Second- Wave Feminism
History 2112
Second-Wave Feminism
Towards the end of the twentieth century, feminist women in America faced an underlying conflict to find their purpose and true meaning in life. “Is this all?” was often a question whose answer was sought after by numerous women reaching deeper into their minds and souls to find what was missing from their life. The ideal second-wave feminist was defined as a women who puts all of her time into cleaning her home, loving her husband, and caring for her children, but such a belief caused these women to not only lose their identity within her family but society as well. The emotions that feminist women were feeling at this time was the internal conflict that caused for social steps to be taken in hopes of bringing purpose and meaning back into their lives. Evidence from second-wave feminist literature suggests the formation and goals of helping cure the identity crisis these women faced at this time.
The magazine, Ms., was created to give women an insight of their own social, political, and economical views. Created by women, about women, and for women, the magazine was a social step intended to reduce the emotions feminist women were experiencing about their place within their families and society. “After all, Ms. and the social change that gave birth to it is for all women, regardless of the family incomes or jobs or men we happen to be dependent on.” Not only bringing forth issues that concerned women at this time, articles such as “Populist Mechanics: Demystifying Your Car” gave women the basics on cars and its parts, a task usually labeled as a “man’s job.” “He turned on me. ‘You know, I’ll never understand you women. A man would know what’s involved. Labor parts, the works. He would just say ‘Fix it!’ But a woman hollers.” Similar articles such as these helped women alleviate the dependency they had on their husbands for even the simplest tasks. Ms. allowed women to expand their thoughts on the scrutiny of the role women
Second-Wave Feminism
Towards the end of the twentieth century, feminist women in America faced an underlying conflict to find their purpose and true meaning in life. “Is this all?” was often a question whose answer was sought after by numerous women reaching deeper into their minds and souls to find what was missing from their life. The ideal second-wave feminist was defined as a women who puts all of her time into cleaning her home, loving her husband, and caring for her children, but such a belief caused these women to not only lose their identity within her family but society as well. The emotions that feminist women were feeling at this time was the internal conflict that caused for social steps to be taken in hopes of bringing purpose and meaning back into their lives. Evidence from second-wave feminist literature suggests the formation and goals of helping cure the identity crisis these women faced at this time.
The magazine, Ms., was created to give women an insight of their own social, political, and economical views. Created by women, about women, and for women, the magazine was a social step intended to reduce the emotions feminist women were experiencing about their place within their families and society. “After all, Ms. and the social change that gave birth to it is for all women, regardless of the family incomes or jobs or men we happen to be dependent on.” Not only bringing forth issues that concerned women at this time, articles such as “Populist Mechanics: Demystifying Your Car” gave women the basics on cars and its parts, a task usually labeled as a “man’s job.” “He turned on me. ‘You know, I’ll never understand you women. A man would know what’s involved. Labor parts, the works. He would just say ‘Fix it!’ But a woman hollers.” Similar articles such as these helped women alleviate the dependency they had on their husbands for even the simplest tasks. Ms. allowed women to expand their thoughts on the scrutiny of the role women