Feminism in Literature
Women's Rights Timeline:
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.ht Women's Rights Movement in the U.S. Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement by Ann-Marie Imbornoni Read more about the history of women's history
1800s • 1900–1920 • 1921–1940 • 1941–1960 • 1961–1979 • 1980–present 1848 The first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. After 2 days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men sign a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlines grievances and sets the agenda for the women's rights movement. A set of 12 resolutions is adopted calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.
1850 The first National Women's Rights Convention takes place in Worcester, Mass., attracting more than 1,000 participants. National conventions are held yearly (except for 1857) through 1860.
Top 1869 May Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association. The primary goal of the organization is to achieve voting rights for women by means of a Congressional amendment to the Constitution.
Nov. Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and others form the American Woman Suffrage Association. This group focuses exclusively on gaining voting rights for women through amendments to individual state constitutions.
Dec. 10 The territory of Wyoming passes the first women's suffrage law. The following year, women begin serving on juries in the territory.
1890 The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). As the movement's mainstream organization, NAWSA wages state-by-state campaigns to obtain voting rights for women.
1893 Colorado is the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to vote. Utah and Idaho follow suit in 1896, Washington State in 1910, California in 1911, Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona in 1912, Alaska and Illinois in 1913, Montana and Nevada in 1914, New York in 1917; Michigan, South Dakota, and Oklahoma in 1918.
1896 The National Association of Colored Women is formed, bringing together more than 100 black women's clubs. Leaders in the black women's club movement include Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Mary Church Terrell, and Anna Julia Cooper.
Top 1903 The National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) is established to advocate for improved wages and working conditions for women.
1913 Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the Congressional Union to work toward the passage of a federal amendment to give women the vote. The group is later renamed the National Women's Party. Members picket the White House and practice other forms of civil disobedience.
1916 Margaret Sanger opens the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. Although the clinic is shut down 10 days later and Sanger is arrested, she eventually wins support through the courts and opens another clinic in New York City in 1923.
1919 The federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced in Congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the states for ratification.
1920 The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.
Aug. 26 The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.
Top 1921 Margaret Sanger founds the American Birth Control League, which evolves into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942.
1935 Mary McLeod Bethune organizes the National Council of Negro Women, a coalition of black women's groups that lobbies against job discrimination, racism, and sexism.
1936 The federal law prohibiting the dissemination of contraceptive information through the mail is modified and birth control information is no longer classified as obscene. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, birth control advocates are engaged in numerous legal suits.
1955 The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the first lesbian organization in the United States, is founded. Although DOB originated as a social group, it later developed into a political organization to win basic acceptance for lesbians in the United States.
Top 1960 The Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pills.
1961 President John Kennedy establishes the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appoints Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. The report issued by the Commission in 1963 documents substantial discrimination against women in the workplace and makes specific recommendations for improvement, including fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable child care.
1963 Betty Friedan publishes her highly influential book The Feminine Mystique, which describes the dissatisfaction felt by middle-class American housewives with the narrow role imposed on them by society. The book becomes a best-seller and galvanizes the modern women's rights movement.
June 10 Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job.
1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex. At the same time it establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints and impose penalties.
Top 1965 In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court strikes down the one remaining state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples.
1966 The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded by a group of feminists including Betty Friedan. The largest women's rights group in the U.S., NOW seeks to end sexual discrimination, especially in the workplace, by means of legislative lobbying, litigation, and public demonstrations.
1967 Executive Order 11375 expands President Lyndon Johnson's affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on gender. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must take active measures to ensure that women as well as minorities enjoy the same educational and employment opportunities as white males.
1968 The EEOC rules that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal. This ruling is upheld in 1973 by the Supreme Court, opening the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs hitherto open only to men.
1969 California becomes the first state to adopt a "no fault" divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985 every state has adopted a similar law. Laws are also passed regarding the equal division of common property.
Top 1970 In Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co., a U.S. Court of Appeals rules that jobs held by men and women need to be "substantially equal" but not "identical" to fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act. An employer cannot, for example, change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than men.
1971 Ms. Magazine is first published as a sample insert in New York magazine; 300,000 copies are sold out in 8 days. The first regular issue is published in July 1972. The magazine becomes the major forum for feminist voices, and cofounder and editor Gloria Steinem is launched as an icon of the modern feminist movement.
1972 Mar. 22 The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Originally drafted by Alice Paul in 1923, the amendment 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." The amendment died in 1982 when it failed to achieve ratification by a minimum of 38 states.
Also on Mar. 22 In Eisenstadt v. Baird the Supreme Court rules that the right to privacy includes an unmarried person's right to use contraceptives.
June 23 Title IX of the Education Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools. It states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." As a result of Title IX, the enrollment of women in athletics programs and professional schools increases dramatically.
Top 1973 As a result of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court establishes a woman's right to safe and legal abortion, overriding the anti-abortion laws of many states.
1974 The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in consumer credit practices on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance.
In Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that employers cannot justify paying women lower wages because that is what they traditionally received under the "going market rate." A wage differential occurring "simply because men would not work at the low rates paid women" is unacceptable.
1976 The first marital rape law is enacted in Nebraska, making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife.
1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, a woman cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work.
Top 1984 EMILY's List (Early Money Is Like Yeast) is established as a financial network for pro-choice Democratic women running for national political office. The organization makes a significant impact on the increasing numbers of women elected to Congress.
1986 Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, the Supreme Court finds that sexual harassment is a form of illegal job discrimination.
1992 In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court reaffirms the validity of a woman's right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. The case successfully challenges Pennsylvania's 1989 Abortion Control Act, which sought to reinstate restrictions previously ruled unconstitutional.
1994 The Violence Against Women Act tightens federal penalties for sex offenders, funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence, and provides for special training of police officers.
1996 In United States v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that the all-male Virginia Military School has to admit women in order to continue to receive public funding. It holds that creating a separate, all-female school will not suffice.
1999 The Supreme Court rules in Kolstad v. American Dental Association that a woman can sue for punitive damages for sex discrimination if the anti-discrimination law was violated with malice or indifference to the law, even if that conduct was not especially severe.
2003 In Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, the Supreme Court rules that states can be sued in federal court for violations of the Family Leave Medical Act.
2005 In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, also inherently prohibits disciplining someone for complaining about sex-based discrimination. It further holds that this is the case even when the person complaining is not among those being discriminated against.
2006 The ruling, 5–4, which upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, a federal law passed in 2003, is the first to ban a specific type of abortion procedure. Writing in the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "The act expresses respect for the dignity of human life." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who dissents, called the decision "alarming" and said it is "so at odds with our jurisprudence" that it "should not have staying power."
2008: Hillary Clinton is the first female to make a viable run as a major-party Presidential candidate.
Feminism is the belief in the right of women to have political, social, and economic equality with men. It is a discourse that involves various movements, theories, and philosophies which are concerned with the issue of gender difference, advocate equality for women, and campaign for women's rights and interests.[ According to some, the history of feminism can be divided into three waves.[4][6] The first wave was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the second was in the 1960s and 1970s and the third extends from the 1990s to the present.[7] Feminist theory emerged from these feminist movements.It is manifest in a variety of disciplines such as feminist geography, feminist history and feminist literary criticism.
Themes explored in feminism include: Patriarchy, sterotyping, objectification, and oppression.
Kinsey: the father of "sexology"-- the scientific study of human sexuality. His public work began with a lecture at Indiana University during which he attacked the "widespread ignorance of seual structure and physiology". He obtained a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to research human sexual behavior, for which he would interview thousands of subjects. The "Kinsey Reports", including "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" (1948) and "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" (1953), were bestsellers-- and controversial. However, it is important to realize the public misconceptions of sex and sexulaity in the 1950's: Educational movies, women's textbooks, etc.
Fashions: see pictures above
Women's work:
1890's: 17% worked outside the home. Traditonal fields, such as teaching, nursing, and garment factories were their only choices. By the 1900's, roughly 20% were in the workforce; factory work was low paying and dangerous. During the 1930's, the Great Depression hit, and money and jobs were scarce; women were forced out of the work force to make room for the men. A woman's place was in the home! Married women were refused work. During the 1940's, America was fighting WWII, so women needed to work to fill the factory jobs as the men were called up to fight. Women were welders, riveters, autoworkers, machinists, plane builders, etc... 45% of women were employed. After the war, women were expected to give up their jobs. During the 1950's, women were expected to be homemakers. Beginning in the 1960's, the number graudlaly rose, and by the 1970's, 44% were employed. However, women still earned only .59 for ever $1.00 men earned.
"A ROSE FOR EMILY"
Faulkner is a Southern writer, born and raised in Mississippi... his family were wealthy plantation owners. He was influenced by his great-grandfather, "Old Colonel". Like Emily, Faulkner was often publicly frowned upon in his home town; in the 50's when he spoke out against racisim and segregation, especially.
He won 2 Pulitzers, a National Book Award, and the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died on his great-grandfather's birthdy, July 6, 1962.
Historical Context of "ARFE" (pulbished in 1930): [Compare 1930's and 1990's] (notes)
Setting: South after Civil War, reconstruction... emancipation devastated the slave labor economy. The story spans approx. 75 years, her birth sometime around the Civil War, her death taking place around the time the story is written.
Narrator? Sometimes takes the voice of the whole town. Describe the narration and the tone/mood it sets.
"Themes": Death, the decline of the Old South, Community vs. Isolation
Symbolism: ? Title? Gothic Elements?
We can learn more about history, race, and the view of women by reading the story.
How do you characterize Emily? Does "eccentric" say enough? Explain.
Feminists might see Emily as a victim. Comment.
Disuss "dependence" in relation to Emily. Discuss memory vs. realism.
HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE Home Economics High School Text Book, 1954 Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal, on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so that you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the home just before your husband arrives, gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too. Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad he is home. Some don'ts: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he is late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind. Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first. Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax. The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.
"The Chrysanthemums" Major "Themes": Limitations (of setting, of women, of expression, of truth, of relationships) A guiding theme in Steinbeck's works is "creative frustration". The Feminist Dilemma: Is Elisa a feminist figure? Or, is the story an attack agains feminism? Those arguing the latter would point to the way she emasculates her husband and engages in infidelity. (But she doesn't really-- Instructor's Note) What is going on during Elisa's time that would contribute to a better understanding of the story? The 1930's is plagued by The Great Depression. The great figure of the era is FDR (President from 1933-1945-- the only President to serve more than 2 terms). He created the "New Deal" to relieve unemployment, which had reached 25%-- 1 in 4 people were unemployed after the Depression. He created government-subsidized jobs called "Alphabet Agencies"-- they were acronyms; for example, the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) or FDIC (Fed Dep Ins Corp). He also started social security-- he began the "welfare state". The term "welfare state" is often looked down upon today, but it was necessary then. It gave immediate work relief and provided rural America with much needed help. This was the beginnign of modern "Liberalism". His plan was deemed the "3 R's": Relief, Recovery, Reform. This was a huge change from the prior mentality of the Hoover years that "aid should be left to the private sector". The classic dichotomy between "Conservative" and "Liberal" was born. We can relate to all of this today-- we are in a similar circumstance. (Instructor's Note)
Music: Dance bands, broadway, jazz: Duke Ellington
Art: "American Gothic"-- on every grandmother's wall!!
"The Chrysanthemums" is a critically acclaimed short story. Steinbeck lived from 1902-1968, and he won the Nobel Prize for Lit in 1962. He is known for realistic and imaginitve writing, combining sympathy and humor with an underlying keen social perception.
He grew up in Salinas Valley, CA. He was a reporter. Many of his stories deal with struggling characters, examining the lives fo working class and migrant workers during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. His best known works are the novels "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men". Some of his books were made into films; he worked as a Hollywood writer-- even got an Acadamy Award nomination.
1930's Facts:
Popuplation in U.S. was 123,188,000 (in 48 states). Unemployment was 25%. Car sales were 2,787,400. Life expectancy was 58 for males, 61 for females. Milk was 14 cents a qt., bread 9 cents a loaf. The avg. income was $1, 368. 21 Lynchings were recorded in the 1930's.
Because of the Depression, $ was scarce. Movies, games and radio were popular, as were dances. It was also the "golden age of the mystery novel"-- people had a lot of time to read.
Between 1929 and 1932, avg. income was reduced by 40% from approx. $2300 to $1500. Many fled the Dust Bowl to California to seek work-- it was survival mode. Education suffered; some schools closed or were only open a few months out of the year. A teacher made $40 a month. Kids learned with the newly popular "Dick and Jane" books.
Sexist ads from the era: http://pzrservices.typepad.com/vintageadvertising/vintage_sexist_advertising/
http://www.advertisingarchives.co.uk/searchframe.php
Instructional videos for teens, shown in 1950's classrooms: http://internetarchive.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/learn-how-to-be-a-teen-in-1950/
This one is priceless! :) http://www.archive.org/details/DatingDo1949
Excerpt from book by Susan K. Freeman: An informed perspective on sex education in the 1940s and 1950s
When seeking approaches for sex education, few look to the past for guidance. But Susan K. Freeman's investigation of the classrooms of the 1940s and 1950s offers numerous insights into the potential for sex education to address adolescent challenges, particularly for girls. From rural Toms River, New Jersey, to urban San Diego and many places in between, the use of discussion-based classes fostered an environment that focused less on strictly biological matters of human reproduction and more on the social dimensions of the gendered and sexual worlds that the students inhabited.
Although the classes reinforced normative heterosexual gender roles that could prove repressive, the discussion-based approach also emphasized a potentially liberating sense of personal choice and responsibility in young women's relationship decisions. In addition to the biological and psychological underpinnings of normative sexuality, teachers presented girls' sex lives and gendered behavior as critical to the success of American families and, by extension, the entire way of life of American democracy. The approaches of teachers and students were sometimes predictable and other times surprising, yet almost wholly without controversy in the two decades before the so-called Sexual Revolution of the 1960s. Sex Goes to School illuminates the tensions between and among adults and youth attempting to make sense of sex in a society that was then, as much as today, both sex-phobic and sex-saturated.
The Story:
Setting? What is symbolical about the setting?
How is Elisa characterized? If she's the protagonist, then who is the antagonist?
What in the story supports the themes "repressed desires" and "stunted growth"?
It has been said the "The Chrysanthemums" creates a metaphor for life and growth"... explain. For example, what besides the flowers are "pruned" and "clipped"... "dies" and is "rejuvinated"?
How is Elisa a victim of society? Is she?
What about Henry? Is he a victim of society as well?
How might a feminist reading characterize the relationship of Elisa and Henry?
Who is at fault in this relationship?
One theme that I notice throughout the story is "lack of communication" and its harmful effects on a relationship. Give examples.
