WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT

“‘Liberation’ is an historical and not a mental act, and it is brought about by

historical conditions, the development of industry, commerce, agriculture, and the

conditions of inter-course.”—Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the German Ideology

(1846)

WHAT WAS THE WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT?

The Women’s Liberation Movement is not only a social struggle which eradicates forms of

oppression built on gender; but it was also a way for women to gain equal economic, political

and social status and earned women the right to live their lives equal to the opposite sex. The

Women’s Liberation Movement has been going on for over a hundred years. Since the late

1800s there has been an ongoing battle by women against their suppression as a sex. Throughout

the world, millions of women, especially young women-students, working women, housewives-

have challenged some of the most essential features of their centuries-old repression. The first

country in which this appeared as a mass phenomenon was the United States.

FAMOUS WOMEN OF THE MOVEMENT

Susan B. Anthony-

• dedicated her life to “the cause," the woman suffrage movement.

• Her accomplishments paved the way for the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 (14 years after her death) which gave women the right to vote.

Simone de Beauvoir• wrote the book “The Second Sex” in 1949. Her book deals with

the treatment of women throughout history.

Betty Friedan

• Wrote the book “The Feminine Mystique” in 1963 it depicted the roles of women in industrial societies, especially the full-time homemaker role, in which Friedan found stifling.

• Founder and first president of the National Women’s Organization• was a principal organizer of women in their fight for equal rights.

Jane Roe • brought a class action challenging the

constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws. • Roe vs. Wade court case- was heard December 13,

1971, but wasn’t decided until January 22, 1973.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE WOMEN’S LIBERATION

19th Amendment• passed in 1920, giving women the right to vote. • Written by Susan B Anthony (Susan B. Anthony Amendment in 1878)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s • on May 9, 1960,pending approval of the first contraceptive

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 • helped women to receive equal economic status in the job field.

Legalize Abortions-• In 1967, Colorado became the first state to legalize abortions.• Roe vs. Wade

CONCLUSION

Since the late 19th century women around the world have been seeking

independence and recognition, they joined together to create the Women’s

Liberation Movement. In the United State it can be traced back to women

fighting for the right to vote in political elections, numerous authors who

wrote about women’s rights, birth control, abortion rights, Equal Pay Act,

and women’s groups like the National Organization for Women that were all

brought about for one reason, to fight for women to come into their own

power. Women wanted to have control of their own lives, to be equal to the

opposite sex, have equal pay and opportunities, and no longer stand on the

sidelines of life. The Women’s Liberation Movement did just that, it was an

ERA of change, thanks to all the brave women and men of this movement

that made it possible for women to finally have a VOICE.

WORK CITED Boston: Northeastern University Libraries, “Women’s Liberation” We Raise Our Voices the online edition of a

Northeastern University Libraries exhibition. (2003) http://www.lib.neu.edu/archives/voices

United Press International, Inc., “1970 Year in Review 50th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage” Page 12 (1970)http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1970/50th-Anniversary-of-Women's-Suffrage/12303235577467-12/#ixzz26v0wEycd

Teaching With Documents: “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission”

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-rights-act/

Sink, Nancy. “1960’s-1980’s Women’s Liberation Movement.” Women’s Liberation Movement (2012) Accessed: Sept. 15, 2012 http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/Events/womenslliberation/womensliberation.htm

Mosak, Esther. “The Real Meaning of Freedom of Choice.” (ca.1977-1979) Accessed: September 16, 2012 We Raise Our Voices...Reproductive Rights (ca. 1977-1979)

Szustek, Anne. “On This Day: FDA Approves First Birth Control Pill.” Finding Dulcinea (2011) Accessed: September 16, 2012 http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/May-June-08/On-this-Day--FDA-Approves-First-Birth-Control-Pill.html

Francis, Roberta. “The History behind the Equal Rights Amendment.” The Equal Rights Amendment (2012) Accessed: September 17, 2012 http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/era.htm.

McBride, Alex “Roe vs. Wade 1973.” Expanding Civil Rights (2006) Accessed: September 17, 2012 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_roe.html

Johnson, Jone. “National Organization for Women – NOW” Women’s History (2012) Accessed: September 19, 2012 http://womenshistory.about.com/od/feminism/p/now.htm

Linder, Doug. “The Trial of Susan B. Anthony for Illegal Voting” (2001) Accessed: September 21, 2012 http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/sbaaccount.html