Post on 24-Dec-2015
The Rhetorical Shaping of Gender: Women’s Movements
in the United States
Chapter 3
Women’s Movements in the U.S.
• Rhetoric is persuasion• Rhetorical movements are collective
efforts to challenge and change existing:– Attitudes– Laws– Policies
The Three Waves of Women’s Movements
• Rhetorical women’s movements have occurred in three waves
The Three Waves of Women’s Movements
• Two ideologies have informed:– Liberal feminism – women and men are alike
and equal– Cultural feminism – women and men are
fundamentally different
The First Wave of Women’s Movements
• 1840-1925• Liberal and cultural branches
The Women’s Rights Movement
• Activism aimed at enlarging women’s political rights
• Demand for voting rights for women
The Women’s Rights Movement
• 1918-1920 – Paul and Burns spearheaded nonviolent protest– Women’s suffrage– Hunger strike
• See clips from Iron Jawed Angels at:– http://iron-jawed-angels.com/
The Women’s Rights Movement
• 1840 – Mott chosen as representative to World Anti-Slavery Convention– Not allowed to participate
• Mott and Stanton worked to organize first women’s rights convention– Seneca Falls Convention - 1848
The Women’s Rights Movement
• Declaration of Sentiments–Modeled on
Declaration of Independence
– Grievances women had suffered
The Women’s Rights Movement
• Men and women signed petition• Initially links with Abolitionist movement– These ties dissolved
The Women’s Rights Movement
• 1870 – 15th Amendment ratified– Black men won right to vote
• 1920 – women gain right to vote
The Cult of Domesticity
• 1800s – did not ally with women’s rights movements
• True ideal of womanhood – to be domestic
• Participated in efforts to:– End slavery– Ban alcohol– Enact child labor laws
The Cult of Domesticity
• Needed right to vote to have voice in public life
• Women and men not alike• Women’s virtue would reform politics
The Cult of Domesticity
• Securing voting rights did not immediately fuel further efforts
• Few women voted• 1925 – amendment to regulate child
labor failed to be ratified
The Cult of Domesticity
• Movements dormant for 35 years• Attention concentrated on world wars– Women joined labor force to support war
effort– Women’s opportunities shrank post-war
• Some women did affect change
The Second Wave of Women’s Movements
• 1960-1995 – second wave• Liberal and cultural ideologies coexisted• Diverse goals and rhetorical strategies
Radical Feminism
• Also called women’s liberation movement• Grew out of New Left politics– Protested Viet Nam war– Fought for civil rights
• New Left men treated women as subordinates
Radical Feminism
• 1964 – women in SNCC challenged sexism in New Left – male members unresponsive
• 1965 – women in SDS also found no receptivity
• Many women withdrew and formed own organization
Radical Feminism
• Basic principle – oppression of women is fundamental form of oppression on which others are modeled
• Relied on “rap” groups– Ensured equal participation
Radical Feminism
• Revolutionary politics• Public events
Radical Feminism
• Continues in the U.S. and other countries:– Missile Chick Dicks• http://www.missiledickchicks.net/
– Radical Cheerleaders• http://radcheers.tripod.com/
– Muslim feminists
Radical Feminism
• Identification of structural basis of oppression– The personal is political
• Women’s health movement
Lesbian Feminism
• Radicalesbians• Only women who love and live with women
putting women first• Lives not oriented around men • Lesbianism – Positive, liberated identity
Lesbian Feminism
• Not all lesbians are feminists• Not all lesbian feminists are
Radicalesbians– Defined as women-identified
• Commitment to end discrimination• Use voices to respond to criticism• Adopt proactive rhetorical strategies
Separatism
• Communities where women live independently with mutual respect
• Many, but not all, are lesbians• Believe women are different from men• Community where feminine values can
flourish
Separatism
• Impossible to reform patriarchal culture• Exit mainstream society• Exercise little political influence
Revalorism
• Focus on appreciating women’s traditional activities
• Draws on standpoint theory• Women more nurturing, cooperative, life-
giving• More complete history of America
Revalorism
• Re-covering women’s history• Exhibits of women’s traditional arts• Debate to secure legal rights
Ecofeminism
• Launched in 1974 – La Feminisme ou la Mort
• Connection between efforts to control women and quest to dominate nature
Ecofeminism
• Oppression imposed on anyone/anything that can’t resist
• Includes animal rights, peace activists, and vegetarians
• Seek to bring consciousness of humans’ interdependence with other forms of life
Ecofeminism
• Learn more at:– http://eve.enviroweb.org/– http://www.ecofem.org/
Liberal Feminism
• Advocates equality in all spheres of life• Mid-1900s – white, middle-class women living
American dream• Not happy• Wanted identity beyond home
Liberal Feminism
• Betty Friedan – The Feminine Mystique– Named problem of dissatisfaction– Defined as political issue– Institutions kept women confined
Liberal Feminism
• Women and men alike• Women entitled to equal rights• NOW – National Organization for Women –
1966– Effective in gaining passage of laws and
policies– Enlarge and protect women’s opportunities
Liberal Feminism
• Rhetorical strategies include lobbying, public forums, drafting legislation, conventions
• Criticized– Focus narrow – white, middle-class– Now more attention to diverse women
Liberal Feminism
• Not confined to U.S.– Spain– Muslim women– Third World– India– Iraq– Kuwait
Womanism
• Believe men and women mainly alike• Differentiate from white feminists• 1970s – African American women– Black Women Organized for
Action– National Black Feminist Organization
Womanism
• Highlight ways gender and racial oppression intersect
• Black women more often– Single– Less formal education– Bear more children– Paid less– Assume financial responsibility
Womanism
• Address issues that affect lower-class African American women– Reforming social services– Increasing training and job opportunities
• Rhetorical strategies include consciousness raising and support groups
Womanism
• 1997 – Million Woman March– Deemphasized media hype– Woman-to-woman sharing of experiences and
support
Multiracial Feminism
• Emphasizes multiple systems of domination• Prefer multiracial to multicultural• Insist race cannot be viewed in isolation• Race intersects other systems of domination
Multiracial Feminism
• Gender does not have universal meaning• Meaning of gender varies as a result of:– Race– Economic class– Sexual orientation
Multiracial Feminism
• Write and talk about more complex categories
• Emphasis on women’s agency
Power Feminism
• 1993 – Naomi Wolf– http://naomiwolf.org/
• Self-defeating to focus on social causes of inequities
• Society doesn’t oppress women• Women have power to control what happens
to them
Power Feminism
• Stop thinking of themselves as victims• Capitalize on power of majority status• Katie Roiphe – another proponent– Take Back the Night marches – self-defeating
Power Feminism
• Appeals to white, successful, well-educated• Less helpful to those without privilege• Emphasis on empowerment influential in
shaping third wave
The Third Wave of Women’s Movements
• Many second wave movements still active• Third wave has emerged
The Third Wave of Women’s Movements
• Draws from multiple branches of feminism
• Less fully formed and uniform• Not yet found single center
The Third Wave of Women’s Movements
• Not extension of goals of second wave• Distinct historical location that informs
politics and goals• Learn more at:– http://womenissues.about.com/cs/feminism
/f/thirdwave.htm
Recognizing Differences
• Recognize women differ in many ways• Figuring out how to speak for group while
recognizing differences
Building Coalitions
• Commitment to building alliances with men• Leads to understanding of intersections
among forms of privilege and oppression
Engaging in Everyday Resistance
• Reforms won by second wave not woven into everyday life
Engaging in Everyday Resistance
• Goal to incorporate structural changes wrought by second wave into life– Challenging racist comments– Confronting homophobic attitudes– Examine class privilege
Engaging in Everyday Resistance
• Power must be rooted in personal, bodily resistance
Being Media Savvy
• Third-wavers media savvy• Gain information from numerous sources• Create media of own
Being Media Savvy
• Know how to use media to galvanize political goals
• Use mass and social media to advance ideas– Tori Amos - R.A.I.N.N.• http://www.rainn.org/
– Blogs, zines, social network sites
Embracing Aesthetics and Consumerism
• Images of celebrities easy to find – hard to avoid
• Some young women see them as role models
• Embrace traditional girl culture• Embrace consumerism
Embracing Aesthetics and Consumerism
• May lead to commodification of own body
• Pornography creates pressure for women to accept sexual images to feel liberated
• Women encouraged to explore sexuality on own terms
Individualism
• Women are so different there can be no collective political agenda
• Each woman defines feminism on her own terms– Autobiographical essays
Individualism
• Does not cultivate cohesive political agenda– Change is unlikely to happen• Structural change grows out of collective political action
Antifeminism: The Backlash
• Success of feminism led to antifeminist efforts
• Backlash surfaced in response to each wave
• Antifeminism opposes changes in women’s status and rights
The Antisuffrage Movement
• Aimed to prevent women from getting right to vote
• Allowing women to vote would contradict natural roles as wives and mothers
The Antisuffrage Movement
• 1870s – formalized – National Association Opposed to Women’s
Suffrage• Movement disbanded after women won
right to vote in 1920
Fascinating, Total Women
• 1970s – Marabel Morgan – Total Women• Helen Andelin – Fascinating Womanhood• Advocated women’s return to traditional
values
Fascinating, Total Women
• Total Women stressed view of women as sex objects
• Fascinating Womanhood grounded in biblical teachings
• Support came from women dependent on husbands
The STOP ERA Campaign
• 1970s – response to 1972-73 ERA campaign
• Phyllis Shlafly – feminism turning women into men
The STOP ERA Campaign
• Lobbied legislators• ERA would undercut men’s willingness to
support children, allow women to be drafted
The STOP ERA Campaign
• Funded by corporate leaders and upper class
• ERA not consistent with economic and political interests
Surrendered Wives & the War against Boys & Men
• 2001 –women should abandon quest for equality to have happy marriage
• Let husbands lead family• Boys now disadvantaged in school
Surrendered Wives & the War against Boys & Men
• Women have gained power at the expense of men
• Contrary to God’s commandments
Contradictory Claims of Antifeminism
• 1991 – Faludi’s Backlash• Antifeminist rhetoric defines feminism as
source of women’s problems– Turned women into fast-track achievers
Contradictory Claims of Antifeminism
• Women have never had it so good – can have it all
• But do women really have full equality?