Lawrence 1

Mary Lawrence
April 14, 2016
SOC 001
Erik Neilsen
Feminism in America
Feminism is the advocacy of womens rights in the political, social, and
economic arenas. Throughout American history, the role of women has been
constantly evolving. Feminism was born from and by the women who stood
up against societal beliefs and saw their value separate and apart from the
home they created. They were the women who wanted the same freedoms
provided to men. The feminist movement transformed traditional norms and
beliefs in order to unite women to stand together to support gender equality.
This paper will explore some of feminisms major milestones and provide
insight as to how they happened and why. This historical review will begin at
the birth of feminism, examining the rights women had to fight for, and
leading up to the contemporary issues that modern day feminism addresses.
Eleanor Roosevelt was one of Americas most prominent and vocal
feminists. First Lady to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor originally rejected that
title as a limiting definition of who she was. She would not allow "her role",
inextricably tied to her husband, to hamper her own self-development as an
individual. She stated in her autobiography, I was deeply troubled. As I saw
it, this meant the end of any personal life of my own. . . . I had watched Mrs.
Theodore Roosevelt and had seen what it meant to be the wife of a
president, and I cannot say that I was pleased at the prospect (Roosevelt

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163). As a distinguished speaker, writer, and activist in her own right, she
transformed the role of First Lady by using the title to promote her career
and speak out about current social issues. Using her earnings from
conferences she held, Eleanor further supported women as an ardent
contributor to womens trade unions. Eleanor changed how society viewed
First Ladies, from that of a passive figurehead to an enactor of change and
left her mark on the feminist movement. At the time feminism was not a
united cause that most people supported, however, Eleanor Roosevelt stood
for and by herself for what she believed in. Toward the end of her life,
feminism started to be more relevant and widespread, picking up steam in
the 1960s but feminism, as we know it today, was inspired and bolstered by
her visibility, her support and her influence. She was one of feminism's most
outspoken and staunch proponents.
Much of feminism is devoted to securing equal opportunities for
women amongst a legal landscape created by and for men. In 1970,
California passed a law that became known as the no-fault divorce" statute,
which was adopted, by every state excluding New York in the subsequent 10
years. No-fault divorce gave divorcing parties the freedom to end their
marriage without blame. Prior to the enactment of no-fault divorce, one
spouse would have to place blame on the other by alleging a certain "fault"
as a reason for a divorce, such as abuse or adultery. This created an
environment tying women to spouses they no longer loved because no legal
argument could support her wish to leave. Even if both parties wanted the

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divorce, they were unable to get one without placing blame, providing a
reason and evidence to support it. This led to widespread perjury from
citizens lying about spousal abuse or adultery, which flies in the face of our
nations legal system. In order to keep the individuals and the courts honest
and help the parties move forward in their lives, lawmakers proposed the no
fault divorce law. This was a huge milestone for feminism because before this
law was passed there were women trapped in abusive and otherwise
unhappy marriages. Even in cases without abuse, women now had the
freedom to terminate a marriage and seek employment opportunities away
from home at their own terms.
The widespread availability of reliable birth control also played a big
role in the feminist movement of the 60s and 70s. After Griswold v.
Connecticut, which ruled that married couples were allowed to seek
contraception, the idea of birth control politics took off thus furthering the
conversation about womens rights. After they were enabled to obtain it, the
pill diffused rapidly among single women. In 1976, 73 percent of all evercontracepting single women 18 and 19 years old had used the drug (Goldin
and Katz). With birth control being available, women were able to focus on
their careers and personal development without having to remain abstinent.
This gave women more personal freedom and control over their life and
family planning. The 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade held that a
womans right to abortion (within the first trimester) fell within the right to
privacy which is protected by the 14th amendment. This case was one of the

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most significant public statements recognizing and supporting women as
independent individuals. Roe's reach was far as its ruling affected the laws
of 46 states and continues to be debated today
The 1960s and 1970s were a revolutionary time of policy change and
social reform. Aside from womens health and marital laws, this movement
also focused on dismantling workplace inequality. At that time public
perception restricted womens work to nurturing professions like teaching,
nursing, and secretarial work. They were often encouraged not to seek
higher education it was rare to find a female doctor or a woman in any other
professional job which involved an advanced degree. Betty Friedans book
The Feminine Mystique discussed a generation of women who were college
educated, yet remained as housewives leaving them feeling unfulfilled as
individuals. While this targeted upper-middle-class white women, the book is
credited as the catalyst to a second wave of the American feminist
movement.
One of the main issues for Feminists today revolves around equal pay,
equal rights in the workplace, and equal number of women in the workplace.
This movement exploded for young people after Emma Watsons speech at
the United Nations Headquarters in New York in support of the HeForShe
campaign. The HeForShe campaign is the first feminist campaign to
specifically encourage men and boys to advocate for gender equality. If men
dont have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women wont feel
compelled to be submissive. If men dont have to control, women wont have

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to be controlled (Watson). This idea of gender equality isnt new, however
the ambition to lift womens issues by engaging men and boys in the
conversation had never been done before.
White American women who work full time are paid 79 cents for every
dollar paid to men, and women of color have an even larger wage gap.
African American women are paid 60 cents and Hispanic women only 55
cents to every dollar a non-Hispanic man receives. While the Equal Pay Act of
1963 started to help close the wage gap, there has been no additional
movement towards that goal in the past decade. At this point in time, equal
pay is feminisms main focus. A study by Shelley Correll, Stephan Benard,
and In Paik found that, when comparing equally qualified women candidates,
women who were mothers were recommended for significantly lower starting
salaries, perceived as less competent, and less likely to be recommended for
hire than non-mothers (Ravitz). Feminists want women to be given the same
opportunities as men and compensated equally for the quality of work they
produce regardless of their gender. The 2009 Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is
the most recent statute aimed at combatting the gender pay gap making
employers accountable for pay discrimination at the point of hiring. This
allows workers to claim compensation for unfair pay differences and
encourages employers to pay equally. Equal pay for equal work is one facet
of workplace equality that allows women the same economic freedoms and
stability as men.

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Another struggle for women in the workplace is the glass ceiling, the
artificial barrier created primarily by white men that prevents women from
getting promotions and advancing their careers. Even though women work
approximately twenty-five minutes longer than their male counterparts on a
daily basis, they still are less likely to get promoted than their male
counterpart. Although there are other social factors, this is mainly due to
biology, as women physically have children and take maternity leave as well
as the expectation that those women will take time off to raise their children.
To business owners, this makes sense: why train, promote, and depend on a
woman who may or may not come back to work after they have children?
This is a huge obstacle for women who seek to advance their careers due to
the fact that 70% of all mothers who have minor children do in fact work
(Ramirez). Also marriage rates have been slowly declining showing that
women have been putting off marriage (and having children) in order to
pursue a fulfilling career.
The 2016 Presidential election is an important one for women. It is the
first time a woman has gotten this far in a Presidential race. Hillary Clinton
has been a part of the changing role of women; she has witnessed the
overwhelming change in society's perceptions of women and continues to
champion womens progress. Birth control politics were a major part of the
1960s and 1970s, but its still relevant in society today, with states such as
Indiana enacting legislation requiring women to have funeral services for any
aborted fetus (HB 1337). As the presidential primary elections move forward,

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the results have forced Senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul (both strong
proponents of restricting abortion) to drop out of the 2016 Presidential race.
This leaves Ted Cruz, Donald Trump, and John Kasich representing the
Republican Party, all of whom support defunding Planned Parenthood. On the
Democratic side, Bernie Sanders takes a different stand on the issue of
Planned Parenthood. He argues that when it comes to womens rights we
must continue moving forward. Instead of defunding Planned Parenthood,
Sanders wants to expand it due to the millions of women who rely on its vital
healthcare services. Defunding Planned Parenthood would be a huge step
back for women as a whole due to the amount of services that Planned
Parenthood provides. Hillary Clinton has the potential of becoming the very
first female president of the United States and that very well may smash the
glass ceiling, for white women.
Feminism has manifested itself in the current Body Positive
Movement that has drawn the participation of millions of women across the
country. Companies like Dove and Aerie have also joined in to support this
social movement to empower women to embrace their natural beauty. In
April of 2013 Dove released a short film, as part of their Real Beauty
campaign, which was designed to connect directly to their market and reach
the essence of what it means to be an individual instead of just a consumer.
In the short film, Dove Real Beauty Sketches, each woman describes her
physical appearance to an interviewer, who unbeknownst to them is an FBI
sketch artist. The women are then told to become familiar with another

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woman in the group, and proceed to describe the physical appearance of
that other woman to the sketch artist. In turn, the sketch artist creates two
sketches of each woman, but from different perspectives, to demonstrate the
difference in the way each view her self and how others view her. The result
is an excellent comparison of the harsher view each woman has of herself
and of how she perceives the world views her and how the world actually
perceives her. Aerie Real is a campaign designed to do a similar thing, by
using unretouched advertisements. Aerie recently hired plus sized model
Iskra Lawrence who also is a National Eating Disorder Association advocate.
These campaigns highlight the way in which feminism has moved from a
strictly legal movement to one demanding social acceptance. Having affluent
companies such as Dove and Aerie backing up the body positive movement
bolsters its credibility and helps get the public involved making it a
legitimate social movement.
Feminism has been a part of American culture since our country was
founded. The social issues and policy reform that women had to fight for in
the past have become second nature to women today. It is often forgotten
that women a hundred years ago did not even have the right to vote.
Women's forward movement to bridge the gender gap, such as equal pay for
equal work and on other social issues, allows their role in society to evolve.
The future of feminism likely includes increased enfranchisement of women
of color and transgender woman. With an evolving conversation and more
opportunities for women, America will hopefully provide true freedom for all

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her citizens. From wives of presidents to presidential candidates, college
educated women and mothers of baby boomers to millennials, feminists
have made great strides and continue to move toward gender equality.

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Bibliography
House Enrolled Act 1337, Pub. L. No. 116-1337, Indiana State Legislator,
2016
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Eleanor Roosevelt, The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt (Boston: G.K.

Hall, 1984, reprint

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Beasley, M. H. (2010). Eleanor Roosevelt: Transformative first lady.

Lawrence, Kan.:

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Goldin, Claudia and Lawrence F. Katz. "The Power Of The Pill: Contraceptives
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https://www.oyez.org/cases/1964/496

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O'Neill, William L.. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (19081984) 65.4 (1972):

478479. Web.

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(1997): 735745.

Ravitz, Jessica. "The New Women's Movement: Reviving the ERA Fight CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 16 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.

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https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18