WOMEN

RIGHTS

One of the most important protest

movements of the1960s and 1970s was the

women’s movement, which aimed to win equal

rights for women.

In 1960´s the role of the woman started to

change because of two main factors:

1. More women workers

2. changed expectations

- These trends led to what was called the

women’s movement.

- It was not a single organization.

- There were thousands of different groups,

all with different angles but with similar aims

to raise the status of women and end

discrimination against women in all areas of

life.

The women’s movement

NOW - National Organization

for Women

- Founded in 1966 by Betty Friedan

- Co-ooperated with many other movements

- Used conventional methods

(political pressure and court cases)

- In 1972 the Supreme Court

ruled that the US Constitution

did give men and women equal

rights

Women´s Liberation

Movement

They were younger feminists with

more radical objectives and with

different methos to achieve them.

- “Consciousness-raising” groups

- “The personal is political”

- Bra-burning protests

- The contests treated women

like objects, not people

It was one of the most important for radical feminists.

Abortion was illegal in the USA but feminists believed this

law discriminated against women.

The struggle over abortion began in 1960 with a young

medical technician, Estelle

Griswold, challenged the anti-abortion laws in her home

state of Connecticut. In Connecticut, not

only abortion but contraceptive devices, too, were illegal.

Roe v. Wade – the right to

abortion

Opposition to the

women´s movement

One of the most important

anti-feminist movement was

STOP ERA, led by Phyllis Schafly.

- ERA stood for the Equal

Rights Amendment,

specifically to outlaw sex

discrimination

- She stated that feminists

devaluaded the women´s

role and denied the rights

of the unborn child by their

support of abortion