Welcome to Our Generation USA!
Copyright © 2015 Bert N. Langford (Images may be subject to copyright. Please send feedback)

Feminism,
focusing on Women's Empowerment including Feminists who have made a Difference!
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Covers Feminism and Activists seeking and achieving  Social and Economic Equality  for Females, along with related Social Issues holding women back or causing harm to Women, e.g., Sexual Harassment, Rape and Slavery.

Also Click on the following Web Pages:
Great Americans web page.
Human Sexuality web page.


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​Feminism including a List of U.S. Women's Rights Activists
YouTube Video: Gloria Steinem on the Women's Movement: Education, Feminism, Economics (1985)​
Pictured: LEFT: Betty Friedan, author of “The Feminine Mystique”; RIGHT: Gloria Steinem at the Ms. Foundation for Women's 23rd annual Gloria Awards, which were named for her, on May 19, 2011.

Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, personal, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. Feminists typically advocate or support the rights and equality of women.

Feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women's rights, including the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to earn fair wages or equal pay, to own property, to receive education, to enter contracts, to have equal rights within marriage, and to have maternity leave.

Feminists have also worked to promote bodily autonomy and integrity, and to protect women and girls from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence.

Feminist campaigns are generally considered to be one of the main forces behind major historical societal changes for women's rights, particularly in the West, where they are near-universally credited with having achieved women's suffrage, gender neutrality in English, reproductive rights for women (including access to contraceptives and abortion), and the right to enter into contracts and own property.

Although feminist advocacy is and has been mainly focused on women's rights, some feminists, including bell hooks, argue for the inclusion of men's liberation within its aims because men are also harmed by traditional gender roles.

Feminist theory, which emerged from feminist movements, aims to understand the nature of gender inequality by examining women's social roles and lived experience; it has developed theories in a variety of disciplines in order to respond to issues such as the social construction of gender.

Some forms of feminism have been criticized for taking into account only white, middle-class and educated perspectives. This criticism led to the creation of ethnically specific or multicultural forms of feminism, including black feminism.








"Glass Ceiling"
Video: CNN Money, April 14, 2015: "It may sound antiquated, but among full-time workers, women earn about 78 cents to a man's dollar. That's according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics..."
Pictured: A chart illustrating the differences in earnings between men and women of the same educational level (USA 2006)

​A glass ceiling is a metaphor used to represent an invisible barrier that keeps a given demographic (typically applied to women) from rising beyond a certain level in a hierarchy.
The metaphor was first coined by feminists in reference to barriers in the careers of high-achieving women. 

In the United States, the concept is sometimes extended to refer to obstacles hindering the advancement of minority men, as well as women. Asian and Asian-American news outlets have coined the term "bamboo ceiling".

The United States Federal Glass Ceiling Commission defines the glass ceiling as "the unseen, yet unbreachable barrier that keeps minorities and women from rising to the upper rungs of the corporate ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements."
David Cotter and colleagues defined four distinctive characteristics that must be met to conclude that a glass ceiling exists. A glass ceiling inequality represents:
  1. "A gender or racial difference that is not explained by other job-relevant characteristics of the employee."
  2. "A gender or racial difference that is greater at higher levels of an outcome than at lower levels of an outcome."
  3. "A gender or racial inequality in the chances of advancement into higher levels, not merely the proportions of each gender or race currently at those higher levels."
  4. "A gender or racial inequality that increases over the course of a career."
Cotter and his colleagues found that glass ceilings are correlated strongly with gender. Both white and minority women face a glass ceiling in the course of their careers.

In contrast, the researchers did not find evidence of a glass ceiling for African-American men.

The glass ceiling metaphor has often been used to describe invisible barriers ("glass") through which women can see elite positions but cannot reach them ("ceiling").

These barriers prevent large numbers of women and ethnic minorities from obtaining and securing the most powerful, prestigious, and highest-grossing jobs in the workforce. Moreover, this effect prevents women from filling high-ranking positions and puts them at a disadvantage as potential candidates for advancement.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification:

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​Sex Discrimination
YouTube Video of Workplace Training Video-Sexual Harassment/Sexism

Sexism or gender discrimination is prejudice or discrimination based on a person's sex or gender. Sexism can affect any gender, but it is particularly documented as affecting women and girls. It has been linked to stereotypes and gender roles, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is intrinsically superior to another. Extreme sexism may foster sexual harassment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence.

Gender stereotypes are widely held beliefs about the characteristics and behavior of women and men. Empirical studies have found widely shared cultural beliefs that men are more socially valued and more competent than women in a number of activities. 

Dustin B. Thoman and others (2008) hypothesize that "[t]he socio-cultural salience of ability versus other components of the gender-math stereotype may impact women pursuing math".

Through the experiment comparing the math outcomes of women under two various gender-math stereotype components, which are the ability of math and the effort on math respectively, Thoman and others found that women’s math performance is more likely to be affected by the negative ability stereotype, which is influenced by socio-cultural beliefs in the United States, rather than the effort component.

As a result of this experiment and the socio-cultural beliefs in the United States, Thoman and others concluded that individuals' academic outcomes can be affected by the gender-math stereotype component that is influenced by the socio-cultural beliefs.

In the World Values Survey, responders were asked if they thought that wage work should be restricted to only men in the case of shortage in jobs. While in Iceland the proportion that agreed was 3.6%, in Egypt it was 94.9%.

Some people believe a phenomenon known as stereotype threat can lower women's performance on mathematics tests, creating a self-fulfilling stereotype of women having inferior quantitative skills compared to men.

Stereotypes can also affect self-assessment; studies found that specific stereotypes (e.g., women have lower mathematical abilities) affect women's and men's perceptions of those abilities, and men assess their own task ability higher than women who perform at the same level. These "biased self-assessments" have far-reaching effects, because they can shape men and women's educational and career decisions.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further expansion:








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​Womens' Rights
YouTube Video Jane Fonda*, Gloria Steinem & Robin Morgan on Women's Media Awards on CBS This Morning, Sept 18 2013
*--Jane Fonda​
Pictured: LEFT: Iraqi-American writer and activist Zainab Salbi, the founder of Women for Women International;
​RIGHT: Women’s Rights Activists Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan

Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls of many societies worldwide, and formed the basis to the women's rights movement in the nineteenth century and feminist movement during the 20th century.

In some countries, these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed. They differ from broader notions of human rights through claims of an inherent historical and traditional bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls, in favor of men and boys.

Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include, though are not limited to, the right: to bodily integrity and autonomy; to be free from sexual violence; to vote; to hold public office; to enter into legal contracts; to have equal rights in family law; to work; to fair wages or equal pay; to have reproductive rights; to own property; to education.

Click here for additional information.







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Women's Empowerment including Time Article dated January 18, 2018 "A Year Ago, They Marched. Now a Record Number of Women Are Running for Office!"​
YouTube Video of Oprah Winfrey's inspirational Women's Empowerment Speech
​YouTube Video: Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep on a Possible President Oprah Winfrey
(TheEllenShow)
​Pictured: Images of Women's March on Washington, D.C. in January 2018

[Your Webhost: from my earliest memories, I have been a romantic, in particular enjoying the music of Johnny Mathis as a teen. I held off marriage under I felt I was matured enough to handle it, even telling Dad I hoped to marry when I turned 30 years of age.

I was fortunate to have met my wife Evelyn in 1972, and we spent the best years of our lives together.  Ev was more than just a wife, she was also my best friend. From 1972  until her passing in 2008, we had a wonderful life together. 

The best times were the 18 years that we lived in California, sailing the Channel Islands! See web page "About Us". 

Early on, Ev and I decided not to have children, so that we could "spoil" each other. I  came to understand the bias in the workplace against women. So, even though I am a  man,  I am thrilled to see women's empowerment finally come of age, given the times we are in today!]

An excerpt from Time Magazine Article Dated January 18, 2018 entitled: "A Year Ago, They Marched. Now a Record Number of Women Are Running for Office"

"​One year ago, millions of women protested in the streets. Now there are more women running for office than ever before. Erin Zwiener returned to Texas to settle down. At 32, she had published a children’s book, won Jeopardy! three times and ridden roughly 1,400 miles from the Mexico border up the Continental Divide on a mule. In 2016, she moved with her husband to a small house in a rural enclave southwest of Austin with simpler plans: write another book, tend her horses, paint her new home blue.

One day last February, she changed those plans. Zwiener was surfing Facebook after finalizing color samples for her living room–sea foam, navy, cornflower–when she saw a picture of her state representative, Jason Isaac, smiling at a local chamber of commerce gala. “Glad you’re having a good time,” she commented. “What’s your position on SB4?” After a tense back-and-forth about the Lone Star State’s controversial immigration law, Isaac accused her of “trolling” and blocked her. That’s when she decided to run for his seat. Zwiener never got around to painting her living room. She’s trying to turn her Texas district blue instead.

Zwiener is part of a grassroots movement that could change America. Call it payback, call it a revolution, call it the Pink Wave, inspired by marchers in their magenta hats, and the activism that followed. There is an unprecedented surge of first-time female candidates, overwhelmingly Democratic, running for offices big and small, from the U.S. Senate and state legislatures to local school boards. At least 79 women are exploring runs for governor in 2018, potentially doubling a record for female candidates set in 1994, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

The number of Democratic women likely challenging incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives is up nearly 350% from 41 women in 2016. Roughly 900 women contacted Emily’s List, which recruits and trains pro-choice Democratic women, about running for office from 2015 to 2016; since President Trump’s election, more than 26,000 women have reached out about launching a campaign. The group had to knock down a wall in its Washington office to make room for more staff.... Click here to read full article.
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Women's empowerment has become a significant topic of discussion in development and economics.

Women's economic empowerment refers to the ability for women to enjoy their right to control and benefit from resources, assets, income and their own time, as well as the ability to manage risk and improve their economic status and well being.

While often interchangeably used, the more comprehensive concept of gender empowerment refers to people of any gender, stressing the distinction between biological and gender as a role. It thereby also refers to other marginalized genders in a particular political or social context.

Methods which help to empower women:

​Land rights offer a key way to economically empower women, giving them the confidence they need to tackle gender inequalities. Often, women in developing and underdeveloped nations are legally restricted from their land own the sole basis of gender. Having a right to their land gives women a sort of bargaining power that they wouldn't normally have; in turn, they gain the ability to assert themselves in various aspects of their life, both in and outside of the home. In rural areas, women are not at all supported for education.

When women has monetary power it is a way for others to see them as equal members of society. Through this, they achieve more self-respect and confidence by their contributions to their communities. Simply including women as a part of a community can have sweeping positive effects.

In a study conducted by Bina Agarwal, women were given a place in a forest conservation group. This drove up the efficiency of the group, and the women gained self-esteem while others, including men, viewed them with more respect.

Participation, which can be seen and gained in a variety of ways, has been argued to be the most beneficial form of gender empowerment. Political participation, be it the ability to vote and voice opinions, or the ability to run for office with a fair chance of being elected, plays a huge role in the empowerment of women. 

However, participation is not limited to the realm of politics. It can include participation in the household, in schools, and the ability to make choices for oneself. It can be said that this latter participation need to be achieved before one can move onto broader political participation. When women have the agency to do what they want, a higher equality between men and women is established.

It is argued that microcredit also offers a way to provide empowerment for women. There are many Governments, organizations, and individuals which support women financially.

They hope that lending money and credit allows women to function in business and society, which in turn empowers them to do more in their communities. One of the primary goals in the foundation of microfinance was women empowerment. Loans with low interest rates are given to women in developing communities in hopes that they can start a small business and provide for their families. It should be said, however, that the success and efficiency of microcredit and microloans is controversial and constantly debated.

The Role of Education:

Improving education for women helps raise their levels of health and nutrition and reduces fertility rates. Education increases "people's self- confidence and enables them to find better jobs, engage in public debate and make demands on government for health care, social security and other entitlements". In particular, education empowers women to make choices that improve their own and their children's health and chances of survival.

Education helps to prevent and contain disease, and is an essential element of efforts to reduce malnutrition. Further, education empowers women to make choices that improve their welfare, including marrying later and having fewer children. Crucially, education also increases women's awareness of their human rights their confidence and their actual ability to assert those rights.

Despite significant improvements in recent decades, education is not universally available and gender inequalities persist. A major concern in many countries is not only limited numbers of girls going to school, but also limited educational pathways for those that step into the classroom. This includes, more specifically, how to address the lower participation and learning achievement of girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

The Internet as a tool of empowerment:

The growing access of the web in the late 20th century has allowed women to empower themselves by using various tools on the Internet. With the introduction of the World Wide Web, women have begun to use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter for online activism. 

Through online activism, women are able to empower themselves by organizing campaigns and voicing their opinions for equality rights without feeling oppressed by members of society.For example, on May 29, 2013, an online campaign started by 100 female advocates forced the leading social networking website, Facebook, to take down various pages that spread hatred about women.

In recent years, blogging has also become a powerful tool for the educational empowerment of women. According to a study done by the University of California, Los Angeles, medical patients who read and write about their disease are often in a much happier mood and more knowledgeable than those who do not. By reading others' experiences, patients can better educate themselves and apply strategies that their fellow bloggers suggest.

With the easy accessibility and affordability of e-learning (electronic learning), women can now study from the comfort of their homes. By empowering themselves educationally through new technologies like e-learning, women are also learning new skills that will come in handy in today's advancing globalized world.

Barriers to Women Empowerment:

Many of the barriers to women's empowerment and equity lie ingrained in cultural norms. Many women feel these pressures, while others have become accustomed to being treated inferior to men. Even if men, legislators, NGOs, etc. are aware of the benefits women's empowerment and participation can have, many are scared of disrupting the status quo and continue to let societal norms get in the way of development.

Research shows that the increasing access to the internet can also result in an increased exploitation of women. Releasing personal information on websites has put some women's personal safety at risk. In 2010, Working to Halt Online Abuse stated that 73% of women were victimized through such sites. Types of victimization include cyber stalking, harassment, online pornography, and flaming.

Sexual harassment in particular is a large barrier for women in the workplace. It appears in almost all industries, but is most notable in the following: business, trade, banking and finance, sales and marketing, hospitality, civil service, and education, lecturing and teaching.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), sexual harassment is a clear form of gender discrimination based on sex, a manifestation of unequal power relations between men and women. Furthermore, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is urging for increased measures of protection for women against sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. 54% (272) had experienced some form of workplace sexual harassment. 79% of the victims are women; 21% were men.

Recent studies also show that women face more barriers in the workplace than do men. Gender-related barriers involve sexual harassment, unfair hiring practices, career progression, and unequal pay where women are paid less than men are for performing the same job. 

When taking the median earnings of men and women who worked full-time, year-round, government data from 2014 showed that women made $0.79 for every dollar a man earned.

The average earnings for working mothers came out to even less—$0.71 for every dollar a father made, according to a 2014 study conducted by the National Partnership for Women and Children.

While much of the public discussion of the "wage gap" has focused around women getting equal pay for the same work as their male peers, many women struggle with what is called the "pregnancy penalty". The main problem is that it is difficult to measure, but some experts say that the possibility of having a baby can be enough for employers to push women back from their line. Therefore, women are put in a position where they need to make the decision of whether to maintain in the workforce or have children. This problem has sparked the debate over maternity leave in the United States.

However, despite the struggle for equal pay in the United States, the tech industry has made progress in helping to encourage equal pay across gender. In March 2016, tech career website Dice released a study of more than 16,000 tech professionals that found that when you compare equivalent education, experience and position, there is no pay gap—and hasn't been for the last six years. 

This new industry is paving a way for other companies to do the same. However, this industry also struggles to employ women in executive positions. This is partially due to the barrier of sexual harassment and pregnancy that was aforementioned.

​Such barriers make it difficult for women to advance in their workplace or receive fair compensation for the work they provide.

Measurement:

Women empowerment can be measured through the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), which shows women's participation in a given nation, both politically and economically. GEM is calculated by tracking "the share of seats in parliament held by women; of female legislators, senior officials and managers; and of female profession and technical workers; and the gender disparity in earned income, reflecting economic independence". It then ranks countries given this information. Other measures that take into account the importance of female participation and equality include: the Gender Parity Index and the Gender-related Development Index (GDI)

Importance of women in societies:

Entire nations, businesses, communities and groups can benefit from the implementation of programs and policies that adopt the notion of women empowerment. Empowerment is one of the main procedural concerns when addressing human rights and development. 

The Human Development and Capabilities Approach, the Millennium Development Goals, and other credible approaches/goals point to empowerment and participation as a necessary step if a country is to overcome the obstacles associated with poverty and development.

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​Planned Parenthood
​YouTube Video about Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), usually referred to simply as Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health services in the United States and internationally.

An affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and one of its larger members, PPFA has its roots in Brooklyn, New York, where Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the U.S. In 1921 Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which changed its name to Planned Parenthood in 1942.

Planned Parenthood reports that it is made up of approximately 174 affiliates and over 700 health clinics in the United States and abroad. The organization directly provides a variety of reproductive health services, is involved in sexual education efforts, contributes to research in reproductive technology, and engages in legal and political efforts aimed at protecting and expanding reproductive rights.

PPFA is the largest single provider of reproductive health services, including abortion, in the United States. In their 2014 Annual Report, PPFA reported seeing over 2.5 million patients in over 4 million clinical visits and performing a total of nearly 9.5 million discrete services including 324,000 abortions. 

The organization has a combined annual revenue of US $1.3 billion, including roughly US$530 million in government funding such as Medicaid reimbursements. Throughout its history PPFA has variously experienced support, controversy, protests, and violent attacks.

Services
The services provided by PPFA affiliates vary by location, with just over half of all Planned Parenthood affiliates in the United States performing abortions.

Services provided by PPFA include birth control and long-acting reversible contraception; emergency contraception; breast and cervical cancer screening; pregnancy testing and pregnancy options counseling; testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections; sex education; vasectomies; LGBT services; and abortion.

In 2013 PPFA reported seeing 2.7 million patients in 4.6 million clinical visits. Roughly 16% of its clients are teenagers under the age of 20. According to PPFA, in 2014 the organization provided 3.6 million contraceptive services, 4.5 million sexually transmitted infection services, about 1 million cancer related services, over 1 million pregnancy tests and prenatal services, over 324,000 abortion services, and over 100,000 other services, for a total of 9.5 million discrete services. 

PPFA is well known for providing services to minorities and the poor; according to PPFA, 75% of their clients have incomes at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level.

Given that each patient receives about three services on average, the percent of abortions provided out of the total services provided‍—‌3.4%‍—‌may not clearly represent the importance of abortion to PPFA. Each year, 12 percent of PPFA's patients gets an abortion, which is expensive when compared with other services.

Facilities
Location in Houston, Texas: PPFA has two national offices in the United States: one in Washington, D.C., and one in New York. It has three international offices, including a hub office in London, England. It has 68 medical and related affiliates and 101 other affiliates including 34 political action committees. These affiliates together operate more than 700 health centers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. PPFA owns about US$54 million in property, including real estate. In addition, PPFA spends a little over US$1 million per year for rented space. The largest facility, a US$26 million, 78,000-square-foot (7,200-square-metre) structure, was completed in Houston, Texas, in May 2010.

Worldwide availability
PPFA's international outreach and other activities are performed by Planned Parenthood Global, a division of PPFA, and by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) which now consists of more than 149 Member Associations working in more than 189 countries.

The IPPF is further associated with International Planned Parenthood Federation affiliates in the Caribbean and the Americas and IPPF European Network, as well as other organizations like Family Planning Queensland, Pro Familia (Germany) and mouvement français pour le planning familial (French Movement for Family Planning).

Offices are located in New York, NY; Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Abuja, Nigeria; and Nairobi, Kenya. The organization's focus countries are Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. 

​The Bloomberg  Philanthropies donated US$50 million for Planned Parenthood Global's reproductive health and family planning efforts in Tanzania, Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Uganda.

Among specific countries and territories serviced by Planned Parenthood Global's reproductive planning outreach are Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Guyana, Cape Verde and Samoa.
Funding

Planned Parenthood headquarters on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C.
Planned Parenthood has received federal funding since 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed into law the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act, amending the Public Health Service Act. Title X of that law provides funding for family planning services, including contraception and family planning information. The law had support from both Republicans and Democrats. Nixon described Title X funding as based on the premise that "no American woman should be denied access to family planning assistance because of her economic condition".

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, total revenue was US$1.3 billion: non-government health services revenue was US$305 million, government revenue (such as Medicaid reimbursements) was US$528 million, private contributions totaled US$391 million, and US$77 million came from other operating revenue. 

According to Planned Parenthood, 59% of the group's revenue is put towards the provision of health services, while non-medical services such as sex education and public policy work make up another 15%; management expenses, fundraising, and international family planning programs account for about 16%, and 10% of the revenue in 2013–2014 was not spent.

Planned Parenthood receives over a third of its money in government grants and contracts (about US$528 million in 2014). By law, federal funding cannot be allocated for abortions (except in rare cases), but some opponents of abortion have argued that allocating money to Planned Parenthood for the provision of other medical services "frees up" funds to be re-allocated for abortion.

A coalition of national and local pro-life groups have lobbied federal and state governments to stop funding Planned Parenthood. As a result, federal and state legislators have proposed legislation to reduce funding levels.Eight states‍—‌Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Utah‍—‌have gone ahead with such proposals.

In some cases, the courts have overturned such actions, citing conflict with federal or other state laws, and in others, the federal executive branch has provided funding in lieu of the states. In other cases, complete or partial defunding of Planned Parenthood has gone through successfully.

In August 2015, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal attempted to end Louisiana's contract with Planned Parenthood to treat Medicaid patients at a time when there was an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases in Louisiana. Planned Parenthood and three patients sued the state of Louisiana, with the United States Department of Justice siding with Planned Parenthood.

On February 2, 2016, the U.S. House failed to override President Obama's veto of H.R. 3762 which would have prohibited Planned Parenthood from receiving any federal Medicaid funds for one year.

Donors to Planned Parenthood have included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Buffett Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Turner Foundation, the Cullmans, and others. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's contributions to the organization have been specifically marked to avoid funding abortions. Some donors, such as the Buffett Foundation, have supported reproductive health that can include abortion services. Pro-life groups have advocated the boycott of donors to Planned Parenthood.Corporate donors include CREDO Mobile.

Political advocacy
Planned Parenthood is an advocate for the legal and political protection of reproductive rights. This advocacy includes contributing to sponsorship of abortion rights, and to women's rights events. The Federation opposes restrictions on women's reproductive health services, including parental consent laws. To justify their opposition, Planned Parenthood has cited the case of Becky Bell, who died following an illegal abortion rather than seek parental consent for a legal one. Planned Parenthood also takes the position that laws requiring parental notification before an abortion can be performed on a minor are unconstitutional on privacy grounds.

The organization also opposes laws requiring ultrasounds before abortions, stating that their only purpose is to make abortions more difficult to obtain. Planned Parenthood has also opposed initiatives that require waiting periods before abortions, and bans on late-term abortions including intact dilation and extraction, which has been illegal in the U.S. since 2003. Planned Parenthood supports the wide availability of emergency contraception such as the Plan B pill. It opposes conscience clauses, which allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs against their beliefs. 

Planned Parenthood has also been critical of hospitals that do not provide access to emergency contraception for rape victims. Citing the need for medically accurate information in sex education, Planned Parenthood opposes abstinence-only education in public schools. Instead, Planned Parenthood is a provider of, and endorses, comprehensive sex education, which includes discussion of both abstinence and birth control.

Planned Parenthood's advocacy activities are executed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which is registered as a 501(c)(4) charity, and files financial information jointly with PPFA. The committee was founded in 1996, by then-president Gloria Feldt, for the purpose of maintaining reproductive health rights and supporting political candidates of the same mindset.

In the 2012 election cycle, the committee gained prominence based on its effectiveness of spending on candidates. Although the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF) shares some leadership with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the president of PPAF, Cecile Richards, testified before Congress in September 2015 that she did not manage the organization. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund has 58 active, separately incorporated chapters in 41 states and maintains national headquarters in New York and Washington, D.C.

Planned Parenthood has received grants from the Obama administration to help promote the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare.







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​Gloria Steinem and "Ms." Magazine
YouTube Video: Gloria Steinem speaks at Women's March on Washington*
* -- March on Washington January 21, 2017
Pictured: Gloria Steinem attending the Ms. Foundation for Women’s 23rd annual Gloria Awards, named for her, on May 19, 2011. Learn more and sign up for email alerts from the Ms. Foundation. ms.foundation.org/

Gloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist, who became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Steinem was a columnist for New York magazine, and a founder of Ms. magazine. In 1969, Steinem published an article, "After Black Power, Women's Liberation", which brought her to national fame as a feminist leader.

Gloria Steinem speaking with supporters at the Women Together Arizona Summit at Carpenters Local Union in Phoenix, Arizona, September 2016.

In 2005, Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan co-founded the Women's Media Center, an organization that works "to make women visible and powerful in the media".

Steinem currently travels internationally as an organizer and lecturer, and is a media spokeswoman on issues of equality.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Gloria Steinem: ___________________________________________________________________________

"Ms. Magazine co-founded by Gloria Steinem

Ms. is an American liberal feminist magazine co-founded by second-wave feminists and sociopolitical activists Gloria Steinem and Dorothy Pitman Hughes. 

Founding editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock. 

Ms. first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine. The first stand-alone issue appeared in January 1972 with funding from New York editor Clay Felker. From July 1972 to 1987, it appeared on a monthly basis. It now publishes quarterly.

During its heyday in the 1970s, it enjoyed great popularity but was not always able to reconcile its ideological concerns with commercial considerations. Since 2001, the magazine has been published by the Feminist Majority Foundation, based in Los Angeles and Arlington, Virginia.

Click here for more about "Ms." Magazine.






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​Betty Friedan, Women's Rights Activist
YouTube Video of One of America's great feminists Betty Friedan (1964) CBC

Betty Friedan (February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American writer, activist, and feminist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century.

In 1966, Friedan co-founded and was elected the first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), which aimed to bring women "into the mainstream of American society now [in] fully equal partnership with men."

In 1970, after stepping down as NOW's first president, Friedan organized the nationwide Women's Strike for Equality on August 26, the 50th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote. The national strike was successful beyond expectations in broadening the feminist movement; the march led by Friedan in New York City alone attracted over 50,000 women and men.

In 1971, Friedan joined other leading feminists to establish the National Women's Political Caucus. Friedan was also a strong supporter of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution that passed the United States House of Representatives (by a vote of 354–24) and Senate (84–8) following intense pressure by women's groups led by NOW in the early 1970s.

Following Congressional passage of the amendment, Friedan advocated for ratification of the amendment in the states and supported other women's rights reforms: she founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws but was later critical of the abortion-centered positions of many liberal feminists.

Regarded as an influential author and intellectual in the United States, Friedan remained active in politics and advocacy for the rest of her life, authoring six books. As early as the 1960s Friedan was critical of polarized and extreme factions of feminism that attacked groups such as men and homemakers. One of her later books, The Second Stage (1981), critiqued what Friedan saw as the extremist excesses of some feminists.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for further amplification about Betty Friedan:


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​Women's Rights including a List of Women's Rights Activists in the United States
YouTube Video Women's Rights Activists Protest Trump
Pictured: Feminist March on Washington 1/21/2017

Click here for a List of Women's Rights Activists in the United States.

​Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide, and formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the nineteenth century and feminist movement during the 20th century.

In some countries, these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behavior, whereas in others they are ignored and suppressed. They differ from broader notions of human rights through claims of an inherent historical and traditional bias against the exercise of rights by women and girls, in favor of men and boys.

Issues commonly associated with notions of women's rights include, though are not limited to, the right:






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​Susan B. Anthony, women's rights activist​
YouTube Video Susan B. Anthony, the Suffragette Superhero (Smithsonian Channel)

Susan Brownell Anthony (February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to social equality, she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17. In 1856, she became the New York state agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society.

In 1851, she met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who became her lifelong friend and co-worker in social reform activities, primarily in the field of women's rights.

In 1852, they founded the New York Women's State Temperance Society after Anthony was prevented from speaking at a temperance conference because she was female. In 1863, they founded the Women's Loyal National League, which conducted the largest petition drive in United States history up to that time, collecting nearly 400,000 signatures in support of the abolition of slavery.

In 1866, they initiated the American Equal Rights Association, which campaigned for equal rights for both women and African Americans. In 1868, they began publishing a women's rights newspaper called The Revolution.

In 1869, they founded the National Woman Suffrage Association as part of a split in the women's movement. In 1890, the split was formally healed when their organization merged with the rival American Woman Suffrage Association to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association, with Anthony as its key force. In 1876, Anthony and Stanton began working with Matilda Joslyn Gage on what eventually grew into the six-volume History of Woman Suffrage. The interests of Anthony and Stanton diverged somewhat in later years, but the two remained close friends.

In 1872, Anthony was arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted in a widely publicized trial. Although she refused to pay the fine, the authorities declined to take further action. In 1878, Anthony and Stanton arranged for Congress to be presented with an amendment giving women the right to vote. Popularly known as the Anthony Amendment and introduced by Sen. Aaron A. Sargent (R-CA), it became the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.

Anthony traveled extensively in support of women's suffrage, giving as many as 75 to 100 speeches per year and working on many state campaigns. She worked internationally for women's rights, playing a key role in creating the International Council of Women, which is still active. She also helped to bring about the World's Congress of Representative Women at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

When she first began campaigning for women's rights, Anthony was harshly ridiculed and accused of trying to destroy the institution of marriage. Public perception of her changed radically during her lifetime, however. Her 80th birthday was celebrated in the White House at the invitation of President William McKinley. She became the first actual woman to be depicted on U.S. coinage when her portrait appeared on the 1979 dollar coin.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Susan B. Anthony:
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​Helen Gurley Brown (Feminist)
YouTube Video of Helen Gurley Brown: I'm a devout feminist*
* -- In 1996, Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown declared herself a feminist and talked about the importance of sex (CNN)

Helen Gurley Brown (February 18, 1922 – August 13, 2012) was an American author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.

In 1965 Helen took over as editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine and was in that position until 1997. Brown revamped the magazine by taking it from a women’s magazine written by men to one of the most widely sold women’s magazines, now available in more than 100 countries.

When she began at the magazine, Brown had no editing experience. Her take on the magazine was to be frank when talking about sex in this new version of Cosmopolitan. Sex and the Single Girl gave Brown the formula that is today’s Cosmopolitan.

She gave women the freedom to know that women do have sexual desires. The New York Times described the Cosmo Girl that Brown was after as “self-made, sexual and supremely ambitious. ... she looked great, wore fabulous clothes and had an unabashedly good time when those clothes came off.” After being gently let go, Brown went on to be editor of the international Cosmopolitan magazines.

Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, disliked what Brown had done in her book and in the magazine. Friedan said that what Brown was doing was “anti-feminist” and an “immature teenage-level sexual fantasy”. 

Feminist views of the magazine were re-evaluated in the 1990s by looking at the fact that it had helped women take a look at their roles and change them. Audie Cornish from NPR said that Helen “has been called a bad girl, a pioneer in Prada, a revolutionary in stilettos.”

Brown looked at herself as a feminist, but this description was contested by several others. In the world of feminism, Brown’s role has been highly contested as empowering women to be unashamed of their sexual urges and as creating a magazine that may live on as a sexist magazine with a body image problem. However, some feminists feel that the sexism in our world cannot be blamed all on Cosmopolitan and Brown, with other magazines circulating that objectify women’s bodies. These other people look at Brown’s work as both “progressive and retrogressive” when it comes to the feminist movement.

For more about Helen Gurley Brown, click on any of the following blue hyperlinks:
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​International Women's Day (Celebrated on March 8)
YouTube Video of 2017 International Women's Day by the United Nations*
* -- United Nations - UN Secretary-General António Guterres' hails women for their many contributions on International Women's Day, 8 March 2017. This year's theme is “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”.

International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It commemorates the movement for women's rights.

The earliest Women's Day observance was held on February 28, 1909, in New York and organized by the Socialist Party of America.

On March 8, 1917, in the capital of the Russian Empire, Petrograd, a demonstration of women textile workers began, covering the whole city. This was the beginning of the Russian Revolution. Seven days later, the Emperor of Russia Nicholas II abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.

March 8 was declared a national holiday in Soviet Russia in 1917. The day was predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.

Other Holidays honoring Women include:​






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Bella Abzug, Feminist Movement Activist
YouTube Video:  Bella Abzug in her own words
Pictured: Bella Abzug was the first Jewish woman in Congress, and a bold feminist. She served from 1971-1977.

Bella Savitsky Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998), nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, U.S. Representative, social activist and a leader of the Women's Movement.

In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's Political Caucus.

Abzug declared, "This woman's place is in the House—the House of Representatives", in her successful 1970 campaign. She was later appointed to chair the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year and to plan the 1977 National Women's Conference by President Gerald Ford and led President Jimmy Carter's commission on women.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Bella Abzug:






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Jane Fonda, Actress, Activist and Fitness Guru
YouTube Video of Jane Fonda interview about the Harvey Weinstein Scandal
Pictured: Jane Fonda participating in Women's March, early 2017

[Your Webhost: Jane Fonda is featured under the Popular Icons web page for her outstanding work as an actress. Below, we are excerpting her bio to primarily focus on her thoughts and work as a Feminist]

Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model and fitness guru. She is a two-time Academy Award winner and two-time BAFTA Award winner. In 2014, she was the recipient of the American Film Institute AFI Life Achievement Award.

Fonda was a visible political activist in the counterculture era during the Vietnam War and later became involved in advocacy for women. She was famously and controversially photographed sitting on an anti-aircraft gun on a 1972 visit to Hanoi. She has also protested the Iraq War and violence against women, and describes herself as a feminist.

In 2005, she, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem co-founded the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Fonda serves on the board of the organization.

In early March 2017, in an interview with Brie Larson, published by People magazine, Fonda stated, "One of the great things the women's movement has done is to make us realise that (rape and abuse is) not our fault. We were violated and it's not right." She said, "I’ve been raped, I’ve been sexually abused as a child and I’ve been fired because I wouldn’t sleep with my boss." She said, "I always thought it was my fault; that I didn’t do or say the right thing. I know young girls who’ve been raped and didn’t even know it was rape. They think, ‘It must have been because I said ‘no’ the wrong way.’"

Through her work, Fonda said she wants to help abuse victims "realize that [rape and abuse] is not our fault". Fonda said that her difficult past led her to become such a passionate activist for women’s rights.

The actress is an active supporter of the V-Day movement, which works to stop violence against women and girls. In 2001, she established the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health, which aims to help prevent teen pregnancy. She was a victim of the "disease to please" in her early life, which plagued many American females of her generation. Fonda revealed in 2014 that her mother, Frances Ford Seymour, was recurrently sexually abused as young as eight, and this may have led to her suicide when Jane was 12.

Fonda has been a longtime supporter of feminist causes, including V-Day, a movement to stop violence against women, inspired by the off-Broadway hit The Vagina Monologues, of which she is an honorary chairperson. She was at the first summit in 2002, bringing together founder Eve Ensler, Afghan women oppressed by the Taliban, and a Kenyan activist campaigning to save girls from genital mutilation.

In 2001, she established the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia to help prevent adolescent pregnancy through training and program development.

On February 16, 2004, Fonda led a march through Ciudad Juárez, with Sally Field, Eve Ensler and other women, urging Mexico to provide sufficient resources to newly appointed officials helping investigate the murders of hundreds of women in the rough border city. That same year, she served as a mentor to the first all-transgender cast of The Vagina Monologues.

In the days before the September 17, 2006 Swedish elections, Fonda went to Sweden to support the new political party Feministiskt initiativ in their election campaign.

In My Life So Far, Fonda stated that she considers patriarchy to be harmful to men as well as women. She also states that for many years, she feared to call herself a feminist, because she believed that all feminists were "anti-male".

But now, with her increased understanding of patriarchy, she feels that feminism is beneficial to both men and women, and states that she "still loves men", adding that when she divorced Ted Turner, she felt like she had also divorced the world of patriarchy, and was very happy to have done so.

In April 2016, Fonda said that while she was 'glad' that Bernie Sanders was running, she predicted Hillary Clinton would become the first female president whose win she believed would result in "violent backlash". She went on to say that we need to "help men understand why they are so threatened – and change the way we view masculinity.

Click on any of the following blue  hyperlinks for more about Jane Fonda as a Feminist:







Robin Morgan, Feminist
YouTube Video: Women's Media Center Live by Robin Morgan, Award-winning poet and author

​Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, author, political theorist and activist, journalist, lecturer, and former child actor. Since the early 1960s she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the international feminist movement.

Morgan's 1970 anthology Sisterhood is Powerful has been widely credited with helping to start the contemporary feminist movement in the US, and was cited by the New York Public Library as "One of the 100 Most Influential Books of the 20th Century." She has written more than 20 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and is also known as the editor of Ms. magazine.

During the 1960s, Morgan participated in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements; in the late 1960s she was a founding member of radical feminist organizations such as New York Radical Women and W.I.T.C.H. She founded or co-founded the following:
Morgan  also co-founded the Women's Media Center with activist Gloria Steinem and actor/activist Jane Fonda.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Robin Morgan:







Feminist Movements in the United States including a Timeline of Feminist Movements
YouTube Video: Feminism in the 1960s
YouTube Video: The Journey of Women's Rights: 1911-2015
Pictured: ​(L) Feminism in the 1960s (see also YouTube above); (R) At 2.6 million strong, Women's Marches crush expectations (USA Today 1/22/2017)

Feminism in the United States refers to the collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending a state of equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women in the United States.

Feminism has had a massive influence on American politics with 38 out of the 45 US presidents identifying themselves as feminists. Feminism in the United States is often divided chronologically into first-wave, second-wave, and third-wave feminism.

As of the most recent Gender Gap Index measurement of countries by the World Economic Forum in 2014, the United States is ranked 20th on gender equality.

First Wave Feminism:
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The first wave of feminism in the United States began with the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention, held at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19 and 20, 1848.

This Convention was inspired by the fact that in 1840, when Elizabeth Cady Stanton met Lucretia Mott at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, the conference refused to seat Mott and other women delegates from America because of their gender.

Stanton, the young bride of an antislavery agent, and Mott, a Quaker preacher and veteran of reform, talked then of calling a convention to address the condition of women.

An estimated three hundred people attended the convention, including notables Lucretia Mott and Frederick Douglass. At the conclusion, 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments, which was written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the M'Clintock family.

The style and format of the Declaration of Sentiments was that of the Declaration of Independence. For example, the Declaration of Sentiments stated, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men and women are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights."

The Declaration further stated, "The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man towards woman."

The declaration went on to specify female grievances in regard to the laws denying married women ownership of wages, money, and property (all of which they were required to turn over to their husbands; laws requiring this, in effect throughout America, were called coverture laws), women's lack of access to education and professional careers, and the lowly status accorded women in most churches. Furthermore, the Declaration declared that women should have the right to vote.

Some of the participants at Seneca Falls organized the Rochester Women's Rights Convention two weeks later on August 2 in Rochester, New York. It was followed by other state and local conventions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The first National Woman's Rights Convention was held in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1850.

Women's rights conventions were held regularly from 1850 until the start of the Civil War.

The women's suffrage movement began with the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention; many of the activists became politically aware during the abolitionist movement. The movement reorganized after the Civil War, gaining experienced campaigners, many of who had worked for prohibition in the Women's Christian Temperance Union. By the end of the 19th century only a few western states had granted women full voting rights, though women had made significant legal victories, gaining rights in areas such as property and child custody.

In 1866, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the American Equal Rights Association, an organization for white and black women and men dedicated to the goal of suffrage for all. In 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, this was the first Amendment to ever specify the voting population as "male". In 1869 the women's rights movement split into two factions as a result of disagreements over the Fourteenth and soon-to-be-passed Fifteenth Amendments, with the two factions not reuniting until 1890.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the more radical, New York-based National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and Julia Ward Howe organized the more conservative American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which was centered in Boston. In 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment enfranchised black men. NWSA refused to work for its ratification, arguing, instead, that it be "scrapped" in favor of a Sixteenth Amendment providing universal suffrage.

Frederick Douglass broke with Stanton and Anthony over NWSA's position.
In 1869 Wyoming became the first territory or state in America to grant women suffrage. In 1870 Louisa Ann Swain became the first woman in the United States to vote in a general election. She cast her ballot on September 6, 1870, in Laramie, Wyoming.

From 1870 to 1875 several women, including Virginia Louisa Minor, Victoria Woodhull, and Myra Bradwell, attempted to use the Fourteenth Amendment in the courts to secure the vote (Minor and Woodhull) or the right to practice law (Bradwell), and they were all unsuccessful.

In 1872 Susan B. Anthony was arrested and brought to trial in Rochester, New York, for attempting to vote for Ulysses S. Grant in the presidential election; she was convicted and fined $100 and the costs of her prosecution but refused to pay.

At the same time, Sojourner Truth appeared at a polling booth in Battle Creek, Michigan, demanding a ballot; she was turned away. Also in 1872, Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to run for president, although she could not vote and only received a few votes, losing to Ulysses S. Grant. 

She was nominated to run by the Equal Rights Party, and advocated the 8-hour work day, graduated income tax, social welfare programs, and profit sharing, among other positions.

In 1874 the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was founded by Annie Wittenmyer to work for the prohibition of alcohol; with Frances Willard at its head (starting in 1876), the WCTU also became an important force in the fight for women's suffrage. In 1878 a woman suffrage amendment was first introduced in the United States Congress, but it did not pass.

In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, giving women the right to vote; the first wave of feminism is considered to have ended with that victory.

Margaret Higgins Sanger, was one of the first American birth control activists. She was also a sex educator, writer, and nurse. She popularized the term "birth control", opened the first birth control clinic in the United States in 1916, and established organizations that evolved into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Second-wave Feminism:
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​Second-wave feminism in the United States began in the early 1960s. In 1963 Betty Friedan, influenced by The Second Sex, wrote the bestselling book The Feminine Mystique in which she explicitly objected to the mainstream media image of women, stating that placing women at home limited their possibilities, and wasted talent and potential. The perfect nuclear family image depicted and strongly marketed at the time, she wrote, did not reflect happiness and was rather degrading for women. This book is widely credited with having begun second-wave feminism.

Also in 1963, freelance journalist Gloria Steinem gained widespread popularity among feminists after a diary she authored while working undercover as a Playboy Bunny waitress at the Playboy Club was published as a two-part feature in the May and June issues of Show. 

The feature was "A Bunny's Tale" (Part I and Part II.) Steinem alleged the club was mistreating its waitresses in order to gain male customers and exploited the Playboy Bunnies as symbols of male chauvinism, noting that the club's manual instructed the Bunnies that "there are many pleasing ways they can employ to stimulate the club's liquor volume."

By 1968, Steinem had become arguably the most influential figure in the movement and support for legalized abortion and free daycares had become the two leading objectives for feminists.

The movement grew with legal victories such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which banned sex discrimination in employment), and the Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court ruling of 1965 (which legalized birth control for married couples.)

In 1966 Betty Friedan joined other women and men to found the National Organization for Women (NOW); Friedan would be named as the organization's first president. 

Among the most significant legal victories of the movement in the 1960s after the formation of NOW were a 1967 Executive Order extending full affirmative action rights to women, a 1968 EEOC decision ruling illegal sex-segregated help wanted ads, and the legalization of no-fault divorce (although not legalized in all states until 2010).

​The movement picked up more victories in the 1970s. The Title X Family Planning Program, officially known as Public Law 91-572 or “Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs” was enacted under President Richard Nixon in 1970 as part of the Public Health Service Act; it is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services.

The Supreme Court case Reed v. Reed (1971), was the case in which the Supreme Court for the first time applied the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to strike down a law that discriminated against women. Also, while the Equal Pay Act of 1963 did not originally cover executives, administrators, outside salespeople, and professionals, the Education Amendments of 1972 amended it so that it does.

Also in 1972, the Supreme Court case Eisenstadt v Baird legalized birth control for unmarried people. Also that year Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 made it illegal for sex discrimination in public schools and public colleges. 

In 1973 the Roe v Wade Supreme Court case legalized abortion. In 1974 the Equal Credit Opportunity Act made it illegal to discriminate based on sex by creditors against credit applicants.

Also in 1974 sex was added as a protected class under the Fair Housing Act, thus making sex discrimination in housing illegal. Also in 1974 the Women's Educational Equity Act was enacted.

The criminalization of marital rape in the United States started in the mid-1970s and by 1993 marital rape became a crime in all 50 states, under at least one section of the sexual offense codes. In 1978 the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was enacted; it is a United States federal statute which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to "prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy."

A major disappointment of the second-wave feminist movement in the United States was President Nixon's 1972 veto of the Comprehensive Child Development Bill of 1972, which would have provided a multibillion-dollar national day care system.

The feminist movement in the late 1970s, led by NOW, briefly attempted a program to help older divorced and widowed women. Many widows were ineligible for Social Security benefits, few divorcees actually received any alimony, and after a career as a housewife, few had skills to enter the labor force. The program, however, encountered sharp criticism from young activists who gave priority to poor minority women rather than the middle class.

By 1980, NOW downplayed the program as it focused almost exclusively on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative leader, moved into the vacuum. She denounced the feminists for abandoning older middle-class widows and divorcees in need, and warned that ERA would equalize the laws for the benefit of men, stripping protections that older women urgently needed.

The main disappointment of the second wave feminist movement in the United States was the failure to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment. It states, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." The deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment expired in 1982.

Many historians view the second wave feminist era in America as ending in the early 1980s with the Feminist Sex Wars, a split within the movement over issues such as sexuality and pornography. These disputes ushered in the era of third-wave feminism in the early 1990s.

Third-wave Feminism:

Third-wave feminism in the United States began in the early 1990s. In 1991, Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas, a man nominated to the United States Supreme Court, of sexual harassment. Thomas denied the accusations and, after extensive debate, the United States Senate voted 52–48 in favor of Thomas.

In 1992, in response to the Anita Hill sexual harassment case, American feminist Rebecca Walker published an article in Ms. Magazine entitled "Becoming the Third Wave" in which she stated, "I am not a post-feminism feminist. I am the third-wave," which coined the term "third wave".

Also in 1992 Third Wave Direct Action Corporation was founded by the American feminists Rebecca Walker and Shannon Liss as a multiracial, multicultural, multi-issue organization to support young activists. The organization’s initial mission was to fill a void in young women’s leadership and to mobilize young people to become more involved socially and politically in their communities.

Also in the early 1990s, the riot grrrl movement began in Olympia, Washington and Washington, D.C.; it sought to give women the power to control their voices and artistic expressions. However, Riot grrrl's emphasis on universal female identity and separatism often appears more closely allied with second-wave feminism than with the third wave. 

Third-wave feminists sought to question, reclaim, and redefine the ideas, words, and media that have transmitted ideas about gender, gender roles, womanhood, beauty, and sexuality, among other things.

Third-wave feminism saw many new feminist icons such as Madonna, Queen Latifah, Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga, as well as fictional characters such as Buffy and Mulan. 

Third-wave feminists have recently utilized the Internet and other modern technology to enhance their movement, which has allowed for information and organization to reach a larger audience. This larger audience has also expanded to many male celebrities such as Aziz Ansari and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The increasing ease of publishing on the Internet meant that e-zines (electronic magazines) and blogs became ubiquitous. Many serious independent writers, not to mention organizations, found that the Internet offered a forum for the exchange of information and the publication of essays and videos that made their point to a potentially huge audience. The Internet radically democratized the content of the feminist movement with respect to participants, aesthetics, and issues.

Laura Brunell, 2008 Britannica Book of the Year:

Through the 1980s and 1990s, this trend continued as musicologists like Susan McClary, Marcia Citron and Ruth Solie began to consider the cultural reasons for the marginalizing of women from the received body of work.

Concepts such as the following are among the themes examined during this time:
  • music as gendered discourse;
  • professionalism;
  • reception of women's music;
  • examination of the sites of music production;
  • relative wealth and education of women;
  • popular music studies in relation to women's identity;
  • patriarchal ideas in music analysis;
  • and notions of gender and difference. 

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Feminism in the United States: ___________________________________________________________________________

The following is a timeline of feminism in the United States. It contains feminist and antifeminist events. It should contain events within the ideologies and philosophies of feminism and antifeminism. It should, however, not contain material about changes in women's legal rights: for that, see Timeline of women's legal rights in the United States (other than voting), or, if it concerns the right to vote, to Timeline of women's suffrage in the United States.
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​19th and early 20th century:
  • First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought, that occurred within the time period of the 19th and early 20th century throughout the world. It focused on legal issues, primarily on gaining women's suffrage (the right to vote).
1960s:
  • Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that first began in the early 1960s in the United States, and eventually spread throughout the Western world and beyond. In the United States the movement lasted through the early 1980s.
  • Black feminism became popular in the 1960s, in response to the sexism of the civil rights movement and racism of the feminist movement.
  • Fat feminism originated in the late 1960s.
  • 1969: Chicana feminism, also called Xicanisma, is a sociopolitical movement in the United States that analyzes the historical, cultural, spiritual, educational, and economic intersections of Mexican-American women that identify as Chicana.
    • Chicana feminism challenges the stereotypes that Chicanas face across lines of gender, ethnicity, race, class, and sexuality. Most importantly, Chicana feminism serves as a movement that helps women to reclaim their existence between the Chicano and American feminist movements.
    • The 1969 Chicano Youth Liberation Conference began the Chicano movement and eventually, MEChA. At the conference, women began to get involved in the male-dominated dialogue to address feminist concerns. After the conference, women returned to their communities as activists and thus began the Chicana feminist movement.
1980s:
  • Difference feminism was developed by feminists in the 1980s, in part as a reaction to popular liberal feminism (also known as "equality feminism"), which emphasized the similarities between women and men in order to argue for equal treatment for women.
    • Difference feminism, although it still aimed at equality between men and women, emphasized the differences between men and women and argued that identicality or sameness are not necessary in order for men and women, and masculine and feminine values, to be treated equally.
    • Liberal feminism aimed to make society and law gender-neutral, since it saw recognition of gender difference as a barrier to rights and participation within liberal democracy, while difference feminism held that gender-neutrality harmed women "whether by impelling them to imitate men, by depriving society of their distinctive contributions, or by letting them participate in society only on terms that favor men.”
  • Equity feminism (also stylized equity-feminism) is a form of liberal feminism discussed since the 1980s, specifically a kind of classical liberal feminism and libertarian feminism.
1990s:
  • Third-wave feminism is associated with the emergence of riot grrrl, the feminist punk subculture, in the early 1990s in Olympia, Washington.
    • In 1991 Anita Hill's testified in Washington, D.C. to an all-male, all-white Senate Judiciary Committee that Clarence Thomas, nominated for the Supreme Court of the United States, had sexually harassed her. Rebecca Walker responded to Thomas's appointment with an article in Ms. Magazine: "Do not vote for them unless they work for us. Do not have sex with them, do not break bread with them, do not nurture them if they don't prioritize our freedom to control our bodies and our lives. I am not a post-feminism feminist. I am the Third Wave." 
  • The third wave focused on abolishing gender-role stereotypes and expanding feminism to include women of all races, classes and cultures.
2010s:







[Your Web Host: I recall this proposed amendment. It still seems like an idea whose time has come, particularly in light of the focus on women's interests in running for election,  resulting from Trump and Weinstein]

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
Video by USA Today: 'Me Too' *
* - Click on Right Arrow for Video. (A bipartisan group of Senators and Congressional members introduce the 'METOO Congress Act' aimed at reforming how Congress handles sexual harassment. (Nov. 15, 2017) AP
Pictured: (L) Time for an Equal Rights Amendment (2014) (R) ​The Equal Rights Amendment: Unfinished Business for the Constitution (Courtesy of the Equal Rights Amendment Organization)

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex; it seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters. 

The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman. The amendment was introduced in Congress for the first time in 1923 and has prompted conversations about the meaning for women and men.

In its early history, middle-class women were largely supportive, while those speaking for the working class were often opposed, arguing that employed women needed special protections regarding working conditions and employment hours.

With the rise of the women's movement in the United States in the 1960s, the ERA garnered increasing support, and, after being reintroduced by Representative Martha Griffiths (D-MI), in 1971, it passed both houses of Congress in 1972 and was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification.

Congress had originally set a ratification deadline of March 22, 1979. Through 1977, the amendment received 35 of the necessary 38 state ratifications. With wide, bipartisan support (including that of both major political parties, both houses of Congress, and Presidents Ford and Carter) it seemed headed for ratification until Phyllis Schlafly mobilized conservative women in opposition, arguing that the ERA would disadvantage housewives and cause women to be drafted into the military. 

Four states rescinded their ratifications before the 1979 deadline; however, there is no precedent or mechanism within the US Constitution for rescinding, and, thus, it becomes a legal question. In 1978, a joint resolution of Congress extended the ratification deadline.

On March 22, 2017, the 45th anniversary of Congress's submission of the amendment to the states, the Nevada Legislature was the first to ratify the ERA after the expiration of the original deadline.

Text of Amendment:

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA):








​

[Your Web Host: while this topic can reverse the roles of Sexual Objectification. e.g., the right picture below, mostly objectification is done by men, who when too aggressive  can bring harm to women, whether in the workplace or other venue.]

Treating the Opposite Sex as Purely Sex Objects

​YouTube Video from the TV Sitcom "Friends": Officer Goodbody, Male Stripper
(featuring Danny deVito)
​YouTube Video of the Access Hollywood tape about Donald Trump's Treatment of Women.

Pictured: Two examples of (L-R) Men objectifying Women (Hooters Restaurant); and Women objectifying Men (Samantha from the TV Show “Sex and the City” (HBO: 1998-2004)

Sexual objectification is the act of treating a person as a mere object of sexual desire. 

Objectification more broadly means treating a person as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. Objectification is most commonly examined at the level of a society, but can also refer to the behavior of individuals.

The concept of sexual objectification and, in particular, the objectification of women, is an important idea in feminist theory and psychological theories derived from feminism. Many feminists regard sexual objectification as deplorable and as playing an important role in gender inequality. However, some social commentators argue that some modern women objectify themselves as an expression of their empowerment.

Sexual Objectification of Women by Men:
​
Female sexual objectification by a male involves a woman being viewed primarily as an object of male sexual desire, rather than as a whole person. 

Although opinions differ as to which situations are objectionable, some feminists see objectification of women taking place in the sexually oriented depictions of women in advertising and media, women being portrayed as weak or submissive through pornography, images in more mainstream media such as advertising and art, stripping and prostitution, men brazenly evaluating or judging women sexually or aesthetically in public spaces and events, such as beauty contests, and the presumed need for cosmetic surgery, particularly breast enlargement and labiaplasty.

Objectification in the media can range from subtle forms, such as the lack of main female characters, to very explicit forms such as highly sexualized dialogue and provocatively dressed female characters.

Some feminists and psychologists argue that sexual objectification can lead to negative psychological effects including eating disorders, depression and sexual dysfunction, and can give women negative self-images because of the belief that their intelligence and competence are currently not being, nor will ever be, acknowledged by society. 

Sexual objectification of women has also been found to negatively affect women's performance, confidence, and level of position in the workplace. Some have argued that the feminist movement itself has contributed to the problem of the sexual objectification of women by promoting "free" love (i.e. men and women choosing to have non-reproductive sex outside of marriage and for their own pleasure). 

Such promotion has increased the average number of lifetime sexual partners for men, which in turn has caused some men to devalue sex, which in turn has caused men who objectify women to devalue women. One study found that men exposed to media content in which women were objectified were more likely to accept those behaviors than men who were exposed to content where women were not objectified.

How objectification has affected women and society in general is a topic of academic debate, with some saying girls' understanding of the importance of appearance in society may contribute to feelings of fear, shame, and disgust during the transition to womanhood, and others saying that young women are especially susceptible to objectification, as they are often taught that power, respect, and wealth can be derived from one's outward appearance.

Pro-feminist cultural critics such as Robert Jensen and Sut Jhally accuse mass media and advertising of promoting the objectification of women to help promote goods and services.
​
The objection to the objectification of women is not a recent phenomenon. In the French Enlightenment, for example, there was a debate as to whether a woman's breasts were merely a sensual enticement or rather a natural gift. In Alexandre Guillaume Mouslier de Moissy's 1771 play The True Mother (La Vraie Mère), the title character rebukes her husband for treating her as merely an object for his sexual gratification: "Are your senses so gross as to look on these breasts – the respectable treasures of nature – as merely an embellishment, destined to ornament the chest of women?"

The issues concerning sexual objectification became first became a problem during the 1970s by feminist groups. Since then, it has been argued that the phenomenon of female sexual objectification has increased drastically since its inception in all levels of life, and has resulted in negative consequences for women, especially in the political sphere.
However, a rising form of new third-waver feminist groups have also taken the increased objectification of women as an opportunity to use the female body as a mode of power.

Female self-objectification:
Further information: sex-positive feminism and feminist sex wars

Ariel Levy contends that Western women who exploit their sexuality by, for example, wearing revealing clothing and engaging in lewd behavior, engage in female self-objectification, meaning they objectify themselves. While some women see such behaviour as a form of empowerment, Levy contends that it has led to greater emphasis on a physical criterion or sexualization for women's perceived self-worth, which Levy calls "raunch culture".

Levy discusses this phenomenon in Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Levy followed the camera crew from the Girls Gone Wild video series, and argues that contemporary America's sexualized culture not only objectifies women, it encourages women to objectify themselves. In today's culture, Levy writes, the idea of a woman participating in a wet T-shirt contest or being comfortable watching explicit pornography has become a symbol of feminist strength.

Sexual Objectification of Men by Women:

​Feminist authors Christina Hoff Sommers and Naomi Wolf write that women's sexual liberation led women to a role reversal, whereby they viewed men as sex objects, in a manner similar to what they criticize about men's treatment of women.

Psychologist Harold Lyon suggests that men's liberation is a necessary step toward woman's liberation. This was especially apparent during the girl power era of the 1990s and early 2000s. Men are often objectified by other men. Research has suggested that the psychological effects of objectification on men are similar to those of women, leading to negative body image among men.

Instances where men may be viewed as sex objects by women include advertisements, music videos, films, television shows, beefcake calendars, women's magazines, male strip shows, and clothed female/nude male (CFNM) events. Women also purchase and consume pornography.
​
Media:

Men's bodies have become more objectified than they previously were. It is known as "Six-pack Advertising," where men are seen as sexual objects. Because of society's established gaze on the objectification of women, the newfound objectification of men is not as widespread. Even with this increase of male objectification, males are still seen as the dominant figures and so the focus is still primarily on women.

Male sexual objectification has been found in 37% of advertisements featuring men's body parts to showcase a product. These advertisements are a form of sexual objectification.

Similar to the issues of sexual objectification in women, it is common for said objectification to lead men to body shaming, eating disorders, and a drive for perfection. Men in the media are especially pressured to take part in steroid use in order to meet the standard of beauty set by body evaluation. The continued exposure of these "ideal" men subject society to expect all men to fit this role.

Male actors featured in TV shows and movies are oftentimes in excellent shape and have the "ideal" bodies. These men often fill the leading roles. When society is subjected to men who do not have ideal bodies, we typically see them as the comic relief. It is rare to see an out of shape man have a leading role. "There are temporal, cultural and geographical ‘norms’ of gender and other aspects of identity, which are often incorrectly considered to be inherent or natural."

In the media, the ideal version of a man is seen as a strong, toned man. The idealized version of a woman is thin. The concept of body evaluation is more common in criticizing women.

However, body evaluation revolves more towards nonverbal cues for men. It is more common in women because sexual, sometimes offensive, verbal remarks are directed towards women. Men, on the other hand, experience more body evaluation through gazing and other nonverbal cues. Gazing is simply the way in which depict men from an idealized perspective.

Men tend to experience this from other men, whereas women experience it from both sexes. The Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale (ISOS) is a scale that shows sexual objectification of respondents, both men and women. While experiencing sexual objectification it creates the need to constantly maintain and critique one’s physical appearance. This leads to other things like eating disorders, body shaming, and anxiety.

The ISOS scale can be related to objectification theory and sexism. Self-objectification, which is the way in which we evaluate ourselves, is concentrated more on women. Men typically experience it through media display. The difference is that men typically do not experience the negative effects to the extent that women do.

​Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Treating the Opposite Sex as purely Sex Objects:







#MeToo Movement as well as a List of Men accused of Sexual Misconduct
YouTube Video: #MeToo movement shines a light on sexual harassment
Pictured: Alyssa Milano encouraged use of the hashtag after accusations against Harvey Weinstein surfaced in 2017.

"Me Too" (or "#MeToo", with local alternatives in other languages) spread virally in October 2017 as a hashtag used on social media to help demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.

It followed soon after the public revelations of sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

The phrase, long used by social activist Tarana Burke to help survivors realize they are not alone, was popularized by actress Alyssa Milano when she encouraged women to tweet it to "give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem".

Since then, the phrase has been posted online millions of times, often with an accompanying personal story of sexual harassment or assault. The response on Twitter included high-profile posts from several celebrities, and many stories of sexual violence were shared, including from Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Jennifer Lawrence, and Uma Thurman.

Several hashtags about sharing stories of sexual violence were in use before #MeToo became the most popular. #MyHarveyWeinstein, #YouOkSis, #WhatWereYouWearing and #SurvivorPrivilege, which The Washington Post noted were all started by black women, are prominent examples.

Tarana Burke:

Social activist and community organizer Tarana Burke created the phrase "Me Too" on the Myspace social network in 2006 as part of a grassroots campaign to promote "empowerment through empathy" among women of color who have experienced sexual abuse, particularly within underprivileged communities. 

Burke, who is creating a documentary titled Me Too, has said she was inspired to use the phrase after being unable to respond to a 13-year-old girl who confided to her that she had been sexually assaulted. Burke later wished she had simply told the girl, "me too".

Alyssa Milano:

On October 15, 2017, actress Alyssa Milano encouraged spreading the phrase as part of an awareness campaign in order to reveal the ubiquity of the problem, tweeting: "If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote 'Me too.' as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem." 

Milano later acknowledged earlier use of the phrase by Burke, writing on Twitter, "I was just made aware of an earlier #MeToo movement, and the origin story is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring".

Purpose of Organization:

​The original purpose of #MeToo by creator Tarana Burke was to empower women through empathy, especially the experiences of young and vulnerable brown or black women. In October 2017, Alyssa Milano encouraged using the phrase to help reveal the extent of problems with sexual harassment and assault by showing how many people have experienced these events themselves.

After millions of people started using the phrase, and it spread to dozens of other languages, the purpose changed and expanded, as a result it has come to mean different things for different people.

Creator Tarana Burke accepts the title of the leader of the movement, but has stated she considers herself a worker of something much bigger. Burke has stated that this movement has grown to include both men and women of all colors and ages, and supports marginalized people in marginalized communities. There have also been movements by men aimed at changing the culture through personal reflection and future action, including #IDidThat, #IHave, and #IWill.

Burke stated in an interview that the conversation has expanded, and now in addition to empathy there is also a focus on determining the best ways to hold perpetrators responsible and stop the cycle.

Awareness and empathy:

Analyses of the movement often point to the prevalence of sexual violence, which has been estimated by the World Health Organization to affect one-third of all women worldwide. A 2017 poll by ABC News and The Washington Post also found that 54% of American women report receiving "unwanted and inappropriate" sexual advances with 95% saying that such behavior usually goes unpunished.

Other state #MeToo underscores the need for men to intervene with others when they see demeaning behavior.

Burke said that #MeToo declares sexual violence sufferers aren't alone and shouldn't be ashamed. Burke says sexual violence is usually caused by someone the woman knows, so people should be educated from a young age they have the right to say no to sexual contact from any person, even after repeat solicitations from an authority or spouse, and to report predatory behavior. Burke advises men to talk to each other about consent, call out demeaning behavior when they see it, and try to listen to victims when they tell their stories.

Alyssa Milano described the reach of #MeToo as helping society understand the "magnitude of the problem" and said "it's a standing in solidarity to all those who have been hurt." She stated that the success of #MeToo will require men to take a stand against behavior that objectifies women.

Policies and laws:

Burke has stated the current purpose of the movement is to give people the resources to have access to healing, and advocates for changes to laws and policies. Burke has highlighted goals such as processing all untested rape kits, re-examining local school policies, improving the vetting of teachers, and updating sexual harassment policies. 

​She has called for all professionals who work with children to be fingerprinted and subjected to a background check before being cleared to start work. She advocates for sex education that teaches kids to report predatory behavior immediately. 

Burke supports the #MeToo bill in the US Congress, which would remove the requirement that staffers of the federal government go through months of "cooling off" before being allowed to file a complaint against a Congressperson.

Milano states a priority for #MeToo is changing the laws surrounding sexual harassment and assault, for example instituting protocols that give sufferers in all industries the ability to file complaints without retaliation.

Milano supports legislation making it difficult for publicly traded companies to hide cover-up money from their stockholders, and would like to make it illegal for employers to require new workers sign non-disclosure agreements as a condition of employment. 

Gender analysts such as Anna North have stated that #MeToo should be addressed as a labor issue due to the economic disadvantages to reporting harassment. North suggested combating underlying power imbalances in some workplaces, for example by raising the tipped minimum wage, and embraces innovations like the "portable panic buttons" that are mandated for hotel employees in Seattle.

Better options for reporting:

In the coverage of #MeToo, there has been widespread discussion about the best way for sufferers of sexual abuse or harassment to stop what's happening to them at work. There is general agreement that a lack of effective reporting options is a major factor that drives unchecked sexual misconduct in the workplace.

In France, a person who makes a sexual harassment complaint at work is reprimanded or fired 40% of the time, while the accused person is typically not investigated or punished. In the United States, a 2016 report from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that although 25–85% of women report sexual harassment at work, few ever report the incidents, most commonly due to fear of reprisal. There's evidence that in Japan, as few as 4% of rape victims report the crime, and the charges are dropped about half the time.

There is discussion on the best ways to handle whisper networks, or private lists of "people to avoid" that are shared unofficially in nearly every major institution or industry where sexual harassment is common due to power imbalances, including government, media, news and academia.

These lists have the stated purpose of warning other workers in the industry, and are shared from person-to-person, on forums, in private social media groups, and via spreadsheets. However, these lists can become "weaponized" and used to spread unsubstantiated gossip, which is being discussed widely in the media.

Defenders say the lists provide a way to warn other people in the industry if worried about punishment or complaints have already been ignored, and also helps victims identify each other so they can speak out together. Sometimes these lists are kept for other reasons, for example a spreadsheet from the United Kingdom called "High Libido MPs" and dubbed "the spreadsheet of shame" was created by a group of male and female parliamentary researchers, and contained a list of allegations against nearly 40 Conservative MPs in the British Parliament.

It's also rumored that party whips (who are in charge of getting members of Parliament to commit to votes) maintain a "black book" that contains allegations against several lawmakers that can be used for blackmail. 

When it's claimed a well-known person's sexual misconduct was an "open secret", these lists are often the source. In the wake of #MeToo, several private whisper network lists have been leaked to the public.

In India, a student gave her friends a list containing names of professors and academics in the Indian university system to be avoided. The list went viral after it was posted on social media. In response to criticism in the media, the authors defended themselves by saying they were only trying to warn their friends, had confirmed every case, and several victims from the list were poor students who had already been punished or ignored when trying to come forward. 

Moira Donegan, a former writer in the American news industry, privately shared a crowd-sourced Shitty Media Men list of people to avoid in publishing and journalism. When it was shared outside her private network, Donegan lost her job. Donegan stated it was unfair so few people had access to the list before it went public, for example, very few women of color received access (and therefore protection) from it. She pointed to her "whiteness, health, education, and class" that allowed her to take the risk of sharing the list and getting fired.

​The main problem with trying to protect more potential victims by publishing whisper networks is determining the best mechanism to verify allegations. 

Some suggestions have included strengthening labor unions in vulnerable industries so workers can report harassment directly to the union instead of to an employer. Another suggestion is to maintain industry hotlines which have the power to trigger third-party investigations. Several apps have been developed which offer various ways to report sexual misconduct, and some of these apps also have the ability to connect victims who have reported the same person.

Challenging social norms:

In the wake of #MeToo, many countries such as the U.S., India, France, China, Japan, and Italy, have seen discussion in the media on whether cultural norms need to be changed for sexual harassment to be eradicated in the workplace.

Gender reporter Anna North from Vox states one way to address #MeToo is teach children the basics of sex. North states the cultural notion that women don't enjoy sex leads men "to believe that a lukewarm yes is all they're ever going to get," referring to a 2017 study which found that men who believe women only enjoy being forced into sex are "more likely to perceive women as consenting." 

​Alyssa Rosenberg of The Washington Post called for society to be careful of overreaching by "being clear about what behavior is criminal, what behavior is legal but intolerable in a workplace, and what private intimate behavior is worthy of condemnation" but not part of the workplace discussion.

Rosenberg says "preserving the nuances" is more inclusive and realistic.

Changes to K–12:

Although #MeToo initially focused on adults, the message spread to students in K–12 schools where sexual abuse is common both in person and online. #MeTooK12 is a spin-off of #MeToo created in January 2018 by the group Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, founded by Joel Levin and Esther Warkov, aimed at stopping sexual abuse in education from kindergarten to high school.

​#MeTooK12 was inspired in part by the recent removal of certain federal Title IX sexual misconduct guidelines. There is evidence that sexual misconduct in K–12 education is dramatically under-reported by both schools and students, because nearly 80% of public schools never report any harassment.

A 2011 survey found 40% of boys and 56% of girls in grades 7–12 reported had experienced some type of sexual harassment in their lives. Approximately 5% of K–12 sexual misconduct reports involved 5 or 6-year-old students.

In 2016, a national U.S. survey of girls aged 14–18 found that 1 in 5 had been touched or kissed without consent and nearly 1 in 16 had been forced to have sex against their will. 

#MeTooK12 is meant to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual misconduct towards children in school, and the need for increased training on Title IX policies, as only 18 states require people in education to receive training about what to do when a student or teacher is sexually abused.

Role of men:

There has been discussion about what possible roles men may have in the #MeToo movement. It's been noted that a 1 in 6 men have experienced sexual abuse of some sort during their lives and often feel unable to talk about it. Many women have asked men to call out bad behavior when they see it, or just spend time quietly listening, including creator Tarana Burke.

Some men have expressed the desire to keep a greater distance from women since #MeToo went viral because they don't fully understand what actions might be considered inappropriate. 

​Many men have expressed difficulty in participating in the conversation due to fear of negative consequences, citing examples of men who have been treated negatively after sharing their thoughts about #MeToo.

Time's Up:
Main article: Time's Up (movement)

Milano announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that she and 300 other women in the film industry are now supporting Time's Up, an initiative that aims to help fight sexual violence and harassment in the workplace through lobbying and providing funding for victims to get legal help if they can't afford it. 

Time's Up started with $13 million in donations for its legal defense fund. The initiative aims to lobby for legislation that creates financial consequences for companies that regularly tolerate harassment without action.

A working group from Time's Up helped create a Hollywood Commission that examines Sexual Harassment, which is led by Anita Hill. Another group is working towards legislation that would discourage the use of NDAs to keep victims from talking about sexual harassment they experienced.

Reach and Impact:

The phrase "Me too" was tweeted by Milano around noon on October 15, 2017 and had been used more than 200,000 times by the end of the day, and tweeted more than 500,000 times by October 16. 

On Facebook, the hashtag was used by more than 4.7 million people in 12 million posts during the first 24 hours. The platform reported that 45% of users in the United States had a friend who had posted using the term.

Click here for a sampling of the Tens of thousands of people who replied to Milano's tweet.

​Some men, such as actors Terry Crews and James Van Der Beek, have responded to the hashtag with their own experiences of harassment and abuse, while others have responded by acknowledging past behaviors against women, spawning the hashtag "HowIWillChange."

On November 12, 2017, in Hollywood, a few hundred men, women, and children participated in the "Take Back the Workplace March" and the "#MeToo Survivors March" to protest sexual abuse.

In addition to Hollywood, "Me Too" declarations elicited discussion of sexual harassment and abuse in the music industry, sciences, academia, and politics.
​
Feminist author Gloria Feldt stated in Time that many employers are being forced to make changes in response to #MeToo, for example examining gender-based pay differences and improving sexual harassment policies. Others have noted there has been pressure on companies, specifically in the financial industry, to disclose diversity statistics.

Church:

In November 2017, the hashtag #ChurchToo was started by Emily Joy and Hannah Paasch on Twitter and began trending in response to #MeToo as a way to try to highlight and stop sexual abuse that happens in a church. 

In early January 2018, about a hundred evangelical women also launched #SilenceIsNotSpiritual to call for changes to how sexual misconduct is dealt with in the church.

#ChurchToo started spreading again virally later in January 2018 in response to an live-streamed video admission by Pastor Andy Savage to his church that he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl twenty years before as a youth pastor while driving her home, but was then received applause by his church for admitting to the incident and asking for forgiveness.

#ChurchToo has also been used to discuss sexual misconduct, both past and present, in the Catholic Church.

Finance:

It's been noted that, although the financial industry is known to have a wide prevalence of sexual harassment, as of January 2018, there were no high-profile financial executives stepping down as the result of #MeToo allegations. 

The first widely covered example of concrete consequences in finance was when two reporters, including Madison Marriage of the Financial Times, went undercover at a mens-only Presidents Club event meant to raise money for children. Because women were not allowed to attend except as "hostesses" in tight, short black dresses with black underwear, the two female reporters got jobs as hostesses and documented widespread sexual misconduct.

As a result, The Presidents Club was shut down. It's been noted in discussion of #MeToo in finance that only about a quarter of top positions are held by women at several major banks, and there is evidence there may be wide disparities in some financial institutions between how much men and women are paid on average.

Politics and government:

Statehouses in California, Illinois, Oregon, and Rhode Island responded to allegations of sexual harassment surfaced by the campaign, and several women in politics spoke out about their experiences of sexual harassment, including United States Senators Heidi Heitkamp, Mazie Hirono, Claire McCaskill and Elizabeth Warren.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier has introduced a bill aimed at making sexual harassment complaints easier to report on Capitol Hill. The complaints in the world of Spanish politics have also been published in the media.
​
Gymnastics:

Soon after #MeToo started spreading in late 2017, several allegations from a 2016 Indianapolis Star article re-surfaced in the gymnastic industry against former U.S. Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar of Michigan State University. Nassar was called out via #MeToo for sexually assaulting gymnasts as young as 6 years old during "treatments." 

Rachael Denhollander was the first to call him out. Though nothing was done after the initial allegations came out in 2016, after more than 150 women came forward in response to #MeToo, Nassar was sentenced to life in prison. The president of Michigan State University, Lou Anna Simon, resigned in the wake of the scandal.

Music:

In the music industry, the band Veruca Salt used the #MeToo hashtag to air allegations of sexual harassment against James Toback, and Alice Glass used the hashtag to share a history of alleged sexual assault and other abuses by former Crystal Castles bandmate Ethan Kath.

Military:

#MeTooMilitary has come to be used by service men and women who were sexually assaulted or harassed while in the military, and appeared on social media in January 2018 the day after remarks by Oprah Winfrey at the Golden Globe Awards honoring female soldiers in the military "whose names we'll never know" who have suffered sexual assault and abuse in order to make things better for women today. 

A report from the Pentagon indicated that 15,000 members of the military reported being sexually assaulted in the year 2016, and only 1 out of 3 people assaulted actually made a report, indicating as many as 45,000 assaults occurred.

Veteran Nichole Bowen-Crawford has said the rates have improved over the last decade, but the military still has a long way to go, and recommends that women veterans connect privately on social media to discuss sexual abuse in a safe environment. 

There was a "#MeTooMilitary Stand Down" protest, organized by Service Women's Action Network, which gathered at the Pentagon on January 8, 2018. The protest was endorsed by the U.S. Department of Defense, who stated that current service members were welcome to attend as long as they didn't wear their uniform. 

The protest supported the Military Justice Improvement Act, sponsored by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, which would move "the decision over whether to prosecute serious [sex] crimes to independent, trained, professional military prosecutors, while leaving uniquely military crimes within the chain of command."

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the #MeToo Movement:
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A List of Men Accused of Sexual Conduct (aka "The Weinstein Effect")

The "Weinstein effect" is a global trend in which people come forward to accuse famous or powerful men of sexual misconduct. 

The term came into use to describe a worldwide wave of these allegations that began in the United States in October 2017, when media outlets reported on numerous sexual abuse allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Described as a "tipping point" or "watershed moment", the Weinstein allegations precipitated a "national reckoning" against sexual harassment. USA Today wrote that 2017 was the year in which "sexual harassment became a fireable offense".

Preceded by other sexual harassment cases earlier in the year, the reports on the Weinstein allegations and subsequent #MeToo campaign (above), which encourages people to share their experiences of sexual harassment and assault, triggered a cascade of allegations across multiple industries that brought about the swift removal of many men in positions of power in the United States, while tarnishing and ending political careers of additional men, as it spread around the world. In the entertainment industry, allegations led to the dismissal of actors and directors alike.
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Most prominently, actor Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis C.K., and filmmaker Brett Ratner had projects canceled following at least six allegations each. More than 300 women accused filmmaker James Toback of sexual harassment.

In journalism, allegations led to the firing of editors, publishers, executives and hosts, including high-profile television figures such as Charlie Rose, Mark Halperin, and Matt Lauer.

In politics, accusations of varying degrees of severity were made against politicians such as John Conyers, Al Franken, and Roy Moore.

Celebrity chefs Mario Batali and John Besh, and some financial and public relations executives, were also removed.

Background:

In July 2016, Fox News television host Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit against the station's chairman Roger Ailes, which led to his removal and encouraged journalists to pursue rumors about the conduct of Weinstein and political commentator Bill O'Reilly. Similar revelations and a lawsuit led to O'Reilly being fired in April 2017. Both Ailes and O'Reilly denied wrongdoing.

Inception:
Main article: Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations

On October 5, 2017, The New York Times broke the first reports of decades of sexual misconduct claims against film producer Harvey Weinstein. On October 10, 2017, journalist Ronan Farrow reported further allegations that Weinstein had sexually assaulted or harassed 13 women, and raped three.

Weinstein was dismissed from The Weinstein Company shortly thereafter. Weinstein had previously suppressed these cases through confidential financial settlements and nondisclosure agreements, as was common for celebrity sexual harassment cases, before journalists aired the story. Over 80 accusers came forward against Weinstein, including many well-known actresses.

Impact in the United States:

The Weinstein allegations precipitated an immediate "national reckoning" against sexual harassment and assault in the United States, which became known as the Weinstein effect; on social media, it was widely known as "#pervnado". 

Men and women aired claims of sexual misconduct in workplaces across multiple industries, leading to the swift international removal of many men in positions of power. On Twitter, the #MeToo campaign encouraged hundreds of thousands of people to share their stories.

On November 25, 2017, the Los Angeles Police Department reported it was investigating 28 open sex crime cases involving Hollywood and media figures. On January 1, 2018, a group of Hollywood women announced the creation of Time's Up to fight workplace sexual harassment and assault.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for a List of Men Accused of Sexual Conduct (aka "The Weinstein Effect") in the United States:









[Your Web Host: my 35 years with my wife before she succumbed to cancer, were by far the best years of my life. We were not only married, but also were best friends who shared every conceivable experience together. It is anathema for me to understand how any man can assault women.]

Sexual Assault including a List of Anti-Sexual Assault Organizations in the United States
YouTube Video:  A Timeline Of Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Harassment Allegations*
* - Harvey Weinstein
Pictured: Sexual and gender-based harassment are forms of gender-based violence which violate important human rights.

Click here for a List t of Anti-Sexual Assault Organizations in the United States

Sexual assault is an act in which a person sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence which includes rape (forced vaginal, anal or oral penetration or drug facilitated sexual assault), groping, child sexual abuse or the torture of the person in a sexual manner.

Generally, sexual assault is defined as unwanted sexual contact. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network defines sexual assault as "unwanted sexual contact that stops short of rape or attempted rape. This includes sexual touching and fondling."

The National Center for Victims of Crime states: “Sexual assault takes many forms including attacks such as rape or attempted rape, as well as any unwanted sexual contact or threats. Usually a sexual assault occurs when someone touches any part of another person's body in a sexual way, even through clothes, without that person's consent.”

In the United States, the definition of sexual assault varies widely among the individual states. However, in most states sexual assault occurs when there is lack of consent from one of the individuals involved. Consent must take place between two adults who are not incapacitated and can change during any time during the sexual act.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Sexual Assault:
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Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), (Including Official Website) as well as a List of Anti-sexual Assault Organizations in the United States
YouTube Video about the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
​Pictured: Courtesy of the web site Rape PTSD

Click here for a List of Anti-sexual Assault Organizations in the United States.

​The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) is an American, non-profit anti-sexual assault organization, the largest in the United States.

RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, as well as the Department of Defense (DoD) Safe Helpline and carries out programs to prevent sexual assault, help survivors, and to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice through victim services, public education, public policy, and consulting services.

​RAINN was founded in 1994 by Scott Berkowitz. Tori Amos was the organization's first spokesperson. Christina Ricci is RAINN's current national spokesperson and a member of its National Leadership Council.

National Sexual Assault Hotline:

The National Sexual Assault Hotline is a 24-hour, toll-free phone service that routes callers to the nearest local sexual assault service provider. More than 1,000 local partnerships are associated with RAINN to provide sexual assault victims with free, confidential services.

In the summer of 2006, RAINN received its one millionth caller and has helped over 2.5 million visitors since 1994.

Since 2008, RAINN has provided anonymous, on-line crisis support through its National Sexual Assault Online Hotline via instant messaging.

Professional wrestler and writer Mick Foley is also a member of RAINN's national leadership council and has worked as a volunteer on its online hotline. He became involved with the charity through his friendship with Tori Amos, his favorite musician. 

During a 15-month period ending in April 2011, Foley logged more than 550 hours talking to victims online. The same month, Foley offered to mow anyone's lawn who donated up to a certain amount to the organization, stating, "If you want to help survivors of sexual assault, or just want to see a big guy with long hair mowing your lawn in front of your friends, please take part..."

RAINN Day:

RAINN sponsors an annual campaign geared toward raising awareness and educating students about sexual violence, bystander intervention, and recovery resources on college campuses called "RAINN Day." This day used to be held in September, but as of 2018, it will be held in April in accordance with Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM).

See Also:





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Gender Inequality in the United States
YouTube Video: Why did the U.S. rank so low for gender equality? (CBS News Oct. 27, 2016)
YouTube Video: What stands in the way of women being equal to men? (BBC News March 26, 2017)
Pictured: ​Women's median usual weekly earnings as percentage of men's, for full-time workers, by industry, 2009  (Courtesy of Sonicyouth86 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0​

Gender inequality in the United States has been diminishing throughout its history and significant advancements towards equality have been made beginning mostly in the early 1900s.

However, despite this progress, gender inequality in the United States continues to persist in many forms, including the disparity in women's political representation and participation, occupational segregation, the gender pay gap, and the unequal distribution of household labor.

In the past 20 years there have been emerging issues for boys/men, an achievement and attainment gap in education is a discussed subject. The alleviation of gender inequality has been the goal of several major pieces of legislation since 1920 and continuing to the present day.

As of 2017, the World Economic Forum ranked the United States 49th best in terms of gender equality out of 144 countries.

In addition to the inequality faced by transgender women, inequality, prejudice, and violence against transgender men and women, as well as gender nonconforming individuals and individuals who identify with genders outside the gender binary, are also prevalent in the United States.

Transgender individuals suffer from prejudices in the workforce and employment, higher levels of domestic violence, higher rates of hate crimes, especially murder, and higher levels of police brutality when compared to the cisgender population.

​Current Issues for Women:

​Political participation:

The Center for American Women and Politics reports that, as of 2013, 18.3% of congressional seats are held by women and 23% of statewide elective offices are held by women; while the percentage of Congress made up of women has steadily increased, statewide elective positions held by women have decreased from their peak of 27.6% in 2001.

Women also make up, as of 2013, 24.2% of state legislators in the United States. Among the one hundred largest cities in the United States, ten had female mayors as of 2013.

In 1977, political science professor Susan Welch presented three possible explanations for this under-representation of women in politics:
  • One, that women are socialized to avoid careers in politics;
  • two, that women's responsibilities in the home keep them away out of both the work force and the political arena;
  • and three, women are more often than men members of other demographic groups with low political participation rates.

​In 2001, M. Margaret Conway, political science professor at the University of Florida, also presented three possible explanations for the continuation of this disparity: one, similar to Welch's first explanation, sociological and societal norm discourages women from running; two, women less frequently acquire the necessary skills to hold a political leadership position from nonpolitical activities; and three, gate-keeping in party politics prevents women from running.

Work life and economics:

The United States is falling behind other Western countries in the percentage of women engaged in the workforce.

Researchers from the Institute for Women's Policy Research at the University of California Hastings College of Law argue that this growing gap is due to a lack of governmental, business and societal support for working women. They ranked the United States last out of 20 industrialized countries in an index that measured such programs as family leave, alternative work arrangements, part-time employment, and other means to make workplaces more flexible and family-friendly.

The United States is also the only industrialized nation that does not have a paid parental leave policy mandated by law, and is one of only four countries worldwide that does not; in addition, fully paid maternity leave is only offered by around 16 percent of employers in the United States.

Sex discrimination in employment:

According to a study conducted by researchers at California State University, Northridge, when an individual with a PhD applies for a position at a university, that individual is significantly more likely to be offered a higher level of appointment, receive an offer of an academic position leading to tenure, and be offered a full professorship if they are a man when compared to a woman of comparable qualifications. 

However, these findings have been disputed, with one study finding universities pushed to hire more women, resulting in females being given a 2:1 advantage over males in science, technology engineering and mathematics fields.

Another study found that women were significantly less likely to receive a job offer or an interview for a high-paying waiter position when compared to equally qualified men; this study also found that such hiring discrimination may be caused in part by customer's discrimination of preference for male wait staff.

Similarly, research conducted at the University of California, Davis focusing on academic dermatology revealed a significant downward trend in the number of women receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health, which the authors concluded was due to a lack of support for women scientists at their home institutions.

Research from Lawrence University has found that men were more likely to be hired in traditionally masculine jobs, such as sales management, and women were more likely to be hired in traditionally feminine jobs, such as receptionist or secretary. However, individuals of either gender with masculine personality traits were advantaged when applying for either masculine or feminine jobs, indicating a possibly valuing of stereotypically male traits above stereotypically female traits.
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Occupational segregation by gender:
Main article: Occupational segregation

Occupational gender segregation takes the form of both horizontal segregation (the unequal gender distribution across occupations) and vertical segregation (the overrepresentation of men in higher positions in both traditionally male and traditionally female fields).

According to William A. Darity, Jr. and Patrick L. Mason, there is a strong horizontal occupational division in the United States on the basis of gender; in 1990, the index of occupational dissimilarity was 53%, meaning 53% of women or 47% of men would have to move to different career field in order for all occupations to have equal gender composition.

While women have begun to more frequently enter traditionally male-dominated professions, there have been much fewer men entering female-dominated professions; professor of sociology Paula England cites this horizontal segregation of careers as a contributing factor to the gender pay gap.
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Pay gap:
Main article: Gender pay gap in the United States

​With regards to the gender pay gap in the United States, International Labour Organization notes as of 2010 women in the United States earned about 81% of what their male counterparts did. While the gender pay gap has been narrowing since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, the convergence began to slow down in the 1990s. 

In addition, overall wage inequality has been increasing since the 1980s as middle-wage jobs are decreasing replaced by larger percentages of both high-paying and low-paying jobs, creating a highly polarized environment.

However numerous studies dispute the claim that discrimination accounts for the majority of the pay gap. When adjusting for industries commonly chosen, hours worked, and benefits received, the pay gap returns to 5%, which has been attributed to less aggressive pay negotiating in women.

One study actually found that before 30, females made more than males, and hypothesized that choosing a family over a career resulted in the drop of the female wage advantage during the thirties.

According to researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the primary cause of this gap is discrimination manifested in the tendency of women to be hired more frequently in lower paying occupations, in addition to the fact that male dominated occupations are higher paying than female dominated occupations, and that, even within comparable occupations, women are often paid less than men.

In medicine, female physicians are compensated less, despite the fast that evidence suggest that the quality of care female physicians provide may be higher than that of male physicians.

In addition to the gender pay gap, a "family gap" also exists, wherein women with children receive about 10-15% less pay when compared to women without children. According to Jane Waldfogel, professor of social work and public affairs at Columbia University, this family gap is a contributing factor to the United States' large gender pay gap. She also noted that men did not seem to be affected by this gap, as married men (who are more likely to have children) generally earned higher than unmarried men.

Social life:

Researchers from the University of Michigan have found that from 1970 to 1985, the percentage of men and women who supported traditional social roles for wives and believed that maternal employment damages mother-child relationships or children's development decreased.

Similarly, Jane Wilke from the University of Connecticut found that men's support the idea that men should be the sole source of income in a married couple decreased from 32 to 21 percent from 1972 to 1989; in practice only 15 percent of households were supported by a male spouse's income alone at the time of the study.

However, more recent research in 2011 has found that attitudes towards gender and societal roles have changed very little since the mid-1990s, with attitudes hovering at about sixty to seventy percent egalitarian. This study theorized that a "egalitarian but traditional" gender frame emerged in popular culture during this period, which supports each gender assuming their traditional roles without appearing sexist or discriminatory, and is responsible for this backlash.

Stephanie Coontz, a professor of family history at Evergreen State College, noted that one of the factors contributing to the gender inequality in the United States is that most men still expect women and men to assume traditional gender roles in the households and for women to carry out a larger share of the housework.

This has been confirmed by a number of other studies; for example Makiko Fuwa from University of California, Irvine noted that while there has been movement towards greater equality, "in 1995 American women still spent nearly twice as much time on housework than men" and there is also a segregation of household tasks. 

This gendered division of household labor creates what is known as the second shift or double burden, where working women in a heterosexual couple with a working partner spend significally more time on childcare and household chores.

Researchers from the University of Maryland have found that while men have steadily begun to perform more household labor since 1965, most of the essential and traditionally feminine tasks are still carried out by women; men generally carry out more nonessential or infrequent tasks, such as taking out the trash or mowing the lawn. 

While both genders tend to have roughly equal amounts of leisure time, men have more uninterrupted leisure time when compared to women. Working mothers also tend to get less sleep when compared to their working husbands.

Education:

Literacy and enrollment in primary and secondary education are at parity in the United States, and women are over-represented in tertiary education. There is, however, a notably gender segregation in degree choice, correlated with lower incomes for graduates with "feminine" degrees, such as education or nursing, and higher incomes for those with "masculine" degrees, such as engineering.

In addition, men have a statistically significant advantage over women when applying for highly selective universities, despite the fact that women generally outperform men in high school. 

Females started outnumbering males in higher education in 1992.

Other issues:

Research conducted at Lycoming College has found the enjoyment of sexist humor to be strongly correlated with sexual aggression towards women among male college students. In addition, studies have shown that exposure to sexist humor, particularly humor related to sexual assault, can increase male aggression and their tendency to discriminate against women. 

One study also asserted that the attitudes behind such humor creates an environment where such discriminatory and possibly violent behavior is acceptable. Men's tendency to self-report the likelihood that they would commit sexually violent acts has also been found to increase after exposure to sexist humor, as reported by researchers from the University of Kent.

Benevolent sexism, sometimes referred to as chivalry, which holds women as something to be protected, also has psychological effects. Women who hold these views are more likely to have less ambitious career goals and men who hold these views tend to have a polarized and stereotyped view of women, made up of both very favorable and very unfavorable traits.

In such cases, the stereotyped view of women is "favorable in content and yet prejudicial in [its] consequences," and attempts to provide justification for discriminatory behaviors presented as helpful or paternal.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Gender Inequality in the United States:
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​Gender Pay Gap in the United States including the Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum
YouTube Video: What people miss about the gender wage gap (as reported by Vox Sept. 7, 2016)
Picture: Chart showing gains in income that women have made in comparison to income by men, 1979-2005

The gender pay gap in the United States is the ratio of female-to-male median yearly earnings among full-time, year-round workers.
The average woman's unadjusted annual salary has been cited as 78% to 82% of that of the average man's.

However, after adjusting for choices made by male and female workers in college major, occupation, working hours, and parental leave, multiple studies find that pay rates between males and females varied by 5–6.6% or, females earning 94 cents to every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

The remaining 6% of the gap has been speculated to originate from gender discrimination and a gender difference in ability and willingness to negotiate salaries.
The extent to which discrimination plays a role in explaining gender wage disparities is somewhat difficult to quantify, due to a number of potentially confounding variables.

A 2010 research review by the majority staff of the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee reported that studies have consistently found unexplained pay differences even after controlling for measurable factors that are assumed to influence earnings – suggestive of unknown/unmeasurable contributing factors of which gender discrimination may be one. Other studies have found direct evidence of discrimination – for example, more jobs went to women when the applicant's sex was unknown during the hiring process.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the Gender Pay Gap in the United States: ___________________________________________________________________________

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Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum (see below)

The Global Gender Gap Report was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum. The 2016 report covers 144 major and emerging economies. The Global Gender Gap Index is an index designed to measure gender equality.

The report’s Gender Gap Index ranks countries according to calculated gender gap between women and men in four key areas: health, education and survival to gauge the state of gender equality in a country.

The report measures women's disadvantage compared to men, and is not strictly a measure of equality. Gender imbalances to the advantage of women do not affect the score. So, for example, the indicator "number of years of a female head of state (last 50 years) over male value" would score 1 if the number of years was 25, but would still score 1 if the number of years was 50.

Due to this methodology, gender gaps that favor women over men are reported as equality, for example the life expectancy of women being longer than men in a country would not cause deficits of equality in other areas to become less visible in the score.

The three highest ranking countries have closed over 84% of their gender gaps, while the lowest ranking country has closed only a little over 50% of its gender gap. It "assesses countries on how well they are dividing their resources and opportunities among their male and female populations, regardless of the overall levels of these resources and opportunities," the Report says.

"By providing a comprehensible framework for assessing and comparing global gender gaps and by revealing those countries that are role models in dividing these resources equitably between women and men, the Report serves as a catalyst for greater awareness as well as greater exchange between policymakers."

The report examines four overall areas of inequality between men and women in 130 economies around the globe, over 93% of the world’s population:
  • Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment
  • Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher level education
  • Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures
  • Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio. In this case parity is not assumed, there are assumed to be fewer female births than male (944 female for every 1,000 males), and men are assumed to die younger. Provided that women live at least six percent longer than men, parity is assumed. But if it is less than six percent it counts as a gender gap.

Thirteen out of the fourteen variables used to create the index are from publicly available "hard data" indicators from international organizations, such as the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organization.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the Global Gender Gap Report: ___________________________________________________________________________

About the World Economic Forum

​The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland.

Recognized in 2015 by the Swiss authorities as an "other international body" under Switzerland's Host State Act 2007 (HSA, SR 192.12), its mission is cited as "committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas".

The forum is best known for its annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland. The meeting brings together some 2,500 top business leaders, international political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists for up to four days to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.

Often this location alone is used to identify meetings, participation, and participants, with such phrases as "a Davos panel" and "Davos man" being used.
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The organization also convenes some six to eight regional meetings each year in locations across Africa, East Asia, and Latin America, and holds two further annual meetings in China, India and the United Arab Emirates. Beside meetings, the foundation produces a series of research reports and engages its members in sector-specific initiatives.

Click here for more about the World Economic Forum.

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History of Feminism
YouTube Video: 25 Intriguing Facts About The History Of The Feminist Movement
Pictured: A Brief History of the Three Waves of Feminism

The history of feminism is the chronological narrative of the movements and ideologies aimed at equal rights for women.

While feminists around the world have differed in causes, goals, and intentions depending on time, culture, and country, most Western feminist historians assert that all movements that work to obtain women's rights should be considered feminist movements, even when they did not (or do not) apply the term to themselves.

Other historians limit the term to the modern feminist movement and its progeny, and instead use the label "protofeminist" to describe earlier movements.

Modern Western feminist history is split into three time periods, or "waves", each with slightly different aims based on prior progress:

First-wave feminism of the 19th and early 20th centuries focuses on overturning legal inequalities, particularly women's suffrage. 

Second-wave feminism (1960s–1980s) broadened debate to include cultural inequalities, gender norms, and the role of women in society. 

Third-wave feminism (1990s–2000s) refers to diverse strains of feminist activity, seen as both a continuation of the second wave and a response to its perceived failures. 

Although the waves construct has been commonly used to describe the history of feminism, the concept has also been criticized for ignoring and erasing the history between the "waves", by choosing to focus solely on a few famous figures, and popular events.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the History of Feminism:







United States Pro-choice vs. Pro-life Movements
YouTube Video: Moving Beyond Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Labels, You're "Not in Her Shoes" -- Planned Parenthood​
Pictured below: Protesters for (L) Pro-choice vs. (R) Pro-life

[Your Web host: perhaps there is  no issue more contentious in society today: the right of the woman to have an abortion vs. those, including some religions, who think that there should be no abortions. My belief is that, regardless of one's religious beliefs, it is the woman's body that is being legislated and that infringes on the rights of a woman to make her own choice!]

The United States pro-choice movement (also known as the United States abortion-rights movement) is a sociopolitical movement in the United States supporting the view that a woman should have the legal right to an elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy, and is part of a broader global abortion-rights movement. The pro-choice movement consists of a variety of organizations, with no single centralized decision-making body.

A key point in abortion rights in the United States was the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which struck down most state laws restricting abortion, thereby decriminalizing and legalizing elective abortion in a number of states.

On the other side of the abortion debate in the United States is the movement to extend rights to the pre-born at the expense of restricting the rights of pregnant women, the pro-life movement. Within this group many argue that human life begins at conception.

Overview:
See also: Ethical aspects of abortion

Abortion-rights advocates argue that whether or not a pregnant woman continues with a pregnancy should be her personal choice, as it involves her body, personal health, and future. They also argue that the availability of legal abortions reduces the exposure of women to the risks associated with illegal abortions.

More broadly, abortion-rights advocates frame their arguments in terms of individual liberty, reproductive freedom, and reproductive rights. The first of these terms was widely used to describe many of the political movements of the 19th and 20th centuries (such as in the abolition of slavery in Europe and the United States, and in the spread of popular democracy) whereas the latter terms derive from changing perspectives on sexual freedom and bodily integrity.

Abortion-rights individuals rarely consider themselves "pro-abortion", because they consider termination of a pregnancy as a bodily autonomy issue, and find forced abortion to be as legally and morally indefensible as the outlawing of abortion.

Indeed, some who support abortion rights consider themselves opposed to some or all abortions on a moral basis, but believe that abortions would happen in any case and that legal abortion under medically controlled conditions is preferable to illegal back-alley abortion without proper medical supervision. Such people believe the death rate of women due to such procedures in areas where abortions are only available outside of the medical establishment is unacceptable.

Some who argue from a philosophical viewpoint believe that an embryo has no rights as it is only a potential and not an actual person and that it should not have rights that override those of the pregnant woman at least until it is viable.

Many abortion-rights campaigners also note that some anti-abortion activists also oppose sex education and the ready availability of contraception, two policies which in practice increase the demand for abortion.

Proponents of this argument point to cases of areas with limited sex education and contraceptive access that have high abortion rates, either legal or illegal. Some women also travel to another jurisdiction or country where they may obtain an abortion.

For example, a large number of Irish women would visit the United Kingdom for abortions, as would Belgian women who traveled to France before Belgium legalized abortion.

Similarly, women would travel to the Netherlands when it became legal to have abortions there in the 1970s.

Some people who support abortion rights see abortion as a last resort and focus on a number of situations where they feel abortion is a necessary option. Among these situations are those where the woman was raped, her health or life (or that of the fetus) is at risk, contraception was used but failed, the fetus has acute congenital disorder and defects, incest, financial constraints, overpopulation, or she feels unable to raise a child.

Some abortion-rights moderates, who would otherwise be willing to accept certain restrictions on abortion, feel that political pragmatism compels them to oppose any such restrictions, as they could be used to form a slippery slope against all abortions. On the other hand, even some pro-choice advocates feel uncomfortable with the use of abortion for sex-selection, as is practised in some countries, such as India.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlink for more about Abortion Pro-choice: ___________________________________________________________________________

​The United States pro-life movement or the right-to-life movement or anti-abortion movement contains elements opposing elective or therapeutic abortion on both moral and sectarian grounds and supports its legal prohibition or restriction.

Advocates generally argue that human life begins at conception and that the human zygote (or embryo or fetus) is a person and therefore has a right to life. The anti-abortion movement includes a variety of organizations, with no single centralized decision-making body. There are diverse arguments and rationales for the anti-abortion stance. Some anti-abortion activists concede arguments for permissible abortions, including therapeutic abortions, in exceptional circumstances such as incest, rape, severe fetal defects or when the woman's health is at risk.

​Before the Supreme Court 1973 decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, anti-abortion views predominated and found expression in state laws which prohibited or restricted abortions in a variety of ways. (See Abortion in the United States.)

The anti-abortion movement became politically active and dedicated to the reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision, which struck down most state laws restricting abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. 

In the United States, the movement is associated with several Christian religious groups, especially the Catholic Church, and is frequently, but not exclusively, allied with the Republican Party.

The movement is also supported by non-mainstream anti-abortion feminists. The movement seeks to reverse Roe v. Wade and to promote legislative changes or constitutional amendments, such as the Human Life Amendment, that prohibit or at least broadly restrict abortion.

On the other side of the abortion debate in the United States is the pro-choice movement (see above), which argues that pregnant women retain the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.

Overview:
See also: Abortion debate, Ethical aspects of abortion, and Emergency contraception

The anti-abortion movement includes a variety of organizations, with no single centralized decision-making body. There are diverse arguments and rationales for the anti-abortion stance.

There are many socially conservative organizations in the U.S. that support the anti-abortion movement. Some groups focus solely on promoting the anti-abortion cause, such as American Life League, the Susan B. Anthony List, National Right to Life Committee, Americans United for Life, and Live Action, among many others.

Other groups support not only the anti-abortion cause but the broader family values cause, such as Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, American Family Association, and Concerned Women for America, among many others.

​Abortion opponents generally believe that human life should be valued either from fertilization or implantation until natural death. The contemporary anti-abortion movement is typically, but not exclusively, influenced by Conservative Christian beliefs, especially in the United States, and has influenced certain strains of bioethical utilitarianism.

From that viewpoint, any action which destroys an embryo or fetus kills a person. Any deliberate destruction of human life is considered ethically or morally wrong and is not considered to be mitigated by any benefits to others, as such benefits are coming at the expense of the life of what they believe to be a person. In some cases, this belief extends to opposing abortion of fetuses that would almost certainly expire within a short time after birth, such as anencephalic fetuses.

Some abortion opponents also oppose certain forms of birth control, particularly hormonal contraception such as emergency contraception (ECPs), and copper IUDs which prevent the implantation of an embryo. Because they believe that the term "pregnancy" should be defined so as to begin at fertilization, they refer to these contraceptives as abortifacients because they cause the embryo to starve.

An embryo gets its nourishment off the uterine wall and dies if not attached. The Catholic Church endorses this view, but the possibility that hormonal contraception has post-fertilization effects is disputed within the scientific community, including some anti-abortion physicians.

Attachment to an anti-abortion position is often but not exclusively connected to religious beliefs about the sanctity of life (see also culture of life). Exclusively secular-humanist positions against abortion tend to be a minority viewpoint among anti-abortion advocates; these groups (such as Secular Pro-Life) say that their position is based on human rights and biology, rather than religion. Many holding the anti-abortion position also tend toward a complementarian view of gender roles, though there is also a self-described feminist element inside the movement.

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Feminist Theology, featuring Mother Teresa 
YouTube Video of Mother Teresa Bio: The Life of A Healer by WatchMojo
​Pictured Below: (L) Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected in 2006 as the first female Presiding Bishop in the history of the Episcopal Church and also the first female primate in the Anglican Communion; (R) Mother Teresa (below)

Feminist theology is a movement found in several religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those religions from a feminist perspective.

Some of the goals of feminist theology include increasing the role of women among the clergy and religious authorities, reinterpreting male-dominated imagery and language about God, determining women's place in relation to career and motherhood, and studying images of women in the religion's sacred texts and matriarchal religion.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Feminist Theology: ​___________________________________________________________________________

Mother Teresa, known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu; Albanian; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was born in Skopje (now the capital of the Republic of Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. After living in Macedonia for eighteen years she moved to Ireland and then to India, where she lived for most of her life.
​
In 1950 Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation which had over 4,500 sisters and was active in 133 countries in 2012. The congregation manages the following:
Members, who take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, also profess a fourth vow: to give "wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor".

Teresa received a number of honours, including the 1962 Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. She was canonised (recognised by the church as a saint) on 4 September 2016, and the anniversary of her death (5 September) is her feast day.

A controversial figure during her life and after her death, Teresa was admired by many for her charitable work. She was praised and criticized for her opposition to abortion, and criticized for poor conditions in her houses for the dying. Her authorized biography was written by Navin Chawla and published in 1992, and she has been the subject of films and other books. On September 6, 2017, Teresa was named co-patron of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta, alongside St. Francis Xavier.

Click here for more about Mother Teresa.






​​

National Organization for Women (NOW)

YouTube Video: 50 Years of the National Organization for Women
Video (click on arrow): 'Me too' movement renews Equal Rights Amendment push 
by USA Today (11/18/2017)

Pictured below: NOW founder and president Betty Friedan with, lobbyist Barbara Ireton (1932-1998) and feminist attorney Marguerite Rawalt

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization founded in 1966. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C.

Focus:
Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about the National Organization for Women (NOW):







Time's Up Feminist Movement (@ Official Website)
YouTube Video: Time's Up Movement: Top 3 Facts You Need to Know
Pictured below: Hollywood women unveil anti-harassment movement

Time's Up is a movement against sexual harassment and was founded on January 1, 2018, by Hollywood celebrities in response to the Weinstein effect and #MeToo. As of February 2018, it has raised $20 million for its legal defense fund, and gathered over 200 volunteer lawyers.

History:
​
In November 2017, the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas wrote a letter of solidarity to the Hollywood women involved in exposing the sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein. The letter, published in Time, described experiences of assault and harassment among female farm workers.

The letter stated that it was written on behalf of the approximately 700,000 female farm workers in the United States.

Partly in response, Time's Up was announced in The New York Times on January 1, 2018. The announcement cited the letter of support from the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas and the desire to support women, men, people of color, and the LGBT community who have less access to media platforms and funds to speak up about harassment.

At its founding, the following initiatives were announced:
  • A $13-million legal defense fund, administered by the National Women's Law Center, to support lower-income women seeking justice for sexual harassment and assault in the workplace
  • Advocating for legislation to punish companies that tolerate persistent harassment
  • A movement toward gender parity in studio and talent agencies
  • Calling for women on the red carpet at the 75th Golden Globe Awards to wear black and speak out about sexual harassment and assault

Mark Wahlberg and William Morris Endeavor, his talent agency, donated more than $2 million to Time's Up in early January 2018 in the name of Wahlberg's co-star Michelle Williams from All the Money in the World.

This occurred after it was revealed that Williams (who is represented by the same agency) received $800 for 10 days to redo certain scenes in the movie, while Wahlberg received $1.5 million for the same 10 days of work.

Some (including Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, Kesha and Cyndi Lauper) who attended the Grammys in 2018 wore white roses or all-white clothes to express solidarity with the Time's Up movement.

Lorde wore an excerpt from a work by Jenny Holzer, printed on a card stitched onto the back of her dress; the excerpt read, "Rejoice! Our times are intolerable. Take courage, for the worst is a harbinger of the best. Only dire circumstance can precipitate the overthrow of oppressors. The old & corrupt must be laid to waste before the just can triumph. Contradiction will be heightened. The reckoning will be hastened by the staging of seed disturbances. The apocalypse will blossom." Lorde wrote, "My version of a white rose — THE APOCALYPSE WILL BLOSSOM — an excerpt from the greatest of all time, jenny holzer."

Founding Signatories:

On the website is an open letter to women of the world, standing in solidarity and affirming the signatories' action to tackle sexual harassment and assault. The letter was signed by almost 400 predominantly British and American women in the entertainment industry and the DMK cosmetics foundation.

Signatories include Shonda Rhimes and the actresses from her headliner ABC shows Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, including Jessica Capshaw as well as her mother, Kate Capshaw, who has individually spoken out with husband Steven Spielberg on the "national and global problem" that needs to be tackled "as an imperative."

See also:







Women's History Month
YouTube Video about Women's History Month, 2018: "These Women Are Making History"
​Pictured below: What is Women's History Month and What Does it Mean?

Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society.

It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women's Day on March 8, and during October in Canada, corresponding with the celebration of Persons Day on October 18.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Women's History Month:







Women in the Workforce
YouTube Video: Planning for Work/Life Balance - Getting to 50/50
YouTube: Nursing School | Balancing Family, Work & School
Pictured: "Why aren't  there more women in the Workforce?" by Fortune magazine March 5, 2015 edition

Women in the workforce earning wages or a salary are part of a modern phenomenon, one that developed at the same time as the growth of paid employment for men, but women have been challenged by inequality in the workforce.

Until modern times, legal and cultural practices examples needed, combined with the inertia of longstanding religious and educational conventions, restricted women's entry and participation in the workforce. Economic dependency upon men, and consequently the poor socio-economic status of women, have had the same impact, particularly as occupations have become professionalized over the 19th and 20th centuries.

Women's lack of access to higher education had effectively excluded them from the practice of well-paid and high status occupations. Entry of women into the higher professions like law and medicine was delayed in most countries due to women being denied entry to universities and qualification for degrees; for example, Cambridge University only fully validated degrees for women late in 1947, and even then only after much opposition and acrimonious debate.

Women were largely limited to low-paid and poor status occupations for most of the 19th and 20th centuries, or earned less pay than men for doing the same work. However, through the 20th century, public perceptions of paid work shifted source needed as the workforce increasingly moved to office jobs that do not require heavy labor, and women increasingly acquired the higher education that led to better-compensated, longer-term careers rather than lower-skilled, shorter-term jobs.

Despite this, women are still at a disadvantage compared to men because of motherhood. Women are viewed as the primary caregiver to children still to this daysource needed, so their pay is lowered when they have children because businesses do not expect them to stay long after the birthsource needed.

The increasing rates of women contributing in the work force has led to a more equal disbursement of hours worked across the regions of the world. However, in western European countries the nature of women's employment participation remains markedly different from that of men. For example, few women are in continuous full-time employment after the birth of a first child due to the lack of childcare and because women in Britain lose 9% of their wage after their first child and 16% after their second child.

Although access to paying occupations (the "workforce") has been and remains unequal in many occupations and places around the world, scholars sometimes distinguish between "work" and "paying work", including in their analysis a broader spectrum of labor such as uncompensated household work, childcare, eldercare, and family subsistence farming.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Women in the Workforce:
​
Women's participation in different occupations:

​​​Below is a list of encyclopedia articles that detail women's historical involvement in various occupations. ​







National Women's Law Center (NWLC)
Official web Site @ NWLC
YouTube Video: 2017 NWLC Gala - Elizabeth Warren*
* -- Elizabeth Warren
Pictured below: This is Personal by the NWLC

The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) is a United States non-profit organization founded by Marcia Greenberger in 1972 and based in Washington, D.C. The Center advocates for women's rights through litigation and policy initiatives.

NWLC  began when female administrative staff and law students at the Center for Law and Social Policy demanded that their pay be improved, that the center hire female lawyers, that they no longer be expected to serve coffee, and that the center create a women's program.

Marcia Greenberger was hired in 1972 to start the program and Nancy Duff Campbell joined her in 1978. In 1981, the two decided to turn the program into the separate National Women's Law Center. Marcia Greenberger and Nancy Duff Campbell stepped down as co-presidents July 1, 2017 and NWLC named Fatima Goss Graves President and CEO to succeed them.

The history of Nation Women's Law Center originated with secretaries who were employed with the Center of Law and Social Policy (CLASP), wanting higher pay, an increase in women staff employment, the initiation of a women's organization, and to no longer feel responsible for serving the coffee in the morning.

After the establishment of the National Women's Law Center (NWLC), the female organization they created entitled, the Women's Rights Project, found fault in a standard company policy. The issue was concerned with pregnant women being deprived access to disability coverage. The acknowledgment of this flawed procedure essentially aided the vote of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The center has been developing for over 40 years and continues to make contributions today.

Accomplishments:

​The National Women's Law Center found discrepancies with girls being given inadequate representation within the athletic departments in school districts including Deer Valley Unified School District (AZ), the Wake County (NC) Public Schools, Columbus (OH) City Schools, the Houston Independent School District and the Irvine Unified School District.

With the help of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, it is mandatory for these districts to give an assessment to all students and provide athletic opportunity accordingly.

The NWLC advocates for fair pay and has helped achieve an increase in minimum wage through a Presidential Executive Order and legislation in Connecticut, Minnesota, Hawaii, Maryland, and West Virginia.

The NWLC has solidified laws enforcing fair treatment and accommodations for pregnant workers in Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia, Illinois, Minnesota and D.C. Along with this, the NWLC assured the revocation of a Peace Corps policy in which discontinued any pregnant women from volunteering after four months of pregnancy, unless supervisors could anticipate effective service after childbirth.

The NWLC contributed to the increase in women judges by compelling the Senate to approve key nominations, all while raising awareness of the significance of female participation in the Judiciary.

The NWLC aided the security of a $1.5 billion investment focused on early learning in the FY 2014 spending bill, along with helping pass re-authorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

The NWLC secured a new federal rule to improve transparency about the rate of sexual assault and the policies, procedures, and preventative programs to address it, and securing improvements in enforcement of Title IX sexual assault and harassment cases.

Campaigns:The organization focuses on child care and early learning, education and Title IX, health care and reproductive rights, courts and judges, LGBTQ equality, military, poverty and economic security, racial and ethnic justice, tax and budget, and workplace justice.

The National Women's Law Center filed an amicus curiae brief in the 1996 Supreme Court case United States v. Virginia, which concerned the male-only admission policy of the Virginia Military Institute.








Women's Health
YouTube Video by Dr. Christiane Northrup: Women's Bodies, Women's Health (PBS)
YouTube Video: Jane Fonda: Fat-Burning Funk Dance Workout
Pictured below examples of physically fit senior ladies and clockwise from upper  left: Tao Porchon-Lynch, at 97 years; Jan Miller at age 70 and Ironman winner; Christie Brinkley at age 60; Karyn Calabrese "It's my 68th Birthday today!!"

Women's health refers to the health of women, which differs from that of men in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".

Often treated as simply women's reproductive health, many groups argue for a broader definition pertaining to the overall health of women, better expressed as "The health of women". These differences are further exacerbated in developing countries where women, whose health includes both their risks and experiences, are further disadvantaged.

Although women in industrialized countries have narrowed the gender gap in life expectancy and now live longer than men, in many areas of health they experience earlier and more severe disease with poorer outcomes.

Gender remains an important social determinant of health, since women's health is influenced not just by their biology but also by conditions such as poverty, employment, and family responsibilities. Women have long been disadvantaged in many respects such as social and economic power which restricts their access to the necessities of life including health care, and the greater the level of disadvantage, such as in developing countries, the greater adverse impact on health.

Women's reproductive and sexual health has a distinct difference compared to men's health. Even in developed countries pregnancy and childbirth are associated with substantial risks to women with maternal mortality accounting for more than a quarter of a million deaths per year, with large gaps between the developing and developed countries. 

Comorbidity from other non reproductive disease such as cardiovascular disease contribute to both the mortality and morbidity of pregnancy, including preeclampsia. Sexually transmitted infections have serious consequences for women and infants, with mother-to-child transmission leading to outcomes such as stillbirths and neonatal deaths, and pelvic inflammatory disease leading to infertility. In addition infertility from many other causes, birth control, unplanned pregnancy, nonconsensual sexual activity and the struggle for access to abortion create other burdens for women.

While the rates of the leading causes of death, cardiovascular disease, cancer and lung disease, are similar in women and men, women have different experiences. Lung cancer has overtaken all other types of cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women, followed by breast cancer, colorectal, ovarian, uterine and cervical cancers.

While smoking is the major cause of lung cancer, among nonsmoking women the risk of developing cancer is three times greater than amongst nonsmoking men. Despite this, breast cancer remains the most common cancer in women in developed countries, and is one of the more important chronic diseases of women, while cervical cancer remains one of the commonest cancers in developing countries, associated with human papilloma virus (HPV), an important sexually transmitted disease. 

HPV vaccine together with screening offers the promise of controlling these diseases. Other important health issues for women include cardiovascular disease, depression, dementia, osteoporosis and anemia. A major impediment to advancing women's health has been their under-representation in research studies, an inequity being addressed in the United States and other western nations by the establishment of centers of excellence in women's health research and large scale clinical trials such as the Women's Health Initiative.

Women's experience of health and disease differ from those of men, due to unique biological, social and behavioural conditions. Biological differences vary all the way from phenotype to the cellular, and manifest unique risks for the development of ill health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Women's health is an example of population health, the health of a specific defined population.

Women's health has been described as "a patchwork quilt with gaps". Many of the issues around women's health relate to their reproductive health, including maternal and child health, genital health and breast health, and endocrine (hormonal) health, including menstruation, birth control and menopause.

However, a broader understanding of women's health to include all aspects of the health of women has been urged, replacing "Women's Health" with "The Health of Women". The WHO considers that an undue emphasis on reproductive health has been a major barrier to ensuring access to good quality health care for all women. 

Conditions that affect both men and women, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, also manifest differently in women. Women's health issues also include medical situations in which women face problems not directly related to their biology, such as gender-differentiated access to medical treatment and other socioeconomic factors.

Women's health is of particular concern due to widespread discrimination against women in the world, leaving them disadvantaged.

A number of health and medical research advocates, such as the Society for Women's Health Research in the United States, support this broader definition, rather than merely issues specific to human female anatomy to include areas where biological sex differences between women and men exist.

Women also need health care more and access the health care system more than do men. While part of this is due to their reproductive and sexual health needs, they also have more chronic non-reproductive health issues such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental illness, diabetes and osteoporosis. Another important perspective is realizing that events across the entire life cycle (or life-course), from in utero to aging effect the growth, development and health of women. The life-course perspective is one of the key strategies of the World Health Organization.

Global perspective:
Main article: Global health

Gender differences in susceptibility and symptoms of disease and response to treatment in many areas of health are particularly true when viewed from a global perspective. Much of the available information comes from developed countries, yet there are marked differences between developed and developing countries in terms of women's roles and health.

The global viewpoint is defined as the "area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving health equity for all people worldwide". 

In 2015 the World Health Organisation identified the top ten issues in women's health as being cancer, reproductive health, maternal health, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), sexually transmitted infections, violence, mental health, non communicable diseases, youth and aging.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Women's Health:





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Women's Media Center (WMC)
YouTube Video: WMC Co-Founders Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan talk about the dire need for women's voices in the media and how the Women's Media Center is working to change it.
Picture Below: Hillary Rodham Clinton accepts the WMC Wonder Woman Award onstage at the Women's Media Center 2017 Women's Media Awards at Capitale on October 26 in New York City.

​Women's Media Center (WMC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit women's organization in the United States founded in 2005 by writers and activists Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan, and Gloria Steinem. Led by President Julie Burton, WMC's work includes advocacy campaigns, giving out awards, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content.

Women’s representation in media:

The Women's Media Center “works to ensure women are powerfully and visibly represented in the media” and “to diversify the media in its content and sources, so that the stories and perspectives of women and girls are more accurately portrayed.”

The organization convenes panels, issues reports, organizes grassroots campaigns, and meets with media outlets to address issues of women’s representation and general diversity.

In response to the report from the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, the Women's Media Center partnered with over 10 other organizations to organize the Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge, also known as the SPARK Summit. The SPARK Summit was a day-long event to speak out and to push back on the sexualization of girls while igniting a movement for girls’ rights to healthy sexuality. The SPARK Summit took place on October 22, 2010 at Hunter College in New York City.

Media training and expert sources:

In 2008, WMC launched the Progressive Women’s Voices media and leadership training program to connect qualified, authoritative women experts to editors, reporters, producers, and bookers. "SheSource", WMC’s online database of over 500 women experts, serves journalists looking for female sources, commentators, and guests.

Sexism watchdog:

WMC acts as a watchdog for sexism in the media and develops campaigns to advocate for fair and balanced coverage. During the 2008 presidential election, WMC released a video “Sexism Sells but We’re Not Buying It,” along with a petition campaign to call attention to sexism against female candidates during the primaries. Another video, “Media Justice for Sotomayor,” discusses racist and sexist media coverage during the 2009 confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

On August 31, 2010, the WMC partnered with the Women's Campaign Forum Foundation and the Political Parity Initiative of the Hunt Alternatives Fund to launch Name it. Change it. (NICI), a ground-breaking national campaign that addresses sexism in the media targeted at female politicians and political candidates. NICI aims to ensure accountability through a coordinated rapid response network to dramatically decrease incidences of media misogyny.

Health care reform and reproductive rights:

In reaction to the 2009 Stupak–Pitts Amendment and other proposed health care reform legislation limiting access and funding for abortions, WMC began actively advocating for women’s reproductive rights. On December 10, 2009, WMC announced the launch of its "Not Under The Bus" campaign to “keep women’s health care fair, safe, and accessible to all.”

With the campaign announcement, the organization declared its “first call to action is to stop the Stupak Amendment, the Hatch-Nelson Amendment, and others like them which are the most draconian restrictions on women since the 1977 Hyde Amendment that cut federal funding for abortions by Medicaid.”

2010 campaign against CBS and Focus on the Family ad:

In January 2010, Women’s Media Center and a coalition of more than 30 organizations "dedicated to reproductive rights, tolerance, and social justice", including the National Organization for Women and NARAL Pro-Choice America, sent a letter to CBS, NFL and its advertisers calling on them to pull an advertisement featuring football player Tim Tebow, sponsored by conservative Christian group Focus on the Family (FOTF), from Super Bowl XLIV. The resulting campaign garnered widespread national media attention.

Previously, in 2010 CBS had rejected a humorous ad from a gay online dating service, ManCrunch, and in 2004 an ad promoting the United Church of Christ as gay-friendly, citing a policy against any controversy in Super Bowl ad. CBS then decided to end this policy and accept controversial ads, so that the anti-abortion ad would be aired, which the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) called a "homophobic double standard."

In its letter to CBS, the WMC coalition said "Focus on the Family has waged war on non-traditional families, tried its hand at race baiting during the 2008 election, and is now attempting to use the Super Bowl to further ramp up the vitriolic rhetoric surrounding reproductive rights. By offering one of the most coveted advertising spots of the year to an anti-equality, anti-choice, homophobic organization, CBS is aligning itself with a political stance that will alienate viewers and discourage consumers from supporting its shows and advertisers."

The WMC campaign was criticized for freedom of speech concerns. A New York Times editorial called the campaign censorship, and said that, "Instead of trying to silence an opponent, advocates for allowing women to make their own decisions about whether to have a child should be using the Super Bowl spotlight to convey what their movement is all about."

A Los Angeles Times editorial said that, "CBS is to be congratulated for standing up to the pressure. We're solidly for abortion rights, but the campaign against the ad is a misguided attempt at censorship."

Bill O'Reilly of Fox News said Greene and her group were, "trying to muzzle them. That's not the American way."

The coalition responded with an op-ed article in Huffington Post in which former WMC President Jehmu Greene wrote:

"Our campaign to get the ad pulled is not a first amendment issue -- the Women's Media Center, NOW, Feminist Majority and others are not government entities attempting to regulate speech. As we exercise our first amendment right to protest, we are incorrectly labeled "would-be censors."

"The FCC and media corporations make decisions every day about what can air over the networks without charges of censorship. We wouldn't be having this conversation if the ad was sponsored by the KKK."

During Super Bowl XLIV, CBS elected to air the two 30-second commercials, which included Tebow's personal story as part of an overall pro-life stance.

Women Under Siege:
Main article: Women Under Siege Project

​Women Under Siege is a project of the Women's Media Center. It has reported on the use of rape as a means of oppression in Syria. Women Under Siege has also reported extensively about the continued use of rape as a weapon of war in Myanmar (also known as Burma).

See also:







Women's Suffrage in the United States
YouTube Video Catherine the Great ("Poker Face" by Lady Gaga)
Pictured below: How Suffragists Used Cookbooks As A Recipe For Subversion (NPR)

Women's suffrage in the United States of America, the legal right of women to vote, was established over the course of several decades, first in various states and localities, sometimes on a limited basis, and then nationally in 1920.

The demand for women's suffrage began to gather strength in the 1840s, emerging from the broader movement for women's rights. In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention, passed a resolution in favor of women's suffrage despite opposition from some of its organizers, who believed the idea was too extreme. By the time of the first National Women's Rights Convention in 1850, however, suffrage was becoming an increasingly important aspect of the movement's activities.

The first national suffrage organizations were established in 1869 when two competing organizations were formed, one led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the other by Lucy Stone. After years of rivalry, they merged in 1890 as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) with Anthony as its leading force.

Hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court would rule that women had a constitutional right to vote, suffragists made several attempts to vote in the early 1870s and then filed lawsuits when they were turned away. Anthony actually succeeded in voting in 1872 but was arrested for that act and found guilty in a widely publicized trial that gave the movement fresh momentum. After the Supreme Court ruled against them in 1875, suffragists began the decades-long campaign for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would enfranchise women. Much of the movement's energy, however, went toward working for suffrage on a state-by-state basis.

In 1916 Alice Paul formed the National Woman's Party (NWP), a militant group focused on the passage of a national suffrage amendment. Over 200 NWP supporters, the Silent Sentinels, were arrested in 1917 while picketing the White House, some of whom went on hunger strike and endured forced feeding after being sent to prison. Under the leadership of Carrie Chapman Catt, the two-million-member NAWSA also made a national suffrage amendment its top priority.

After a hard-fought series of votes in the U.S. Congress and in state legislatures, the Nineteenth Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920. It states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

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Gloria Allred, Women's Rights Attorney
YouTube Video: Gloria Allred On Donald Trump’s 11th Accuser | AM Joy |MSNBC
Pictured below: Lawyer Gloria Allred announces new sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump moments after final debate: Attorney Gloria Allred (left) has announced that yet another woman will accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. Here with former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos, who has also accused Trump of sexual assault.

Gloria Rachel Allred (née Bloom; born July 3, 1941) is an American women's rights attorney notable for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, particularly those involving the protection of women's rights.

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Tarana Burke, Civil Rights Activist
YouTube Video: "Tarana Burke Speaks Out" by CBS News
Pictured below: Q&A with Tarana Burke, who coined 'Me Too' (Houston Chronicle 12/22/17)

Tarana Burke is an American civil rights activist. She is known for being the first to use the phrase "Me Too", in 2006, to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual abuse and assault in society.

​The phrase has since developed into a broader movement. Time named Burke, among a group of other prominent female activists dubbed "the silence breakers", as the Time Person of the Year for 2017. She is currently Senior Director at Girls for Gender Equity.

Burke was born and raised in The Bronx, New York. As a teenager, she became involved in working to improve the lives of young girls living in marginalized communities.

In 2008, she moved to Philadelphia to further her work as an activist. She worked at Art Sanctuary Philadelphia as well as at other non-profits.

She was a consultant for the Hollywood movie Selma, based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches led by James Bevel, Hosea Williams, Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis.

In 2018, she attended the 75th Golden Globe Awards as a guest of Michelle Williams.

Activism:

​Girls for Gender Equity:

Burke is the Senior Director of Girls for Gender Equity in Brooklyn, which strives to help young women of color increase their overall development through various programs and classes.

Just Be Inc.:

In 1997, Burke met a young girl named Heaven in Alabama who told her about being sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend. She says she didn't know what to say, and never saw the girl again. She says she wished she had said "me too." This and other incidents led Burke to found Just Be Inc., an organization that promotes the wellness of young female minorities, in 2006. Just Be Inc. received its first grant in 2007.

Me Too movement:

In 2017, actress Alyssa Milano started using #MeToo as an Internet hashtag in response to accusations against Harvey Weinstein and other public figures of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and other abusive behavior. In October 2017, Milano acknowledged Burke's earlier use of the phrase on Twitter, writing "I was just made aware of an earlier #MeToo movement, and the origin story is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring". Burke has been supportive of the #MeToo hashtag.

When asked if the movement should not be split into two groups—one for sexual harassment and another for sexual assault—Burke said that the movement is for both. She has said that both types of sexual misconduct can be extremely traumatizing, and it's about the trauma someone feels as opposed to trying to categorize the severity of the violence against them.

Time named Burke, among a group of other prominent female activists dubbed "the silence breakers", as the Time Person of the Year for 2017.

Burke organizes workshops to help improve policies at schools, workplaces, and places of worship, and focuses on helping victims not blame themselves for sexual violence.

Click here for #Me Too Website








Gloria Feldt, Civil Rights Activist
YouTube Video: Gloria Feldt Speaker Reel - Inspirational Keynote & Breakthrough Leadership Training

Gloria Feldt (born April 13, 1942) is a The New York Times best-selling author, speaker, commentator, and feminist leader who has gained national recognition as a social and political advocate of women's rights.

In 2013, with Amy Litzenberger, she founded Take the Lead, a nonprofit initiative with a goal to propel women to leadership parity by 2025. She is a former CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, directing the organization from 1996 to 2005.

Feldt is a frequent public speaker, lecturing at universities, civic and professional organizations, as well as national and international conferences on women, feminism, politics, leadership, media, and health.

In October 2011, Feldth sat on a panel, moderated by attorney mediator Victoria Pynchon, with feminist leaders Gloria Steinem, Shelby Knox and Jamia Wilson at the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association annual conference She has also appeared in several forums on C-SPAN's Book TV.

In addition to speaking engagements, she tours with an intergenerational feminist panel titled WomenGirlsLadies.

Feldt's commentary has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

On the Internet, she has contributed to the following: 
Feldt has written several books. Her latest, No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, was published by Seal Press in October 2010.

​Works:


Awards and Recognition:
  • New York Newswomen Front Page Award, 2007
  • Women's eNews, 21 Leaders for the 21st Century, 2007
  • Women Lawyers Los Angeles, Courage Award, 2005
  • Arizona Civil Liberties Union, Civil Libertarian of the Year, 2005
  • Planned Parenthood Golden Gate Sarah Weddington Award, 2005
  • Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Margaret Sanger Award, 2005
  • Glamour Magazine, Woman of the Year, 2003
  • Vanity Fair magazine, America's Top 200 Women Leaders, Legends and Trailblazers, 1998
  • World Academy of Art and Science, Special Award, 1998
  • Texas Monthly Texas Twenty 1996
  • City of Phoenix Human Relations Commission, Martin Luther King Jr. Living the Dream Award, 1996
  • National Organization for Women, Sun City Chapter, Golden Apple Award, 1995
  • Soroptimist International, Women Helping Women Award, 1994 and 1998
  • Planned Parenthood National Executive Directors Council Ruth Green Award, 1990
  • Woman of Achievement, 1987, Junior League, Mujer, and AAUW
  • New Times, Best of Phoenix, 1987

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American Association of University Women (AAUW)Pictured: "Empowering Women and Girls to Reach Their Highest Potential: American Association of University Women"
The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 members and supporters, 1,000 local branches, and 800 college and university partners. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C. AAUW's CEO is Kim Churches.

Activities:

AAUW is one of the world's largest sources of funding exclusively for women who have graduated from college. Each year, AAUW has provided $3.5 to $4 million in fellowships, grants, and awards for women and for community action projects. The Foundation also funds pioneering research on women, girls, and education. The organization funds studies germane to the education of women.

The AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF), a program of the Foundation, is the United States' largest legal fund focused solely on sex discrimination against women in higher education.

LAF provides funds and a support system for women seeking judicial redress for sex discrimination in higher education. Since 1981, LAF has helped female students, faculty, and administrators challenge sex discrimination, including sexual harassment, pay inequity, denial of tenure and promotion, and inequality in women's athletics programs.

AAUW sponsors grassroots and advocacy efforts, research, and Campus Action Projects and other educational programs in conjunction with its ongoing programmatic theme, Education as the Gateway to Women's Economic Security. Along with three other organizations, it founded the CTM Madison Family Theater in 1965. AAUW joined forces with other women's organizations in August 2011 to launch HERVotes to mobilize women voters in 2012 on preserving health and economic rights.

In 2011, the AAUW Action Fund launched an initiative to encourage women to vote in the 2012 election. The campaign was aimed to increase the number of votes by women and to advance initiatives supporting education and equity for women and girls.

AAUW's 2011 research report addresses sexual harassment in grades seven through 
AAUW's national convention is held biennially. AAUW sponsors a student leadership conference, called the National Conference of College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) designed to help women college students access the resources, skills, and networks they need to lead change on campuses and in communities nationwide. The student leadership conference is held annually in Washington, D.C.

Local chapters frequently host speakers who highlight a variety of topics related to women such as Molly Murphy MacGregor, a co-founder of the National Women's History Alliance.

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​
First-wave FeminismPictured below: First Wave Feminism 1848-1920
First-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that occurred during the 19th and early 20th century throughout the Western world. It focused on legal issues, primarily on gaining the right to vote.
​
The term first-wave was coined in March 1968 by Martha Lear writing in The New York Times Magazine, who at the same time also used the term "second-wave feminism". (See next topic below).

At that time, the women's movement was focused on de facto (unofficial) inequalities, which it wished to distinguish from the objectives of the earlier feminists.

​United States:

​Woman in the Nineteenth Century by Margaret Fuller has been considered the first major feminist work in the United States and is often compared to Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

Prominent leaders of the feminist movement in the United States include Lucretia Coffin Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Susan B. Anthony; Anthony and other activists such as Victoria Woodhull and Matilda Joslyn Gage made attempts to cast votes prior to their legal entitlement to do so, for which many of them faced charges.

Other important leaders included several women who dissented against the law in order to have their voices heard, (Sarah and Angelina Grimké), in addition to other activists such as Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Margaret Sanger and Lucy Burns.

First-wave feminism involved a wide range of women, some belonging to conservative Christian groups (such as Frances Willard and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union), others such as Matilda Joslyn Gage of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) resembling the radicalism of much of second-wave feminism.

The majority of first-wave feminists were more moderate and conservative than radical or revolutionary—like the members of the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) they were willing to work within the political system and they understood the clout of joining with sympathetic men in power to promote the cause of suffrage.

The limited membership of the NWSA was narrowly focused on gaining a federal amendment for women's suffrage, whereas the AWSA, with ten times as many members, worked to gain suffrage on a state-by-state level as a necessary precursor to federal suffrage.

The NWSA had broad goals, hoping to achieve a more equal social role for women, but the AWSA was aware of the divisive nature of many of those goals and instead chose to focus solely on suffrage. The NWSA was known for having more publicly aggressive tactics (such as picketing and hunger strikes) whereas the AWSA used more traditional strategies like lobbying, delivering speeches, applying political pressure and gathering signatures for petitions.

During the first wave, there was a notable connection between the slavery abolition movement and the women's rights movement. Frederick Douglass was heavily involved in both movements and believed that it was essential for both to work together in order to attain true equality in regards to race and sex.

Different accounts of the involvement of African-American women in the Women's Suffrage Movement are given. In a 1974 interview, Alice Paul notes that a compromise was made between southern groups to have white women march first, then men, then African-American women.

In another account by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), difficulties in segregating women resulted in African-American women marching with their respective States without hindrance. Among them was Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who marched with the Illinois delegation.

The end of the first wave is often linked with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (1920), granting women the right to vote. This was the major victory of the movement, which also included reforms in higher education, in the workplace and professions, and in health care. Women started serving on school boards and local bodies, and numbers kept increasing. This period also saw more women gaining access to higher education.

In 1910, "women were attending many leading medical schools, and in 1915 the American Medical Association began to admit women members." A Matrimonial Causes Act 1923 gave women the right to the same grounds for divorce as men.

The first wave of feminists, in contrast to the second wave, focused very little on the subjects of abortion, birth control, and overall reproductive rights of women. Though she never married, Anthony published her views about marriage, holding that a woman should be allowed to refuse sex with her husband; the American woman had no legal recourse at that time against rape by her husband.

The rise in unemployment during the Great Depression which started in the 1920s hit women first, and when the men also lost their jobs there was further strain on families. Many women served in the armed forces during World War II, when around 300,000 American women served in the navy and army, performing jobs such as secretaries, typists and nurses.

State laws:

The American states are separate sovereigns, with their own state constitutions, state governments, and state courts. All states have a legislative branch which enacts state statutes, an executive branch that promulgates state regulations pursuant to statutory authorization, and a judicial branch that applies, interprets, and occasionally overturns both state statutes and regulations, as well as local ordinances.

States retain plenary power to make laws covering anything not preempted by the federal Constitution, federal statutes, or international treaties ratified by the federal Senate.

Normally, state supreme courts are the final interpreters of state institutions and state law, unless their interpretation itself presents a federal issue, in which case a decision may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by way of a petition for writ of certiorari.

State laws have dramatically diverged in the centuries since independence, to the extent that the United States cannot be regarded as one legal system as to the majority of types of law traditionally under state control, but must be regarded as 50 separate systems of tort law, family law, property law, contract law, criminal law, and so on.

Marylynn Salmon argues that each state developed different ways of dealing with a variety of legal issues pertaining to women, especially in the case of property laws. In 1809, Connecticut was the first state to pass a law allowing women to write wills.
1860, New York passed a revised Married Women's Property Act which gave women shared ownership of their children, allowing them to have a say in their children's wills, wages, and granting them the right to inherit property.

Further advances and setbacks were experienced in New York and other states, but with each new win the feminists were able to use it as an example to apply more leverage on unyielding legislative bodies.

White Feminism: The Absent Contributions by Black Feminists:

First Wave Feminism in the United States did not chronicle the contributions of Black women to the same degree as White women. Activists, including Susan B. Anthony and other feminist leaders preached for equality between genders; however, they disregarded equality between a number of other issues, including race.

This allowed for White women to gain power and equality relative to White men, while the social disparity between White and Black women increased. The exclusion aided the growing prevalence of White supremacy, specifically White feminism while actively overlooking the severity of impact Black feminists had on the movement.

Two Different Fights:

The two different fights for Black and White women's equality were present simultaneously and could not be separated during the First Wave of Feminism. White women were fighting for rights equal to White men in society. They wanted to correct the discrepancy in education, professional, property, economic, and voting rights. They also fought for birth control and abortion freedom.

Black women, on the other hand, were ultimately fighting two “-isms”, racism and sexism, contributing to an uphill struggle for Black feminists. While White women could not vote, Black women and men could not vote. Mary J. Garrett who founded a group consisting of hundreds of Black women in New Orleans, said that Black women strove for education and protection.

It is true that “Black women in higher education are isolated, underutilized, and often demoralized,”  and they fought together against this. They were fighting against “exploitation by White men” and they wanted to “lead a virtuous and industrious life."

Black women were also fighting for their husbands, families, and overall equality and freedom of their civil rights. Racism restricted White and Black women from coming together to fight for common societal transformation.

Examples of Inequalities:

It was not just through personal racism that Black women were excluded from feminists movements; institutional racism prevented many women from having an avid say and stance.

The National American Woman Suffrage Association, established by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. did not invite Black women to attend specific meetings, excluding them entirely. Feminist and women's suffrage conventions held in Southern states, where Black women were a dominant percentage of the population, were segregated.

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were abolitionists but they did not advocate for universal suffrage. They both did not want Black men to be granted the right to vote before White women. The National American Woman Suffrage Association was created to distinguish themselves from advocating for Black men to vote. The 15th Amendment states no person should be denied the right to vote based on race.

Anthony and Stanton opposed passage of the amendment unless it was accompanied by a Sixteenth Amendment that would guarantee suffrage for women. Otherwise, they said, it would create an "aristocracy of sex" by giving constitutional authority to the belief that men were superior to women. The new proposal of this amendment was named the “Anthony Amendment”.

Stanton once said that allowing Black men to vote before women “creates an antagonism between Black men and all women that will culminate in fearful outrages on womanhood”. Anthony stated, she would “cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work for or demand the ballot for the negro and not the woman”.

Mary Church Terrell exclaimed in 1904 that, “My sisters of the dominant race, stand up not only for the oppressed sex, but also for the oppressed race!”  The National American Woman Suffrage Association sustained the inequalities between Black and White women and also limited their ability to contribute.

Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass together formed the American Equal Rights Association, advocating for equality between both gender and sex. In 1848, Frederick Douglass was asked to speak by Susan B. Anthony at a convention in Seneca Falls, New York.

Frederick Douglass was an active supporter. Later, Douglass was not permitted to attend an Atlanta, Georgia NAWSA convention. Susan B. Anthony exclaimed, “I did not want to subject him to humiliation, and I did not want anything to get in the way of bringing the Southern white women into our suffrage association, now that their interest had been awakened”.

Douglass opposed the fact that Cady and Anthony were extremely unsupportive of Black voting rights. White women condoned racism at the cost of Black women if it meant benefitting and more support of the White suffrage movement.

Institutional racism excluded Black women in the March on Washington in 1913. Black women were asked to march separately, together, at the back of the parade. They were forced to be made absent which can be seen in the lack of photographs and media of Black women marching in the parade.

White women did not want Black women associated with their movement because they believed White women would disaffiliate themselves from an integrated group and create a segregated, more powerful one.

Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” - Combining Forces:

Despite participating and contributing a great deal to all feminists movements, Black women were rarely recognized. Mary McLeod Bethune said that the world was unable to accept all of the contributions Black women have made. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton together wrote the History of Woman Suffrage published in 1881.

The book failed to give adequate recognition to the Black women who were equally responsible for the change in United States history. Sojourner Truth became an influential advocate for the women's rights movement. In 1851 she delivered her “Ain’t I a Woman” speech at the women's rights convention in Akron, Ohio.

Black women at this point were beginning to become empowered and assertive, speaking out on the disproportionate inequalities. Truth speaks of how she, and other women, are capable of working as much as men, after having thirteen children. This speech was one of the ways White and Black women became closer to working towards fighting for the same thing.

Another one of Truth's speeches at the American Equal Rights Association in New York in 1867 she said, ”If colored men get their rights, and not colored women theirs, you see the colored men will be masters over the women, and it will be just as bad as it was before."  Her speeches brought attention to the movement, for Black women, but also for White.

Although private lives continued to be segregated, feminist coalitions became integrated. Two separate reasons aided integration in the feminist movement. Paula Giddings wrote that the two fights against racism and sexism could not be separated. Gerda Lerner wrote that Black women demonstrated they too were fully capable of fighting and creating change for equality.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about First Wave Feminism:







Second Wave FeminismPictured below: Second-wave Feminism 1960s-1980s
Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity and thought that began in the United States in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades. It quickly spread across the Western world, with an aim to increase equality for women by gaining more than just enfranchisement.

Whereas first-wave feminism focused mainly on suffrage and overturning legal obstacles to gender equality (e.g., voting rights and property rights), second-wave feminism broadened the debate to include a wider range of issues: sexuality, family, the workplace, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official legal inequalities.

Second-wave feminism also drew attention to the issues of domestic violence and marital rape, engendered rape-crisis centers and women's shelters, and brought about changes in custody laws and divorce law. Feminist-owned bookstores, credit unions, and restaurants were among the key meeting spaces and economic engines of the movement.

Many historians view the second-wave feminist era in America as ending in the early 1980s with the intra-feminism disputes of the feminist sex wars over issues such as sexuality and pornography, which ushered in the era of third-wave feminism in the early 1990s.

​Overview in the United States:

The second wave of feminism in the United States came as a delayed reaction against the renewed domesticity of women after World War II: the late 1940s post-war boom, which was an era characterized by an unprecedented economic growth, a baby boom, a move to family-oriented suburbs and the ideal of companionate marriages.

During this time, women did not tend to seek employment due to their engagement with domestic and household duties, which was seen as their primary duty but often left them isolated within the home and estranged from politics, economics, and law making. This life was clearly illustrated by the media of the time; for example television shows such as Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver idealized domesticity.

Some important events laid the groundwork for the second wave. French writer Simone de Beauvoir had in the 1940s examined the notion of women being perceived as "other" in the patriarchal society. She went on to conclude in her 1949 treatise The Second Sex that male-centered ideology was being accepted as a norm and enforced by the ongoing development of myths, and that the fact that women are capable of getting pregnant, lactating, and menstruating is in no way a valid cause or explanation to place them as the "second sex".

This book was translated from French to English (with some of its text excised) and published in America in 1953.

In 1960 the Food and Drug Administration approved the combined oral contraceptive pill, which was made available in 1961. This made it easier for women to have careers without having to leave due to unexpectedly becoming pregnant.

Though it is widely accepted that the movement lasted from the 1960s into the early 1980s, the exact years of the movement are more difficult to pinpoint and are often disputed. The movement is usually believed to have begun in 1963, when Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, and President John F. Kennedy's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women released its report on gender inequality.

The administration of President Kennedy made women's rights a key issue of the New Frontier, and named women (such as Esther Peterson) to many high-ranking posts in his administration.

Kennedy also established a Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt and comprising cabinet officials (including Peterson and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy), senators, representatives, business people, psychologists, sociologists, professors, activists, and public servants. The report recommended changing this inequality by providing paid maternity leave, greater access to education, and help with child care to women.

There were other actions by women in wider society, presaging their wider engagement in politics which would come with the second wave. In 1961, 50,000 women in 60 cities, mobilized by Women Strike for Peace, protested above ground testing of nuclear bombs and tainted milk.

​In 1963 Betty Friedan, influenced by The Second Sex, wrote the bestselling book The Feminine Mystique. Discussing primarily white women, she explicitly objected to how women were depicted in the mainstream media, and how placing them at home limited their possibilities and wasted potential. She had helped conduct a very important survey using her old classmates from Smith College.

This survey revealed that the women who played a role at home and the workforce were more satisfied with their life compared to the women who stayed home. The women who stayed home showed feelings of agitation and sadness. She concluded that many of these unhappy women had immersed themselves in the idea that they should not have any ambitions outside their home. Friedan described this as "The Problem That Has No Name". 

The perfect nuclear family image depicted and strongly marketed at the time, she wrote, did not reflect happiness and was rather degrading for women. This book is widely credited with having begun second-wave feminism in the United States.

The report from the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women, along with Friedan's book, spoke to the discontent of many women (especially housewives) and led to the formation of local, state, and federal government women's groups along with many independent feminist organizations. Friedan was referencing a "movement" as early as 1964.

The movement grew with legal victories such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court ruling of 1965. In 1966 Friedan joined other women and men to found the National Organization for Women (NOW); Friedan would be named as the organization's first president.

Despite the early successes NOW achieved under Friedan's leadership, her decision to pressure the Equal Employment Opportunity to use Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to enforce more job opportunities among American women met with fierce opposition within the organization.

Siding with arguments among several of the group's African-American members, many of NOW's leaders were convinced that the vast number of male African-Americans who lived below the poverty line were in need of more job opportunities than women within the middle and upper class. Friedan stepped down as president in 1969.

In 1963, freelance journalist Gloria Steinem gained widespread popularity among feminists after a diary she authored while working undercover as a Playboy Bunny waitress at the Playboy Club was published as a two-part feature in the May and June issues of Show.

In her diary, Steinem alleged the club was mistreating its waitresses in order to gain male customers and exploited the Playboy Bunnies as symbols of male chauvinism, noting that the club's manual instructed the Bunnies that "there are many pleasing ways they can employ to stimulate the club's liquor volume".

By 1968, Steinem had become arguably the most influential figure in the movement and support for legalized abortion and federally funded day-cares had become the two leading objectives for feminists.

Among the most significant legal victories of the movement after the formation of NOW were:
However, the changing of social attitudes towards women is usually considered the greatest success of the women's movement. In January 2013, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced that the longtime ban on women serving in US military combat roles had been lifted. The US Department of Defense plans to integrate women into all combat positions by 2016.

Second-wave feminism also affected other movements, such as the civil rights movement and the student's rights movement, as women sought equality within them.

In 1965 in "Sex and Caste," a reworking of a memo they had written as staffers in civil-rights organizations SNCC, Casey Hayden and Mary King proposed that "assumptions of male superiority are as widespread and deep rooted and every much as crippling to the woman as the assumptions of white supremacy are to the Negro," and that in the movement, as in society, women can find themselves "caught up in a common-law caste system."

In June 1967 Jo Freeman attended a "free school" course on women at the University of Chicago led by Heather Booth and Naomi Weisstein. She invited them to organize a woman's workshop at the then-forthcoming National Conference of New Politics (NCNP), to be held over Labor Day weekend 1967 in Chicago. At that conference a woman's caucus was formed, and it (led by Freeman and Shulamith Firestone) tried to present its own demands to the plenary session.

However, the women were told their resolution was not important enough for a floor discussion, and when through threatening to tie up the convention with procedural motions they succeeded in having their statement tacked to the end of the agenda, it was never discussed.

When the National Conference for New Politics Director Willam F. Pepper refused to recognize any of the women waiting to speak and instead called on someone to speak about the American Indian, five women, including Firestone, rushed the podium to demand to know why.

But Willam F. Pepper patted Firestone on the head and said, "Move on little girl; we have more important issues to talk about here than women's liberation".

Freeman and Firestone called a meeting of the women who had been at the "free school" course and the women's workshop at the conference; this became the first Chicago women's liberation group. It was known as the Westside group because it met weekly in Freeman's apartment on Chicago's west side.

After a few months Freeman started a newsletter which she called Voice of the women's liberation movement. It circulated all over the country (and in a few foreign countries), giving the new movement of women's liberation its name. Many of the women in the Westside group went on to start other feminist organizations, including the Chicago Women's Liberation Union.

In 1968, an SDS organizer at the University of Washington told a meeting about white college men working with poor white men, and "[h]e noted that sometimes after analyzing societal ills, the men shared leisure time by 'balling a chick together.'

He pointed out that such activities did much to enhance the political consciousness of poor white youth. A woman in the audience asked, 'And what did it do for the consciousness of the chick?'" (Hole, Judith, and Ellen Levine, Rebirth of Feminism, 1971, pg. 120). After the meeting, a handful of women formed Seattle's first women's liberation group.

Some black feminists who were active in the early second-wave feminism include civil rights lawyer and author Florynce Kennedy, who co-authored one of the first books on abortion, 1971's Abortion Rap; Cellestine Ware, of New York's Stanton-Anthony Brigade; and Patricia Robinson. These women "tried to show the connections between racism and male dominance" in society.

The second wave of the feminist movement also marks the emergence of women's studies as a legitimate field of study. In 1970 San Diego State University was the first university in the United States to offer a selection of women's studies courses.

The 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas presented an opportunity for women's liberation groups to address a multitude of women's issues. At the conference, delegates from around the country gathered to create a National Plan of Action, which offered 26 planks on matters such as women's health, women's employment, and child care.

​By the early 1980s, it was largely perceived that women had met their goals and succeeded in changing social attitudes towards gender roles, repealing oppressive laws that were based on sex, integrating the "boys' clubs" such as military academies, the United States armed forces, NASA, single-sex colleges, men's clubs, and the Supreme Court, and illegalizing gender discrimination.

However, in 1982 adding the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution failed, having been ratified by only 35 states, leaving it three states short of ratification.

Second-wave feminism was largely successful, with the failure of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and Nixon's veto of the Comprehensive Child Development Bill of 1972 (which would have provided a multi-billion-dollar national day care system) the only major legislative defeats.

Efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment have continued. Ten states have adopted constitutions or constitutional amendments providing that equal rights under the law shall not be denied because of sex, and most of these provisions mirror the broad language of the Equal Rights Amendment. Furthermore, many women's groups are still active and are major political forces.

As of 2011, more women earn bachelor's degrees than men, half of the Ivy League presidents are women, the numbers of women in government and traditionally male-dominated fields have dramatically increased, and in 2009 the percentage of women in the American workforce temporarily surpassed that of men.

The salary of the average American woman has also increased over time, although as of 2008 it is only 77% of the average man's salary, a phenomenon often referred to as the gender pay gap. Whether this is due to discrimination is very hotly disputed, however economists and sociologists have provided evidence to that effect.

Second-wave feminism ended in the early 1980s with the feminist sex wars and was succeeded by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s (see next topic, below).

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Third Wave FeminismPictured below: Third Wave of Feminism
Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement that began in the early 1990s United States and continued until the rise of the fourth wave in the 2010s (see next topics following).

Born in the 1960s and 1970s as members of Generation X and grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave (see topic above), third-wave feminists embraced individualism and diversity and sought to redefine what it meant to be a feminist.

According to feminist scholar Elizabeth Evans, the "confusion surrounding what constitutes third-wave feminism is in some respects its defining feature."

The third wave is traced to the emergence of the riot grrrl feminist punk subculture in Olympia, Washington, in the early 1990s, and to Anita Hill's televised testimony in 1991—to an all-male, all-white Senate Judiciary Committee—that Clarence Thomas, nominated for and eventually confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States, had sexually harassed her.

The term third wave is credited to Rebecca Walker, who responded to Thomas's appointment to the Supreme Court with an article in Ms. magazine, "Becoming the Third Wave" (1992). She wrote:
  • "So I write this as a plea to all women, especially women of my generation: Let Thomas' confirmation serve to remind you, as it did me, that the fight is far from over. Let this dismissal of a woman's experience move you to anger. Turn that outrage into political power. Do not vote for them unless they work for us. Do not have sex with them, do not break bread with them, do not nurture them if they don't prioritize our freedom to control our bodies and our lives. I am not a post-feminism feminist. I am the Third Wave."

Walker sought to establish that third-wave feminism was not just a reaction, but a movement in itself, because the feminist cause had more work ahead. The term intersectionality—to describe the idea that women experience "layers of oppression" caused, for example, by gender, race and class—had been introduced by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989, and it was during the third wave that the concept flourished.

As feminists came online in the late 1990s and early 2000s and reached a global audience with blogs and e-zines, they broadened their goals, focusing on abolishing gender-role stereotypes and expanding feminism to include women with diverse racial and cultural identities.

The third wave saw the emergence of new feminist currents and theories, such as intersectionality, sex positivity, vegetarian ecofeminism, transfeminism, and postmodern feminism.

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Fourth Wave Feminism
Pictured below: Fourth Wave Feminism and its political implications
​Fourth-wave feminism is a phase of feminism that began around 2012 and is characterized by a focus on the empowerment of women and the use of internet tools. Centered on intersectionality, the fourth wave examines the interlocking systems of power that contribute to the stratification of traditionally marginalized groups.

Fourth-wave feminists advocate for greater representation of these groups in politics and business, and argue that society would be more equitable if policies and practices incorporated the perspectives of all people.

Whereas earlier feminists fought for and earned women greater liberation, individualism, and social mobility, the fourth wave furthers the agenda by calling for justice against assault and harassment, for equal pay for equal work, and for bodily autonomy.

Fourth-wave feminists often use print, news, and social media to collaborate and mobilize, speak against abusers of power, and provide equal opportunities for girls and women. In addition to advocating for women, fourth-wave feminists believe that boys and men should have greater opportunities to express their emotions and feelings freely, to present themselves as they wish, and to be engaged parents to their children.

Social Media:

​While previous waves of feminism have encountered such obstacles as rigid sociopolitical structures and a lack of available communication channels, fourth-wave feminists harness digital media as a far-reaching platform on which to connect, share perspectives, create a broader view of experienced oppression, and critique past feminist waves.

International Women's Day, London, 2017

Kira Cochrane has argued that fourth-wave feminism is "defined by technology" and characterized particularly by the use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, and blogs such as Feministing to challenge misogyny.

Social-media activism can manifest as Twitter threads critiquing perceived transphobia in the media or in so-called "hashtag feminism" campaigns, notably: 
  • #MeToo,
  • #YesAllWomen,
  • #bringbackourgirls,
  • #NotYourAsianSidekick
  • and #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen.

#GirlGaze, launched by Amanda de Cadenet, is an online platform that promotes creativity and entrepreneurship among women, emphasizes the importance of feminist discourse in society, and aims to level the "playing field" for young women in the media. Time named a group of activists prominent in the #MeToo movement, dubbed "the silence breakers", as its 2017 Person of the Year.

Other fourth-wave feminist campaigns include:
Artistic endeavors include Mattress Performance and 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a
Woman.

​Discourse surrounding the topic of privilege is common among fourth-wave feminists, who argue that members of traditionally dominant social groups should acknowledge their societal privilege and use it to empower and advocate for members of marginalized groups.

​Ideas:

British journalist Kira Cochrane and feminist scholar Prudence Chamberlain describe the fourth wave as focusing on justice for women, particularly opposition to sexual harassment (including street harassment), violence against women, workplace discrimination and harassment, body shaming, sexist imagery in the media, online misogyny, campus sexual assault and assault on public transport, and rape culture.

They also say it supports intersectionality, social media activism, and online petitioning.

Its essence, Chamberlain writes, is "incredulity that certain attitudes can still exist". Events and organizations involved in fourth-wave feminism include Everyday Sexism Project, UK Feminista, Reclaim the Night, One Billion Rising, and "a Lose the Lads' mags protest". Movements such as #GirlGaze focus on male-dominated industries such as photography and cinema, intending to push the narratives audiences to include the female gaze.

Books associated with the fourth wave include:
Cosslett and Baxter's book aims to debunk stereotypes of femininity promoted by mainstream women's press. Bates, a British feminist writer, created the Everyday Sexism Project on 16 April 2012 as an online forum where women could post their experiences of everyday harassment.

Third-wave feminists began introducing the concept of male privilege in their writings in the 1990s, and fourth-wave feminists continue to discuss it in academia and on social media. American Peggy McIntosh was one of the first feminists to describe the phenomenon in 1988, calling it "an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks."

Fourth-wave feminists have taken action to reduce and combat this "knapsack" by raising awareness of privileged and unprivileged groups. Alliance is greatly encouraged by these feminists, who believe that males and other privileged groups can still take action for social change within their communities.

London author Nikki van der Gaag discusses the damaging effects of raising young boys with privilege, citing the Consultative Group on Early Child Care and Development, "a tendency to privilege boys [...] does not teach teach boys responsibility, nor clarify what will be expected from them".

Fourth-wave feminists have begun promoting solutions to avoid these issues, such as raising children as gender neutral. Professor of Neuroscience at Chicago

Medical School Lise Eliot, points out that infants and growing children are so impressionable that any small differences in raising the child can lead to large personality differences over time, resulting in reinforced gender stereotypes.

Fourth-wave feminists have argued that reinforced gender stereotypes create pressure for men to be breadwinners, as opposed to women, who feel obligated to take on the role of homemakers. Feminists argue that these pressures to conform socially can cause gender discrimination in the workplace and more widely in society. 

According to Pew Research, a majority of women working in male-dominated workplaces believe that sexual harassment is a problem in their industry.

Intersectionality:

British scholar Pauline Maclaran argues that although celebrities are at the forefront of fourth-wave feminism, ready access to information has enabled the movement to draw greater attention to economic inequalities faced by women than heretofore possible.

Regarded as more inclusive of the LGBT+ community, fourth-wave feminists such as Jacob Bucher of Baker University have protested stereotypes surrounding men's supposed uncontrolled sexual desire and objectification of women. He states that gay men specifically are stigmatized by such stereotypes because they lie outside of the typical standard for masculinity.

British historian Amanda Vickery claims that fourth-wave feminism marginalizes women of colour who are fighting for inclusivity, neglecting the specific injustices they face to make way for the mainstream struggle.

Canadian Ruth Phillips argues that fourth-wave feminism falls within the broader agenda of financial, political, and environmental concerns and is recognized as a key factor in alleviating poverty, improving women's health, and achieving economic growth.

Around the world:
See also: Hashtag activism

As fourth-wave feminism became popular in the United States, other countries were also dealing with similar issues. Although the reactions of local governments differed, the movement of fourth-wave feminists in the United States had a significant effect around the world. Some local alternative hashtags to #MeToo included:
  • #AndNow or NowWhat in Canada
  • #WoYeShi (en: MeToo) in China
  • #BalanceTonPorc (en: DenounceYourPig or ExposeYourPig) in France
  • #NotinMyName in India
  • #QuellaVoltaChe (en: The Time That) in Italy
  • #BoycottAliZafar, #BoycottTeefainTrouble, #TeefaisTrouble in Pakistan
  • #BabaeAko (en: I am a Woman) in the Philippines
  • #YoTambien (en: MeToo) in Spain

As the importance of social media in "creating and sustaining feminist community" is an increasingly popular idea, "diversity and creativity continue to characterize feminist activism" around the world in the 21st century.

Communities around the globe witnessed the reflections of "the current, Internet-based fourth wave" feminism and investigated the difference of it. Moreover, the increasing social power of fourth-wave feminist movements prioritise these issues for elected governments, encouraging them to engage with the "new and young feminists" of the modern day.

For instance, in Canada, after the #MeToo hashtag started trending in October 2017, hundreds of people began to credit fourth-wave feminists with the movement.

Another hashtag, #AndNow, became popular in Canada due to the support of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. #AndNow supported discussing the solution to sexual harassment or abuse in the workplace to help people fight for equity between all people.

In India, there have been several movements or protests with large numbers of women, which have changed the perspective of many in the nation regarding femininity. These include:
Indian social discourse started to focus on long-term and deep-rooted issues, such as gender inequality, sexual violence, child marriage, sex-selective abortions, and dowry-related violence. Many believe it led to the questioning of women's freedoms, choices, and desires in society.

The influence and power of the campaign made the government expand the legal definition of rape, introduced "harsher punishment for rapists, criminalizing stalking and voyeurism", showed "a new kind of Indian femininity that was comfortable with her modernity and sexuality" and demonstrates the rise of fourth-wave feminism in India.

​In Brazil, on September 19, 2018, the Ele Não movement ("Ele Não" is Portuguese for "not him"), also known as the protests against Jair Bolsonaro, were demonstrations led by women which took place in several regions of the country as well as the world. The main goal was to protest against Bolsonaro's presidential campaign and his sexist declarations.

It was being used even among national and international celebrities. Madonna was one of the international celebrities who took part in the movement. She posted in her Instagram, where she has more than 12.1 million followers, a picture in which she appears with her mouth sealed by a tape with the saying "freedom". Above, it reads in Portuguese "Ele não vai nos desvalorizar, ele não vai nos calar, ele não vai nos oprimir” (He won't devalue us, he won't silence us, he won't oppress us)”.

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Feminist Perspectives on Sex and Gender (Stanford School of Philosophy) Pictured below: Sex/Gender and the Biosocial Turn
Feminist Perspectives on Sex and Gender First published Mon May 12, 2008; substantive revision Wed Oct 25, 2017. Feminism is said to be the movement to end women's oppression (hooks 2000, 26). One possible way to understand ‘woman’ in this claim is to take it as a sex term: ‘woman’ picks out human females and being a human female depends on various biological and anatomical features (like genitalia).

Historically many feminists have understood ‘woman’ differently: not as a sex term, but as a gender term that depends on social and cultural factors (like social position). In so doing, they distinguished sex (being female or male) from gender (being a woman or a man), although most ordinary language users appear to treat the two interchangeably.

More recently this distinction has come under sustained attack and many view it nowadays with (at least some) suspicion. This entry outlines and discusses distinctly feminist debates on sex and gender.

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Feminist Views on Sexuality* "Sex and the City" TV series
Pictured: How #MeToo revealed the central rift within feminism today
[*Your WebHost: While this topic is long, it needs to be to fully inform and enlighten visitors about feminism in all its forms.]

Feminist views on sexuality widely vary. Many feminists, particularly radical feminists, are highly critical of what they see as sexual objectification and sexual exploitation in the media and society.

Radical feminists are often opposed to the sex industry, including opposition to prostitution and pornography.

Other feminists define themselves as sex-positive feminists and believe that a wide variety of expressions of female sexuality can be empowering to women when they are freely chosen. Some feminists support efforts to reform the sex industry to become less sexist, such as the feminist pornography movement.

​Feminist sex wars:
Main article: Feminist sex wars

The feminist sex wars and lesbian sex wars, or simply the sex wars or porn wars, were acrimonious debates amongst feminists in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The sides were characterized by anti-porn and pro-sex groups with disagreements regarding sexuality, sexual representation, pornography, sadomasochism, the role of trans women in the lesbian community, and other sexual issues.

The debate pitted anti-pornography feminism against sex-positive feminism, and the feminist movement was deeply divided as a result. The feminist sex wars are sometimes viewed as part of the division that led to the end of the second-wave feminist era and the beginning of third-wave feminism.

The two sides included anti-pornography feminists and sex-positive feminists. One of the more significant clashes between the pro-sex and anti-pornography feminists occurred at the 1982 Barnard Conference on Sexuality. Anti-pornography feminists were excluded from the events' planning committee, so they staged rallies outside the conference to show their disdain.

Feminist criticism of sexual exploitation and the sex industry:

Many feminists denounce industries such as the sex industry as examples of misogynistic exploitation. Important anti-sex industry feminists included Andrea Dworkin and Catharine MacKinnon.

The pair wanted civil laws restricting pornography. They viewed male sexual dominance as the root of all female oppression, and thus condemned pornography, prostitution, and other manifestations of male sexual power.

The anti-pornography movement gained ground with the creation of Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media. During the time of the sex wars, it organized marches against the creators and distributors of pornography in San Francisco and led to Women Against Pornography, Feminists Fighting Pornography, and similarly-oriented organizations and efforts across the United States.

Sex-positive feminism:
Main article: Sex-positive feminism

The response by "sex-positive feminists" was one that promoted sex as an avenue of pleasure for women. Gayle Rubin and Patrick Califia were influential in this part of the movement. Other feminists who identify as "sex-positive" include the following:
The Sex-positive feminism movement has become more popular in current times.

Feminism and pornography:
Main article: Feminist views on pornography

Feminist views of pornography range from condemnation of pornography as a form of violence against women, to an embracing of some forms of pornography as a medium of feminist expression.

Feminist debate on this issue reflects larger concerns surrounding feminist views on sexuality, and is closely related to feminist debates on prostitution, BDSM, and other issues.

Pornography has been one of the most divisive issues in feminism, particularly among feminists in Anglophone countries.

Anti-pornography feminism:

Radical feminist opponents of pornography—such as Andrea Dworkin, Catharine MacKinnon, Robin Morgan, Diana Russell, Alice Schwarzer, Gail Dines, and Robert Jensen—argue that pornography is harmful to women, and constitutes strong causality or facilitation of violence against women.

Anti-pornography feminists, notably MacKinnon, charge that the production of pornography entails physical, psychological, and/or economic coercion of the women who perform and model in it.

This is said to be true even when the women are being presented as enjoying themselves. It is also argued that much of what is shown in pornography is abusive by its very nature. Gail Dines holds that pornography, exemplified by gonzo pornography, is becoming increasingly violent and that women who perform in pornography are brutalized in the process of its production.

Anti-pornography feminists hold the view that pornography contributes to sexism, arguing that in pornographic performances the actresses are reduced to mere receptacles—objects—for sexual use and abuse by men. They argue that the narrative is usually formed around men's pleasure as the only goal of sexual activity, and that the women are shown in a subordinate role.

Some opponents believe pornographic films tend to show women as being extremely passive, or that the acts which are performed on the women are typically abusive and solely for the pleasure of their sex partner. 

On-face ejaculation and anal rape are increasingly popular among men, following trends in porn. MacKinnon and Dworkin defined pornography as "the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through pictures or words".

Anti-censorship and pro-pornography feminists:

Pornography is seen as being a medium for women's sexual expression in this view. Sex-positive feminists view many radical feminist views on sexuality, including views on pornography, as being as oppressive as those of patriarchal religions and ideologies, and argue that anti-pornography feminist discourse ignores and trivializes women's sexual agency. 

Ellen Willis (who coined the term "pro-sex feminism") states "As we saw it, the claim that 'pornography is violence against women' was code for the neo-Victorian idea that men want sex and women endure it."

Sex-positive feminists take a variety of views towards existing pornography. Many sex-positive feminists see pornography as subverting many traditional ideas about women that they oppose, such as ideas that women do not like sex generally, only enjoy sex in a relational context, or that women only enjoy vanilla sex.

They also argue that pornography sometimes shows women in sexually dominant roles and presents women with a greater variety of body types than are typical of mainstream entertainment and fashion.

Many feminists regardless of their views on pornography are opposed on principle to censorship. Even many feminists who see pornography as a sexist institution, also see censorship (including MacKinnon's civil law approach) as an evil.

In its mission statement, Feminists for Free Expression (FFE) argues that censorship has never reduced violence, but historically been used to silence women and stifle efforts for social change. They point to the birth control literature of Margaret Sanger, the feminist plays of Holly Hughes, and works like Our Bodies, Ourselves and The Well of Loneliness as examples of feminist sexual speech which has been the target of censorship.

FFE further argues that the attempt to fix social problems through censorship, "divert[s] attention from the substantive causes of social ills and offer a cosmetic, dangerous 'quick fix.'" They argue that instead a free and vigorous marketplace of ideas is the best assurance for achieving feminist goals in a democratic society.

Additionally, some feminists such as Wendy Kaminer, while opposed to pornography are also opposed to legal efforts to censor or ban pornography. In the late 1970s, Kaminer worked with Women Against Pornography, where she advocated in favor of private consciousness raising efforts and against legal efforts to censor pornography.

She contributed a chapter to the anti-pornography anthology, Take Back the Night, wherein she defended First Amendment freedoms and explained the dangers of seeking legal solutions to the perceived problem of pornography.

She opposed efforts by Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin to define pornography as a civil rights violation, and she critiqued the pro-censorship movement in a 1992 article in The Atlantic entitled "Feminists Against the First Amendment."

Feminist pornography:
Main article: Feminist pornography

Feminist pornography is pornography that is produced by and with feminist women. It is a small but growing segment of the pornography industry. According to Tristan Taormino, "Feminist porn both responds to dominant images with alternative ones and creates its own iconography."

Some pornographic actresses such as Nina Hartley, Ovidie, Madison Young, and Sasha Grey are also self-described sex-positive feminists, and state that they do not see themselves as victims of sexism. They defend their decision to perform in pornography as freely chosen, and argue that much of what they do on camera is an expression of their sexuality.

It has also been pointed out that in pornography, women generally earn more than their male counterparts. Some porn performers such as Nina Hartley are active in the sex workers' rights movement.

The Swedish director and feminist Suzanne Osten voiced scepticism that "feminist pornography" actually exists, referring to her belief that pornography is inherently objectifying and that feminist pornography would therefore constitute an oxymoron.

The American radical feminist periodical off our backs has denounced feminist pornography as "pseudo-feminist" and "so-called 'feminist' pornography".

Feminism and prostitution:
Main article: Feminist views on prostitution

As with many issues within the feminist movement, there exists a diversity of opinions regarding prostitution. Many of these positions can be loosely arranged into an overarching standpoint that is generally either critical or supportive of prostitution and sex work.

Anti-prostitution feminists hold that prostitution is a form of exploitation of women and male dominance over women, and a practice which is the result of the existing patriarchal societal order. These feminists argue that prostitution has a very negative effect, both on the prostitutes themselves and on society as a whole, as it reinforces stereotypical views about women, who are seen as sex objects which can be used and abused by men.

Other feminists hold that prostitution and other forms of sex work can be valid choices for women and men who choose to engage in it. In this view, prostitution must be differentiated from forced prostitution, and feminists should support sex worker activism against abuses by both the sex industry and the legal system. The disagreement between these two feminist stances has proven particularly contentious, and may be comparable to the feminist sex wars of the late twentieth century.

Anti-prostitution feminism:

A proportion of feminists are strongly opposed to prostitution, as they see the practice as a form of violence against women, which should not be tolerated by society.

Feminists who hold such views on prostitution include: 
These feminists argue that, in most cases, prostitution is not a conscious and calculated choice. They say that most women who become prostitutes do so because they were forced or coerced by a pimp or by human trafficking, or, when it is an independent decision, it is generally the result of extreme poverty and lack of opportunity, or of serious underlying problems, such as drug addiction, past trauma (such as child sexual abuse) and other unfortunate circumstances.

These feminists point out that women from the lowest socioeconomic classes—impoverished women, women with a low level of education, women from the most disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities—are over-represented in prostitution all over the world. "If prostitution is a free choice, why are the women with the fewest choices the ones most often found doing it?" (MacKinnon, 1993). 

A large percentage of prostitutes polled in one study of 475 people involved in prostitution reported that they were in a difficult period of their lives and most wanted to leave the occupation. Catharine MacKinnon argues that "In prostitution, women have sex with men they would never otherwise have sex with. The money thus acts as a form of force, not as a measure of consent. It acts like physical force does in rape." 

Some anti-prostitution scholars hold that true consent in prostitution is not possible. Barbara Sullivan says, "In the academic literature on prostitution there are very few authors who argue that valid consent to prostitution is possible. Most suggest that consent to prostitution is impossible or at least unlikely.". "(...) most authors suggest that consent to prostitution is deeply problematic if not impossible (...) most authors have argued that consent to prostitution is impossible. For radical feminists this is because prostitution is always a coercive sexual practice. Others simply suggest that economic coercion makes the sexual consent of sex workers highly problematic if not impossible...".

Finally, abolitionists believe no person can be said to truly consent to their own oppression and no people should have the right to consent to the oppression of others. In the words of Kathleen Barry, consent is not a "good divining rod as to the existence of oppression, and consent to violation is a fact of oppression. Oppression cannot effectively be gauged according to the degree of "consent," since even in slavery there was some consent, if consent is defined as inability to see, or feel any alternative."

Pro-sex work and pro-sex worker's rights feminists:

Unlike those feminists critical of prostitution, pro-sex work perspectives do not concede that prostitution sexual acts have an inherent element of coercion, exploitation, and domination. As such, pro-sex feminists instead assert that sex-work can be a positive experience for women who have employed their autonomy to make an informed decision to engage in prostitution.

Many feminists, particularly those associated with the sex workers' rights movement or sex-positive feminism, argue that the act of selling sex need not inherently be exploitative; but that attempts to abolish prostitution, and the attitudes that lead to such attempts, lead to an abusive climate for sex workers that must be changed.

In this view, prostitution, along with other forms of sex work, can be valid choices for the women and men who engage in it. This perspective has led to the rise since the 1970s of an international sex workers' rights movement, comprising organizations such as COYOTE, the International Prostitutes Collective, the Sex Workers Outreach Project, and other sex worker rights groups.

An important argument advanced by pro-sex work feminists such as Carol Queen highlights that all too often feminists who are critical of prostitution have failed to adequately consider the viewpoints of women who are themselves engaged in sex work, choosing instead to base their arguments in theory and outdated experiences.

Feminists who do not support the radical anti-prostitution view, argue that there are serious problems with the anti-prostitution position, one of which is that, according to Sarah Bromberg, "it evolves from a political theory that is over-verbalized, generalized, and too often uses stereotypical notions of what a prostitute is. The radical [anti-prostitution] feminist views are ... not always delineated sufficiently to support a credible theory that prostitution degrades all women".

Pro-sex work feminists say that the sex industry is not a "monolith", that it is large and varied, that people are sex workers for many different reasons, and that it is unproductive to target prostitution as an institution. Instead, they believe things should be done to improve the lives of the people within the industry.

Feminism and stripping:

Many feminists consider strip clubs to be insulting to women's human rights and dignity.

Feminists and women's rights activists in Iceland succeeded in outlawing strip clubs in March 2010. The law officially took effect on July 31, 2010. The Icelandic feminist Siv Friðleifsdóttir was the first presenter of the bill. Johanna Sigurðardottir, Iceland's prime minister, said: "The Nordic countries are leading the way on women's equality, recognizing women as equal citizens rather than commodities for sale." 

The politician behind the bill, Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir, said: "It is not acceptable that women or people in general are a product to be sold." The vote of the Althing was praised by British radical feminist Julie Bindel, who declared Iceland to be "the world's most feminist country.

​Others feminists believe that stripping can be sexually empowering and feminist. The Lusty Lady is a peep show establishment in North Beach, San Francisco, that was established by a group of strippers who wanted to create a feminist, worker owned strip club.

Additionally, some feminists believe that Pole dancing can be a feminist act. In 2009, a self-identified "feminist pole dancer" named Zahra Stardust was the Australian Sex Party's candidate in the Bradfield by-election. The concept of "feminist pole dancing" has been ridiculed and denounced by feminists and non-feminists alike as "just plain daft" and symptomatic of "the end of feminism."

Feminism and BDSM:
Main article: Feminist views on BDSM

Feminist Views on BDSM vary widely from rejection to acceptance and all points in between. As an example, the two polarizing frameworks are being compared here. The history between feminists and BDSM practitioners has been controversial.

The two most extreme positions are those who believe that feminism and BDSM are mutually exclusive beliefs, and those who believe that BDSM practices are an expression of sexual freedom.

Feminist opposition to BDSM and sadomasochism:

A number of radical feminists, such as Andrea Dworkin and Susan Griffin, regard BDSM as a form of woman-hating violence,

The book Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis includes essays and interviews from numerous feminists who criticize sadomasochism, including: 
Feminist organizations that publicly opposed S/M/ include Lavender Menace, the New York Radical Feminists (NYRF), Women Against Violence in Pornography and Media. In 1982, a leaflet was produced by the "Coalition for a Feminist Sexuality and Against Sadomasochism", an ad-hoc coalition put together by Women Against Pornography to protest the Barnard Conference. The NYRF's NYRF was listed among the signatories to the leaflet.

Pro-BDSM and BDSM-practicing feminists:

While many radical feminists are opposed to BDSM, other feminists view S/M as an ideal feminist expression of sexual freedom while other feminists say that BDSM, and more particularly SM, reinforce patriarchy and that these practices are contradictory to feminism.

Additionally, some feminists are open about practicing BDSM. Many sex-positive feminists see BDSM as a valid form of expression of female sexuality. Some lesbian feminists practice BDSM and regard it as part of their sexual identity. Jessica Wakeman wrote of her own experience with SM activities in a follow-up interview after her article First Time For Everything: Getting Spanked was published in 2009.

At the time of the interview in October, 2010, Wakeman had been writing about feminist issues, including feminism and media criticism, feminism and politics, and feminism and sex for about eight years and considered herself to be a rather active feminist. Wakeman discussed how she is able to enjoy spanking play and being dominated and still be a feminist.

Like other feminist BDSM practitioners, Wakeman rejects the argument that women are taught what they enjoy and led to be submissive by a dominant sexist power structure.

There are several BDSM organizations that cater to lesbian and feminist women, including the Lesbian Sex Mafia and the group Samois that was founded by Patrick Califia and Gayle Rubin.

Feminism and celibacy:

The feminist group Cell 16, founded in 1968 by Roxanne Dunbar, was known for its program of celibacy and separation from men, among other things. Considered too extreme by many mainstream feminists, the organization acted as a sort of hard left vanguard. It has been cited as the first organization to advance the concept of separatist feminism.

In No More Fun and Games, the organization's radical feminist periodical, Cell Members Roxanne Dunbar and Lisa Leghorn advised women to "separate from men who are not consciously working for female liberation", but advised periods of celibacy, rather than lesbian relationships, which they considered to be "nothing more than a personal solution." 

The periodical also published Dana Densmore's article "On Celibacy" (October 1968), which stated in part:

"One hangup to liberation is a supposed 'need' for sex. It is something that must be refuted, coped with, demythified, or the cause of female liberation is doomed.

Already we see girls, thoroughly liberated in their own heads, understanding their oppression with terrible clarity trying, deliberately and a trace hysterically, to make themselves attractive to men, men for whom they have no respect, men they may even hate, because of 'a basic sexual-emotional need.' Sex is not essential to life, as eating is.

Some people go through their whole lives without engaging in it at all, including fine, warm, happy people. It is a myth that this makes one bitter, shriveled up, twisted. The big stigma of life-long virginity is on women anyway, created by men because woman's purpose in life is biological and if she doesn't fulfill that she's warped and unnatural and 'must be all cobwebs inside.'" 

The Feminists, also known as Feminists—A Political Organization to Annihilate Sex Roles, was a radical feminist group active in New York City from 1968 to 1973; it at first advocated that women practice celibacy, and later came to advocate political lesbianism. Political lesbianism embraces the theory that sexual orientation is a choice, and advocates lesbianism as a positive alternative to heterosexuality for women.

Sheila Jeffreys helped develop the concept by co-writing with other members of the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group a pamphlet titled Love Your Enemy?: The Debate Between Heterosexual Feminism and Political Lesbianism, which stated, "We do think... that all feminists can and should be lesbians.

Our definition of a political lesbian is a woman-identified woman who does not fuck men. It does not mean compulsory sexual activity with women." Thus, some political lesbians chose to be celibate or identified as asexual.

In April 1987 the manifesto of the Southern Women's Writing Collective, titled Sex resistance in heterosexual arrangements: Manifesto of the Southern Women's Writing Collective was read in New York City at a conference called "The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism".

This manifesto stated in part, "In contrast to the pro-sex movement, we are calling ourselves Women Against Sex (WAS)...The sex resister understands her act as a political one: her goal is not only personal integrity for herself but political freedom for all women. She resists on three fronts: she resists all male-constructed sexual needs, she resists the misnaming of her act as prudery and she especially resists the patriarchy's attempt to make its work of subordinating women easier by consensually constructing her desire in its own oppressive image."

In 1991 feminist activist Sonia Johnson wrote in her book The Ship That Sailed into the Living Room: Sex and Intimacy Reconsidered, "Nearly four years after I began my rebellion against relation/sex/slave Ships, experience and my Wise Old Woman are telling me that sex as we know it is a patriarchal construct and has no rightful, natural place in our lives, no authentic function or ways. Synonymous with hierarchy/control, sex is engineered as part of the siege against our wholeness and power."

Feminism and sexual orientation:
See also: Gender roles in non-heterosexual communities § Feminism

Feminist approaches to the issue of sexual orientation widely vary. Feminist views on sexual orientation are often influenced by the personal experiences of feminists, as expressed in the feminist slogan "the personal is political." Because of this, many feminists view sexual orientation is a political issue and not merely a matter of individual sexual choice or preference.

Feminism and asexuality:

A 1977 paper titled Asexual and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups, by Myra T. Johnson, may be the first paper explicitly devoted to asexuality in humans. In it Johnson portrays asexual women as invisible, "oppressed by a consensus that they are nonexistent," and left behind by both the sexual revolution and the feminist movement.

A 2010 paper written by Karli June Cerankowski and Megan Milks, titled New Orientations: Asexuality and Its Implications for Theory and Practice, states that society has deemed "[LGBT and] female sexuality as empowered or repressed. The asexual movement challenges that assumption by challenging many of the basic tenets of pro-sex feminism [in which it is] already defined as repressive or anti-sex sexualities."

Some political lesbians identify as asexual. Political lesbianism embraces the theory that sexual orientation is a choice, and advocates lesbianism as a positive alternative to heterosexuality for women. Sheila Jeffreys helped develop the concept by co-writing with other members of the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group a pamphlet titled Love Your Enemy?: The Debate Between Heterosexual Feminism and Political Lesbianism which stated, "We do think... that all feminists can and should be lesbians.

Our definition of a political lesbian is a woman-identified woman who does not fuck men. It does not mean compulsory sexual activity with women."

Feminism and bisexuality:

The lesbian quarterly Common Lives/Lesbian Lives had a policy that all work published in CL/LL was produced by self-defined lesbians, and all of the project's volunteers were lesbians. Due to this policy, a complaint was filed with the University of Iowa Human Rights Commission by a bisexual woman whose submission to the magazine was not published.

A number of women who were at one time involved in lesbian-feminist activism have since come out as bisexual after realizing their attractions to men. A widely studied example of lesbian-bisexual conflict within feminism was the Northampton Pride March during the years between 1989 and 1993, where many feminists involved debated over whether bisexuals should be included and whether or not bisexuality was compatible with feminism.

Common lesbian-feminist critiques leveled at bisexuality were that bisexuality was anti-feminist, that bisexuality was a form of false consciousness, and that bisexual women who pursue relationships with men were "deluded and desperate." However, tensions between bisexual feminists and lesbian feminists have eased since the 1990s, as bisexual women have become more accepted within the feminist community.

Feminism and gay men:

In her 2003 book Unpacking Queer Politics: A Lesbian Feminist Perspective, Australian radical lesbian feminist Sheila Jeffreys advances the position that lesbian culture has been negatively affected by emulating the sexist influence of the gay male subculture of dominant/submissive sexuality.

While she stresses that many gay men who were members of the gay liberation movement repudiated sadomasochism, she writes that the dominant gay male perspective has promoted sadomasochistic sexuality to the detriment of lesbians and feminist women.

However, some gay men such as Andrea Dworkin's husband John Stoltenberg are also critical of sadomasochism and pornography and agree with the radical feminist and lesbian feminist criticisms of these practices. Stoltenberg wrote that sadomasochism eroticizes both violence and powerlessness.

The gay pro-feminist author Christopher N. Kendall wrote the book Gay Male Pornography: An Issue Of Sex Discrimination, advancing the idea that gay male pornography involved sex discrimination and should be banned under Canada's equality laws. He uses radical feminist theory to make the case that gay male pornography reinforces misogyny and homophobia.

Feminism and heterosexuality:

Some heterosexual feminists believe that they have been unfairly excluded from lesbian feminist organizations. The lesbian quarterly Common Lives/Lesbian Lives had a policy that all work published in CL/LL was produced by self-defined lesbians, and all of the project's volunteers were lesbians.

Due to this policy, a complaint was filed with the University of Iowa Human Rights Commission by a heterosexual woman who believed she was discriminated against when not hired to be an intern. A complaint was also lodged with the collective by a bisexual woman whose submission to the magazine was not published.

Feminism and lesbianism:
See also: Lesbian feminism

​Lesbians have been active in the mainstream American feminist movement. The first time lesbian concerns were introduced into the National Organization for Women came in 1969, when Ivy Bottini, an open lesbian who was then president of the New York chapter of the National Organization for Women, held a public forum titled "Is Lesbianism a Feminist Issue?".

However, National Organization for Women president Betty Friedan was against lesbian participation in the movement. In 1969 she referred to growing lesbian visibility as a "lavender menace" and fired openly lesbian newsletter editor Rita Mae Brown, and in 1970 she engineered the expulsion of lesbians, including Ivy Bottini, from NOW's New York chapter.

In reaction, at the 1970 Congress to Unite Women, on the first evening when all four hundred feminists were assembled in the auditorium, twenty women wearing T-shirts that read "Lavender Menace" came to the front of the room and faced the audience. One of the women then read their group's paper

"The Woman-Identified Woman", which was the first major lesbian feminist statement. The group, who later named themselves "Radicalesbians", were among the first to challenge the heterosexism of heterosexual feminists and to describe lesbian experience in positive terms.

In 1971 NOW passed a resolution declaring "that a woman's right to her own person includes the right to define and express her own sexuality and to choose her own lifestyle," as well as a conference resolution stating that forcing lesbian mothers to stay in marriages or to live a secret existence in an effort to keep their children was unjust. That year NOW also committed to offering legal and moral support in a test case involving child custody rights of lesbian mothers. In 1973 the NOW Task Force on Sexuality and Lesbianism was established.

In November 1977 the National Women's Conference issued the National Plan of Action, which stated in part, "Congress, State, and local legislatures should enact legislation to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sexual and affectional preference in areas including, but not limited to, employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, public facilities, government funding, and the military.

State legislatures should reform their penal codes or repeal State laws that restrict private sexual behavior between consenting adults. State legislatures should enact legislation that would prohibit consideration of sexual or affectional orientation as a factor in any judicial determination of child custody or visitation rights. Rather, child custody cases should be evaluated solely on the merits of which party is the better parent, without regard to that person's sexual and affectional orientation."

Del Martin was the first open lesbian elected to NOW, and Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first lesbian couple to join NOW.

Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and political perspective, most influential in the 1970s and early 1980s (primarily in North America and Western Europe), that encourages women to direct their energies toward other women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logical result of feminism.

Some key thinkers and activists are: 
Lesbian feminism came together in the early 1970s out of dissatisfaction with second-wave feminism and the gay liberation movement.

In the words of radical lesbian feminist Sheila Jeffreys, "Lesbian feminism emerged as a result of two developments: lesbians within the WLM [Women's Liberation Movement] began to create a new, distinctively feminist lesbian politics, and lesbians in the GLF (Gay Liberation Front) left to join up with their sisters".

According to Judy Rebick, a leading Canadian journalist and political activist for feminism, lesbians were and always have been at the heart of the women's movement, while their issues were invisible in the same movement.

Lesbian separatism:
Main article: Lesbian separatism

Lesbian separatism is a form of separatist feminism specific to lesbians. Separatism has been considered by lesbians as both a temporary strategy, and as a lifelong practice but mostly the latter.

Lesbian separatism became popular in the 1970s as some lesbians doubted whether mainstream society or even the LGBT movement had anything to offer them.

Political lesbianism:
Main article: Political lesbianism

Political lesbianism is a phenomenon within lesbian feminism and radical feminism, primarily second-wave feminism. Political lesbianism embraces the theory that sexual orientation is a choice, and advocates lesbianism as a positive alternative to heterosexuality for women.

Lesbian women who have identified themselves as "political lesbians" include: 
Jeffreys helped develop the concept by co-writing with other members of the Leeds Revolutionary Feminist Group a pamphlet titled Love Your Enemy?: The Debate Between Heterosexual Feminism and Political Lesbianism which argued that women should abandon heterosexuality and choose to become lesbians as a feminist act.

The pamphlet stated, "We do think... that all feminists can and should be lesbians. Our definition of a political lesbian is a woman-identified woman who does not fuck men. It does not mean compulsory sexual activity with women." Thus, some political lesbians choose to be celibate or identify as asexual.

Biphobia and homophobia in feminism:
See also: Sapphobia and Lesbophobia

Common lesbian-feminist critiques leveled at bisexuality were that bisexuality was anti-feminist, that bisexuality was a form of false consciousness, and that bisexual women who pursue relationships with men were "deluded and desperate." However, tensions between bisexual feminists and lesbian feminists have eased since the 1990s, as bisexual women have become more accepted within the feminist community.

Nevertheless, some lesbian feminists such as Julie Bindel are still critical of bisexuality. Bindel has described female bisexuality as a "fashionable trend" being promoted due to "sexual hedonism" and broached the question of whether bisexuality even exists. She has also made tongue-in-cheek comparisons of bisexuals to cat fanciers and devil worshippers.

​Lesbian feminists initially faced discrimination in the National Organization for Women. Some heterosexual feminists such as Betty Friedan downplayed lesbian issues as not being central to feminist activism. In 1969 Friedan referred to growing lesbian visibility as a "lavender menace" and fired openly lesbian newsletter editor Rita Mae Brown, and in 1970 she engineered the expulsion of lesbians, including Ivy Bottini, from NOW's New York chapter.

In reaction, at the 1970 Congress to Unite Women, on the first evening when all four hundred feminists were assembled in the auditorium, twenty women wearing T-shirts that read "Lavender Menace" came to the front of the room and faced the audience. One of the women then read their group's paper "The Woman-Identified Woman", which was the first major lesbian feminist statement.

The group, who later named themselves "Radicalesbians", were among the first to challenge the heterosexism of heterosexual feminists and to describe lesbian experience in positive terms.

In 1971 NOW passed a resolution declaring "that a woman's right to her own person includes the right to define and express her own sexuality and to choose her own lifestyle," as well as a conference resolution stating that forcing lesbian mothers to stay in marriages or to live a secret existence in an effort to keep their children was unjust.

That year NOW also committed to offering legal and moral support in a test case involving child custody rights of lesbian mothers.

In 1973 the NOW Task Force on Sexuality and Lesbianism was established.

In November 1977 the National Women's Conference issued the National Plan of Action, which stated in part, "Congress, State, and local legislatures should enact legislation to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sexual and affectional preference in areas including, but not limited to, employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, public facilities, government funding, and the military.

State legislatures should reform their penal codes or repeal State laws that restrict private sexual behavior between consenting adults. State legislatures should enact legislation that would prohibit consideration of sexual or affectional orientation as a factor in any judicial determination of child custody or visitation rights. Rather, child custody cases should be evaluated solely on the merits of which party is the better parent, without regard to that person's sexual and affectional orientation."

Friedan eventually admitted that "the whole idea of homosexuality made me profoundly uneasy." and acknowledged that she had been very square and was uncomfortable about lesbianism. "The women's movement was not about sex, but about equal opportunity in jobs and all the rest of it. Yes, I suppose you have to say that freedom of sexual choice is part of that, but it shouldn't be the main issue ...."

Friedan ignored lesbians in the National Organization for Women initially and objected to what she saw as demands for equal time. "'Homosexuality ... is not, in my opinion, what the women's movement is all about.'" 

​While opposing all repression, she wrote, she refused to wear a purple armband or self-identify as a lesbian (although heterosexual) as an act of political solidarity, considering it not part of the mainstream issues of abortion and child care.

In 1977, at the National Women's Conference, she seconded the lesbian rights resolution "which everyone thought I would oppose" in order to "preempt any debate" and move on to other issues she believed were more important and less divisive in the effort to add the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution.

The American radical feminist group Redstockings were strongly opposed to lesbian separatism, seeing interpersonal relationships with men as an important arena of feminist struggle, and hence seeing separatism as escapist.

Like many radical feminists of the time, Redstockings saw lesbianism primarily as a political identity rather than a fundamental part of personal identity, and therefore analyzed it primarily in political terms. Redstockings were also opposed to male homosexuality, which they saw as a deeply misogynistic rejection of women. Redstockings' line on gay men and lesbians is often criticized as homophobic.

Feminism and queer theory:
See also: Queer theory

Queer theory' is a field of post-structuralist critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of queer studies and women's studies. Queer theory has been heavily influenced by the work of feminists such as Gloria Anzaldúa, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, and Judith Butler.

Queer theory builds both upon feminist challenges to the idea that gender is part of the essential self and upon gay/lesbian studies' close examination of the socially constructed nature of sexual acts and identities.

The theory is heavily based on the idea of de-naturalization of identities, which means to reject the very notion of identity, whether this be man and woman or straight and gay. It argues that these identities are constructed throughout life through gendered socialization, this leads to Butler's idea that what makes a man or a woman is malleable and changes throughout time, we are merely performing as a man or woman to conform to today's gender norms.

Feminist application of queer theory:

Queer theory has been greatly influenced by feminist theory and women's studies. Many works have been written on the intersection of feminism and queer theory and how both feminist persepectives can enrich LGBTQ theory and studies and how queer perspectives can enrich feminism.

Books such as Feminism is Queer: The Intimate Connection Between Queer and Feminist Theory detail the intersections between queer and feminist theory and argue that feminism itself could be construed as a "queer" movement.

Feminist criticism of queer theory:

Many feminists have critiqued queer theory as either a diversion from feminism issues or as a male-dominated backlash to feminism. Lesbian feminists and radical feminists have been the most prominent critics of queer theory and queer politics. 

Sheila Jeffreys' Unpacking Queer Politics: A Lesbian Feminist Perspective harshly criticizes queer theory as the product of "a powerful gay male culture" which "celebrated masculine privilege" and "enshrined a cult of masculinity." She repudiates queer theory as anti-lesbian, anti-feminist, and anti-women. Many feminists can be critical of the Queer Theory for many reasons, mainly deriving from the fact that the Queer Theory is critical of feminism.

The theory argues that through the de-naturalization of some identities feminists have naturalized others, this mainly being the idea of natural male domination. This is argued through the idea of sex and gender, while many feminists argue that sex and gender are different, with gender being socially constructed, Butler argues that sex is also part of the social construct and that separating the two gives a natural base for the patriarchy.

This idea gets criticized by many theorists for being anti-feminist and for going against second-wave feminism. We can also see some criticism of the Queer Theory by Nussbaum who criticizes Butler's theory for not talking about biological differences or for her teaching that there is no hope of changing the system, so all you can do is mock it.

Feminist sexology:
Main article: Feminist sexology

Feminist sexology is an offshoot of traditional studies of sexology that focuses on the intersectionality of sex and gender in relation to the sexual lives of women. 

Feminist sexology shares many principles with the overarching field of sexology; in particular, it does not try to prescribe a certain path or "normality" for women's sexuality, but only observe and note the different and varied ways in which women express their sexuality. It is a young field, but one that is growing rapidly. Notable feminist sexologists include Anne Fausto-Sterling and Gayle Rubin.

A notable radical feminist work on women's sexuality is Anne Koedt's The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm, which advances the claim that vaginal orgasm is a patriarchal myth.

Feminism and sexual violence:
See also: Rape culture

Rape culture is a culture in which rape and sexual violence are common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media normalize, excuse, tolerate, or even condone sexual violence. Examples of behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut-shaming, sexual objectification, and trivializing rape.

Rape culture has been used to model behavior within social groups, including prison systems where prison rape is common and conflict areas where war rape is used as psychological warfare. Entire countries have also been alleged to be rape cultures.

Although the concept of rape culture is a generally accepted theory in feminist academia, disagreement still exists over what defines a rape culture and to what degree a given society meets the criteria to be considered a rape culture.

Rape culture has been observed to correlate with other social factors and behaviors. Research identifies correlation between rape myths, victim blaming and trivialisation of rape with increased incidence of racism, homophobia, ageism, classism, religious intolerance and other forms of discrimination.

Feminism and sexual harassment:
See also: Sexual harassment

Feminists have been crucial to the development of the notion of sexual harassment and the codification of laws against sexual harassment. Catharine MacKinnon was among the first to write on the topic of sexual harassment. MacKinnon's book Sexual Harassment of Working Women: A Case of Sex Discrimination is the eighth most-cited American legal book published since 1978, according to a study published by Fred Shapiro in January 2000.

Some liberal feminists and individualist feminists have criticized the notion of sexual harassment. Camille Paglia says that young girls can end up acting in such ways as to make sexual harassment easier, such that for example, by acting "nice" they can become a target.

Paglia commented in an interview with Playboy, "Realize the degree to which your niceness may invoke people to say lewd and pornographic things to you—sometimes to violate your niceness. The more you blush, the more people want to do it." Jane Gallop believes that sexual harassment laws have been abused by what she calls "victim feminists", as opposed to "power feminists" as she calls herself.

Feminism and sexual objectification:

See also: Sexual objectification

The concept of sexual objectification and, in particular, the objectification of women, is an important idea in feminist theory and psychological theories derived from feminism.

Many feminists regard sexual objectification as objectionable and as playing an important role in gender inequality. Some social commentators, however, argue that some modern women objectify themselves as an expression of their empowerment over men, while others argue that increased sexual freedom for women, gay, and bisexual men has led to an increase of the objectification of men.

The male gaze:
Main article: Male gaze

The "male gaze" is feminist theory that was first developed by Laura Mulvey in 1975. The male gaze occurs when the audience, or viewer, is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male.

Mulvey stressed that the dominant male gaze in mainstream Hollywood films reflects and satisfies the male unconscious: most filmmakers are male, thus the voyeuristic gaze of the camera is male; male characters in the film's narratives make women the objects of their gaze; and inevitably, the spectator's gaze reflects the voyeuristic male gazes of the camera and the male actors.

When feminism characterizes the "male gaze" certain themes appear such as, voyeurism, objectification, fetishism, scopophilia, and women as the object of male pleasure.

Mary Anne Doane gives an example of how voyeurism can be seen in the male gaze. "The early silent cinema, through its insistent inscription of scenarios of voyeurism, conceives of its spectator's viewing pleasure in terms of the peeping tom, behind the screen, reduplicating the spectator's position in relation to the woman on the screen."

See also:







Women in Sports including the Impact of Misogyny on Sports Pictured Blow Presented by Row then Left-to-Right:
TOP:
(L) United States women's national soccer team;
(R) Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comăneci;
CENTER:
(L) Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sörenstam;
(R) Tennis players Suzanne Lenglen and Helen Wills;
BOTTOM:
(L) Legend of Hockey Luciana Aymar
(R) Australia and England national netball teams
​Women's sports, both amateur and professional, have existed throughout the world for centuries in all varieties of sports.

Female participation and popularity in sports increased dramatically in the 20th century, especially in the last quarter-century, reflecting changes in modern societies that emphasize gender parity. Although the level of participation and performance still varies greatly by country and by sport, women's sports are generally accepted throughout the world today.

However, despite a rise in women's participation in sports, a large disparity in participation
rates between women and men remains These disparities are prevalent globally and continue to hinder equality in sports. Many institutions and programs still remain conservative and do not contribute to gender equity in sports.

Women who play sports face many obstacles today, such as lower pay, less media coverage, and different injuries compared to their male counterparts. Many female athletes have engaged in peaceful protests, such as playing strikes, social media campaigns, and even federal lawsuits to address these inequalities.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Women in Sports: ___________________________________________________________________________

Misogyny in sports refers to different discourses, actions, and ideologies present in various sporting environments that add, reinforce, or normalize the objectification, degrading, shaming, or absence of women in athletics.

Male bias:

Misogyny can be defined as dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women. It can be manifested in many ways, including hostility, sex discrimination, social exclusion, and disparity in media coverage.

Nineteenth century views of women's involvement in sports gave the impression they were absent altogether. Most of the discussion was centered around middle- and upper-class white women and their health concerns to the exclusion of all other groups.

Women's participation in sports during the next century grew across the board but there remains an undertone that women do not belong, including calling into question their sexuality or femininity.

The sexism experienced by women in sports also tends to be more overt than sexism in other workplaces and organizational settings. For example, in more recent years, champion tennis player Serena Williams has been verbally attacked for her appearance while wrestler Ronda Rousey has been constantly questioned about her sexuality.

Sexist remarks made in many workplaces have been discouraged by displays of social disapproval and the potential threat of organizational reprimand. This has forced misogynistic views to be more subtle in these settings, taking the form of microaggressions or remarks in the form of benevolent sexism. In the sports industry, in comparison, overt sexist remarks are still commonplace and tend to result in less public backlash than similar statements given in other settings.

In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. She was physically attacked by race official Jock Semple who tried to remove her from the race, yelling “Get the hell out of my race."

More recently, prominent sportswomen Serena Williams and Ronda Rousey, as well as Women's World Cup soccer players, have spoken out about misogyny in sport. Female sportswriters have also become more involved in the discussion, some to their peril. Journalist Julie Dicaro was personally attacked after she reported on rape allegations against Patrick Kane, the Chicago Blackhawks star player.

Demeaning language:

A 1993 study, conducted by Michael Messner, found that women were described with words like "girls" and "young women", while men were described with words like "young man" and "men", but never as "boys."

Male dominating sport culture is continuously reinforced from a young age. Starting in little leagues and continuing up until the professional leagues, boys and young men are taught how they should behave on the field. Coaches and popular culture constantly deliver messages that emphasize hypermasculinity.

They use aggressive language towards their players, telling them to "man up" or to stop “playing like pussies”, or telling them that they throw/run/play like a girl. The worst thing to be called or compared to in sports is a woman, and it is the quickest way to cut someone down.

In an interview with sports journalist Julie Dicaro, a man said “no offense, but sports is where I go to get away from women”. Demeaning statements like this about women only reinforce that the sports world is no place for a woman.

Gender gap:

Coverage in media:

The popularity of sports across the globe has not eliminated misogyny in sports coverage. Women's sports still suffer from lack of exposure.

Sports media is male dominant: 90.1% of editors and 87.4% of reporters are male. In televised media, approximately 95% of anchors and co-anchors are male. Women's sports have been underrepresented in comparison to men in their respective sports.

The NBA pays its players roughly 50% of the league's revenue, this includes media coverage, ticket sales, how profitable the brand is, and the revenue that comes from the sport itself which is split between all the teams.

The WNBA pays its players less than 25%, specifically 22.8%, of the league's revenue. This revenue comes from coverage and game attendance. Game attendance has gone up in 2017 reaching its highest-grossing year with an average of 7,716 fans per game. The WNBA is in its 21st season and similarly in the NBA's 21st season (1996-67) had an average of 6,631 fans per game, roughly 1,000 less than the NBA.

Despite having an increase in fans the WNBA is not getting the same coverage as the NBA which adversely affects their salaries.In 2014 ESPN paid the WNBA $17 million for broadcast rights but yet only 2% of airtime on Sports Center, their flagship show, was allocated to women sports with an even smaller percentage being given to the WNBA.

The WNBA was forced to broadcast a live stream of 17 games in order to reach fan bases and garner media attention. Roughly 95% of sports content in media is focused on men, despite women making up 40% of all sports participants.

The quality of the stories and coverage themselves is also significantly lower than the men, including gag stories involving sexual dialogue or emphasizing the female bodies. Regarding the games themselves, the women have lower quality, editing mistakes, and fewer camera angles with less commentators.

A longitudinal study conducted by researchers from Purdue University and University of Southern California of media coverage in sports and the differences found between males and females. Since the start of the 1980s, women's sports have had lower production quality while broadcasting, according the study's author Toni Bruce.

This was done by using lower sound quality, lower graphic quality, and fewer camera angles which presents women's sports a less dramatic and less entertaining. As well as low quality broadcasting in almost every story of a male team or male player there is an interview or analysis done by a professional athlete or commentator as compared to 1/3 of the stories on female athletes or teams include interviews.

Another study found that, between 1989-2000 sexist language was often used to describe female athletes and teams, sexualizing them and focusing on their families. From about the mid-2000s, language turned "gender bland", promoting a sexist slant by means of unenthusiastic recitals of performance, lending a lackluster patina to them as compared to men's.

The researchers suggest that gender bland sexism elevates men with more entertaining language so that they garner more followers and media attention, taking the spotlight off female sports. The dominant language which plays a major role in media coverage of men's sports is largely absent in female sports coverage.

Commentators talk more about statistics which, according to the study, was uninteresting. A lot of stories about women are also what audiences consider gag stories. In one example, SportsCenter ran a 13-second story on a "weightlifting granny". The researchers suggest that the prevalence of such stories undermines the standing of women sports.

Pay gap:

​The pay gap can be defined as the relative difference in the average gross hourly earnings of women and men within the economy as a whole. Of the Forbes 100 most paid athletes only one is a female, which is Serena Williams who lands at number 51. Serena Williams however is the highest paid female athlete according to data based in the year 2017.

Within the sport of tennis, according to the New York Times, women make an average of 80 cents for every dollar a man makes. This pay gap matches the current pay gap in the workplace throughout America as well. This difference means that roughly the 15th best male player makes almost $120,500 more than a female with the same ranking.

In 2018, according to the Guardian, 71% of the worlds top men earn more in prize money than females who have their same ranking. Between 2010-2014 the US Women's Open final drew a larger audience than the men.

The 2007 Wimbledon Championships was the first tournament that offered equal prize money for male and female athletes. This may be the case during televised events and the grand slams, women are still not receiving as much in middle- and low- tier events; the most popular rationalization being that men play longer. The pay gap does not only happen while they are playing but occurs after when they make appearances on television as a tennis expert.

In 2017 BBC had to disclose their pay salaries and it was found that Navratilova was paid roughly $15,000 for her assignment whereas her male counterpart, an equally as good tennis player, received between $150,000-$200,000 for a similar assignment. The pay gap also spans to endorsements in tennis with Maria Sharapova grossing $23 million in endorsements and Roger Federer grossing $65 which is nearly triple. Males earn more in endorsements while getting paid more than females which shows a bias based on gender within the sport.

Tennis remains as the one sport that has the most comparable and fair pay between men and women. Tennis receives the most female media coverage out of any other sport and is growing rapidly in popularity. According to Forbes, eight of the top ten best paid women athletes are tennis players.

Soccer in the United States and across the globe has high pay disparity between males and females. Based on data from 2015 from the World Cup provided by the US Soccer Federation, male athletes on the roster made $76,000 whereas women made $15,000. If the men were to win the World Cup they would receive $9.3 million as compared to the women who would win $1.8 million. This means the men earn roughly 5.5 times more than the women do.

In 2015 the US women's soccer team won the World Cup and broke the record for largest television audience for a soccer game but earned $2 million less than the US male team that finished 11th. In terms of dollar breakdown this means that a woman earns a $1 for $17.50 dollars a man earns in the World Cup.

In the United States both the men and women national team are required to play 20 exhibition matches with other countries across the world. If the men win all 20 games they make $263,000 while the women make $93,000. On average every year the US women's soccer team is paid only 40% of their male counterparts.

This pay gap in women and male soccer is not just in the United States but also in Europe. Premier League players, an elite league in the UK, would earn $772 per minute if they were to play every minute of the regular season. The same calculation would leave the women's premier team, the FA's Women Super League, with $16.7 per minute.

Athletes are not the only ones experiencing the gender pay gap however, it is also sport managers, sport designers, coaches, and operations manager. Based on the PayScale Survey marketing managers earn 82 cents for every dollar a man earns. An event coordinator earns 92 cents for every dollar a man earns and an athletic trainer earns 95 cents for every dollar a man earns.

Many studies have been conducted to discover the emergence of the pay gap in sports.[20] Coaches, specifically head coaches at Division 1 programs, suffer a wider pay gap. If we look at the University of Florida, a Division One team, the male head coach gets paid roughly nine times what the female head coach gets paid.

Amanda Butler, the women's head coach, has a win percentage of .603 and gets paid $429,007. Mike White, the male head coach, has a win percentage of .696 and is paid $3,967,385. Despite both of their win averages being very similar the pay disparity between the two is high.

​Based on a study done by Alex Traugutt and other researchers from the University of Northern Colorado a pay gap is clearly highlighted. Through a sample of 72 head coaches in Division One Basketball teams across the nation, a male coach earns an average of $2,716,191 million whereas a woman coach earns an average of $689,879. The study then focuses on the disparity in pay between in male and female coaches in Division One Women's Basketball. On average a male coaching a D1 women's basketball team earns $821,959 whereas the female earns $631,763, which is about $200,000 less.

FIFA World Cup:

​The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) hosts an international soccer tournament every four years for both men and women. The next Women's World Cup is scheduled in 2019 hosted by France.

In the Men's World Cup in 2014 in Brazil, the US Men's National Soccer Team made it to the knockout round of the World Cup where they lost to Belgium, 2-1. After this loss, the USA men were able to collect $8 million for the team. In 2014 alone, $576 million was set aside for Men's World Cup rewards. That year, in the final match, the German men's team triumphed over Argentina, 1-0, and brought home $35 million.

The 2015 Women's World Cup Final was the second most watched soccer game in the history of the United States, trailing the 2014 Men's World Cup Final by less than half a million viewers. The winning team, the US, brought home $2 million as a reward.

The 2015 Women's World Cup was also the first (and only) World Cup to be played on artificial turf. Players from all over the world took issue with this because of the increased likelihood of injury.

US player Abby Wambach recalled that it was "like playing indoor soccer versus outdoor soccer. You don’t realize it, but the subconscious mind doesn’t allow you to play as physical.” Michelle Heyman, forward on the Australian National Team, compared the fields to "hot coals". During the tournament opener between China and Canada the turf temperature was recorded at 120 degrees.

A group of women's players from around the world, including Nadine Angerer of Germany, Veronica Boquete of France, and led by Abby Wambach of the United States, went to court over the issue of turf fields, claiming that the use of turf only in the Women's World Cup was gender discrimination.

They dropped the claim after FIFA refused to make a change, saying that it was within the requirements of Canada's bid for hosting the Cup. Coaches from around the world have said that complaining is useless because every team has the same conditions, and American defender Ali Krieger agrees, saying that "you have to adapt. This is what was given to us and we're going to do the best we can with it, and adapt and find a way to be successful, no matter what surface we're playing on."

The FIFA World cup has been under fire for a long time and misogyny is one of the reasons. FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who announced his resignation in 2015 in the wake of criminal charges, suggested that women should “wear sexier uniforms to boost ratings”.

In general, with a few exceptions, women's soccer does not have the same viewership as men's. According to FIFA, they are working hard to bring more attention to this half of the sport, saying that there are "untapped opportunities" that can be capitalized on.

​In the United States:

Title IX:
Main article: Title IX

​Girls and women have been discriminated and denied sports opportunities for centuries. Common arguments opposing the participation of women in sports included the argument that "menstruation and reproduction were so exhausting that women could not (and should not) participate in physical exercise" as well as that participation in sports makes women appear unnaturally masculine.

For years,"Efforts to limit women's sport activity [which] continued as they became more involved in competitive sports” prevented many women from expressing their interests in sports, but through time different organizations and feminists have come up with strategies to uplift the participation rates of women and girls in sports.

Title IX for example is a legislation that was passed in 1972 to that provided different provisions that protected the rights of equality in sports for women and girls. It is a law that requires all educational programs receiving federal funding to provide equity for both boys and girls.

Over the years, the law has been subject to over 20 proposed amendments, reviews, and Supreme Court cases. The law has acted as a way of motivating women and girls to participate more in sports.

The participation of girls and women in sports has brought about numerous immediate and long-term benefits that have a lasting impact on both the female gender and the society at large. Some of the different provisions of the ‘Title IX’ include equality in the different sports fields for both sexes.

Essentially, as described on the U.S. Department of Education's website, this provision “protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance”. Title IX's goal was to bolster sports programs and opportunities in order to ensure that more people could become active in sports; and “contrary to the myth, Title IX has not starved men’s athletic programs.

Since Title IX was enacted, the number of men's and women's teams has grown and the number of men and women playing sports has risen". However, it is important that such provisions do not necessarily imply that equal amounts are spent on sports activities and matters for both sexes and athletic opportunities for boys and men to be reduced but simply means that both women and girls should not be discouraged and denied any sports opportunities.

But there are still thousands of schools across the county are not in compliance with Title IX. The law covers all educational activities that receive public funding, so even though sports receive little public funding, they are still subject to Title IX, and are the most well-known application of the law. Opponents of the law say that has led to a break down of men's sports, pointing to the number of schools and institutions that have dropped sports since the enactment of Title IX, such as wrestling and cross-country.

Prior to the law, only 295,000 girls participated in high school sports and they received only 2% of the athletic budget. In 2016–2017, that number had risen to 3.4 million girls playing high school sports across the country.

Various studies have found that those who participate in high school athletics have higher wages, educational attainment, and educational aspirations later on in life. The rise in opportunities to participate in sports has led to a similar rise in labor force participation, which leads to more women with positive earnings.

Since the enactment of Title IX, women have made strides in college athletics for years. Other factors such as body shaping and fan culture are some of the motivation strategies that concerned individuals in the society are taking up to increase women and girl's participation in sports.

However, more enforcement strategies need to be put in place to increase women and girl participation in sports since women discrimination in sports has not been completely eradicated since in some cases, women and girl's participation in sports is not approved. Additionally, it was thought that the creation of Title IX would translate into having more leadership positions in sports being filled by women but this effect has not been seen.

In fact, "in the most visible and arguably most important positions in sport—head coaches, athletic administrators, and sports editors—women remain so marginalized they’re essentially statistical tokens—that is, they represent less than 15 percent of the workforce population."

Scholarships:

Before the Title IX, Equal Opportunity Law was established, not a single sports scholarship was given women in college sports in the United States. Since then, the number of scholarships given to women has increased each year to almost 85,000 scholarships in 2012, based on the “Number of Available College Athletic Scholarships” Compared to the 92,000 Scholarships available for men in that year.

The Title IX legislation was passed in 1972 and required schools that received federal funding to provide equality for boys and girls. Or having the same number of male sports teams as women. Because of that, many schools or universities have dropped specific sports teams such as wrestling and men's soccer.

Before the law, less than 300,000 girls participated in high school sports, receiving 2% of the sports budget. Since then, that number has increased to over 3.4 million girls playing high school sports across the United States.

Women's opportunities and their leadership roles:

As of 2013, female athletes received an average of 63,000 fewer opportunities than men at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions.

Although Title IX encouraged more women to participate in sports at an NCAA level, the number of women in leadership roles has drastically decreased. Women in senior decision making roles has devolved to a number of 18% and women in athletic director positions hold only 17% in the year 2000. Although major strides have been taken by people in all realms of the sports industry to create more opportunities for women, women are still underrepresented in the industry as a whole.

According to the NCAA, only 8.3% of Division I athletics directors are women. Only 21% of college women's athletic programs are headed by women, and women fill only 33% of all administrative jobs in women's programs. In high school, less than 20% of athletic directors are women, and less than 40% of directors of physical education are women.

An American Society of New Editors (ASNE) newsroom census report in 1991 showed 63.1% of newsroom were men and 36.9% were women. In 2012, the percentages had not changed.

By 2013, the statistics are slightly worse, showing 63.7% are men and 36.3% are women. Issues that still remain in terms of gender inequality in sport include the pay gap discrepancies, lack of opportunities for women in a male dominant industry, and lack of media coverage for women athletes.

While there are women who enter top management positions in this industry, men typically receive a greater number of opportunities. Hegemony is described as a state of a “ruling class” referring to men at the forefront of society.

This concept reaffirms the status quo that men demand authority in a society from imposition, manipulation, and even consent from certain groups. Due to this restricting concept, women find it much harder to advance in leadership roles simply due to what has already been set in motion by previous generations and previous cultures.

A study conducted by Alice Eagly and Steven Karau, two professors of psychology and management, explores the social role theory and role congruity theory in relation to how women and men assume different career and social roles based on societal expectations.

Through the role congruity theory, Eagly and Karau explain similarities between gender roles and leadership roles, which suggest prejudice toward female leaders and potential leaders take two forms.

"The first form show[s] a less favorable evaluation of women's potential for leadership because leadership ability is more stereotypical of men than women.

The second form show[s] a less favorable evaluation of the actual leadership behavior of women than men because such behavior is perceived less desirable in women than men."

This research establishes view points and supportive information on why there are fewer women in leadership roles than men throughout the sport industry.

The past two decades have granted a lot of changes in women's involvement within the sports industry due to three prominent factors: “the emergence of societal sensitivity to the activities of women, the impact of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), and such governmental legislation as Title IX”. 

Despite the fact that there is an apparent increase in women participation in intercollegiate athletics, there is a decline in leadership roles and opportunities for women in assistant and associate director positions. In a study conducted by the Sports Management Review twenty assistant and associate athletic directors were interviewed in order to identify factors that may be influential to women's career development sports administration.

The results concluded that personal and contextual factors affected career development such as interpersonal relationships with supervisors and professional development activities access helped the individual's career development achievement.

Additionally, perceptions of gender and professional value ultimately affected women's career choices and thus their opportunities for advancement within the workplace.

Decrease in athletic administrative and coaching positions is even greater for women of color. External barriers encounter by women include: “societal views, sex role stereotypes, negative attitudes towards female competence, and the prevalence of the “male managerial” model”.

Additionally, internal barriers that prevent occupational ambitions include: “fear of failure, low self-esteem, role conflict, fear of success, and the perceived consequences of occupational advancement and incentive value associated with such expectations”.

However, women of color in sport administration experience all of the above plus “racial discrimination, “womanism”, systemic oppression, biased counseling at the pre-collegiate and collegiate levels, and a lack of minority women as role models and mentors”.

Although all women are facing some degree of inequality within the sports administrative work place, barriers are more severe for black women in the industry.

Jeanie Marie Buss is one example of a woman holding a powerful position in the sports industry. According to Forbes in 2011, Jeanie Buss “is one of few powerful women in sports management”. Jeanie is the standing CEO and owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Her responsibilities include running the entire Lakers organization, in addition to overseeing all business and basketball operation pertaining to the team while working closely with Tim Harris, the President of Business Operations. 

Adding on to her list of authoritative roles, Buss represents the Lakers on the NBA's Board of Governors. ESPN has gone on to note that Jeanie Buss is “one of the most powerful women in the NBA”.

Sexual harassment in the sports workplace:

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) "working women face higher risks than men from job-related stress, and one of the most noxious stressors sexual harassment."

The International Olympic Committee Consensus Statement defines sexual harassment as "any unwanted and unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal or physical." This form of harassment is a common fear among female athletes. 

Sexual harassment takes place within all different sport groups and may be perpetrated by a number of different people within the sports world. “The perpetrators of sexual harassment include trainers/coaches, spectators, teammates, sports managers, masseurs, and male peer athletes.” (The forbidden acts)

A study conducted by Sandra L. Kirby and Lorraine Greaves on 1200 female, Canadian national team athletes concluded that the majority of reported acts of sexual harassment involved coaches. However, other figures including “medical doctors or personnel, physiotherapists, strangers, national team committee members, or site managers” were also involved in reported accounts of sexual harassment, just on a lower scale.

The same study also concluded that “while some athletes related personal accounts of harassment and abuse, many reported the ongoing nature of these activities. They happened in a number of places (on team trips, during training or in private locations like the home or vehicle of a coach or older athlete) rather than restricted to a single and predictable site.” 

The ongoing occurrences of sexual harassment may happen over a short or long period of time and almost always happen in private.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the existence of sexual harassment of female athletes. Two of the most prominent factors are the lack of awareness of sexual harassment in the sports industry and the lack of knowledge on how to both seek and provide help.

A study done in 2011 in Quebec called “Disclosure of Sexual Abuse in Sport Organizations: A Case Study” points to the many problems in sports organizations. Most instances point to women rarely, if ever, reporting assault or harassment in the sports business. Most coaches, athletes, and administrators were not even aware of existing protocols of sexual harassment.

When questioned about this concerning issue, the administrators resorted back to their lawyers; assuming that the issue was far too complicated to tackle. “Harms caused by harassment and abuse still represent a blind spot for many sport organisations, either through fear of reputational damage or through ignorance, silence and collusion.” Female athletes and sports industry employees need more education on what acts of sexual harassment look like, how to seek help, and who they can trust to speak out to. 

“All forms of harassment and abuse breach human rights and may constitute a criminal offence. Therefore, there is a legal and moral duty of care incumbent on those who organise sport, to ensure that risks of non-accidental violence are identified and mitigated.”

Another factor that contributes to the existence of sexual harassment of female athletes is the male-dominated power dynamic between men and women in the world of sports. “Sexual harassment and abuse in sport stem from abuses of power relations facilitated by an organisational culture that ignores, denies, fails to prevent or even tacitly accepts such problems.” 

Women in powerful positions, such as successful athletes, are often viewed as too assertive, thus receiving harassment for challenging the preconceived notion of a hierarchy. Targets of sexual harassment are more likely to be female because they may have masculine tendencies, and men feel the need to reassure their “masculine dominance”. 

In addition, the male-dominated power dynamic also affects non athlete women of the sports world. One occupation that frequently experiences sexual harassment in the sport industry are female sport media print professionals. Female sport media print professionals are typically sports editors, sportswriters, sports columnists, and sports reporters.

As reported by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida in 2012, 90% of sports editors and 88% of sports reporters are men. The disproportion between men and women in this position may discourage female sport media print professionals from reporting such incidents of sexual harassment according to an article published by Christina Coleburn.

In reference to the toll that sexual harassment takes on women, Boland states that "victims suffer physical, mental, emotional, and financial losses that can be devastating". It is for this reason that many female athletes choose to stay silent about their sexual harassment.

Discussed in the article Sports Journalism Has A Major Sexual Harassment Problem, women working in the sport industry infrequently report incidents where they have experienced sexual harassment and inappropriate comments throughout their careers due to fear or losing their job. “The impact of sexual harassment is often measured such as somatic, physical and psychological/emotional health, well-being, work variables and career development.

Psychological and somatic outcomes include negative effects on self-esteem and life satisfaction, low sense of self-confidence, negative effects on women’s relationships with other men, anger, fear, anxiety, depression, feelings of humiliation and alienation, a sense of helpless and vulnerability, headache, sleep disturbance, weight loss or gain, gastrointestinal disturbances and nausea.”

In addition, ongoing occurrences of sexual harassment affect victims by manipulating them to believe nothing is wrong and driving them to silence, which may ultimately prolong the sexual harassment.

The USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal that occurred over the course of several years, but came to light in the latter months of 2017 and early 2018 involved former doctor Larry Nassar.  More than 250 young women accused Nassar of sexual harassment and abuse. Many of these women were seen and treated by Nassar as a gymnast. Because of his role as the USA gymnastics team doctor, Nassar was able to be alone with hundreds of young women and girls over the course of nearly two decades.

Aly Raisman, a USA Gymnast, explained how the abuse from Nassar had occurred from such a young age, that despite strange thoughts about his treatment methods, she was taught to trust him which is why it took so long to figure out what was happening to her and many other gymnasts and come forward about it.

​The formerly discussed study, conducted by Sandra L. Kirby and Lorraine Greaves, states that some women admit becoming “desensitized” to verbal sexual harassment from coaches. It was not until the coaches were legally charged that the female victims realized the reality of what had happened to them.

​See also:







Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) was not only a Great American, but also a Feminist: below, eight other strides she made for women​. Pictured below: Ruth Bader Ginsburg is first woman to lie in state at U.S. Capitol
by Sara M Moniuszko, Maria Puente, and Veronica Bravo, USA TODAY

​Did you know women couldn't open a bank account without a man before RBG? Ruth Bader Ginsburg changed these 8 things for women.

Even in death, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is making history for women. The Supreme Court associate justice, a driving force for gender equality in the United States who died last week at age 87, will be the first woman to lie in state Friday in the the U.S. Capitol. Thirty-four men have been so honored since 1852.

The honor comes after Ginsburg lay in repose at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday, a final visit to the high court she served for 27 years. 

During those decades, Ginsburg helped act as a voice for women – and men – in countless ways, from education to workplace discrimination and health care. 

She famously co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU as a lawyer, and brought and argued the cases that led the high court to affirm protections against gender discrimination.

Though it would be impossible to list every triumph that Ginsburg helped achieve, we're looking back to trace some of the impact she's had on women's lives in America.

Here are just some of the contributions  she made for women, both on a legal and personal level.

1. Before  Ginsburg, state-funded schools didn't have to admit women:

In the 1996 United States v. Virginia case, Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion that it is unconstitutional for schools funded by taxpayer dollars to bar women. 

“There is no reason to believe that the admission of women capable of all the activities required of (Virginia Military Institute) cadets would destroy the institute rather than enhance its capacity to serve the ‘more perfect union,’ ” Ginsburg wrote.

Speaking to USA TODAY, women's rights attorney Gloria Allred described Ginsburg's opinion in the case as "groundbreaking."

"She was clear that state-sponsored educational institutions could not exclude women on account of their gender,” Allred explained.

​2. Women couldn't sign a mortgage or have a bank account without a male co-signer.

Ginsburg paved the way for the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which passed in 1974 and allowed women to apply for credit cards and mortgages without a male co-signer.

Naomi Mezey, law professor and co-founder of the Gender+ Justice Initiative at Georgetown University, told USA TODAY that Ginsburg's work surrounding women's financial independence laid a base for further issues of equality and independence. 

Athia Hardt, a former Arizona Republic reporter and current consultant with Hardt and Associates, told USA TODAY about her personal experience with a bank telling her she could no longer have her account in her name after she married, but instead needed to be under "Mrs. Charles Case."

"I said, 'I'm not taking his name,' and they said, 'That doesn't matter,' " she recalled, saying she felt "both frustrated and angry at the system."

In a post to her Facebook page following Ginsburg's death, Hardt shared her story and encouraged other women to do the same as a way to "honor RBG with our memories of something we encountered before she changed the world."

Gloria Feldt, author and former president of Planned Parenthood, was another woman to share her experience on the Facebook post.

​"I had been employed full time for several years and was earning more than my ex. I went to buy a car and couldn’t get a loan without my husband’s signature," she wrote. "That was my tipping point to feminist activism."

​3. Ginsburg helped women make strides toward equal pay.

In 2007, Ginsburg famously dissented from the Supreme Court’s decision on the pay discrimination case Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.

"When she was in the minority, she was a powerful voice in dissent in ways that changed the game,” said Emily Martin, general counsel at the National Women’s Law Center in Washington.

“For example, when five justices ruled against Lilly Ledbetter in her pay discrimination case, Justice Ginsburg's call to action inspired the public and Congress to change the law and strengthen equal pay protections.”

​​4. Her presence on the court preserved a woman's right to choose.

She was a crucial vote on the current court to keep Roe v. Wade. Even though she had doubts about the way the monumental case was decided, she was in no doubt about women's right to choose.

Randall Kessler, a family law and trial lawyer in Atlanta, says Ginsburg was an indispensable brick in the legal wall that has protected Roe v. Wade since the 1970s, and not just on the Supreme Court.

“Now she’s gone, it means pro-choice proponents are scared to death of the unknown,” Kessler says. “They believe (her death and replacement) will empower state legislatures to pass new laws or reintroduce those laws already struck down by the Supreme Court.”

​5. She pushed to protect pregnant women in the workplace.

In 1972, Ginsburg argued that excluding a pregnant woman from the Air Force, like in the case of Struck v. Secretary of Defense, is sex discrimination.

"It was standard 50 years ago for women to be fired from their jobs when they were pregnant," Mezey explained. "(Ginsburg) herself hid her pregnancy while she was teaching at a law school in order not to be told that she couldn't teach."

But as a litigator and on the Supreme Court, Martin explained, Ginsburg changed "what was possible for women in the U.S.”

Mezey added that Ginsburg was able to identify and help address stereotypes, both positive and negative, that "nonetheless end up creating self-fulfilling prophecies of unequal distribution of work."

​"In her life –  including as a daughter, a woman, a lawyer and a mother herself– she actually saw so much of what turned out to be profoundly unjust and unequal," Mezey said.

​6. Ginsburg argued women should serve on juries:

During the 1979 case Duren v. Missouri, jury duty was optional for women in several states because it was viewed to be a burden for women whose role was seen as the "center of home and family life."

Ginsburg, who represented Billy Duren in the case, argued that women should serve on juries on the basis that they are valued the same as men.

​In a 2009 interview with USA TODAY, Ginsburg upheld this notion, saying, "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. … It shouldn't be that women are the exception.”

​7. She was a key vote in granting same-sex marriages

The 2015 case Obergefell v. Hodges, which allowed queer women and the rest of the LGBTQ community the right to same-sex marriages in all 50 states, ended in a 5-4 ruling.

Without Ginsburg, the outcome may have been different.

Imani Rupert-Gordon, the executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, told USA TODAY that Ginsburg's impact on queer women spans far beyond just the issue of gay marriage.

"She really was responsible for helping us expand the concept of gender discrimination," she said. "It's those same types of principles that led to the intellectual foundation that would extend discrimination protections to other considerations like gender identity and sexual orientation, which is important in general but especially important to LGBTQ people."

Mezey added that in Ginsburg's gender advocacy, she "opened up space for protection of people on the basis of gender identity."

More: Supreme Court grants federal job protections to gay, lesbian, transgender workers

8. Ginsburg made it cool to be a confident, hard-working female leader

Though Ginsburg left her mark on the legal world, she also had a lasting influence on women on an individual level by being an example of a powerful woman in her writing, speaking and work as a judge.

​And Ginsburg's impact on empowerment didn't stop with her generation or the next – she's continued to energize young women. Her rise as a pop culture icon has inspired books, movies and even Halloween costumes for young girls. 

​​“That grief is about her, about people’s connection to her,” said Louise Melling, deputy legal director of the ACLU who heads its newly renamed Ruth Bader Ginsburg Center for Liberty.

“I’m thinking about what an icon she became in the last 20 years – I own an RBG bracelet because someone sent it to me! I can’t think of any other justice who became a pop culture icon in that particular way.”

Hardt says Ginsburg's legacy has also taught others to "continue to do the hard work."
"She really kept going on the good fight for her whole life," she said. "She really is a heroine.”

In an interview with USA TODAY in 2013, Ginsburg exemplified this ideal, insisting she would continue working even as others pressured her to step down as the oldest justice on the court.

“As long as I can do the job full-steam, I would like to stay here,” she said. “I have to take it year by year at my age, and who knows what could happen next year? Right now, I know I’m OK.”

Contributing: Richard Wolf; photo illustrations by Veronica Bravo

More: 'I Dissent': Six books to read about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

'RBG': How Ruth Bader Ginsburg became a legit pop-culture icon
​






​​
Amanda Gorman, Poet and ActivistPictured below: Amanda Gorman clearly has talent. But there’s more to her meteoric rise*.
* -- Washington Post: 
By Nneka McGuire
Feb. 7, 2021 at 8:37 p.m. CST

"A poet at the Super Bowl. Sit with that for a second.

After dazzling the nation at President Biden’s inauguration, gripping hearts and minds with her rousing, propulsive verse, Amanda Gorman became the first bard to perform at the country’s most-watched sporting event.

With rhythmic speech and graceful gestures, she delivered a poem in honor of a trio of essential workers, three honorary captains — James Martin, a U.S. Marine veteran; Trimaine Davis, an educator; and Suzie Dorner, an ICU nurse manager — in a recorded video right before the coin toss at Super Bowl LV in Tampa.

“Let us walk with these warriors, charge on with these champions, and carry forth the call of our captains,” Gorman said. “We celebrate them by acting with courage and compassion, by doing what is right and just, for while we honor them today, it is they who every day honor us.”

Her talent is undeniable. Her charm, incontrovertible. (She famously left CNN’s Anderson Cooper speechless in an interview.) And her star power? Sudden, and staggering.
Amanda Gorman reads poem ‘The Hill We Climb’ at Biden inauguration

Gorman, who at 22 is the youngest-ever inaugural poet, has graced the cover of Time magazine — interviewed by no less than the nation’s first Black first lady, Michelle Obama — and signed with IMG Models.

Her books have climbed to the top of bestseller lists, even though they aren’t yet commercially available. She’s been written about by scores of media outlets and publicly praised by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hillary Clinton.  

But the Super Bowl?

Toi Derricotte couldn’t believe it at first. The initial response from the award-winning author of several books of poetry and co-founder of Cave Canem, a nonprofit group that cultivates and promotes the work of Black poets, was incredulous: “The Super Bowl?”

But maybe, she said immediately afterward, “it points to a change.”

In many ways, she explained, Gorman, the first-ever national youth poet laureate, has taken an art form that felt inaccessible to some and made it universal. “She seems to have awakened the spirit of poetry the way I think it was intended to be, to be a voice of the people.”

Her inaugural poem, “The Hill We Climb” (read the lyrics later herein) completed after the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol, put language to the trauma of watching an attack on Washington, the seat of government, after a contested election, in the middle of a pandemic.

“We needed someone to tell us what happened and to reflect the experiences that we have not been able to translate into language,” said Jennifer Benka, president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets. “It’s just been too painful.”

And more than that — we needed comfort, mending, a path to move ahead.
“We will not march back to what was,” Gorman recited on that sunny inauguration morning, “but move to what shall be / A country that is bruised but whole, / benevolent but bold, / fierce and free.”

 “She mapped, in language, a way forward, giving us healing directions that we can repeat to ourselves,” Benka said.  

Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former U.S. poet laureate, concurs.
“She reminded us that the vision of democracy — of liberty, unity and equality — is a dream America has not yet managed to attain. At the same time, she was this beautiful embodiment of the future that is possible for us if we lean on our better instincts,” Smith wrote in an email.

“I also think her poem was capable of meeting listeners where they sat while gently but firmly nudging them a little further toward conscience and conviction. I honestly don’t know of many poets, myself included, who could have done all of that as powerfully as Amanda did.”

Her inaugural poem made her a superstar. And while her rise may seem swift and meteoric, Sharon Marcus, an English and comparative literature professor at Columbia University, says we’re overdue for a poetic mega-idol.

​“There have been celebrity poets for a long time. It’s more unusual to not have a celebrity poet — to have long periods of time where there aren’t celebrity poets — than to have celebrity poets,” said Marcus, who is also the author of “The Drama of Celebrity.”

Take Walt Whitman. (“A very celebrated, well-known persona. People knew what he looked like.”)

Take Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. (“Nobody reads him now. I mean his big poem, ‘Hiawatha,’ is like a nightmare of stereotypes about native peoples,” Marcus said, but he was “known around the world.”)

“The poet has always been this figure of not just writing but speech and rhetoric and oration,” Marcus added, and there have “always been links between poetry and politics.”

​So, she wasn’t surprised to hear of Gorman’s Super Bowl performance.
“Poets used to be kind of like rock stars,” she said, and “who performs at the Super Bowl? Rock and pop stars.”

On the subject of musical stars, Salamishah Tillet, an author, professor and contributing critic at large for the New York Times, astutely drew a connection between Gorman and another Black female icon.

“Beyoncé is the only other person who’s had back-to-back performances with a presidential inauguration and then a Super Bowl presentation. So that’s basically where Amanda Gorman is now being placed in a kind of pantheon of great Black women artists and performers,” Tillet said. “And I think she rightly has earned her place there.”

But there’s a caveat. Gorman absolutely deserves her flowers, said Tillet, who is also co-founder of A Long Walk Home Inc., a nonprofit that uses art to end violence against girls and women, but the reverence Gorman’s receiving doesn’t extend to those who resemble her.

​“On one hand, her books are being sold out before they’ve come out,” she said. “People are just so blown away by her performance and the way in which she was able to capture the complexity of the American story on that huge platform.”

On the other hand, “we have a 9-year-old black girl being pepper-sprayed in Rochester, New York, by police officers. And so, there’s a way in which the celebration of Amanda Gorman, from many people in America, it doesn’t translate into the recognition or the seeing or the acknowledging of everyday Black girls. They’re like completely different universes.”

The admiration Gorman, poet par excellence, has garnered “doesn’t translate into nurturing and uplifting the Amanda Gormans everywhere,” Tillet added.

In her book on celebrity, Marcus, the professor, argues that “we get the celebrities we deserve.”

Do we deserve Amanda Gorman? Do we deserve a poet whose mantra is, “I’m the daughter of Black writers who are descended from Freedom Fighters who broke their chains and changed the world”? 

​“I hope we deserve her,” Marcus said. “And I hope that the moment lives up to the promise she gave us.”

[End of Washington Post Article]
___________________________________________________________________________

Lyrics to the Poem "The Hill We Climb", courtesy of CNN:

​(CNN) Amanda Gorman, the nation's first-ever youth poet laureate, read the following poem during the inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20:
  1. When day comes we ask ourselves,
  2. where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
  3. The loss we carry,a sea we must wade
  4. We've braved the belly of the beast
  5. We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
  6. And the norms and notions
  7. of what just is
  8. Isn't always just-ice
  9. And yet the dawn is ours
  10. before we knew it
  11. Somehow we do it
  12. Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
  13. a nation that isn't broken
  14. but simply unfinished
  15. We the successors of a country and a time
  16. Where a skinny Black girl
  17. descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
  18. can dream of becoming president
  19. only to find herself reciting for one
  20. And yes we are far from polished
  21. far from pristine
  22. but that doesn't mean we are
  23. striving to form a union that is perfect
  24. We are striving to forge a union with purpose
  25. To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
  26. conditions of man
  27. And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
  28. but what stands before us
  29. We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
  30. we must first put our differences aside
  31. We lay down our arms
  32. so we can reach out our arms
  33. to one another
  34. We seek harm to none and harmony for all
  35. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
  36. That even as we grieved, we grew
  37. That even as we hurt, we hoped
  38. That even as we tired, we tried
  39. That we'll forever be tied together, victorious
  40. Not because we will never again know defeat
  41. but because we will never again sow division
  42. Scripture tells us to envision
  43. that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
  44. And no one shall make them afraid
  45. If we're to live up to our own time
  46. Then victory won't lie in the blade
  47. But in all the bridges we've made
  48. That is the promise to glade
  49. The hill we climb
  50. If only we dare
  51. It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
  52. it's the past we step into
  53. and how we repair it
  54. We've seen a force that would shatter our nation
  55. rather than share it
  56. Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
  57. And this effort very nearly succeeded
  58. But while democracy can be periodically delayed
  59. it can never be permanently defeated
  60. In this truth
  61. in this faith we trust
  62. For while we have our eyes on the future
  63. history has its eyes on us
  64. This is the era of just redemption
  65. We feared at its inception
  66. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
  67. of such a terrifying hour
  68. but within it we found the power
  69. to author a new chapter
  70. To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
  71. So while once we asked,
  72. how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
  73. Now we assert
  74. How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
  75. We will not march back to what was
  76. but move to what shall be
  77. A country that is bruised but whole,
  78. benevolent but bold,
  79. fierce and free
  80. We will not be turned around
  81. or interrupted by intimidation
  82. because we know our inaction and inertia
  83. will be the inheritance of the next generation
  84. Our blunders become their burdens
  85. But one thing is certain:
  86. If we merge mercy with might,
  87. and might with right,
  88. then love becomes our legacy
  89. and change our children's birthright
  90. So let us leave behind a country
  91. better than the one we were left with
  92. Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
  93. we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
  94. We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
  95. we will rise from the windswept northeast
  96. where our forefathers first realized revolution
  97. We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
  98. we will rise from the sunbaked south
  99. We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
  100. and every known nook of our nation and
  101. every corner called our country,
  102. our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
  103. battered and beautiful
  104. When day comes we step out of the shade,
  105. aflame and unafraid
  106. The new dawn blooms as we free it
  107. For there is always light,if only we're brave enough to see it
  108. If only we're brave enough to be it
___________________________________________________________________________ 
Amanda Gordon (Wikipedia)

Amanda S. C. Gorman (born 1998) is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora.

Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015. In 2021, she delivered her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Her inauguration poem generated international acclaim, and shortly thereafter, two of her books achieved best-seller status, and she obtained a professional management contract.

​Early life and education:

Gorman was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1998. She was raised by her single mother, Joan Wicks, a 6th-grade English teacher in Watts, with her two siblings. 

Gorman has a twin sister, Gabrielle, who is an activist and filmmaker. Gorman has said she grew up in an environment with limited television access. She has described her young self as a "weird child" who enjoyed reading and writing and was encouraged by her mother.

Gorman has an auditory processing disorder and is hypersensitive to sound. She also had a speech impediment during childhood. Gorman participated in speech therapy during her childhood and Elida Kocharian of The Harvard Crimson wrote in 2018, "Gorman doesn't view her speech impediment as a crutch—rather, she sees it as a gift and a strength." 

Gorman told The Harvard Gazette in 2018, "I always saw it as a strength because since I was experiencing these obstacles in terms of my auditory and vocal skills, I became really good at reading and writing. I realized that at a young age when I was reciting the Marianne Deborah Williamson quote that 'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure' to my mom." 

In 2021, Gorman told CBS This Morning co-host Anthony Mason that she used songs as a form of speech therapy, and explained, "My favorite thing to practice was the song 'Aaron Burr, Sir,' from Hamilton because it is jam-packed with R's. And I said, 'if I can keep up with Leslie in this track, then I am on my way to being able to say this R in a poem."

Gorman attended New Roads, a private school in Santa Monica, for grades K–12. As a senior, she received a Milken Family Foundation college scholarship. She studied sociology at Harvard College, graduating cum laude in 2020 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Career: 

2014-2015:

Gorman's art and activism focus on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the African diaspora. She has said she was inspired to become a youth delegate for the United Nations in 2013 after watching a speech by Pakistani Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. 

Gorman was chosen as the first youth poet laureate of Los Angeles in 2014. In 2014 it was reported that Gorman was "editing the first draft of a novel the 16‑year‑old has been writing over the last two years." She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015.

​2016-2020:

In 2016, Gorman founded the nonprofit organization One Pen One Page, a youth writing and leadership program. In 2017, she became the first author to be featured on XQ Institute's Book of the Month, a monthly giveaway to share inspiring Gen Z's favorite books. She wrote a tribute for black athletes for Nike and has a book deal with Viking Children's Books to write two children's picture books.

In 2017, Gorman became the first youth poet to open the literary season for the Library of Congress, and she has read her poetry on MTV. She wrote "In This Place: An American Lyric" for her September 2017 performance at the Library of Congress, which commemorated the inauguration of Tracy K. Smith as Poet Laureate of the United States.

The Morgan Library and Museum acquired her poem "In This Place (An American Lyric)" and displayed it in 2018 near works by Elizabeth Bishop.

While at Harvard, Gorman became the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate in April 2017. She was chosen from five finalists. In 2017, Gorman won a $10,000 grant from media company OZY in the annual OZY Genius Awards through which 10 college students are given "the opportunity to pursue their outstanding ideas and envisioned innovations".

​In 2017, Gorman said she intends to run for president in 2036, and she has subsequently often repeated this hope.

On being selected as one of Glamour magazine's 2018 "College Women of the Year", she said: "Seeing the ways that I as a young black woman can inspire people is something I want to continue in politics. I don’t want to just speak words; I want to turn them into realities and actions." 

After she read her poem "The Hill We Climb" at President Joe Biden's inauguration in 2021, Hillary Clinton tweeted her support for Gorman's 2036 aspiration.

In 2019, Gorman was chosen as one of The Root magazine's "Young Futurists", an annual list of "the 25 best and brightest young African-Americans who excel in the fields of social justice and activism, arts and culture, enterprise and corporate innovation, science and technology, and green innovation".

In May 2020, Gorman appeared in an episode of the web series Some Good News hosted by John Krasinski, where she had the opportunity to virtually meet Oprah Winfrey and issued a virtual commencement speech to those who could not attend commencements due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

In 2020, Gorman presented "Earthrise", a poem focused on the climate crisis.

2021 and inauguration poem:

​Gorman read her poem "The Hill We Climb" (see lyrics above) at the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, and is the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration in United States history.

Jill Biden recommended her for the inauguration. After January 6, 2021, Gorman amended her poem's wording to address the storming of the United States Capitol.

During the week before the inauguration, she told Washington Post book critic Ron Charles, "My hope is that my poem will represent a moment of unity for our country" and "with my words, I'll be able to speak to a new chapter and era for our nation."

Before her performance, Gorman told CBS This Morning co-host Anthony Mason: "One of the preparations that I do always whenever I perform is I say a mantra to myself, which is 'I'm the daughter of black writers. We're descended from freedom fighters who broke through chains and changed the world. They call me.' And that is the way in which I prepare myself for the duty that needs to get done."

Soon after Gorman's performance at the inauguration, her two upcoming books, the poetry collection The Hill We Climb and a project for youth, Change Sings: A Children's Anthem, were at the top of Amazon's bestseller list. Both are scheduled to be released in September 2021. 

A book version of the poem "The Hill We Climb" is scheduled to be released on March 16, 2021, with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey, and each of Gorman's three upcoming books will have first printings of one million copies.

IMG Models and its parent company WME signed Gorman for representation in fashion, beauty, and talent endorsements. She is represented in the publishing industry by Writers House and by the Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown and Passman law firm.

Gorman was commissioned to compose an original poem to be recited at Super Bowl LV's pregame ceremony on February 7, 2021, as an introduction to the three honorary captains who would preside over the coin toss. 

The Washington Post reported that the honorary captains were essential workers "James Martin, a U.S. Marine veteran; Trimaine Davis, an educator; and Suzie Dorner, an ICU nurse manager," and that Gorman delivered the poem in their honor in a recorded video.

Personal life:

Gorman is a black Catholic, a member of St. Brigid Catholic Church in her hometown of Los Angeles. The day after Biden's inauguration, she appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden and said that Corden was her "favorite human being ever created."

Michael Cirelli, executive director of Urban Word NYC, called her a "powerhouse" and has joked that her "bio goes out of date every two weeks." In 2014 it was reported that Gorman "aspires to be a human rights advocate."

Honors and recognition:
  • 2014: Chosen as inaugural youth poet laureate of Los Angeles
  • 2017: Chosen as National Youth Poet Laureate
  • 2017: OZY Genius Award
  • 2018: Named one of Glamour magazine's College Women of the Year
  • 2019: Named on The Root's "Young Futurists" list
  • 2021: Selected to read at the inauguration of Joe Biden, becoming the youngest poet ever to read at a US presidential inauguration

Bibliography:

Books
Audiobooks
Articles
See also:







Feminist TheoryPictured: Feminist Theory Explained
Feminist Theory

Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist politics in a variety of fields, such as:  Feminist theory often focuses on analyzing gender inequality. Themes often explored in feminist theory include the following:
​History:

Feminist theories first emerged as early as 1794 in publications such as A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft, "The Changing Woman", "Ain't I a Woman", "Speech after Arrest for Illegal Voting", and so on.

"The Changing Woman" is a Navajo Myth that gave credit to a woman who, in the end, populated the world. In 1851, Sojourner Truth addressed women's rights issues through her publication, "Ain't I a Woman".

Sojourner Truth addressed the issue of women having limited rights due to men's flawed perception of women. Truth argued that if a woman of color can perform tasks that were supposedly limited to men, then any woman of any color could perform those same tasks.

After her arrest for illegally voting, Susan B. Anthony gave a speech within court in which she addressed the issues of language within the constitution documented in her publication, "Speech after Arrest for Illegal voting" in 1872. Anthony questioned the authoritative principles of the constitution and its male-gendered language. She raised the question of why women are accountable to be punished under law but they cannot use the law for their own protection (women could not vote, own property, nor themselves in marriage). She also critiqued the constitution for its male-gendered language and questioned why women should have to abide by laws that do not specify women.

Nancy Cott makes a distinction between modern feminism and its antecedents, particularly the struggle for suffrage. In the United States she places the turning point in the decades before and after women obtained the vote in 1920 (1910–1930). She argues that the prior woman movement was primarily about woman as a universal entity, whereas over this 20-year period it transformed itself into one primarily concerned with social differentiation, attentive to individuality and diversity. New issues dealt more with woman's condition as a social construct, gender identity, and relationships within and between genders. Politically this represented a shift from an ideological alignment comfortable with the right, to one more radically associated with the left.
​
Susan Kingsley Kent says that Freudian patriarchy was responsible for the diminished profile of feminism in the inter-war years, others such as Juliet Mitchell consider this to be overly simplistic since Freudian theory is not wholly incompatible with feminism. Some feminist scholarship shifted away from the need to establish the origins of family, and towards analyzing the process of patriarchy. 

In the immediate postwar period, Simone de Beauvoir stood in opposition to an image of "the woman in the home". De Beauvoir provided an existentialist dimension to feminism with the publication of Le Deuxième Sexe (The Second Sex) in 1949. As the title implies, the starting point is the implicit inferiority of women, and the first question de Beauvoir asks is "what is a woman"? 

A woman she realizes is always perceived of as the "other", "she is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her". In this book and her essay, "Woman: Myth & Reality", de Beauvoir anticipates Betty Friedan in seeking to demythologize the male concept of woman.

"A myth invented by men to confine women to their oppressed state. For women, it is not a question of asserting themselves as women, but of becoming full-scale human beings." "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman", or as Toril Moi puts it "a woman defines herself through the way she lives her embodied situation in the world, or in other words, through the way in which she makes something of what the world makes of her".

Therefore, the woman must regain subject, to escape her defined role as "other", as a Cartesian point of departure. In her examination of myth, she appears as one who does not accept any special privileges for women. Ironically, feminist philosophers have had to extract de Beauvoir herself from out of the shadow of Jean-Paul Sartre to fully appreciate her While more philosopher and novelist than activist, she did sign one of the Mouvement de Libération des Femmes manifestos.

The resurgence of feminist activism in the late 1960s was accompanied by an emerging literature of concerns for the earth and spirituality, and environmentalism. This, in turn, created an atmosphere conducive to reigniting the study of and debate on matricentricity, as a rejection of determinism, such as Adrienne Rich and Marilyn French while for socialist feminists like Evelyn Reed, patriarchy held the properties of capitalism.

Feminist psychologists, such as Jean Baker Miller, sought to bring a feminist analysis to previous psychological theories, proving that "there was nothing wrong with women, but rather with the way modern culture viewed them".

​Elaine Showalter describes the development of feminist theory as having a number of phases. The first she calls "feminist critique" – where the feminist reader examines the ideologies behind literary phenomena.

The second Showalter calls "Gynocritics" – where the "woman is producer of textual meaning" including "the psychodynamics of female creativity; linguistics and the problem of a female language; the trajectory of the individual or collective female literary career and literary history".

The last phase she calls "gender theory" – where the "ideological inscription and the literary effects of the sex/gender system" are explored". This model has been criticized by Toril Moi who sees it as an essentialist and deterministic model for female subjectivity. She also criticized it for not taking account of the situation for women outside the west. 

From the 1970s onwards, psychoanalytical ideas that have been arising in the field of French feminism have gained a decisive influence on feminist theory. Feminist psychoanalysis deconstructed the phallic hypotheses regarding the Unconscious. Julia Kristeva, Bracha Ettinger and Luce Irigaray developed specific notions concerning unconscious sexual difference, the feminine, and motherhood, with wide implications for film and literature analysis.

Disciplines:
See also: Feminist movements and ideologies

There are a number of distinct feminist disciplines, in which experts in other areas apply feminist techniques and principles to their own fields. Additionally, these are also debates which shape feminist theory and they can be applied interchangeably in the arguments of feminist theorists.

Bodies:

In western thought, the body has been historically associated solely with women, whereas men have been associated with the mind. Susan Bordo, a modern feminist philosopher, in her writings elaborates the dualistic nature of the mind/body connection by examining the early philosophies of Aristotle, Hegel, and Descartes, revealing how such distinguishing binaries such as spirit/matter and male activity/female passivity have worked to solidify gender characteristics and categorization.

Bordo goes on to point out that while men have historically been associated with the intellect and the mind or spirit, women have long been associated with the body, the subordinated, negatively imbued term in the mind/body dichotomy. The notion of the body (but not the mind) being associated with women has served as a justification to deem women as property, objects, and exchangeable commodities (among men).

For example, women's bodies have been objectified throughout history through the changing ideologies of fashion, diet, exercise programs, cosmetic surgery, childbearing, etc. This contrasts to men's role as a moral agent, responsible for working or fighting in bloody wars.

The race and class of a woman can determine whether her body will be treated as decoration and protected, which is associated with middle or upper-class women's bodies. On the other hand, the other body is recognized for its use in labor and exploitation which is generally associated with women's bodies in the working-class or with women of color.

Second-wave feminist activism has argued for reproductive rights and choice. The women's health movement and lesbian feminism are also associated with this Bodies debate.

The standard and contemporary sex and gender system:

The standard sex determination and gender model consists of evidence based on the determined sex and gender of every individual and serve as norms for societal life.

The model claims that the sex-determination of a person exists within a male/female dichotomy, giving importance to genitals and how they are formed via chromosomes and DNA-binding proteins (such as the sex-determining region Y genes), which are responsible for sending sex-determined initialization and completion signals to and from the biological sex-determination system in fetuses.

Occasionally, variations occur during the sex-determining process, resulting in intersex conditions. The standard model defines gender as a social understanding/ideology that defines what behaviors, actions, and appearances are normal for males and females. Studies into biological sex-determining systems also have begun working towards connecting certain gender conducts such as behaviors, actions, and desires with sex-determinism.

Socially-biasing children sex and gender system:

​The socially-biasing children sex and gender model broadens the horizons of the sex and gender ideologies. It revises the ideology of sex to be a social construct which is not limited to either male or female.

The Intersex Society of North America which explains that, "nature doesn't decide where the category of 'male' ends and the category of 'intersex' begins, or where the category of 'intersex' ends and the category of 'female' begins. Humans decide. Humans (today, typically doctors) decide how small a penis has to be, or how unusual a combination of parts has to be, before it counts as intersex". 

Therefore, sex is not a biological/natural construct but a social one instead since, society and doctors decide on what it means to be male, female, or intersex in terms of sex chromosomes and genitals, in addition to their personal judgment on who or how one passes as a specific sex.

The ideology of gender remains a social construct but is not as strict and fixed. Instead, gender is easily malleable, and is forever changing. One example of where the standard definition of gender alters with time happens to be depicted in Sally Shuttleworth's Female Circulation in which the, "abasement of the woman, reducing her from an active participant in the labor market to the passive bodily existence to be controlled by male expertise is indicative of the ways in which the ideological deployment of gender roles operated to facilitate and sustain the changing structure of familial and market relations in Victorian England". 

In other words, this quote shows what it meant growing up into the roles of a female (gender/roles) changed from being a homemaker to being a working woman and then back to being passive and inferior to males.

In conclusion, the contemporary sex gender model is accurate because both sex and gender are rightly seen as social constructs inclusive of the wide spectrum of sexes and genders and in which nature and nurture are interconnected.

Epistemologies:

Questions about how knowledge is produced, generated, and distributed have been central to Western conceptions of feminist theory and discussions on feminist epistemology. One debate proposes such questions as "Are there 'women's ways of knowing' and 'women's knowledge'?" And "How does the knowledge women produce about themselves differ from that produced by patriarchy?" 

Feminist theorists have also proposed the "feminist standpoint knowledge" which attempts to replace the "view from nowhere" with the model of knowing that expels the "view from women's lives". A feminist approach to epistemology seeks to establish knowledge production from a woman's perspective. It theorizes that from personal experience comes knowledge which helps each individual look at things from a different insight.

Central to feminism is that women are systematically subordinated, and bad faith exists when women surrender their agency to this subordination, e.g., acceptance of religious beliefs that a man is the dominant party in a marriage by the will of God; Simone de Beauvoir labels such women "mutilated" and "immanent".

Intersectionality:
Main article: Intersectionality

Intersectionality is the examination of various ways in which people are oppressed, based on the relational web of dominating factors of race, sex, class, nation and sexual orientation.

Intersectionality "describes the simultaneous, multiple, overlapping, and contradictory systems of power that shape our lives and political options". While this theory can be applied to all people, and more particularly all women, it is specifically mentioned and studied within the realms of black feminism. 

Patricia Hill Collins argues that black women in particular, have a unique perspective on the oppression of the world as unlike white women, they face both racial and gender oppression simultaneously, among other factors. This debate raises the issue of understanding the oppressive lives of women that are not only shaped by gender alone but by other elements such as racism, classism, ageism, heterosexism, ableism etc.

Language:
See also:  ​
In this debate, women writers have addressed the issues of masculinized writing through male gendered language that may not serve to accommodate the literary understanding of women's lives.

Such masculinized language that feminist theorists address is the use of, for example, "God the Father" which is looked upon as a way of designating the sacred as solely men (or, in other words, biblical language glorifies men through all of the masculine pronouns like "he" and "him" and addressing God as a "He").

Feminist theorists attempt to reclaim and redefine women through re-structuring language. For example, feminist theorists have used the term "womyn" instead of "women". Some feminist theorists find solace in changing titles of unisex jobs (for example, police officer versus policeman or mail carrier versus mailman). Some feminist theorists have reclaimed and redefined such words as "dyke" and "bitch" and others have invested redefining knowledge into feminist dictionaries.

Psychology:

Feminist psychology is a form of psychology centered on societal structures and gender.

Feminist psychology critiques the fact that historically psychological research has been done from a male perspective with the view that males are the norm. Feminist psychology is oriented on the values and principles of feminism. It incorporates gender and the ways women are affected by issues resulting from it. 

Ethel Dench Puffer Howes was one of the first women to enter the field of psychology. She was the Executive Secretary of the National College Equal Suffrage League in 1914.

One major psychological theory, relational-cultural theory, is based on the work of Jean Baker Miller, whose book Toward a New Psychology of Women proposes that "growth-fostering relationships are a central human necessity and that disconnections are the source of psychological problems". 

Inspired by Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique, and other feminist classics from the 1960s, relational-cultural theory proposes that "isolation is one of the most damaging human experiences and is best treated by reconnecting with other people", and that a therapist should "foster an atmosphere of empathy and acceptance for the patient, even at the cost of the therapist's neutrality". The theory is based on clinical observations and sought to prove that "there was nothing wrong with women, but rather with the way modern culture viewed them".

Psychoanalysis:
See also: Psychoanalysis and Feminism and the Oedipus complex

Psychoanalytic feminism and feminist psychoanalysis are based on Freud and his psychoanalytic theories, but they also supply an important critique of it. It maintains that gender is not biological but is based on the psycho-sexual development of the individual, but also that sexual difference and gender are different notions.

Psychoanalytical feminists believe that gender inequality comes from early childhood experiences, which lead men to believe themselves to be masculine, and women to believe themselves feminine. It is further maintained that gender leads to a social system that is dominated by males, which in turn influences the individual psycho-sexual development.

As a solution it was suggested by some to avoid the gender-specific structuring of the society coeducation. From the last 30 years of the 20th century, the contemporary French psychoanalytical theories concerning the feminine, that refer to sexual difference rather than to gender, with psychoanalysts like Julia Kristeva, Maud Mannoni, Luce Irigaray and Bracha Ettinger, have largely influenced not only feminist theory but also the understanding of the subject in philosophy and the general field of psychoanalysis itself. 

​These French psychoanalysts are mainly post-Lacanian. Other feminist psychoanalysts and feminist theorists whose contributions have enriched the field through an engagement with psychoanalysis are Jessica Benjamin, Jacqueline Rose, Ranjana Khanna, and Shoshana Felman.

​Literary theory:
Main article: Feminist literary criticism
See also: Gynocriticism

Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theories or politics. Its history has been varied, from classic works of female authors such as George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Margaret Fuller to recent theoretical work in women's studies and gender studies by "third-wave" authors.

In the most general terms, feminist literary criticism before the 1970s was concerned with the politics of women's authorship and the representation of women's condition within literature. Since the arrival of more complex conceptions of gender and subjectivity, feminist literary criticism has taken a variety of new routes. It has considered gender in the terms of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, as part of the deconstruction of existing power relations.

Film theory:
Main article: Feminist film theory

Many feminist film critics, such as Laura Mulvey, have pointed to the "male gaze" that predominates in classical Hollywood film making. Through the use of various film techniques, such as shot reverse shot, the viewers are led to align themselves with the point of view of a male protagonist.

Notably, women function as objects of this gaze far more often than as proxies for the spectator. Feminist film theory of the last twenty years is heavily influenced by the general transformation in the field of aesthetics, including the new options of articulating the gaze, offered by psychoanalytical French feminism, like Bracha Ettinger's feminine, maternal and matrixial gaze.

Art history:

Linda Nochlin and Griselda Pollock are prominent art historians writing on contemporary and modern artists and articulating Art history from a feminist perspective since the 1970s. Pollock works with French psychoanalysis, and in particular with Kristeva's and Ettinger's theories, to offer new insights into art history and contemporary art with special regard to questions of trauma and trans-generation memory in the works of women artists.

Other prominent feminist art historians include: 
History:
Main article: Feminist history

Feminist history refers to the re-reading and re-interpretation of history from a feminist perspective. It is not the same as the history of feminism, which outlines the origins and evolution of the feminist movement. It also differs from women's history, which focuses on the role of women in historical events.

The goal of feminist history is to explore and illuminate the female viewpoint of history through rediscovery of female writers, artists, philosophers, etc., in order to recover and demonstrate the significance of women's voices and choices in the past.

Geography:
Main article: Feminist geography

Feminist geography is often considered part of a broader postmodern approach to the subject which is not primarily concerned with the development of conceptual theory in itself but rather focuses on the real experiences of individuals and groups in their own localities, upon the geographies that they live in within their own communities.

In addition to its analysis of the real world, it also critiques existing geographical and social studies, arguing that academic traditions are delineated by patriarchy, and that contemporary studies which do not confront the nature of previous work reinforce the male bias of academic study.

Philosophy:
Main article: Feminist philosophy

The Feminist philosophy refers to a philosophy approached from a feminist perspective. Feminist philosophy involves attempts to use methods of philosophy to further the cause of the feminist movements, it also tries to criticize and/or reevaluate the ideas of traditional philosophy from within a feminist view.

This critique stems from the dichotomy Western philosophy has conjectured with the mind and body phenomena. There is no specific school for feminist philosophy like there has been in regard to other theories. This means that Feminist philosophers can be found in the analytic and continental traditions, and the different viewpoints taken on philosophical issues with those traditions.

Feminist philosophers also have many different viewpoints taken on philosophical issues within those traditions. Feminist philosophers who are feminists can belong to many different varieties of feminism. The writings of Judith Butler, Rosi Braidotti, Donna Haraway, Bracha Ettinger and Avital Ronell are the most significant psychoanalytically informed influences on contemporary feminist philosophy.

Sexology:
Main article: Feminist sexology

​Feminist sexology is an offshoot of traditional studies of sexology that focuses on the intersectionality of sex and gender in relation to the sexual lives of women.

Feminist sexology shares many principles with the wider field of sexology; in particular, it does not try to prescribe a certain path or "normality" for women's sexuality, but only observe and note the different and varied ways in which women express their sexuality. Looking at sexuality from a feminist point of view creates connections between the different aspects of a person's sexual life.

From feminists' perspectives, sexology, which is the study of human sexuality and sexual relationship, relates to the intersectionality of gender, race and sexuality. Men have dominant power and control over women in the relationship, and women are expected to hide their true feeling about sexual behaviors.

Women of color face even more sexual violence in the society. Some countries in Africa and Asia even practice female genital cutting, controlling women's sexual desire and limiting their sexual behavior. Moreover, Bunch, the women's and human rights activist, states that society used to see lesbianism as a threat to male supremacy and to the political relationships between men and women. 

Therefore, in the past, people viewed being a lesbian as a sin and made it death penalty. Even today, many people still discriminate homosexuals. Many lesbians hide their sexuality and face even more sexual oppression.

Monosexual paradigm:
Main article: Monosexuality

Monosexual Paradigm is a term coined by Blasingame, a self-identified African American, bisexual female. Blasingame used this term to address the lesbian and gay communities who turned a blind eye to the dichotomy that oppressed bisexuals from both heterosexual and homosexual communities.

This oppression negatively affects the gay and lesbian communities more so than the heterosexual community due to its contradictory exclusiveness of bisexuals. Blasingame argued that in reality dichotomies are inaccurate to the representation of individuals because nothing is truly black or white, straight or gay. Her main argument is that biphobia is the central message of two roots; internalized heterosexism and racism.

Internalized heterosexism is described in the monosexual paradigm in which the binary states that you are either straight or gay and nothing in between. Gays and lesbians accept this internalized heterosexism by morphing into the monosexial paradigm and favoring single attraction and opposing attraction for both sexes.

Blasingame described this favoritism as an act of horizontal hostility, where oppressed groups fight amongst themselves. Racism is described in the monosexual paradigm as a dichotomy where individuals are either black or white, again nothing in between.

The issue of racism comes into fruition in regards to the bisexuals coming out process, where risks of coming out vary on a basis of anticipated community reaction and also in regards to the norms among bisexual leadership, where class status and race factor predominately over sexual orientation.

Politics:
Main article: Feminist political theory

Feminist political theory is a recently emerging field in political science focusing on gender and feminist themes within the state, institutions and policies. It questions the "modern political theory, dominated by universalistic liberalist thought, which claims indifference to gender or other identity differences and has therefore taken its time to open up to such concerns".

Feminist perspectives entered international relations in the late 1980s, at about the same time as the end of the Cold War. This time was not a coincidence because the last forty years the conflict between US and USSR had been the dominant agenda of international politics.

After the Cold War, there was continuing relative peace between the main powers. Soon, many new issues appeared on international relation's agenda. More attention was also paid to social movements.

Indeed, in those times feminist approaches also used to depict the world politics. Feminists started to emphasize that while women have always been players in international system, their participation has frequently been associated with non-governmental settings such as social movements. However, they could also participate in inter-state decision making process as men did.

Until more recently, the role of women in international politics has been confined to being the wives of diplomats, nannies who go abroad to find work and support their family, or sex workers trafficked across international boundaries. Women's contributions has not been seen in the areas where hard power plays significant role such as military. Nowadays, women are gaining momentum in the sphere of international relations in areas of government, diplomacy, academia, etc..

Despite barriers to more senior roles, women currently hold 11.1 percent of the seats in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and 10.8 percent in the House. In the U.S. Department of State, women make up 29 percent of the chiefs of mission, and 29 percent of senior foreign positions at USAID. In contrast, women are profoundly impacted by decisions the statepersons make.

Economics:
Main article: Feminist economics

​Feminist economics broadly refers to a developing branch of economics that applies feminist insights and critiques to economics. Research under this heading is often interdisciplinary, critical, or heterodox. It encompasses debates about the relationship between feminism and economics on many levels: from applying mainstream economic methods to under-researched "women's" areas, to questioning how mainstream economics values the reproductive sector, to deeply philosophical critiques of economic epistemology and methodology.

One prominent issue that feminist economists investigate is how the gross domestic product (GDP) does not adequately measure unpaid labor predominantly performed by women, such as housework, childcare, and eldercare. 

Feminist economists have also challenged and exposed the rhetorical approach of mainstream economics. They have made critiques of many basic assumptions of mainstream economics, including the Homo economicus model.

In the Houseworker's Handbook Betsy Warrior presents a cogent argument that the reproduction and domestic labor of women form the foundation of economic survival; although, unremunerated and not included in the GDP. 

According to Warrior: "Economics, as it's presented today, lacks any basis in reality as it leaves out the very foundation of economic life. That foundation is built on women's labor; first her reproductive labor which produces every new laborer (and the first commodity, which is mother's milk and which nurtures every new "consumer/laborer"); secondly, women's labor composed of cleaning, cooking, negotiating social stability and nurturing, which prepares for market and maintains each laborer. This constitutes women's continuing industry enabling laborers to occupy every position in the work force. Without this fundamental labor and commodity there would be no economic activity."

Warrior also notes that the unacknowledged income of men from illegal activities like arms, drugs and human trafficking, political graft, religious emoluments and various other undisclosed activities provide a rich revenue stream to men, which further invalidates GDP figures. 

Even in underground economies where women predominate numerically, like trafficking in humans, prostitution and domestic servitude, only a tiny fraction of the pimp's revenue filters down to the women and children he deploys. Usually the amount spent on them is merely for the maintenance of their lives and, in the case of those prostituted, some money may be spent on clothing and such accouterments as will make them more salable to the pimp's clients.

For instance, focusing on just the U.S., according to a government sponsored report by the Urban Institute in 2014, "A street prostitute in Dallas may make as little as $5 per sex act. But pimps can take in $33,000 a week in Atlanta, where the sex business brings in an estimated $290 million per year."

Proponents of this theory have been instrumental in creating alternative models, such as the capability approach and incorporating gender into the analysis of economic data to affect policy. Marilyn Power suggests that feminist economic methodology can be broken down into five categories.

Legal theory:
Main article: Feminist legal theory

Feminist legal theory is based on the feminist view that law's treatment of women in relation to men has not been equal or fair. The goals of feminist legal theory, as defined by leading theorist Claire Dalton, consist of understanding and exploring the female experience, figuring out if law and institutions oppose females, and figuring out what changes can be committed to. This is to be accomplished through studying the connections between the law and gender as well as applying feminist analysis to concrete areas of law.

Feminist legal theory stems from the inadequacy of the current structure to account for discrimination women face, especially discrimination based on multiple, intersecting identities. Kimberlé Crenshaw's work is central to feminist legal theory, particularly her article Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics. 

DeGraffenreid v General Motors is an example of such a case. In this instance, the court ruled the plaintiffs, five Black women including Emma DeGraffenreid, who were employees of General Motors, were not eligible to file a complaint on the grounds they, as black women, were not "a special class to be protected from discrimination". 

The ruling in DeGraffenreid against the plaintiff revealed the courts inability to understand intersectionality's role in discrimination. Moore v Hughes Helicopters, Inc. is another ruling, which serves to reify the persistent discrediting of intersectionality as a factor in discrimination.

In the case of Moore, the plaintiff brought forth statistical evidence revealing a disparity in promotions to upper-level and supervisory jobs between men and women and, to a lesser extent, between Black and white men. Ultimately, the court denied the plaintiff the ability to represent all Blacks and all females. 

The decision dwindled the pool of statistical information the plaintiff could pull from and limited the evidence only to that of Black women, which is a ruling in direct contradiction to DeGraffenreid. Further, because the plaintiff originally claimed discrimination as a Black female rather than, more generally, as a female the court stated it had concerns whether the plaintiff could "adequately represent white female employees". 

Payne v Travenol serves as yet another example of the courts inconsistency when dealing with issues revolving around intersections of race and sex. The plaintiffs in Payne, two Black females, filed suit against Travenol on behalf of both Black men and women on the grounds the pharmaceutical plant practiced racial discrimination. The court ruled the plaintiffs could not adequately represent Black males, however, they did allow the admittance of statistical evidence, which was inclusive of all Black employees. 

Despite the more favorable outcome after it was found there was extensive racial discrimination, the courts decided the benefits of the ruling – back pay and constructive seniority – would not be extended to Black males employed by the company.

Moore contends Black women cannot adequately represent white women on issues of sex discrimination, Payne suggests Black women cannot adequately represent Black men on issues of race discrimination, and DeGraffenreid argues Black women are not a special class to be protected. The rulings, when connected, display a deep-rooted problem in regards to addressing discrimination within the legal system. These cases, although they are outdated are used by feminists as evidence of their ideas and principles.

Communication theory:

Feminist communication theory has evolved over time and branches out in many directions. Early theories focused on the way that gender influenced communication and many argued that language was "man made". This view of communication promoted a "deficiency model" asserting that characteristics of speech associated with women were negative and that men "set the standard for competent interpersonal communication", which influences the type of language used by men and women.

These early theories also suggested that ethnicity, cultural and economic backgrounds also needed to be addressed. They looked at how gender intersects with other identity constructs, such as class, race, and sexuality. Feminist theorists, especially those considered to be liberal feminists, began looking at issues of equality in education and employment. Other theorists addressed political oratory and public discourse.

The recovery project brought to light many women orators who had been "erased or ignored as significant contributors". Feminist communication theorists also addressed how women were represented in the media and how the media "communicated ideology about women, gender, and feminism".

Feminist communication theory also encompasses access to the public sphere, whose voices are heard in that sphere, and the ways in which the field of communication studies has limited what is regarded as essential to public discourse.

The recognition of a full history of women orators overlooked and disregarded by the field has effectively become an undertaking of recovery, as it establishes and honors the existence of women in history and lauds the communication by these historically significant contributors.

This recovery effort, begun by Andrea Lunsford, Professor of English and Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University and followed by other feminist communication theorists also names women such as Aspasia, Diotima, and Christine de Pisan, who were likely influential in rhetorical and communication traditions in classical and medieval times, but who have been negated as serious contributors to the traditions.

Feminist communication theorists are also concerned with a recovery effort in attempting to explain the methods used by those with power to prohibit women like Maria W. Stewart, Sarah Moore Grimké, and Angelina Grimké, and more recently, Ella Baker and Anita Hill, from achieving a voice in political discourse and consequently being driven from the public sphere.

Theorists in this vein are also interested in the unique and significant techniques of communication employed by these women and others like them to surmount some of the oppression they experienced.

Feminist theorist also evaluate communication expectations for students and women in the work place, in particular how the performance of feminine versus masculine styles of communicating are constructed. Judith Butler, who coined the term "gender performativity" further suggests that, "theories of communication must explain the ways individuals negotiate, resist, and transcend their identities in a highly gendered society".

This focus also includes the ways women are constrained or "disciplined" in the discipline of communication in itself, in terms of biases in research styles and the "silencing" of feminist scholarship and theory.

Who is responsible for deciding what is considered important public discourse is also put into question by feminist theorists in communication scholarship. This lens of feminist communication theory is labeled as revalorist theory which honors the historical perspective of women in communication in an attempt to recover voices that have been historically neglected.

There have been many attempts to explain the lack of representative voices in the public sphere for women including, the notion that, "the public sphere is built on essentialist principles that prevent women from being seen as legitimate communicators in that sphere", and theories of subalternity", which, "under extreme conditions of oppression...prevent those in positions of power from even hearing their communicative attempts".

Public relations:

Feminist theory can be applied to the field of public relations. The feminist scholar Linda Hon examined the major obstacles that women in the field experienced. Some common barriers included male dominance and gender stereotypes. Hon shifted the feminist theory of PR from "women's assimilation into patriarchal systems " to "genuine commitment to social restructuring". 

Similarly to the studies Hon conducted, Elizabeth Lance Toth studied Feminist Values in Public Relations. Toth concluded that there is a clear link between feminist gender and feminist value. These values include honesty, sensitivity, perceptiveness, fairness, and commitment.

Design:

​Technical writers have concluded that visual language can convey facts and ideas clearer than almost any other means of communication. According to the feminist theory, "gender may be a factor in how human beings represent reality."

Men and women will construct different types of structures about the self, and, consequently, their thought processes may diverge in content and form. This division depends on the self-concept, which is an "important regulator of thoughts, feelings and actions" that "governs one's perception of reality".

With that being said, the self-concept has a significant effect on how men and women represent reality in different ways.

Recently, technical communicators' terms such as 'visual rhetoric,' 'visual language,' and 'document design' indicate a new awareness of the importance of visual design".

Deborah S. Bosley explores this new concept of the "feminist theory of design" by conducting a study on a collection of undergraduate males and females who were asked to illustrate a visual, on paper, given to them in a text. Based on this study, she creates a "feminist theory of design" and connects it to technical communicators.

In the results of the study, males used more angular illustrations, such as squares, rectangles and arrows, which are interpreted as a "direction" moving away from or a moving toward, thus suggesting more aggressive positions than rounded shapes, showing masculinity.

Females, on the other hand, used more curved visuals, such as circles, rounded containers and bending pipes. Bosley takes into account that feminist theory offers insight into the relationship between females and circles or rounded objects.

According to Bosley, studies of women and leadership indicate a preference for nonhierarchical work patterns (preferring a communication "web" rather than a communication "ladder"). Bosley explains that circles and other rounded shapes, which women chose to draw, are nonhierarchical and often used to represent inclusive, communal relationships, confirming her results that women's visual designs do have an effect on their means of communications.

Based on these conclusions, this "feminist theory of design" can go on to say that gender does play a role in how humans represent reality.

Black feminist criminology:
​
Black feminist criminology theory is a concept created by Hillary Potter in the 1990s and a bridge that integrates Feminist theory with criminology. It is based on the integration of Black feminist theory and critical race theory.

For years, Black women were historically overlooked and disregarded in the study of crime and criminology; however, with a new focus on Black feminism that sparked in the 1980s, Black feminists began to contextualize their unique experiences and examine why the general status of Black women in the criminal justice system was lacking in female specific approaches. 

Potter explains that because Black women usually have "limited access to adequate education and employment as consequences of racism, sexism, and classism", they are often disadvantaged. This disadvantage materializes into "poor responses by social service professionals and crime-processing agents to Black women's interpersonal victimization". 

Most crime studies focused on White males/females and Black males. Any results or conclusions targeted to Black males were usually assumed to be the same situation for Black females. This was very problematic since Black males and Black females differ in what they experience. For instance, economic deprivation, status equality between the sexes, distinctive socialization patterns, racism, and sexism should all be taken into account between Black males and Black females. The two will experience all of these factors differently; therefore, it was crucial to resolve this dilemma.

Black feminist criminology is the solution to this problem. It takes four factors into account: One, it observes the social structural oppression of Black women. Two, it recognizes the Black community and its culture. Three, it looks at Black intimate and familial relations. And four, it looks at the Black woman as an individual.

These four factors will help distinguish Black women from Black males into an accurate branch of learning in the criminal justice system.

Criticisms:

Many believe that Black feminist criminology is still in its "infancy stage"; therefore, there is little discussion or studies that disprove it as an effective feminist perspective. In addition to its age, Black feminist criminology has not actively accounted for the role of religion and spirituality in Black women's "experience with abuse".

Feminist science and technology studies:
Main article: Feminist technoscience

​Feminist science and technology studies (STS) refers to the transdisciplinary field of research on the ways gender and other markers of identity intersect with technology, science, and culture. The practice emerged from feminist critique on the masculine-coded uses of technology in the fields of natural, medical, and technical sciences, and its entanglement in gender and identity. 

A large part of feminist technoscience theory explains science and technologies to be linked and should be held accountable for the social and cultural developments resulting from both fields.

Some key issues feminist technoscience studies address include:
  1. The use of feminist analysis when applied to scientific ideas and practices.
  2. Intersections between race, class, gender, science, and technology.
  3. The implications of situated knowledges.
  4. Politics of gender on how to understand agency, body, rationality, and the boundaries between nature and culture.

See also: ​






​
List of Women's Firsts including a List of American Women's Firsts Pictured below: Black while funny and female: Black Women of Comedy
This is a list of women's firsts noting the first time that a woman or women achieved a given historical feat. A shorthand phrase for this development is "breaking the gender barrier" or "breaking the glass ceiling." 

Other terms related to the glass ceiling can be used for specific fields related to those terms, such as "breaking the brass ceiling" for women in the military and "breaking the stained glass ceiling" for women clergy. Inclusion on the list is reserved for achievements by women that have significant historical impact.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Women's Firsts: ___________________________________________________________________________

​List of American women's firsts:

This is a list of American women's firsts, noting the first time that an American woman or women achieved a given historical feat. Inclusion on the list is reserved for achievements by American women that have significant historical impact.

​17th century:
  • 1635
  • 1640
    • Anne Bradstreet was the first published poet in the British North American colonies.
  • 1647
    • Margaret Brent was the first American woman to demand the right to vote.
  • 1649
    • Mary Hammon and Goodwife Norman were charged with "lewd behavior upon a bed." They are the first American women convicted of lesbian activity.

​18th century:
  • 1700s
  • 1739
    • Elizabeth Timothy was the first woman to print a formal newspaper as well as the first female franchise holder in the colonies.
  • 1750
    • Jane Colden was the first woman in America to win distinction as a botanist.
  • 1756
    • Lydia Taft was the first woman to vote legally in Colonial America after her husband died and son left her; she was granted permission to vote through a Massachusetts town meeting.
  • ​​1762
    • Ann Franklin was the first female newspaper editor in America.
  • 1776
    • Margaret Corbin was the first woman to assume the role of soldier in the American Revolution and receive a pension for it.
  • 1784

19th century (1800s):
  • 1808
    • Jane Aitken was the first American woman to print the bible in English.
  • 1812
    • Lucy Brewer was one of the first American women to join the United States Marine Corps.
  • 1828
    • Sarah Hale was the first American woman to become editor of a major women's magazine.
  • 1835
    • Harriot Kezia Hunt was one of the first women to practice medicine, "clearly the first to achieve a marked success".
  • 1840
    • Dorothy Catherine Draper was the first woman to be photographed.
  • 1846
    • Sarah Bagley was the first woman in America to become a telegraph operator.
    • Frances Whitcher was the first significant female comic protagonist in America, and the "first best-selling woman humorist".
  • 1848
  • ​1849
  • ​1850
    • Harriet Tubman was the first American woman to run an underground railroad to help slaves escape. Some scholars label her the "Queen of the Underground Railroad".
  • 1853
    • Antoinette Brown Blackwell was the first woman ordained as a minister in America. She was ordained by the Congregational Church.
  • 1855
    • Anne McDowell was the first American woman to publish a newspaper completely run by women; it was circulated weekly and titled, "Women's Advocate".
    • Emeline Roberts Jones was the first woman to practice dentistry in the United States. She married the dentist Daniel Jones when she was a teenager, and became his assistant in 1855.
  • 1865
 
  • 1866
    • Mary Walker was the first woman in America to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
    • Lucy Hobbs Taylor was the first woman in America to graduate from dental school.
  • 1869
    • Arabella Mansfield was the first female lawyer in America; she was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1869.
​
  • 20th century (1900s)
​​
  • 1900
    • Margaret Abbott was the first American woman to win first place in an Olympic event. Specifically, she was the first American woman, and the second woman overall, to win first place at the Olympics in golf.
    • Carro Clark was the first American woman to establish, own and manage a book publishing firm. The C. M. Clark Company opened in Boston in 1900.
  • 1905
  • 1907
    • Dorothy Tyler was the first known America woman jockey.
  • 1908
  • 1909
    • In Oregon, on February 27, 1909, Carolyn B. Shelton became the first woman to serve as acting governor of a U.S. state.
  • 1910
  • 1911
    • Harriet Quimby was the first woman licensed as an airplane pilot in America.
  • 1912
    • Girl Guides of America (now Girl Scouts of the USA) was established as the first voluntary organization for girls.
  • 1914
  • 1916
  • 1917
  • 1918
    • Annette Adams was the first female assistant United States attorney general, "...the highest judicial position any woman in the world had ever held".
    • Opha May Johnson was the first woman to enlist in the United States Marines.
    • Twin sisters Genevieve and Lucille Baker of the Naval Coastal Defense Reserve were the first uniformed women to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard.
    • Sara Teasdale was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (for her work Love Songs.)
  • 1920
    • Marie Luhring was the first woman in America to become an automotive engineer.
  • 1921
  • 1922
    • Rebecca Felton was sworn in as the first female Senator in the United States.
  • 1923
    • Florence King became the first woman to win a case before the U.S. Supreme Court (Crown v. Nye).
  • 1923
  • 1924
  • 1925
    • Nellie Tayloe Ross was the first woman in America elected governor, and the only one since that served in Wyoming.
    • An All-Woman Supreme Court in Texas, the first woman-majority state Supreme Court in U.S. history, sits for a five-month special sitting on a single case, disbanding shortly afterward.
  • 1926
  • 1928
  • 1930
    • ​ ​Ellen Church was the first female flight attendant in America. She suggested the idea of female nurses on board to Boeing Air Transport, claiming that if people felt safer they would fly more.
  • 1931
  • 1932
  • 1933
  • 1934
  • 1937
  • 1938
  • 1939
    • Molly Kool was North America's first registered female sea captain or ship master.
  • 1940
    • Lois Fegan Farrell was the first female reporter to cover a professional hockey team in America.
  • 1942
    • Anna Leah Fox was the first woman to receive the Purple Heart, which she received for being wounded in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
    • Mildred H. McAfee was the first woman commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve and the first woman to receive the Navy Distinguished Service Medal
  • 1943
  • 1944
  • 1946
  • 1947
  • 1948
    • Esther McGowin Blake was the first woman in the U.S. Air Force. She enlisted in the first minute of the first hour of the first day regular Air Force duty was authorized for women on July 8th, 1948.
  • 1949
  • 1951
    • Maryly Van Leer Peck became Vanderbilt University's first chemical engineer graduate. Peck also became the first woman to receive an M.S. and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Florida. Later she became the first female member of Tau Beta Pi, the oldest engineering honor society. Peck later became the first woman to be named president of any of Florida's community colleges
    • December 16: Anna Der-Vartanian became the U.S. Navy's first female master chief petty officer; this made her the first female master chief in the Navy, as well as the first female E-9 in the entire U.S. Armed Services. She received a personal letter from then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower congratulating her on her accomplishment.
    • ​Paula Ackerman was the first woman in America to perform rabbinical functions.
    • Arie Taylor became the first black person to become a U.S. Women’s Air Force classroom instructor.
    • ​Helen E. Myers of Lancaster, Pa., a 1941 graduate of Temple University, was commissioned as the U.S. Army Dental Corps’ first woman dental officer.
  • ​1953
    • Fae Adams was the first female to receive regular commission as a doctor in the United States Army.
    • Oveta Culp Hobby was the first woman to serve as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
    • Toni Stone, also known by her married name Marcenia Lyle Alberga, was the first of three women to play Negro league baseball, and thus the first woman to play as a regular on an American big-league professional baseball team.
    • Ruby Bradley, upon leaving Korea, was given a full-dress honor guard ceremony, the first woman ever to receive a national or international guard salute.
  • 1954
    • Jewel Prestage, first African-American woman to complete a doctorate in political science in the United States.
  • 1955
    • Betty Robbins, born in Greece, was the first female cantor (hazzan) in the 5,000-year-old history of Judaism. She was appointed cantor of the reform Temple Avodah in Oceanside, New York in 1955, when she was 31 and the Temple was without a cantor for the High Holidays.
    • Clotilde Dent Bowen became the U.S. Army’s first black female physician to attain the rank of colonel.
  • 1956
    • Tenley Albright was the first woman in America to win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating.
  • 1957
    • Decoy: Police Woman was the first television show to feature a female police officer, and in fact the first built around a female protagonist.
  • 1959
    • Arlene Pieper became the first woman to officially finish a marathon in the United States when she finished the Pikes Peak Marathon in Manitou Springs, Colorado, in 1959.
  • 1960
    • ​Wilma L. Vaught became the first woman to deploy with a Strategic Air Command operational unit.
    • Master Gunnery Sergeant Geraldine M. Moran became the first female Marine promoted to E-9.
  • 1961
  • 1962
  • 1963
  • 1964
    • Jerrie Mock was the first woman to fly solo around the world, which she did in a Cessna 180. The trip ended April 17, 1964, in Columbus, Ohio, and took 29 days, 21 stopovers and almost 22,860 miles.
    • Carol Doda was the first woman in America to perform as a topless entertainer.
    • Isabel Benham was the first female partner in R.W. Pressprich & Co.’s 55-year