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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Chapter Three:Chapter Three:
The Rhetorical Shaping of
Gender: Women’s Movements
in America
gendered lives
““The truth is that none of us The truth is that none of us can be liberated if other can be liberated if other
groups are not.”groups are not.”
~ Gloria Steinem~ Gloria Steinem
Copyright © 2004 Wadsworth
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Rhetoric is PersuasionRhetoric is Persuasion
• Persuade People to Change
Attitudes
Policies
Laws
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Women’s Rhetorical Women’s Rhetorical Movement IdeologiesMovement Ideologies
• Liberal Feminism
Women and Men Mostly Alike
Women and Men Should Have Equal Rights,
Roles, Opportunities
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
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Women’s Rhetorical Women’s Rhetorical Movement IdeologiesMovement Ideologies
• Cultural Feminism
Women and Men Essentially Different
Women and Men Should Have Different Rights,
Roles, Opportunities
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Lib
rary
of
Con
gre
ss, Pri
nts
an
d P
hoto
gra
ph
s D
ivis
ion
17761776 “In the new code
of laws, remember the ladies and do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands.”
-Abigail Adams
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Women’s Rights MovementWomen’s Rights MovementFirst Wave - 1840-1925First Wave - 1840-1925
• Lucretia Mott at World Anti-Slavery
Convention 1840
• Seneca Falls Convention 1848
Lib
rary
of
Con
gre
ss, Pri
nts
an
d P
hoto
gra
ph
s D
ivis
ion
Lucretia Mott
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Seneca Falls Convention, 1848Seneca Falls Convention, 1848
PB
S, N
ot
for
Ou
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Alo
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Women’s Rights MovementWomen’s Rights MovementFirst Wave - 1840-1925First Wave - 1840-1925
• Cult of Domesticity - Women More…
Moral
Nurturing
Concerned About Others
Committed to Harmony
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Sojourner Truth 1851Sojourner Truth 1851
“Ain’t I a Woman?”
pointed out the ways in which white women’s situations and oppressions were different from those of black women.
Cour
tesy
of T
he G
ene r
al L
ibra
r ies,
The
Uni
ver s
ity o
f Tex
as a
t Aus
tin
Cour
tesy
of T
he G
ener
al L
ibra
ries,
The
Uni
vers
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f Tex
as a
t Aus
tin
1920 – Women Receive the 1920 – Women Receive the Right to VoteRight to Vote
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Women’s Rights Movement Women’s Rights Movement 1925-19601925-1960
• The Women’s Movements remained dormant
Attention Focused on the Depression, WWII, and
America’s World Dominance.
Women’s Place in Domestic Sphere had not been
Disputed Successfully
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Women’s Rights MovementWomen’s Rights MovementSecond Wave - 1960-1995Second Wave - 1960-1995
• Radical Feminism Grew Out of New
Left Politics
Sexism in Radical Organizations
Rap and Consciousness-Raising Groups
• Liberal Feminism Liberal Feminism is Embodied in NOWhttp://www.now.org
Liberal Feminism is Embodied in NOWhttp://www.now.org
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Liberal FeminismLiberal Feminism
Persuasive Rhetoric
Ran
dom
Hou
se
White middle-classwives resonatedthe message of the discontent theyfelt so guilty aboutthat they remainedsilent.
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Liberal Feminism is Embodied Liberal Feminism is Embodied in NOWin NOW ((National Organization for Women)National Organization for Women)
Since 1966 Now has contributed to:• The 1963 Equal Pay Act• The Civil Rights Act being amended to include sex
discrimination• Supporting federally financed child-care• Documenting sexism in children’s books• Stimulating reforms in credit and banking practices that
disadvantage women• Supporting Title IX which prevents discrimination in sports• In 1971 forming the National Women’s Political Caucus to
seek elective and appointed office
Since 1966 Now has contributed to:• The 1963 Equal Pay Act• The Civil Rights Act being amended to include sex
discrimination• Supporting federally financed child-care• Documenting sexism in children’s books• Stimulating reforms in credit and banking practices that
disadvantage women• Supporting Title IX which prevents discrimination in sports• In 1971 forming the National Women’s Political Caucus to
seek elective and appointed office
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Women’s Rights MovementWomen’s Rights MovementSecond Wave - 1960-1995Second Wave - 1960-1995
• Separatism
• Lesbian Feminism
• Revalorism
• Ecofeminism
• Womanism
• Multiracial Feminism
• Power Feminism
Separatist FeminismSeparatist Feminism
Women are fundamentally different from men in the value they place on life, equality, harmony, nurturance, and peace.
Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Lesbian FeminismLesbian Feminism
Only women who do not orient their lives around men can be truly free.
Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Revalorists FeminismRevalorists Feminism
Aimed to increase society’s appreciation of women and their contributions to society.
Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
EcofeminismEcofeminism
Highlights the connection between efforts to control and subordinate women and the quest to dominate nature - Mother Earth.
Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
WomanismWomanism
African American women, including author Alice Walker, define women from a viewpoint that embodies their racial and gender identities.
Cour
tesy
of T
he G
ener
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The
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f Tex
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tin
Multiracial FeminismMultiracial Feminism
Movement that emphasizes multiple systems of domination that affect the lives of women and men.
Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Power FeminismPower Feminism
Society doesn’t oppress
women because women
have the power to control
what happens to them.
Royce
Carl
ton
, In
c.
--Naomi WolfFire with Fire, 1993
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
Women’s Rights MovementWomen’s Rights MovementThird Wave - 1995-PresentThird Wave - 1995-Present
• Remaking Solidarity to Incorporate
Differences Among Women
• Building Coalitions
• Integrating Theory Into Everyday Practices
• The Political is Personal
• Celebrating Girl Culture
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Chapter Three: Women’s Movements in America
Copyright © 2005 Wadsworth
gendered lives