I Am Woman
Helen Reddy (1971)
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to
ignore
And I know too much to
go back an' pretend
'Cause I've heard it all
before
And I've been down there
on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep
me down again
Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of
pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I
gained
If I have to
I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
You can bend but never
break me
'Cause it only serves to
make me
More determined to
achieve my final goal
And I come back even
stronger
Not a novice any longer
'Cause you've deepened
the conviction in my soul
Oh, yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of
pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I
gained
If I have to
I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible
(invincible)
I am woman
I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms
across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother
understand
Oh, yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to
I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
The Struggle for Gender Equality in the
1960s and 1970s
The Status of Women





Executive Order 10980
Presidential Commission on
the Status of Women
(PCSW)
Eleanor Roosevelt, Chair
Research and report on
status of women
Two-year deadline
The Status of Women

1963 Report
 Women
discriminated against in workplace
 Women need paid maternity leave
 "one of the most pervasive limitations is the
social climate in which women choose what
they prepare themselves to do."

However, re-affirmed traditional role of
woman as wife and mother in combating
communism
Critical Thinking
women have a “traditional role”
that should be maintained?
 Do
Gains for Women

Equal Pay Act of 1963
 Guaranteed
equal pay for equal work
 Better for economy

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964)
 Prohibits
employment discrimination based on
sex (as well as race, religion or national
origin)
Gains for Women

National Organization for Women (NOW)
 Founded
in 1966
 Pressed for reforms recommended by PCSW

Title IX, 1972
 Prohibits
discrimination based on sex in all
aspects of education
 Including sports
The Feminine Mystique

Written by Betty Friedan

Put the lie to the “Happy
Housewife” of the 1950s

Book initiated the “second
wave of feminism”
The Feminine Mystique
"The problem that has no name —
which is simply the fact that American
women are kept from growing to their
full human capacities — is taking a far
greater toll on the physical and mental
health of our country than any known
disease."
Betty Friedan

After book release became
figurehead of women’s
movement

Co-founder and first
president of NOW

Co-founder of National
Association for the Repeal of
Abortion Laws (NARAL)
Gloria Steinem

Journalist
 Worked as Playboy
Bunny to research
how women were
treated
 Feminist
spokesperson
 Founded “Ms.”
Magazine
Reproductive Rights

1960: Birth Control Pill gets
FDA approval

1965: Griswold v.
Connecticut


State cannot prohibit access to
birth controls
1973: Roe v. Wade

Abortion legal in first trimester
Critical Thinking
 Why
were reproductive rights so
important to the feminist cause?
Equal Rights Amendment
 “Equality
of rights under the law
shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any
state on account of sex.”
Equal Rights Amendment





Originally written by
Alice Paul
Passed by Congress in
1972
Proposed 27th
Amendment
Initial success with
ratification
Stalled in mid 70s
Phyllis Schlafly

Founder of the Eagle Forum


“pro-family”
Antifeminist
Launched “Stop ERA”
movement
 Very popular in conservative
regions
 “What I am defending is the real
rights of women. A woman
should have the right to be in the
home as a wife and mother.”

Gay Civil Rights

Stonewall Riots
(June 28, 1969)
 Patrons
of New York
gay bar protest police
harassment
 3 days of riots ensue
 Marked as birth of
the visible gay rights
movement
Gay Civil Rights

Harvey Milk (1930-78)
 San Francisco
 First
openly gay city
official elected in United
States

Murdered in 1978 by
fellow Supervisor
By 1980s

Homosexuality still illegal in
most states
 AIDS crisis hits gay men
hardest
 shows
depth of prejudice and
indifference

Things don’t really start to
change until the 1990s
Today