by their willingness, by
their courage, by their strong determination and by their hard work. This leads to the clich of
which one is the stronger sex after all.
From the traditional Fifties to the revolutionary Sixties, going through the remarkable
Seventies and ending in the steady Eighties and Nineties, the role of women in the American
society has passed through several amazing alterations over the years, changing radically their
lives and the society itself









Because I am a woman, I must make
unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no
one will say, "She doesn't have what it
takes." They will say, "Women don't
have what it takes."
- Clare Boothe Luce
Some of us are
becoming the men we
wanted to marry.
- Gloria
Steinem
7 Annexes


1 Sexist adds from the 50s.











3 - Gloria Steinems magazine (1972). 4 The decline of ERA.


5 Examples of
feminist quotes.







8 Webgraphy
http://www.classic70s.com/
http://tavaana.org/en/content/1960s-70s-american-feminist-movement-breaking-down-
barriers-women#_edn44
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-wave_feminism
http://www2.ivcc.edu/gen2002/twentieth_century.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/jmurray_01.shtml
http://www.now.org/issues/economic/cea/history.html#1970
http://www.sewallbelmont.org/learn/womens-history-in-the-u-s/
http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=97078
http://www2.ivcc.edu/gen2002/twentieth_century.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/michaellbess/changing-roles-of-women-1357348
http://www.sewallbelmont.org/2012/12/the-evolution-or-not-of-gender-norms-and-
marriage/
http://www.wikipedia.org/