The Progressive Women's Movement

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Pages: 4

Feminism, as its supporters and advocates claim, is about fighting for equality among sexes. However, a lot of feminist scrutinization has crossed the line between attacks on sexism to attacks on men. Feminism itself is not entirely bad- it has made great strides in gaining equality for women all over the world- but recent movements have become about turning irrelevant issues into big social controversies, killing the idea of chivalry and persecuting people who do not fully agree with their ideals.
In the summer of 1848 women from all over the New England area came together to form the Seneca Falls Convention. Topics that might have been discussed at this meeting varied from obtaining the right to own property to gaining suffrage among women
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During this period of time feminists started shifting their political agenda to issues concerning sexual, reproductive and economic matters. These subjects included better and safer access to birth control and equal opportunities at school and in the workplace. Women cared so much about these civil issues that they wanted to strengthen their voices by first fighting for gender equality to ensure they would be heard. These issues were accomplished by passing legislation such as Roe v. Wade and Title IX. Roe v. Wade made the issue of abortion legal in the United States and gave women the right to choose. Even though this ruling is still controversial to this day it is a very important for advancing women’s rights. Many women and men that were involved in the 2nd wave were initially part of the “Black Civil Rights Movement, Anti-Vietnam and other National Civil Rights Movements” (Dorey-Stein). However, during 1970’s, new movements started forming some might call “radical feminism.” These new movements start to focus on the “micropolitics” of equality and …show more content…
So what exactly are the feminists of today fighting for? Well, the answer is not as clear ones of the past. Subjects include fighting for equal pay in the workplace, access to women’s health care, and standing up against sexual abuse and violence. Recent campaigns such as nation-wide Women’s Marches or the #MeToo movements have brought awareness to modern issues involving women’s rights. Women now more than ever are standing up and speaking out for what they believe in. This past January over 250 women’s marches were held in the United States with almost 85,000 marchers in New York City alone. The #MeToo movement has also been a success by exposing cases of sexual assault and misconduct within Hollywood. With all these great and positive things going on with today’s movements then why wouldn’t someone be called a feminist? It is because of all the negative things that are going on as