Collective Identity

Womens rights

This lesson we watched a video on womens rights, Germaine Greer: Big ideas that changed the world: feminism.
Feminism is so dated that we are taken back to the stone age.


Stone age: Men were classed as hunters and women, gatheres. Women were so undervalued that the men had dominence and insisted women were made for child birth.
1700 Ancient Greece: Men thought women were inferier and had lack of strength.
1700 Birth of Revolutionary Feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft: 'A vindictation of the rights of women': Mary Wollstonecraft argued that there is nothing natural about the 'natural order'. She argued because women wanted an education in politics and economics. What Wollstonecraft knew, she taught herself. She wrote a book in action to fight for womens rights. She yearned to free woman and liberate their minds as well as their bodies. "Confined in cages like birds...Vertue is lost in exchange".
She felt that women choosing their partners was the right way. Unfortuately she died giving birth to her second child, and when she died, revolutionary died with her.
Equality Feminism: 1840 Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a respected campaigner who fought for womans rights. She thought that woman were treated as degrading as slaves. In 1848 she organised a womans rights campaign. This is when equlity feminism took off, with the help of Mary Wollstonecraft's death. Elizabeth Stanton proudly read "All woman and men are equal". She was also preeching that woman should get to vote.
1903 The womens Social and political union: The suffragettes: The suffragettes is a group of woman that went around campaigning and causing a riot. They cut telegraph wires, smashed windows and burned down buildings. Some woman went to prison, there they went on hunger strike. Some woman died in order of the campaign.
Impact of world war 1 1918: After the world war 1 british woman 30 and over were allowed to vote, this was after years of suffering. Lots of men died in world war one so many woman were needed to work in factories etc.
Employment for women after WW1 1920's-1930's: Woman were tought everything to learn the buisness of work. They became teachers, factory workers, but yet were on a terrible pay.
World War 2: During the world war, many woman went to work for the first time as there were hardly any men to work. This showed huge potential. Their pay was still poor.
Second wave feminism, 1957 Betty Friedan 'The feminine Mystique': After the second world war woman soon went back to their domestic femininity. After a survey for woman was done, Betty Friedan soon learnt that woman were deeply unhappy with their lives being a housewife. She wrote a book and in just mearly 3 years she gained nearly 3 million pounds. her book encouraged woman to break free from theur housewifes shell.
1960 Gregory Pincus 'The pill': At this point in the year there was no contraception so womnan had to undertake so many unwanted pregnancys so therefore Gregory Pincus created the famous 'pill'. It was very popular becuase this is one thing that woman had power over. Motherhood. They were free to persue education and a career. It also libarated men too as they could feed their needs. Also, woman came to realise that the pill came at a price, STI's. Sexually transmitted diseases went sky high as the pill does not protect you from getting an STI.
1960's insparation from the american civil rights movement: Black americans segragated their civil rights to stop racism and woman campaigned agaisnt sexism.
1969 'The female eunuch' Germaine Greer: Germaine Greer argued that woman were degraded. "No matter how many times she paints her lips, she will never be beautiful enough."
1970's Political groups, Miss world beauty pagent: Some women protested against beauty pagents as they argued that woman were treated like goods in shop windows. Men swooned at these beautiful women. People protested as pagents were degrading and this turned peoples views. This year there was equal pay for women and woman set up safe houses for woman dealing with domestic violence. Abortions were a big issue also, 50 woman died each year due to illegal abortions. Some were hospitalised.
1980's capitalism and thatcher: Margaret thatcher was the first and so far the only woman prime minister. She was very respective. Some argued that what she did was right, some argued that it was wrong.
1990's Globalised consumerism and the return of the female eunuch: This year globalisation went into overdrive and 'Female stereotypes has concored the world' according to Germaine Greer. Pornography multiplies daily. parents get money for their children so their child doesn't grow up in poverty. Also, woman still get payed less than men.

Conclusion: This day and age, woman and men are both considared as equal and feminism will still change, but for the better.