Discuss the impact on British Society of second wave feminism

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Discuss the impact on British Society of second wave feminism

This essay will examine the impact on British society of second wave feminism. It will discuss first wave and then second wave feminism, and analyse the impact feminism has had in some areas of British society. Although feminist history is usually discussed in waves, this does not mean that in the periods in between there was no feminist activity. Similarly, the grouping together of feminist movements into first and second waves can mask the diversity that exists both within and between the two waves. Although feminists have been more active at certain periods in time, it is more accurate to see feminism not as emerging in waves but as a continuum of thought and action (Freedman, 2001).

First wave feminism has been termed de jure, or by law, because it ‘was a political movement aimed at challenging the lack of rights for women in the public sphere. The right to vote, own property and obtain an education were vital demands of the first feminist movement’ (McLaughlin, 2003:1). Before the Second World War women were seen not as individuals but as an extension of their husband. This inequality could be seen in nearly all aspects of a woman’s life but what was seen as most important at the time was getting the vote for women. Suffragettes from the 18th to early 20th century, perhaps the most famous being Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst, took direct action. Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and through using tactics such as violence and arson the suffragettes managed over all to get the most discriminatory laws amended (Walters, 2005). Evans (1977:239) believes “One of the major drives behind feminism was the need felt by middle class women to reassert their superiority of status over socially or racially inferior men to whom political and social change was bringing rights and thus status, which they were... denied.”

The 1960’s was a period of substantial social and cultural change for Great Britain. The Cultural Revolution swept away the old Victorian values and austerity of the 1950’s and a new period of permissiveness began. The affluence of the economic boom meant for the first time young people had their own money to spend. Influences from America, such as rock and roll, technological advances and teen fashion created a counter-culture based on the freedom of expression (Marwick, 2003). The young embraced the consumer society and the new era of sexual liberation and openness creating a generation gap as the young rebelled against the stricter values of the older generation (Raymond, n.d).

The emergence of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the late 1960’s re-energised the older generations of feminists and existing feminist organisations (Welch, 2009). Dahlerup (1986:2) has commented “Second-wave feminism simply indicates a new impetus to this movement which has experienced periods of bloom, strength, and visibility, alternating with periods of more quiet, dogged, struggle to better women’s position in a male-dominated society.” Second wave feminism merged de jure and de facto (unofficial) inequalities to build on the successes of the first wave and to revive old failures and to redefine some issues (Rosen, 2001).

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Betty Friedan is universally regarded as one of the founding mothers of second wave feminism. In her book The Feminine Mystique (1963) Friedan argued that millions of American housewives found the role of mother and housewife mapped out for them by society was repressive and even dehumanising (Boucher, 2003).    

Three distinct ideological currents emerged from second wave feminism. Firstly, liberal feminism is an ideology that expands on many of the beliefs of first wave equal rights feminists. Both see women’s rights as human rights and believe politics should be used to break down gender inequalities. The concept of ...

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