Feminine Movement Lesson

Teacher wears a man's suit to class to show students that "equal" doesn't mean "the same".

Points to make:
Women's Sufferage
-Women in other countries had the vote before the American women
-Hunger strikes and demonstrations in Congress gave national attention
-We don't think about the sacrifice today when we vote; we take it for granted

Feminist movement, “women’s liberation”
-"Liberate" means "to free"
-What do women want to be freed from?  or do they want equal opportunities as men?

Betty Friedan, National Organization for Women
-She wrote The Feminine Mystique; it was like her journal
-Feminists used it as their "platform" that women were undervalued
-Betty did not write it because she wanted to be an activist; she was surprised it was so popular
-Later in life she thought people had misinterpreted her book.  She loved being a mother and enjoyed a career.

Roe v. Wade
-abortion
-Supreme Court Ruling
-Divided the parties (Republican=prolife;Democrat=prochoice)
-Where do you stand?

Failure of the Equal Rights Amendment
-was looked upon favorably at first
-a clause was added to it that made women concerned that it would break up families, marriages, and children.
-needed 38 states to ratify
-extended the deadline
-got 35 votes and then many states pulled out of their earlier votes
-Equal opportunities were what women were seeking, not being the same
-"Glass ceiling" limits people, but can't be seen

Students might find more info online.