The Rhetorical Shaping of
Gender: Women’s Movements
in the United States
Chapter 3
Women’s Movements in the U.S.
• Rhetoric is persuasion
• Rhetorical movements are collective
efforts to challenge and change existing:
– Attitudes
– Laws
– Policies
The Three Waves of Women’s
Movements
• Rhetorical women’s movements have
occurred in three waves
The Three Waves of Women’s
Movements
• Two ideologies have informed:
– Liberal feminism – women and men are alike
and equal
– Cultural feminism – women and men are
fundamentally different
The First Wave of Women’s
Movements
• 1840-1925
• Liberal and cultural branches
The Women’s Rights Movement
• Activism aimed at enlarging women’s
political rights
• Demand for voting rights for women
The Women’s Rights Movement
• 1918-1920 – Paul and Burns spearheaded
nonviolent protest
– Women’s suffrage
– Hunger strike
• See clips from Iron Jawed Angels at:
– http://iron-jawed-angels.com/
The Women’s Rights Movement
• 1840 – Mott chosen as representative to
World Anti-Slavery Convention
– Not allowed to participate
• Mott and Stanton worked to organize first
women’s rights convention
– Seneca Falls Convention - 1848
The Women’s Rights
Movement
• Declaration of
Sentiments
– Modeled on
Declaration of
Independence
– Grievances
women had
suffered
The Women’s Rights Movement
• Men and women signed petition
• Initially links with Abolitionist movement
– These ties dissolved
The Women’s Rights Movement
• 1870 – 15th Amendment ratified
– Black men won right to vote
• 1920 – women gain right to vote
The Cult of Domesticity
• 1800s – did not ally with women’s rights
movements
• True ideal of womanhood – to be
domestic
• Participated in efforts to:
– End slavery
– Ban alcohol
– Enact child labor laws
The Cult of Domesticity
• Needed right to vote to have voice in
public life
• Women and men not alike
• Women’s virtue would reform politics
The Cult of Domesticity
• Securing voting rights did not
immediately fuel further efforts
• Few women voted
• 1925 – amendment to regulate child
labor failed to be ratified
The Cult of Domesticity
• Movements dormant for 35 years
• Attention concentrated on world wars
– Women joined labor force to support war
effort
– Women’s opportunities shrank post-war
• Some women did affect change
The Second Wave of Women’s
Movements
• 1960-1995 – second wave
• Liberal and cultural ideologies coexisted
• Diverse goals and rhetorical strategies
Radical Feminism
• Also called women’s liberation movement
• Grew out of New Left politics
– Protested Viet Nam war
– Fought for civil rights
• New Left men treated women as subordinates
Radical Feminism
• 1964 – women in SNCC challenged sexism in
New Left – male members unresponsive
• 1965 – women in SDS also found no
receptivity
• Many women withdrew and formed own
organization
Radical Feminism
• Basic principle – oppression of women is
fundamental form of oppression on which
others are modeled
• Relied on “rap” groups
– Ensured equal participation
Radical Feminism
• Revolutionary politics
• Public events
Radical Feminism
• Continues in the U.S. and other countries:
– Missile Chick Dicks
• http://www.missiledickchicks.net/
– Radical Cheerleaders
• http://radcheers.tripod.com/
– Muslim feminists
Radical Feminism
• Identification of structural basis of oppression
– The personal is political
• Women’s health movement
Lesbian Feminism
• Radicalesbians
• Only women who love and live with women
putting women first
• Lives not oriented around men
• Lesbianism
– Positive, liberated identity
Lesbian Feminism
• Not all lesbians are feminists
• Not all lesbian feminists are
Radicalesbians
– Defined as women-identified
• Commitment to end discrimination
• Use voices to respond to criticism
• Adopt proactive rhetorical strategies
Separatism
• Communities where women live
independently with mutual respect
• Many, but not all, are lesbians
• Believe women are different from men
• Community where feminine values can
flourish
Separatism
• Impossible to reform patriarchal culture
• Exit mainstream society
• Exercise little political influence
Revalorism
• Focus on appreciating women’s traditional
activities
• Draws on standpoint theory
• Women more nurturing, cooperative, lifegiving
• More complete history of America
Revalorism
• Re-covering women’s history
• Exhibits of women’s traditional arts
• Debate to secure legal rights
Ecofeminism
• Launched in 1974
– La Feminisme ou la Mort
• Connection between efforts to control women
and quest to dominate nature
Ecofeminism
• Oppression imposed on anyone/anything
that can’t resist
• Includes animal rights, peace activists,
and vegetarians
• Seek to bring consciousness of humans’
interdependence with other forms of life
Ecofeminism
• Learn more at:
– http://eve.enviroweb.org/
– http://www.ecofem.org/
Liberal Feminism
• Advocates equality in all spheres of life
• Mid-1900s – white, middle-class women living
American dream
• Not happy
• Wanted identity beyond home
Liberal Feminism
• Betty Friedan – The Feminine Mystique
– Named problem of dissatisfaction
– Defined as political issue
– Institutions kept women confined
Liberal Feminism
• Women and men alike
• Women entitled to equal rights
• NOW – National Organization for Women –
1966
– Effective in gaining passage of laws and
policies
– Enlarge and protect women’s opportunities
Liberal Feminism
• Rhetorical strategies include lobbying, public
forums, drafting legislation, conventions
• Criticized
– Focus narrow – white, middle-class
– Now more attention to diverse women
Liberal Feminism
• Not confined to U.S.
– Spain
– Muslim women
– Third World
– India
– Iraq
– Kuwait
Womanism
• Believe men and women mainly alike
• Differentiate from white feminists
• 1970s – African American women
– Black Women Organized for
Action
– National Black Feminist Organization
Womanism
• Highlight ways gender and racial oppression
intersect
• Black women more often
– Single
– Less formal education
– Bear more children
– Paid less
– Assume financial responsibility
Womanism
• Address issues that affect lower-class African
American women
– Reforming social services
– Increasing training and job opportunities
• Rhetorical strategies include consciousness
raising and support groups
Womanism
• 1997 – Million Woman March
– Deemphasized media hype
– Woman-to-woman sharing of experiences and
support
Multiracial Feminism
•
•
•
•
Emphasizes multiple systems of domination
Prefer multiracial to multicultural
Insist race cannot be viewed in isolation
Race intersects other systems of domination
Multiracial Feminism
• Gender does not have universal meaning
• Meaning of gender varies as a result of:
– Race
– Economic class
– Sexual orientation
Multiracial Feminism
• Write and talk about more complex
categories
• Emphasis on women’s agency
Power Feminism
• 1993 – Naomi Wolf
– http://naomiwolf.org/
• Self-defeating to focus on social causes of
inequities
• Society doesn’t oppress women
• Women have power to control what happens
to them
Power Feminism
• Stop thinking of themselves as victims
• Capitalize on power of majority status
• Katie Roiphe – another proponent
– Take Back the Night marches – self-defeating
Power Feminism
• Appeals to white, successful, well-educated
• Less helpful to those without privilege
• Emphasis on empowerment influential in
shaping third wave
The Third Wave of Women’s
Movements
• Many second wave movements still active
• Third wave has emerged
The Third Wave of Women’s
Movements
• Draws from multiple branches of
feminism
• Less fully formed and uniform
• Not yet found single center
The Third Wave of Women’s
Movements
• Not extension of goals of second wave
• Distinct historical location that informs
politics and goals
• Learn more at:
– http://womenissues.about.com/cs/feminism
/f/thirdwave.htm
Recognizing Differences
• Recognize women differ in many ways
• Figuring out how to speak for group while
recognizing differences
Building Coalitions
• Commitment to building alliances with men
• Leads to understanding of intersections
among forms of privilege and oppression
Engaging in Everyday Resistance
• Reforms won by second wave not woven
into everyday life
Engaging in Everyday Resistance
• Goal to incorporate structural changes
wrought by second wave into life
– Challenging racist comments
– Confronting homophobic attitudes
– Examine class privilege
Engaging in Everyday Resistance
• Power must be rooted in personal, bodily
resistance
Being Media Savvy
• Third-wavers media savvy
• Gain information from numerous sources
• Create media of own
Being Media Savvy
• Know how to use media to galvanize political
goals
• Use mass and social media to advance ideas
– Tori Amos - R.A.I.N.N.
• http://www.rainn.org/
– Blogs, zines, social network sites
Embracing Aesthetics and
Consumerism
• Images of celebrities easy to find – hard to
avoid
• Some young women see them as role
models
• Embrace traditional girl culture
• Embrace consumerism
Embracing Aesthetics and
Consumerism
• May lead to commodification of own
body
• Pornography creates pressure for women
to accept sexual images to feel liberated
• Women encouraged to explore sexuality
on own terms
Individualism
• Women are so different there can be no
collective political agenda
• Each woman defines feminism on her own
terms
– Autobiographical essays
Individualism
• Does not cultivate cohesive political agenda
– Change is unlikely to happen
• Structural change grows out of collective political action
Antifeminism: The Backlash
• Success of feminism led to antifeminist
efforts
• Backlash surfaced in response to each
wave
• Antifeminism opposes changes in
women’s status and rights
The Antisuffrage Movement
• Aimed to prevent women from getting
right to vote
• Allowing women to vote would contradict
natural roles as wives and mothers
The Antisuffrage Movement
• 1870s – formalized
– National Association Opposed to Women’s
Suffrage
• Movement disbanded after women won
right to vote in 1920
Fascinating, Total Women
• 1970s – Marabel Morgan – Total Women
• Helen Andelin – Fascinating Womanhood
• Advocated women’s return to traditional
values
Fascinating, Total Women
• Total Women stressed view of women as
sex objects
• Fascinating Womanhood grounded in
biblical teachings
• Support came from women dependent on
husbands
The STOP ERA Campaign
• 1970s – response to 1972-73 ERA
campaign
• Phyllis Shlafly – feminism turning women
into men
The STOP ERA Campaign
• Lobbied legislators
• ERA would undercut men’s willingness to
support children, allow women to be
drafted
The STOP ERA Campaign
• Funded by corporate leaders and upper
class
• ERA not consistent with economic and
political interests
Surrendered Wives
& the War against Boys & Men
• 2001 –women should abandon quest for
equality to have happy marriage
• Let husbands lead family
• Boys now disadvantaged in school
Surrendered Wives
& the War against Boys & Men
• Women have gained power at the
expense of men
• Contrary to God’s commandments
Contradictory Claims of
Antifeminism
• 1991 – Faludi’s Backlash
• Antifeminist rhetoric defines feminism as
source of women’s problems
– Turned women into fast-track achievers
Contradictory Claims of
Antifeminism
• Women have never had it so good – can
have it all
• But do women really have full equality?