The fading of former suffragist activism during the interwar period did not spell the end of the fight for women's rights, especially as so many women remained unable to exercise their citizenship.

In this episode, we turn to the next era of women's activism, the Women's Movement of the 1960s and 70s. In the wake of World War II, the revived women's rights movement followed a similar path to their suffragist predecessors: born from the Civil Rights Movement, these new activists boasted a more expansive vision of women's rights, including advocating for workplace justice and pushing for reproductive freedom.

Today, we discuss the era that saw the emergence of activists like Betty Friedan, Frances Beal, Gloria Steinem, and Shirley Chisholm, but also the deep divisions among women's rights activists based on strategy, ideology, and the limitations of white feminism.

Today's esteemed guests:
Dr. Lilia Fernandez, Rutgers University
Dr. Susan Hartmann, The Ohio State University

Background Reading & Digging Deeper (citations also available at origins.osu.edu)

You can see, and learn more about, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title VII on the National Archives website!

Did you know that The New York Times has an archive? There you can see how they discussed the women's movement, including this article on the clash between Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem regarding supporting female candidates over friendly male incumbents: Deirdre Comody, "Feminists Scored by Betty Friedan" The New York Times, July 19, 1972.

You can read Representative Shirley Chisholm's 1970 statement in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment in the Iowa State University archive on Women's Political Commentary's website!

You can learn more from our guest, Dr. Susan Hartmann, extensive writing on the women's movement, including "Closing Gaps in Civil Rights and Women's Rights: Black Women and Feminism." In The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment, 176-206. Yale University Press, 1998.

Geoffrey R. Stone "The Road to Roe." Litigation 43, no. 1 (2016)

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The New Normal

ProloguedBy Origins: Current Events in Historical PerspectiveSep 29, 2020