Same Objectives, Different Strategies: The Transformation of the Feminist Legal Strategy The fight for women’s rights had never been easy for feminists and at the outset of the 1960s, women’s legal equality seemed momentarily out of reach. The chaotic social and political landscape of 1960’s America was as much a blessing to feminists, as it was a burden. The civil rights movement had picked up momentum from landmark judicial decisions and simultaneously fostered a discussion about the opportunity for women’s legal equality. However, not everyone was eager to engage in the discussion. Ideological rifts and political alliances plagued feminist’s attempts for change. Nevertheless, advocates within the legal community sought to build a united …show more content…
The first issue was the conflict-ridden Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The second issue was the ongoing fight for racial equality during the civil rights movement. The ERA had been a source of conflict among feminists ever since the amendments introduction in 1923. Feminists who were devout supporters of the ERA, referred to in most scholarship as equal rights feminists, believed it was crucial to keep the issue of race equality separate from that of sex equality (Mayer, "Constitutional Choices"). Miriam Holden, a devout National Women’s Party (NWP) member and avid ERA supporter represented the faction of feminists who believed it was important to remain in good graces with segregationist in congress in order to secure the success of the ERA. Feminists such as Holden held fast to the single-minded belief that formal equality was only possible by the passage and ratification of the ERA. ERA advocates who formed alliances with civil rights villains, usually in the form of southern democrats, threated the possible success of an organized feminist legal strategy. In 1963, Holden wrote a letter to another party member, sharing her dissatisfaction with the race-sex analogy that legal feminists, such as Pauli Murray, were drawing inspiration from (Holden, “Letter from Holden to Pollitzer”). Holden feared that Murray’s litigation strategy was too closely tied to the “negro problem” and if …show more content…
The passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, although riddled with ironies, was crucial in legitimizing the legal feminist strategy. The main paradox of Title VII was the amendment that include the word “sex” into the bill’s language, was offered by Rep. Howard Smith, an anti-civil rights democrat from Virginia (Freeman, “How ‘Sex’ Got into Title VII”). Therefore, the language of Title VII made it unlawful for employers to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and nation origin. Rep. Smith’s plan to kill the bill by attaching the “sex” discrimination language backfired in a major way. The benefits Title VII had on the discourse of the feminist movement were innumerable. However, for the purposes of this analysis, the most significant benefits for legal feminists were threefold. First, equal rights feminists and labor protective feminists were no longer forced against each other over the ideas of a need for an ERA and a need for workplace protection. Second, the ERA did not disappear from the feminist’s dialogue, however, the passage of Title VII allowed pro-ERA feminists to sever the poisonous ties with anti-civil rights bigots. Third, the passage of Title VII finally allowed Pauli Murray and other like-minded feminists to connect a race-sex analogy that would advance the feminist legal strategy, without tossing African
Knauer, Christine. “Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).” Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics. By Lynne E. Ford. 2015 ed.
Since the 15th amendment, giving African American right to vote, was passed during the 1970s, countless women have claimed to have the right to vote. However, rather than passing the right to vote for women, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was introduced, which means that men and women have equal rights under the law. In the TV show “Firing Line”, Mrs. Schlafy believes that ERA would bring many undesired changes to American women. Therefore, she strongly opposed the ERA. Mrs. Schlafly was more successful at presenting her argument than her opponent because she uses several rhetorical devices such as audience, tone, and evidence to support her argument.
In “Intersectional Resistance and Law Reform,” Dean Spade proposes that the United States was founded through “racialization…(which) continues to operate under new guises… that produce, manage, and deploy gender categories and sexuality and family norms” (16). More over, these laws and norms tend to maintain the “status quo,” and employ an inherently flawed justice system that is only equipped to address single-axis discrimination issues (5). Thus, the intersectionality movement is largely dismissed by the social and justice systems, as it utilizes “critical intersectional tools… that are often (too) difficult for legal scholars to comprehend” (17). Interstionality’s progress is also impeded by advocates leaving to support single-axis issues. However, Spade warns that this approach is ineffective, as it fails to protect the most marginalized members of society.
These episodes weren't one-off occurrences; rather, they were a part of a larger pattern of discrimination against women in the workplace. The National Organization for Women (NOW) and the Women's Equity Action League (WEAL) are two organizations that Boschert cites as examples of how women started organizing to fight for their rights. As a result of their efforts, Title IX became a significant piece of legislation that addressed sexism. Initially overshadowed by other legal provisions, such as those relating to desegregation and bilingual education, Title IX was a component of the Education Amendments of 1972. Feminist activists like Bernice Sandler and Patsy Mink campaigned to ensure that Title IX was included in the final legislation because they saw the potential of the law to address sex discrimination in education.
The civil rights movement was successful of achieving its goals. The civil rights movements wanted to end segregation, desegregate schools, and reverse the separate but equal rule. To achieve these goals the civil rights movement did various things like, court cases, sit-ins, boycotts, non-violent protest, and marches. Some of the court cases that helped the movement reach its goals was, NAACP, brown vs, board. Some sit-ins were, the non-violent protest in which blacks and whites attempt to desegregate lunch counters buy sitting at counters until served.
The 1970s were a rough year for African-Americans, still fighting for social and political rights in the United States. Consequently, women still did not receive equal rights. However, in 1972, “Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution, which reads: ‘Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex’ (History.com Staff).” Out of the thirty-eight necessary states only twenty-two ratified it right away, it was relieving for the moment because the feminist advocates had been trying to be ratified since 1923. The First African-American woman elected into Congress was Shirley Chisholm.
Phyllis Schlafly started the campaign of ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923 and I am beyond certain that the ERA activists today will not stop until it is ratified and accepted into the constitution. At the end of ERA battle, Sonia Johnson made an incredible and uplifting statement for all women. She said, “I am sure I am not the only feminist who is occasionally clear-sighted enough to be grateful to Phyllis Schlafly for making us have to fight so hard for the Equal Rights Amendment. Whether in the end this amendment is the way women will achieve legal equality or not, it is still true that the struggle over its ratification has provided the greatest political training ground for women in the history of the world”
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution stating that civil rights may not be denied on the basis of one’s sex. All throughout history people have argued whether it is best to have human distinctions or gender equality. Ultimately, “The ERA would make women’s equality with men law of the land” (lecture notes). This federal amendment would make it impossible for legislators to pass laws that discriminate against women’s rights. In 1977, 35 out of 38 states ratified the ERA however, despite the widespread public support for the amendment, the extension ran out in 1982.
In the 1960s, the movements to defend the civil rights of women and African Americans were starting to rise in the nation. In 1974, the Women’s Rights movement came to a climax with the campaign to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which stated: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” By 1974, thirty-one states adopted the amendment, including Mississippi. African Americans were making great progress in their movement as well; resulting in integrated public spaces and a step up in social class. With many progressive movements happening right in their front yard, the sisters in Crimes of the Heart: Babe, Lenny, and Meg remained stuck in a patriarchy environment that lead to their individual downfall.
Leaders of the American Feminist Movement began to draw parallels between the struggles of women and the plight of slaves, and pressed the boundaries of “acceptable” female behavior. The Seneca Falls Convention was organized to discuss the question of women’s right, and out of the meeting came the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. This declaration stated that “all men and women are created equal,” and women no less than men are endowed with certain inalienable rights (Doc 6). In demanding the right to vote, they launched a movement for woman suffrage that would survive until the battle was finally won in 1920. Yet, during this time, women who were black faced an even greater struggle.
In this paper I will be going over issue 17, “Has the Women’s Movement of the 1970’s Failed to Liberate American Women?”. Sara M. Evans and F. Carolyn Graglia each voice their opinions about the issue. They talk about the history of the women’s movement throughout time and the effects it had in our country. F. Carolyn Graglia writes about how she agrees the movement has failed to liberate American women. Her views on feminism concluded that the feminist movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s was a reasonable but a faulty idea, in that it was based on a worthy opinion (that all men and women should be equal).
Fortunately, due to the tireless work of decades of activist’s, laws have changed, amendments added to the constitution, and rights granted to those who were previously unjustly denied. One of these victories for women’s rights occurred when women were granted the right
The passing of this law saw all employees get treated equally, and the biases that existed ended. Its legislation led to the reduction in the rate of unemployment in organizations. Discrimination based on sex preferences has been the major challenge and this drove the women rights movement to stress for the legislation of the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Aiken, Salmon, & Hanges, 2013.) Despite Title VII of the Civil Rights Act helping to alleviate the issue of discrimination especially on women in employment sectors, it did not meet all the needs of women in the
Based on Document A, the Equal Rights Amendment is necessary for our country because sexism is so widespread that it has become normalised and a part of the social norm. The writer of Document A, Shirley Anita St. Hillsholm, was a woman herself, and she presented her speech about how she is for the Equal Rights Amendment and how it would affect our country if it were to pass. The significance of this information is that Shirley Anita was being political and social throughout this document by addressing the necessity for women to have the same human rights as a man and enforcing this philosophy into Congress in order to ratify the
Eras are remembered by wars, civil rights, legislation, and popular culture. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, the role of women in society are significant motifs. Little Women was written and set in the 1860’s at the same time as the development of the women's rights movement within the United States. The Great Gatsby and Their Eyes Were Watching God are both set in the 1920s when women gained the right to vote and therefore women's rights should have evolved from those featured in Little Women. The goal of this essay is to attempt to determine if literature arising simultaneously to the feminist movement parallels laws passed.