In the 50's, women were expected to be basically stay at home wives. They did the same thing every day which can get very tiring after a while. Also, they got married young and had children as soon as they were married. They worked when the men were off to war, and gave up their jobs when the men returned. Most women didn't attend higher education, and those that worked made 59¢ to each dollar made my a man doing the same job. in the 70's there were just 19 women in congress. This was all until Betty Friedan spoke up.
|
The modern feminism movement started in the 70s. NOW was created, which is the National Organization for Women. NOW eventually joined with the Civil Rights Movement. Women would protest outside Miss America pageants by throwing away feminine items such as makeup or cooking utensils. This movement marked the beginning of the word sexism, and also brought about the abbreviation ms for miss. The feminist movement caused birth rates to plummet, and divorces and premarital sex to skyrocket. Abortion and birth control become popular, but extremely controversial. The catholic church made many states ban both, but the Griswold vs Connecticut case makes birth control legal everywhere. Abortion continues to be debated to this day.
|