The American Feminist Movement

The American Feminist Movement:
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The American Feminist Movement
The American Feminist Movement was formed in 1848 but became popular in 1968. At this time, women across America were viewed as housekeepers. This pressured Betty Friedan who together with others stood up for women. In her book The Feminine Mystique she clearly showed that women were not as comfortable with the place they were allocated in the society. Earlier on the movement had pushed for women equality and in the process granted women the opportunity to vote in 1920 but a lot was still missing on their plate. Even though Friedan’s book reached only the literate group of women, it is credited for re-igniting the movement (Berkeley, 2000).
The vision and mission of motion are to seek equality for both women and men. Gender equality was a big challenge back then spanning all the way from education to employment and even to leadership positions. For instance, women were paid less and denied job advancement on the basis that they would get pregnant unlike man and have to leave the job. The movement sought to bring to an end this discrimination via anti-discrimination laws. In 1964 Howard Smith proposed the addition of a clause that prohibited gender discrimination into the Civil Rights Act. Although it was not received well, it finally came to pass with the help of Martha Griffiths. Even after the success, the implementation process was a challenge that saw spirited struggles by the movement in courts of law to ensure its implementation (Berkeley, 2000).

The leadership of the movement was not by a single leader or a group. Its leadership is non-hierarchy, and the group accommodates all regardless of age or class. It sought to carry its business collectively and experimentally. Although some like Betty Friedman stood up to show the way, they clearly stated that they were not up to lead the women but that they were all responsible for the success of the movement. This became a source of conflict between the members when the time came to choose the group officials. This was because the confident women took up the leadership positions and the rest argued that all women were equal (Berkeley, 2000).
This movement since its formation has achieved a lot and has moved women from being housekeepers to respected and adored people in the society. Its achievements can be divided three according to the period of occurrence. Between 1848 -1920 the group pressured through conventions for voting rights. Wyoming Territory made it possible for women to serve as juries in the territory. Colorado made history by being the first state to open the door for women to cast their votes. Other countries did the same in the ensuing years to see Oklahoma state grant the women right to vote in 1918. This goal came to the full realization when the secretary of the state then, Bainbridge Colby signed the 19th amendment to the Constitution which granted women the right to vote. This duration was commonly referred to as the first wave. It laid a foundation for greater future achievements (Berkeley, 2000).
The second category ranges from 1921- 1978. This period saw quite some struggles. In 1921 the birth control league was founded by Margaret Sanger aimed at making birth control information available to all. This turned into success in 1936 when the law was modified making the information neither classified nor obscene. Later in 1960, birth control pills were legalized. In 1960 as seen earlier, the fight was further ignited when the movement pushed strongly for gender equality in education and work. They won the match, and the Equal Pay Act was passed. It apparently meant that paying female workers lesser was a crime and women deserved equal and fair hiring just like men. In 1966, the largest women group in the United States, The National Organization for Women was formed led by Betty Friedan aimed at fighting sexual discrimination. This was achieved in 1967 through an executive order (Berkeley, 2000).
The third period is 1979 to date. In 1984, Early Money Is like Yeast was formed to financially boost female political contenders and led to an increased number of elected women in the Congress. Later on, the fight against physical harassment was ignited. This fifth gave birth to the Violence against Women Act. In 1996, Virginia Military schools were from then onwards to admit women for training (Small & Whitehead, 1997).
The movement, just like any other has also had its downs. There is no successful journey without hiccups. Persistent male chauvinism was the major one. For instance, the members of the Congress laughed when the issue of granting women the right to vote was presented to them by Howard Smith. This sounded like a joke to them. This meant that no one was out there to listen to their cry and therefore they had to double their efforts. Another problem was illiteracy given only a few were learned. This few had to carry the weight of the rest making it more challenging. But in all this-this movement is credited for liberating the girl child from being a keeper to a very useful part of the society.
References
Berkeley, K. (2000). Step by Step: Building the Feminist Movement, 1941-1977. The Journal Of American History, 87(3), 1161. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2675456Small, J. & Whitehead, K. (1997). The Feminist Poetry Movement. American Literature, 69(4), 871. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2928370