In Ariel Levy’s article “The Future That Never Happened” she highlights many important and interesting points. She begins the chapter by describing Susan Brownmiller’s life and how she was “not willing to compromise” (Levy 46). The first all-women meetings were simply for “consciousness-raising” (Levy 49) and slowly evolved into various organizations such as NOW, the National Organization for Women. Levy goes on to highlight all that happened in the next decade—the approval of the birth control pill; the passing of the Equal Pay Act; the Civil Rights Act that was passed; etc (Levy 53). Levy notes, “One of the fundamental initial goals of the women’s liberation movement was to advance women’s sexual pleasure and satisfaction” (54). This concept is compared to Hugh Hefner’s attempt to “reimagine gender roles and influence sexual mores” (Levy 55). While controversial, “Hefner is considered by many to be the hero of the sexual revolution” (Levy 56). Levy continues to the topic of pornography. She returns to Susan Brownmiller and how Brownmiller argues that she believed, along with several other activists, that “‘Pornography is the theory, rape is the practice’” (Levy 61). The next division in Levy’s article describes the difference between a “sex-positive feminist” and those who believed that sex was just another way of degrading women, regardless of the circumstance. The chapter next discusses the group CAKE, who host “monthly parties in New York City and London at which women can ‘explore female sexuality’ and experience ‘feminism in action’” (Levy 70). The description of the CAKE parties that Levy gives is particularly thought provoking and interesting to hear about. Levy continues on to explore how feminism has transformed from the typical “feminism” to a pro-women stance that is characterized by “an almost opposite style, attitude, and set of principles” (87). The evolution of the feminist movement that Levy so clearly describes is shocking.
In Echols’ article, “The Re-emergence of the ‘Woman Question’” she begins by describing the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). Both of these groups were “virtually synonymous with what is commonly referred to as the ‘Movement’” (Echols 23). They were both very proactive in forming an anti-war movement and fighting civil rights. Although women were very involved in both of these groups initially, it soon became apparent that they were not truly involved. For the most part, the women were only doing “women’s work” (Echols 26). As both the SNCC and the SDS continued to develop and expand, tensions began to arise. The movement for the equality of sexes took awhile to develop and form: “Women who were demanding that their oppression be acknowledged ran up against a left concerned only with supporting the struggles of blacks, the working class, or the Vietnamese” (Echols 42). Finally, after the black caucus was able to gain power and a voice, and after the women had been brushed to the side yet again, the women finally decided to organize themselves to work towards equality.
In this excerpt of The Feminine Mystique, by Betty Friedan, we get a glimpse into the life of the stereotypical American housewife. The excerpt explores the overwhelming dissatisfaction in an American housewife’s life and how this dissatisfaction can be possibly remedied. Friedan laments on page 271 that a “century earlier women had fought for higher education; now girls went to college to get a husband”. She notes that every housewife was “so ashamed to admit her dissatisfaction that she never knew how many other women shared it” (273). The title of this problem is the “problem that has no name”. Many women walked through their monotonous daily routines believing they had no problem, while others tried to work it out with a professional. Neither helped. Friedan realizes that these housewives have no personal identity, and are only known in relation to their husbands, kids, etc. It is only possible to get passed this “problem with no name” by creating a new life plan (Friedan 278). Only with a new life plan in which she can feel some fulfillment will she escape this problem.
In this excerpt of The Second Sex, by Simon de Beauvoir, the idea that women are labeled as “The Other” is examined. She makes the very interesting point that women are rarely, if ever, defined on their own and instead are defined in comparison to others (particularly males). When asking “What is a woman?” de Beauvoir never fully gets an answer, and never fully answers herself, but instead shows how others define a woman, right or wrong. She notes, on page 256, that “women are not a minority, like the American Negroes or the Jews; there are as many women as men on earth”. Since they are not a minority, the only visible and easy to deal with problem, is that the women lack unity and the ability to organize into a large enough group to take a stand against the oppressive men (de Beauvoir 257). Antifeminists and men have, historically, gone through painstaking techniques to prove that women are, and always will be, inferior to men. She is clearly questioning why this is the case, and why women have never been able to do anything to protest this—but at the same time does not seem to have a full grasp on how to combat it herself.
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