Why was there women’s liberation movement in the postwar period in the United States and to what degree was it successful? Women’s role was first rather being restricted to their domestic sphere. Women as angels of household, would rather raise their children, take care of their houses, provide a decent place for their husbands to relax when they come home.
Women’s role improved during the Second World War when women had to take men’s places in the labor forces. It was predicted that women would leave their jobs and go back to their domestic lives, but this essay shows how and why women struggled and wanted to continue their independent life. Women experienced freedom, power and strength in the absence of their men, and started wondering why would they be stuck at home when they can do their jobs as well as men.
The role that women played during the war made them realize that they should be having a change that would last forever, which is “The Women Liberation Movement”, and despite the unfair sexism they faced women fought and started to be more career-minded and they were encouraged to become independent individuals. The impact of the Second World War on the role of women: Throughout the Second World War, men went away to serve and have their place in the military, while women had to take their places, do their jobs, and take their responsibilities.
At this time, women experienced their freedom and they found more opportunities. Women started serving in clerical and secretarial jobs others became nurses, teachers and shopkeepers. Moreover, the United States needed more individuals to join the military so they called on women, and their possessions were unfocused on the domestic uses and more focused on the military uses such as truck drivers, technicians, mechanics, and pilots. Women’s domestic workforce started decreasing as more women started to take men’s places and occupy the gaps left by them.
Emotional appeal combined with women’s patriotism was strongly used as women were being reminded all the time that their husbands and other men were in need of their help. Over 19 million women joined the workforce in the United States not only due to patriotism but also to have more money, more economic benefits, more social interaction and the most important reason was independence. This was the turning point for women struggling for their equality and their rights.
Earlier before the war, only the lower working class of women who used to work outside of their houses and many of these women were minorities and other’s women’s role was their house. But all of this changed after women were encouraged to have more jobs and join the work force. Women were called to have jobs such as building ships, tanks and planes in order to fight Hitler and his army. The Second World War was mainly based on production and it was also a brilliant opportunity for women to get into the industry.
Media also played a huge role of encouraging women that it was their “patriotic duty” so the government used slogans such as “Victory is in Your Hands”, “We can do it! ” and “Women, the War Needs you! ”. Yet the patriotism wasn’t a rational motive to convince women to quit their jobs and give it back to men again. After the time was spent on seducing women to join the work force and to build up this economic prosperity, which made women know the importance of work out side of their houses, made it really hard for women to quit their jobs after the war, and opened up an ongoing battle of wanting equal rights as men.
The Second World War was actually the first time that women served in the United States military after the American Revolution as women were usually eliminated from the military service, and they were omitted from participation in the Armed Forces but it was promoted at the beginning of the war, and later their participation became essential to win the war. 350,000 women served in the Armed Forces of the United States, they had branches such as; Women’s Army Auxiliary Crops, the Women Airforce Service Pilots and the Women Accepted for Volunteer Military Services, they also operated in the Marines and in the Coast Guard Called SPARS.
About 70% of women obliged in the military held traditional jobs such as clerks, mail sorters and typists. Women were also an important part in sustaining the bureaucratic mechanisms that were needed in the total warfare. Although, women were omitted from fighting locations, yet some women also served as nurses in or near fighting zones or on ships and some of them were killed. After the war ended, men finally went back home, yet still women wanted to continue working, and this point didn’t only depend on the post war economy it depended on women’s desire of working and their attitude towards keeping their jobs.
Women no longer had to go to work, they no longer had to leave their homes and families, they could just stay at home, yet it wasn’t even an option for some women. War has giving women the strength they didn’t have before and it has given them independence. War earned them an economic and a social promotion and gave them the power to choose the change. It was unexpected that women would actually rejoin the work force in the postwar era. Women started having as men, yet some jobs men were paid more.
Women stated going on strikes for equality, they wanted to be paid as much as men, and these strikes were a reaction against the unfair sexism they faced. Women’s victory was in going back to their jobs and being paid as much as of a semi-skilled male worker. Still many people believed that women should voluntarily return back to their houses, yet others saw the domestic housewife’s role became impossible to get back after the war. When women’s income increased, it increased women’s self-confidence.
Women were given independence and were given the opportunity to take their own decisions and for the first time they had the jobs that were just designed for men and only men and never seemed to suit them and later on it was accepted in the society. Gender Identity: After the Second World War the identity of women experienced many changes. The characteristics’ definitions that used to define women changed since the war. Women weren’t expected to be sentimental creatures as they started expressing their capabilities of intelligence and understanding.
Women expected to present as “feminine” was becoming archaic, they began to be more fashionable and started to manifest themselves in look of men, they started wearing trousers and jeans. Women were expected to be at home in their domestic roles, and if they decided to work out it would be just a supporting job like secretary, nurse or a teacher, but they took well-paid jobs like engineers, physicians and some minorities were business leaders. Therefore gender identity wasn’t following gender clear definitions anymore.
Women have been fighting for their equality for about 100 years. In the 1960’s Feminism’s Second Wave and the Radical Feminism were the most noticeable movements that were asking for the change and were asking for establishing feminine gender role, yet there was more to be done. Though the women’s position has improved during the last century, prejudice is still dominant and frequent; for example, women are still being paid less than men, they oppress lower jobs positions than men, they also still do most of the household chores.
Nevertheless, feminists reflect these aspects as dependence of gender as gender socialization focuses on the education women receive, the age at which women start their profession, and number of employment years. When feminism started to become a noticeable protest movement in the late 60’s, critics claimed that women that wanted to adopt a conformist role would be discriminated and forced to join the workforce. There was no acceptance of all female gender roles. There was particular sexism and prejudice against women who choose to stay in their domestic female gender roles regardless of feminism.
The roles were postulated originally for men and women, which created disorder in feminist’s minds and resulted in confusion, doubt and suspicion between the sexes. Later on, women were released from their domestic life, from their houses, from their husbands and families. There were many opinions and flaws of gender identity. The feminist work as much as they can to approach the change of those gender identities, display its effects and clarify them from the aspect of the complications of daily life. Contraceptive Revolution:
Contraception or birth control prevents pregnancy by interfering with the ordinary development of ovulation, fertilization, and implantation. There are different types of birth control that perform at different points in the procedure. Contraceptive technology was a turning point in women’s lives. Women had gotten to decide when to have sex and when not to, women had gotten to decide when to have a baby and when not to. Each year one out of eight women from 15 to 49 years old becomes pregnant, yet two-fifth of these pregnancies are actually undesirable or unintended.
These unwanted pregnancies can basically carry dangerous risks on the woman’s life, and it can also be dangerous for the fetus itself. These unwanted pregnancy can also affect the woman’s job or education, depends on her age. By using contraceptives women can actually prevent any unintended pregnancy. It started increasing. In 1960, society became more outspoken and struggled for equality among people, especially women. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first oral contraceptive for women.
They started increasing year after year, yet this was the first step in the women’s liberation movement and it endorsed women to stand up for their reproductive rights. This contraceptive pill gave women highly effective control over their fertility. This pill argument electrified feminists to organize and protest and as they stood up for themselves, spoke out about themselves and refused being treated differently just because they are women, and they cared about their health while also accomplishing permanent changes in the United States. The success of Feminism:
Even though women tried their best, struggled and fought their rights and equality, yet the female’s role is still not entirely equal to male’s role. Society still judge and criticize by labeling men and women differently, and this differentiation begins from the day of their birth, difference in their label as pink tags for girls and blue tags for boys, this differentiation also implies on toys as parents get to choose what to get for a boy and what to get for a girl. Moreover, parents still act differently when approaching a girl and a boy, even in business imagining a business leader always refers to a man.
Men were always known to be tougher than women and they still are. Gradually everything comes to a change, by time, women are having more rights and more equality that they used to have, they are no at the point they want to reach yet, but they are almost there. Nowadays the independence of women increased, women can take a better care of themselves without any help of a husband, father or brother and the percentage of women that doesn’t want to get married and have children gets higher everyday.
However, the judgments and discriminations increase too because we, as humans, are socially costumed to see men in leadership. Although, women are definitely able of achievements as well as men if not better than them, yet it is still a man’s world and it has been one for a long period of time. Men are always in the leadership, as when you get higher in the positions you will find more men than women, for example there is only 3%only comprises the CEOs. The reason behind that is the unfair sexism women face in their jobs, and society in general. Conclusion:
Feminism eternally believes in equality between men and women. Feminism had so many different waves and right now it has a complete change on women’s roles, especially the change that the Second World War II brought to women’s lives. As conclusion feminism gave women equality to men, it gave them more rights. Despite the odds women faced, they could almost accomplish what they were fighting for. Feminism is the right way, and there should be no reason why women should be treated differently than men, or not seen as equal by society and people should know, that women are no less than men.
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[ 16 ]. Ibid. [ 17 ]. Nancy Sink, “Women’s Liberation Movement”, Northern Virginia Community College. (accessed on 30 May 2012) [ 18 ]. Roberta Guteman, “Changing the face of Management. ” Working Woman, November 1994, 21-23. [ 19 ]. Ibid. [ 20 ]. “Women in the military during world war II”, Minnesota Historical Society. < http://www. mnhs. org/library/tips/history_topics/133women_military. htm> (accessed on 15 June 2012) [ 21 ]. Margret Foegen Karsten. Management and Gender: Issues and Attitude. Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1994. [ 22 ]. Ibid. [ 23 ]. Ibid. [ 24 ].
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[ 37 ]. Ibid. [ 38 ]. Nancy Sink, “Women’s Liberation Movement”, Northern Virginia Community College. (accessed 30 May 2012) [ 39 ]. Ibid. [ 40 ]. Ibid. [ 41 ]. David M. Heer, Amyra Grossaed- Shechtman, University of Southern California, “The Impact of the Female Marriage Squeeze and the Contraceptive Revolution on Sex Roles and Women’s Liberation Movement in the United States, Journal of Marriage and The family, February 1981. [ 42 ]. Ibid. [ 43 ]. The Economist Online, “working women, Still Struggling”, “ The Economist. (accessed on 1 June 2012)
