Feminism

Feminism is a theory that women must share the same social, political, and economic rights and opportunities as men. Though feminism has had individual adherents throughout history, the first popular feminist movement in the United States focused on women’s suffrage and began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. It ended shortly after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1920. After women gained the right to vote, the movement lost much of its cohesiveness, and few women identified themselves as feminists. In 1963, feminism entered into its second incarnation after Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, helped reinvigorate popular support for a new women’s movement. She argued that suffrage did not guarantee equality, and that American women had been taught to accept traditional, middle-class gender roles of homemakers and housewives, which kept them from pursuing self-fulfillment in the workplace. Her book came at a time when increasing numbers of educated women entering into the workforce experienced great frustration with gender discrimination. Employers often hired or promoted men over women on the theory that men had greater familial obligations, and that women were only working for supplementary incomes. In addition, the social pressures and fears of being labeled an “improper mother” caused many women to feel guilty about pursuing any career outside the home.

In 1961 enough women were complaining about their work conditions that President John F. Kennedy felt compelled to appoint a special commission to look into the way women were treated in the legal system, in the economy, and in the family itself. The Commission on the Status of Women, initially headed by former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, helped to put women’s issues back on the national agenda. It published a report in the same year that The Feminine Mystique appeared, and seemed to provide factual support for some of Friedan’s conclusions; women faced employment discrimination, unequal pay, unequal protection under the law, and a general lack of social support for child care and other services that enable women to more easily pursue careers outside of the home. Congress responded by passing the Equal Pay Act, which required employers to pay the same rates to men and women for the same work. President Kennedy ordered the Civil Service Department not to discriminate on the basis of sex. Most historians point to the combination of these events in 1963 as a turning point in feminism in America. The legal protection was further bolstered the following year, when gender was included with race, creed, and national origin in the Title VII prohibition against employment discrimination in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Many feminist leaders gained valuable experience as leaders in the civil rights and 1963 voter registration drives in the South. In 1966 feminist leaders developed their own civil rights organization when they formed the National Organization for Women (NOW). It was modeled on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and set out to use existing tactics within the legal and political system to promote greater equality for women. They relied heavily on protections provided by Title VII’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to file suits against employers and clubs that continued to discriminate on the basis of sex. Shortly thereafter, another group of feminists pursued a more radical approach outside the legal system to promote equality. The “women’s liberation” movement began in 1967 as independent women’s groups in coffeehouses, bookstores, and college campuses in Chicago, New York, and Seattle. Borrowing ideas from the antiwar movement and student socialists, the groups challenged the dominant assumptions and stereotypes that may unnaturally bind women to subservient roles in society. In practice, these independent women’s liberation groups engaged in “consciousness raising” wherein small groups of women would come together to systematically reconsider every assumption they had been taught while growing up; issues included marriage, religion, work, school, sexuality, and women’s health. They then planned ways to publicize their new awareness to the society at large—usually by staging sensational public demonstrations that mocked traditional female roles by publicly throwing bras and girdles into a trashcan, or unfurling banners for “women’s liberation” in unexpected places (like the 1968 Miss America Pageant).

These more radical groups complimented the more mainstream institutional organizations such as NOW and the Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL), providing a broad spectrum for dynamic exchanges within the new feminism. This helped stimulate media attention, which attracted more popular support and brought feminist issues into the public forum. The success of the women’s movement was demonstrated in 1970, when NOW called for a “women’s strike for equality” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, and of women’s right to vote in America. In New York City, the rally drew between 20,000 and 50,000 supporters; large numbers also came out in Boston, Berkeley, New Orleans, and more than 30 other cities. Though the movement reflected a diversity of tactics and priorities, it remained united on a number of issues, including abortion, child care, protection of women within the family, more inclusive education, greater opportunities in the workforce, and passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Laws restricting abortion had already begun to weaken throughout the 1960s, as family planning advocates worked to strike down laws that limited women’s access to contraception; abortion was legal in 14 states before the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade in 1973. As early as 1968, the women’s liberation forces became the “shock troops” for abortion rights. Rather than concentrate on lobbying or avenues of litigation, many feminists sought to intervene directly. The Chicago Women’s Liberation Union counseled and referred interested women to doctors who were willing to perform illegal abortions. In 1971 these same women began performing the abortions themselves, totaling more than 11,000 in the two years between 1971 and 1973. In Austin, Texas, similar referral groups led to specialized research in legal precedents for abortion. The process eventually culminated with Sarah Weddington carrying the court case involving Roe v. Wade all the way to the Supreme Court.

The goal behind abortion rights advocacy was to limit the ties that bound women to the confines of a family unit. Access to abortion allowed women to decide when they wanted to start their family, but other issues, such as government-supported child care and crisis shelters for battered women, helped women escape abusive relationships. Washington, D. C., became the site of the first rape crisis hotline in 1972. In the following years, NOW helped establish more than 300 local rape crisis centers throughout the country. The first women’s shelter formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1971. They not only provided a safe haven for battered women but also provided legal information and detailed handbooks on divorce to help women escape their situation. These types of institutions can now be found in most cities throughout the country.

While feminists explored new alternatives to the binding ties within the home, they remained equally committed to overcoming the obstacles out in the workplace. In March 1969 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Weeks v. Southern Bell that employers could impose hiring restrictions based on sex only if it could be shown that “substantially all” women would be incapable of performing the required tasks. In 1970 Bernice Sandler, a professor at the University of Maryland, claimed that she was denied tenure because of her gender. Joining with WEAL, Sandler filed a complaint with the U. S. Department of Labor demanding a review of the promotion policies of more than 250 institutions of higher education. By 1971 more than 360 colleges and universities faced lawsuits for sexual discrimination. At the same time, along different lines, feminists also set out to change college curricula; Sheila Tobias compiled a collection of syllabi and bibliographies from existing, though unrelated, courses on feminism and female issues. The resulting “Women’s Studies” program became a model for universities around the country. In the same year, a Chicago group of NOW members formed Women in Publishing, which codified guidelines for more inclusive language in textbooks and other educational materials. The guidelines sought to eliminate words that suggested natural gender roles: “firefighter” instead of “fireman,” “police officer” instead of “policeman,” “mail carrier” instead of “mailman,” etc. Feminists pursued these efforts with the goal of educating women of all ages to transcend the psychological barriers to personal development that characterized more traditional ways of thinking. As more educated women entered into the workforce, they could force more far-reaching changes in the social infrastructure from within private corporations, public institutions, and the examples of day-to-day living.

More than any other single issue, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) became both a catalyst and a crucible, which influenced, motivated, and divided feminist groups of all varieties. By 1972 three main branches of feminism dominated the women’s movement. Though all feminists considered themselves radical in that they opposed the dominant ideologies, not all pursued radical means. NOW, WEAL, and the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) focused on policy issues that would incorporate feminist principles into mainstream society. These groups were “liberal” in that they operated “within” the system, and advocated change through existing legal and political channels. In contrast, “radical” feminists sought to overturn all forms of oppression, including existing mechanisms that were inextricably linked to the existing social, political, and economic order. By 1975 the radical branch had split into two dominant forces—lesbian feminism and socialist feminism. Lesbianism arose as a feminist issue in 1969, as women challenged heterosexual norms because they grew out of patriarchal social orders. Linked closely with the concurrent sexual freedom and GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENTS, lesbian feminism eventually developed into a separate women’s rights movement all its own. One of the more widely publicized of these groups was The Furies in Washington, D. C. They argued that lesbian consciousness was the key to true women’s liberation. In practice, these groups proved effective in promoting a feminist counterculture that emphasized female-centered leadership, institutions, and cultural events. Socialist feminists, however, criticized the lesbian emphasis on sex as the primary locus of oppression (which inevitably implied that men were “the enemy”). Instead, they argued that the key to women’s liberation lay in radical egalitarianism, which could only be found in a more equitable economic system. Competition between the sexes was fueled by an overriding competition between private interests and could only be remedied with more enlightened public ownership and direction. Socialist feminists provided an intellectual foundation for later feminist scholars, long after the more economically oriented socialist organizations dissolved.

The ERA passed both houses of Congress in March 1972. Final ratification required passage by two-thirds of the state legislatures. By the end of the year, 22 of the necessary 38 states had ratified the amendment, and all three branches of feminists united to mobilize passage within the remaining states. Shortly thereafter, however, ERA advocates were met by a different kind of women’s rights advocate under the leadership of PHYLLIS ScHLAELY. Her Eagle Forum organization led the STOP ERA movement and succeeded in halting the progress of ratification within the states, eventually leading five states to rescind their earlier approval. Schlafly argued that the ERA actually deprived women of valuable rights by removing the protections that benefited their sex, including the right of a wife to be provided for by her husband and the right to be excluded from national military drafts. Her movement was joined by Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority and the National Right to Life Organization in arguing that the feminist promotion of abortion, government-supported child care, and liberal divorce laws undermined the sanctity of the family, and indirectly pressured women not to choose homemaking as their primary occupation.

Many feminist leaders were surprised by the effectiveness of Schlafly’s organization, and struggled to find an appropriate countermeasure. In 1975 Congresswoman Bella Abzug (D-N. Y.) helped pass a $5 million appropriations bill to finance the International Women’s Year (IWY) Conference in Houston, Texas. Delegates to the conference were chosen through 50 state conferences, though some were hand-selected by members of the conference commission. Two thousand delegates and another 18,000 observers arrived in Houston for a four-day convention in November 1977. At the same time, an alternative women’s convention had convened on the other side of town; Phyllis Schlafly’s movement gathered 10,000 profamily supporters in an anti-ERA rally. The two groups commanded widespread media attention and brought the issues of ERA, abortion, and lesbian rights to the national spotlight for almost a week. The IWY conference proved a mixed success for feminists. It led to a consolidation of many points of division between the liberal and lesbian feminist groups, and the massive, mostly favorable, media attention for the conference put pressure on Congress to extend the deadline for ERA ratification another three years to 1982. During the time between 1977 and 1982, membership in NOW, NWPC, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), and other feminist activist groups soared. At the same time, however, opponents of ERA gained wider popular support among mainstream liberals who felt apprehension with what seemed to be a new linkage between the ERA, homosexual entitlements, and abortion-on-demand. ERA failed to win any additional states after 1977, and the amendment officially died in 1982.

Many feminist historians point to the 1980s as a “backlash” against the women’s rights movement. President Ronald W. Reagan campaigned on a decidedly “pro-family” platform, and the Republican Party officially removed its endorsement of ERA in 1980. Reagan publicly courted the constituencies of both Phyllis Schlafly and Jerry Fal-well, and after 1982, with ties severed to the administration, most feminist organizations declined in membership, and many radical action groups dissolved altogether. At the same time, however, while it appeared that Phyllis Schlafly and her supporters won their battle against the ERA, one could also argue that feminism actually won the war. Though the three Republican administrations between 1980 and 1992 proved hostile to radical feminism, the partisan identification actually opened more opportunities for feminists within the Democratic Party. Geraldine Ferraro became the first female vice presidential nominee as a Democrat. In recent elections, 100 percent of political contributions from feminist lobby groups like NOW, NARAL, and Emily’s List (an acronym for Early Money Is Like Yeast) has been given to the Democratic National Committee or to individual candidates within the party. When President William J. Clinton entered office in 1992, he appointed the first woman attorney general, Janet Reno, and the first woman secretary of state, Madeleine K. Albright. He also reversed the Republican policies regarding abortion, family planning, child care, and homosexual entitlements.

While few feminists would call themselves “radical” anymore, it seems that many of the issues that were of prime concern to radical feminists of the 1970s have become common realities in the 21st century. More women than men graduate from high school, and equal numbers earn college degrees. “Women’s studies” departments are found on almost all campuses, and virtually all textbooks and reference materials adopt standards of inclusive language. Though there is some disagreement about pay equity, more women can be found in executive positions than ever before. Whether they adhere to the principles or not, most corporations proclaim their commitment to affirmative-action programs that encourage and cultivate greater numbers of women in fields that were traditionally dominated by men, such as medicine, law, and the sciences. In addition, government-supported child care is available for low-income children as young as four and five, and tax credits are available for working parents of children of all ages. Contraception and abortion rights are taught in most secondary-school sex education classes, and although lesbianism and homosexuality remain minority sexual preferences, the media and entertainment centers and public institutions generally portray homosexuality with greater tolerance. Sexual activity outside the bounds of marriage is more common than abstinence, divorce rates are more than 50 percent, and the stereotype of the domesticated nuclear family represents an actual minority in American society. Most feminists would argue that there remains a long way to go toward true equality between the sexes, but clearly the effect of feminism on American society has been extraordinary over the past three decades.

See also affirmative action; Akron v. Akron Center FOR Reproductive Health; Amendments to the U. S. Constitution; birth control; gay and les-

BIAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT; GENDER GAP; PRO-LIEE AND PRO-CHOICE MOVEMENTS; STEINEM, GLORIA; WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND STATUS.

Further reading: Sara Evans, Personal Politics: The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left (New York: Knopf, 1979); Susan Hartmann, The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998); Laura Kaplan, The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service (New York: Pantheon, 1995); Ruth Rosen, The World Split Open: How the Modern Women's Movement Changed America (New York: Viking Books, 2000).

—Aharon W. Zorea

Ferraro, Geraldine A. (1935- ) congressperson, vice presidential nominee

Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman vice presidential candidate for a major political party when she received the Democratic nomination in 1984. Born in 1935 in Newburgh, New York, to Italian immigrant parents, Geraldine Anne Ferraro earned an undergraduate degree from Mary-mount College in Manhattan in 1956. While teaching in public schools in Queens, New York, Ferraro attended law school at night at Fordham University Law School, earning her degree in 1960. Deciding to stay home and raise a family, Ferraro became active in local Democratic politics.

In 1974 she accepted a job as assistant district attorney in the Investigation Bureau in Queens. In 1975 she transferred to the Special Victims Bureau, handling issues such as child abuse, domestic abuse, and rape. It was in this position that Ferraro came to believe that many crimes were rooted in poverty and social injustice. Ferraro quit her job at the district attorney’s office in 1978 and ran for the vacant Ninth Congressional District seat. Running on a platform supporting law and order, the elderly, and neighborhood preservation, Ferraro won election to Congress and was reelected in 1980 and 1982.

In 1980 Ferraro was elected secretary of the Democratic caucus and served on the House Steering and Policy Committee. She also served on the House Budget Committee, the Public Works Committee, Post Office and Civil Service Committee, and the Select Committee on Aging. While in Congress, Ferraro headed efforts to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and sponsored the Women’s Economic Equity Act in 1984, which ended pension discrimination and enabled homemakers to open individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

In 1984 she was appointed chair of the Democratic platform committee, the first woman to hold the position. Her new responsibilities and past record attracted the attention of Walter F. Mondale. In July 1984, Mondale announced Ferraro as his vice presidential running mate, making her the first woman nominated for that position. Soon a scandal emerged concerning Ferraro’s family over allegations that they owed more than $50,000 in back taxes. Although the ticket survived the scrutiny, it suffered a huge defeat in the election, with Mondale’s opponent, Ronald W. Reagan, garnering the highest electoral vote in history.

Ferraro ran unsuccessfully for the U. S. Senate in 1992 and 1998 in New York. In 1993 she was appointed by President William J. Clinton to lead the U. S. delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. She is a board member of the National Democratic Institute of International Affairs and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

In 1999 Ferraro joined the public relations firm of Weber McGinn as president of the Women’s Leadership Group, advising on women’s issues such as education, health care, consumer products, and employment. On top of these responsibilities, Ferraro is a political pundit, appearing on television news programs and writing occasional newspaper columns.

See also ELECTIONS; POLITICAL PARTIES.

Further reading: Steve M. Gillon, The Democrats’ Dilemma: Walter F. Mondale and the Liberal Legacy (New York: Columbia University Press, 1992).

—John Korasick