OrionTheWolf
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ORIGINAL: Jahnaca
Greetings
I would say that the feminist movement did not “start” after WW2, in point of fact I believe it ran in tandem with movements that started in the 18th and 19th century.
Did someone say it started after WWII? I said "The largest push was WWII". Do a search on Rosie the Riveter and you will see some information on the second wave of feminism. The start of it was in the 18th and 19th centuries, but there was a lot more impact during the 20th century, with women gain voting rights in many countries during that period.
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The American Constitution declared that “all men are created equal” unfortunately society didn’t recognize all men in that statement. All men in America were not equal. Depending on which period of time one were to look at men were discriminated based race, colour, religious affiliation, social and economic standing. For example at one point in history you had to be a white American, own land and be of X religion before you could vote. Movements were started to enforce the Constitutional statement “all men.” As the 19th century progressed more and more men were granted the right to vote (among other things). Running along side of this was a movement specifically for women. The most recognized movement to us would be the Black movement which gained a lot of ground in equal rights during the middle part of the 20th century.
Some argue that the "equal" in the constitution means an equatable opportunity.
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When one starts talking about equal rights you open a large can of worms. As one concept is addressed, several other concepts come into play. This complicates the growth of a movement because it is difficult for it to remain static. It evolves.
Yep, the only contstant is change.
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The fantasy of the 1950's housewife staying home was just that to most working class families before WW2. A large number of women (and chil*dren) worked in the sweat shops made popular during the Industrial revolution. In fact they were often the greatest number of employees for a factory as they were a cheap and easily exploited labour pool. Pre WW2 the middle class was small, unlike today. This meant more families were either lower or upper, the lower out numbering the upper by a large degree. Further women in rural settings worked very long and hard on the land, women owned/operated many forms of cottage industry etc. The notion women didn’t work is grossly wrong and misguided. They did.
There were certain jobs that they did not work until WWII, or that it was very uncommon for them to work. Some of these were bank tellers, shoe sales, and wait staff in a restaurant, to name a few. Women and children have always been used for mundane labor throughout history, until the change started recently. They still do work in sweatshops in some countries.
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In the late 19th century and into the early part of the 20th, the middle class was beginning to gain ground. To show their new found wealth it became vogue to have the little lady stay home and manage the household. Generally meaning servants (mostly females). It was a general sign of prosperity and the birth of the stay at home mom. As this was promoted as a the next great achievement of mankind we tend to forget what was actually going on in industry. Unions, and other such movements to improve working conditions for the employees were gaining ground. There was a huge pay disparity between males and females, males of colour or ethic back ground etc, all being addressed in one movement or another. For each win a new cause was created.
Not just pay disparity, but there is also a disparity in hours worked at a job, that continues until today.
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War broke out, men suddenly became solders and women took up the places that men formerly patted women on the head and said, “not for you honey, you can’t.” Not only could they, they did it well. After the war, when men came home the “not for you honey, you can’t” didn’t seem to make much sense, though society seemed to start saying it again. See an even greater number of middle class society was still chasing that ideal of prosperity, have the little woman stay home. A great number for one reason or another didn’t go back to kitchen but stayed in the work force (the lower class still needed the income.) Unions again were gaining ground in working conditions, pay, benefits etc yet discrimination based on race/gender was still rampant and being more forcefully addressed. As society changed post WW2, so did the movements which had been around for a very long time. They became more forceful, radical, out spoken etc.
You have left out some of the sociological studies that suggest that males also started a period of less dominant behavior to attract mates. This combined with exploitation of females to work outside the home and still requires to maintain the home, helped fuel the resentment many females began to have.
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You see the feminist movement didn’t evolve in a vacuum on it’s own. It like many other movements grew along each other. Feeding off of social changes, wins and losses in other battles and a host of other things we simply don’t take into account. Since the industrial revolution society has gone through many sweeping changes. This does make a huge impact on cultures and it’s beliefs. It also takes time for a culture to balance it’s self out. The 60's and 70's were chaotic decades of such great moral and social change we can not expect anything less then radicals leaping out of ever crack. 30 years later, we tend to look at that period with a very narrow view, not recognizing what lead up to that point in history. It’s a shame really, there is so much to learn about self created barriers found within society and the mockery it can be when viewed under the light of truth.
Jahna
I believe it is explained in waves if you read much of the literature on it. What I also find interesting is the it also progresses on a bar chart, very similar to how technology and the industrial revolution have progressed. Could females have gone as far as they have if not for tools, machines, computers and such to assist them in doing some of the same physical tasks that used to require just a male?
Live well,
Orion
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