Social Movement and Gender Paper
Marco Ovid-DeSouza
SOC/333
May 12, 2015
Matthew Szlapak

Social Movement and Gender Paper
Women in today's society live very different lives from those who lived in the late 1800s. Women throughout the last century petitioned, protested, and marched for equality and the rights that men inherently were born with. It took several social movements during the 20th century to attain higher education, gain independents, to vote, and to have the rights to choose. These social movements came in three significant waves. The first wave gave women a voice and granted them limit rights and independence. In the second wave, women fought for equality in the workplace and sexual freedom. The third wave brought gender violence, reproductive rights, and other issues to the forefront. Each social movement raised awareness, further forcing society to address the issues of inequality. Looking back at these movements, they were vital stepping-stones to the changes seen in society today. This paper will describe three social movements, the social and political environment at the times the movements occurred, and the effect each movement had on society. It will explain how each movement changed public opinion on gender issues and the effects it has had on gender view today.
Social Movements
The Suffragists
With the first wave came the suffragists, which called for the equal right to vote among other liberties. The late 1800s and early 1900s was a very different time for women. The consensus saw women as inferior to men. Husbands held the dominant position in the household, men worked, and women reared the young. They could not own property, sign contracts, secure credit, or vote. The political climate was tense to say the least. The abolition of slavery was passed in December of 1865 and equality was a concern not just for black slaves but also for women who were viewed as second-class citizens. The suffragists' movement came to a fever pitch when in 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment gave former male slaves the right to vote (Ivy, 2012). It took another 50 years of public protests and civil disobedience, spearheaded by Victoria Woodhull, Susan B. Anthony, and Carrie Chapman Catt to name a few before woman were granted the right to vote in the year 1920. This was a first and most important stepping-stone towards women equality that will set the stage for the many movements to come.
The Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights movement was an ideal setting for the second feminist wave. With segregation (particularly practiced in the south), rampant racism, and blatant discrimination in the workforce, inequality for women was again ushered to the forefront. The movement didn't only focus on equality in the workplace but addressed sexuality, abortion, marital and domestic violence. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was only the beginning of what was about to come. Although these laws prohibited employers to discriminate on the basis of race and sex, these laws proved difficult to enforce. Although much ground has been gained since the writing of theses Bills, today, women are still effectively paid less than their male counterparts for doing the same job.
Sexual liberation came with the help of the birth control pill. Contraception was the keystone of the sexual revolution (Lunardini, 1994 as cited in Ivy, 2012, p. 6). The pill revolutionized sex for women and ignited the debate of sex outside of marriage. The invention of the pill also had economical consequences, the primary effect being that the pill increased a woman's earning potential (Ivy, 2012, p. 6). The second wave raised awareness on both a social and legal platform. The formation of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the Women's Equity Action League (WELL) changed national opinion about genders and the way women were viewed. Women were still fighting for independence, and it would take another 30 years and a third feminist wave to see significant changes in the way women are treated.
The Third Wave of Feminism
The third wave had been criticized for its ambiguity, carrying with it the concerns of the past waves and rightly so. In today's workforce women are still paid 63 to 75 cents on the dollar in comparison to males and abortion and a women's right to choose is still a hot political topic. However, the third wave brings new concerns, which focused its attention on dispelling stereotypes, abolishing gender roles, and redefining femininity. Most of the third wave's efforts have concerned itself with unifying the differences in interpretations of what it is to be a feminist. Their message to the world still carries the battle cries heard in the second wave. Equality is still the platform on which the third wave stands. Other issues such as domestic violence sexuality, sexual harassment, and female empowerment are still contentious topics of discussion. Nevertheless, these concerns are shaping today's society and changing our concepts of gender and gender roles.
Public Opinion on Gender Issues and Gender View Today
Although stereotypically men and women are view differently, many modern opinions about gender and gender roles have recently changed in the last ten years. The evidence can be seen in the nomination of the first woman to run for president, women are now highly educated and respected in medical, legal, and political fields. Gender roles have changed recently within the last five years. The recent economical crisis has witnessed complete role reversal where males have become primary caregivers and females the primary breadwinner. One consequence of this shift in opinion is that men are now redefining masculinity. Despite these advances, women are still stereotypically treated as weaker, more emotional, and less confident of the sexes. These biases are difficult to dismiss, but as societal opinions change so to will its definition of what it is to be male and female.
Conclusion
History has witnessed three feminist waves and social movements that have taken over a hundred years to bring women to where they are today. The suffragists' movement brought women essentially out of the Stone Age. Fighting to have a voice, earn money, and to vote took courage on the part of several early pioneers that refused to be seen as second-class citizens. The second social movement rode the wave of the Civil Rights Movement, giving women the opportunity to speak freely about sexuality and equal opportunities that men so freely possessed. The third wave has continued women awareness, particularly in the social, economical, and political arenas. Each unique campaign for equality was instrumental in changing today's opinions about gender and gender roles

References
Ivy, D. (2012). Gender Speak: Personal Effectiveness in Gender Communication (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.