From the rise of second wave feminism to the introduction of intersectionality, the fight for gender equality has taken on many forms in contemporary history (1945-present).
The ideas and publications of Simone De Beauvoir and Betty Friedan are often considered the catalyst for second wave feminism.
De Beauvoir published “The Second Sex” in 1949. The book asserted that womanhood or femininity is a social construct and that biological sex does not denote one’s destiny.
Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique” claims that women are conditioned to believe the housewife stereotype is the most desirable path, citing Freudian ideas, popular media, functionalism, denial of professional careers and gendered coursework among other causes for the problem. She went on to cofound and be president of the National Organization for Women in 1966.
Friedan’s work inspired many, but it focused mainly on middle-class white women. The lack of representation of people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals led to call for intersectional feminism.
During the Miss America protest of 1968, a black feminist group held their own pageant crowning Saundra Williams as their winner. She wore her hair in an Afro, performed a traditional African dance and exclaimed to reporters that black women were beautiful. The protest served to highlight the standard of white beauty upheld in the pageant and society.
Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera founded the Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries in 1970. Johnson, a trans woman, is believed to be the first to throw brick at the Stonewall Riots and had a long history of LGBTQ+ activism. She would go on to help found the AIDS charity ACT UP in 1987 before her death in 1992.
In the last 50 years, we have seen the rise of women in every sector of society; however, the fight of our predecessors is far from gone. The fight just looks a little different now.
In the words of radical feminist Robin Morgan, “We are the women men warned us about.”
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