Womens Liberation
Sunday, November 7, 2010 2:55 PM
Women's Lib....
"You've come a long way, baby" (Virginia Slims cigarette ad).
Imagine yourself as a women in the sixties...expectations of you are to get married, stay at home, cook and clean, pop out babies. . . the sixties were years of tremendous change. The women's liberation movement of the 1960s gained momentum alongside the civil rights and anti-war movements. Pop culture glorified the "Happy homemaker" with the likes of June Cleaver, and Lucy....Women had had enough!
Women worked at low paying jobs like teachers, nurses, waitresses, secretaries - the only kind of jobs women COULD get... The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination against women making it possible for women to obtain professional positions.....Women could do men's work, but STILL the got lower pay. This was unfair and women everywhere began protesting for their rights. Seeking long overdue social, political and economic equality, women protested for such things as equal rights, equal pay, maternity leave, childcare, etc.
"The fashions of the 60s revealed much more of women’s sexuality than ever before. Miniskirts, see-thru blouses and freedom from bras ironically turned women into sex symbols at the same time they demanded to be seen as more than that." Burning bras became a sign of the times.
Women eventually felt empowered; no longer imprisoned as homemakers; and got to pursue careers their mothers and grandmothers could only dream about. Family values were questioned heavily of any women that sought equal rights....
"But Women’s Liberation didn’t stop there! It spread around the world as feminist protests and liberation movements occurred in major cities everywhere. Today most women take for granted the gains garnered by the Women’s Liberation movement, but for many oppressed women around the world, their day has yet to arrive… "
Ref:
http://hippy.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=311
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/e_lib.html
Becky Casinger
