The Beginnings of the Women's Rights Movement in America
The words "male" and "female" are actually fictitious representations of sexuality, and when they are used to describe the political, social, economic, cultural, and traditional landscape of humanity as the required basis for feminism, a complex result is unavoidable. (Dow 128).
The Fight for Women's Rights in American Culture
The American female gender has experienced difficult times throughout the generations as they have fought for women's rights in American culture. The American women fought for social, civil, and religious rights among other basic rights. In the 1840s, all of these basic human requirements seemed absurd. Nevertheless, it would be possible fifteen decades later, due to the tireless and audacious efforts by feminist emancipators. In 1848 July 13, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other four American housewives convened at a tea place and discussed why women were being discriminated in the society (Schniedewind, Gowri, and Suzanne 55). It was in New York, and the meeting initiated the movement of women's rights in America, whereby the idea of organizing the first women's convention was incepted. Stanton was such an asset, as she was capable of agitating for the rights of women on the slogan Declaration of Sentiments, which attracted nationwide attention (Motta 1). Other than discussing feminist movements, it is not only imperative to emphasize on themes of gender equality as well as male dominance in social segments like education, to demystify what feminism means and its influence towards men and women in the American society.
The Fight for Women's Right to Vote
When the first convention for women was held in America, all other pertinent female rights were passed except the right for women to participate in polls. The question seemed inconceivable, even among pessimistic females. The matter raised concern nationwide. The media ridiculed the female agitators and mocked them. Their names were published as symbols of misfortune, and that lacked ethics (Dow 129). The target of the media resistance was primarily on the ninth declaration. In fact, some of the female signatories who attended the resolution felt ashamed and withdrew their signatures. Nevertheless, the daring ones continued to pursue the rights of women. The heated debate attracted the attention of a large percentage of Americans.
The Continuous Struggle for Women's Rights
The movements beginning 1850 agitating for female rights until the end of the civil war became frequent, and drew extensive crowds, following the Seneca Falls strategy. The American vote for women suffrage was won in the year 1920 (Schniedewind, Gowri, and Suzanne 231). The victory was a landmark as it gave American women the right to vote. The demonstrations in the 1960s were the second campaign against female discrimination, and the then head of the Labor Department Esther Peterson championed the rights for women in 1961 (Motta 1). Consequently, the then president Kennedy signed into law the Act that warned against female discrimination in America.
The Progress Made and Its Impact
The continued efforts by women bore fruits as time went by. They came together and established their medical centers, owned property, and launched communication hotlines. These tools helped American women to communicate, have one mission on which were the rights of women. Consequently, in 1972, a motion was passed to make education an essential requirement for both of the American gender, and women could now access their professions of their desire, including law, medicine, and engineering, the lucrative courses which were considered a male preserve before. Furthermore, the equal rights amendment was passed in 1972, which advocated for equity in law among all the American citizens regardless of gender (Motta 1).
The Influence of Feminism on American Society
Feminism has resulted in positive progress in the American society, benefits of which have made the lives of the male and female gender better in equal measure. The Seneca Falls' meeting of 1948 objective finally rose to new heights when, in the 1990s, American women began to campaign for equal rights. For instance, the freedom of reproductive rights, enrollment in the American military, and other leadership positions in society (Hermes 159). Currently, women have made significant steps to secure their rights, in the political, judicial, executive, religious, and all other social segments in the US, making America a better place for all.
The Fight for Women's Right to Vote
The new US constitution incepted in 1920 gave the female gender their liberty. This was marked by the nineteenth amendment of the American constitution. The right for women to vote was ratified. Since then, in 1919, women had been disenfranchised both at the national and state arena. The amendment stated that regardless of gender, all American citizens had their civil rights protected, hence the liberty for women to vote (Hermes 171). Indeed, the amendment marked the successful culmination of the women's suffrage movement in America, a faction that campaigned for voting rights for the female gender.
Comparison of Feminist Movements
The early twentieth-century feminists have a couple of aspects to compare to the mid-late nineteenth-century women reformers of older generations. The question of equal rights between the male and the female gender characterizes the ideologies and movements of chronological events in the feminism history. The differences in objectives, countries, culture, traditions, intentions, and time pertaining to the feminism movements are evident. However, scholars in the discipline of history content that the primary agenda among the western female-linked movements had a common goal, the rights for women (Hermes 162).
The Waves of Feminist Movements
There are three major waves that characterize the movements of former and recent women movements, as split into respective times by researchers. The initial and first category in this classification was the nineteenth to twentieth-century feminist wave (Schniedewind, Gowri, and Suzanne 78). This first-class agitated for the civil rights of women and campaigned for the abolition of the otherwise male-centered legal systems so that the society could adopt new systems that treated both genders equally. The second group is dated between the phase of 1960 to 1970 women's rights campaigns. This set had their main agenda as to claim the indispensable role played by the woman in the society, balance the existing cultural inequalities among other social gender-based injustices (Hermes 172). Finally, the early twentieth-generation feminists, who form the third category, had their plan founded on driving feminist activities in the society, which is viewed by scholars as a continuation of the older feminist crusades in the early and mid-nineteenth centuries as well as a response to the failed objectives of the Latter (Moore and Perry 14).
The Women's Liberation Movement
Women's liberation was a movement that characterized the 1960s and 1970s among the American and UK women, plus their female counterparts in other developed countries then. The women's liberation was founded on feminist gender-related perceptions in the society. On the other hand, a Liberal feminist is an ideology, which is naturally individualistic, as it is based on the womanly femininity hypothesis that women can maintain their independence and enjoy their course of actions in society (Bhattacharjya et al. 281). The liberal feminists are persons who hold the idea that women are capable of and have relevant related excellent capabilities both in physical and intellectual segments to do everything as well as or better than their male counterparts can. The natural misconception that women are weak in many social aspects compared to men, liberal feminists argue that it has led to the disadvantages women encounter in their day to day lives. The social, legal, and political propaganda has locked women outside of the privileges the male gender enjoys, as argue the liberal feminists. Consequently, to counter the belief, the latter fights for the amendment of political and legal institutions to reform to equal gender entitlements.
The Fight for Gender Equality in the 1960s and 1970s
The time between the 1960s and 1970s was characterized by extreme social injustices in the American society (Schniedewind, Gowri, and Suzanne 345). The female gender faced many communal inequalities. For instance, women had only one agenda in life: to take care of themselves, reach age twenty, and get married to begin taking care of their children and husbands. Women were the sole caretakers of their families. Men hardly participated in child upbringing and performing home chores. As such, women felt overwhelmed. In the academic arena, women were discriminated against, as lucrative courses like medicine, law, and engineering were out of reach for the females (Bhattacharjya et al. 291). They were considered intellectually inferior and could not specialize in some of the professions at the college. In the job market, similar cases of prejudice were not uncommon. Women could be hardly employed, as a favor was given to their male counterparts in respective jobs. Nevertheless, if they were hired, then their employers could pay them relatively lower than what was just, as their bosses argued the latter had no family to support, and too much money could compromise their competence. The goals of feminism of the 1960s and 1970s were to end such unhealthy social injustices, and the charges reversed everything to the better, making gender equality part of mainstream American life (Bhattacharjya et al. 289).
The Progress of Women's Rights in the US
In conclusion, therefore, the American women have traversed a long period of struggle, more than 15 decades, before attaining their status in the society. Dating back to the early nineteenth century, women were disenfranchised, looked down upon, and treated primarily as elements of sex and marriage. Nevertheless, the feminist conventions served as a critical vehicle for the revolution that changed the role of women and men alike in the US society. From social, political, religious, and professional segments, women have annexed significant positions. Despite the resistance they encountered all along, globalization has led to the spread of the feminist agenda worldwide, making lives in diverse cultures and traditions better.
Works Cited
Bhattacharjya, Manjima et al. “Why Gender Matters in Activism: Feminism and Social Justice Movements.” Gender and Development 21.2 (2013): 277–293. Web.
Dow, Bonnie J. “Feminism, Miss America, and Media Mythology.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 6.1 (2003): 127–149. Web.
Hermes, Joke. “Feminism and the Politics of Method.” Questions of Method in Cultural Studies. N.p., 2008. 154–174. Web.
Moore, Helen A, and Gary Perry. “Separate Roads to Feminism: Black, Chicana, and White Feminist Movements in America’s Second Wave.” Contemporary Sociology 34.1 (2005): 13–15. Web.
Motta, S Flesher C Eschle C Cox L. “Feminism, Women’s Movements and Women in Movement.” Interface 3.2 (2011): 1. Print.
Schniedewind, Nancy, Parameswaran Gowri, and Kelly Suzanne. Women Images & Realities, A Multicultural Anthology - Nancy Schniedewind, Gowri Parameswaran, Suzanne Kelly, Professor - Google Books. 5th ed. McGraw-Hill Education, 2011 ISBN 0073512311, 9780073512310, 2011. Web.
