Gohar Blog #13

Gohar Blog # 13


1.What was the impact of the Cold War on American women?

The Cold War between the United Stated of America and the Soviet Union brought a sense of uncertainty and nervousness to political and social norms. Cold War like other war has strong affects on everybody’s life specially women. During World War II women did excellent job participating in all major aspects of the battles. They replaced men at home as the head of the family and the decision maker while men were in war. After war women were not appreciated for what they did during those very hard times. Many women lost their job to men returning from war, since the companies always preferred male workers over female workers. Men wanted women to return home to be housewives again like old days. Many women who could not tolerate this discrimination started to form their own organization demanding their rights. They already tested the outside work and they prove to be capable of executing their jobs to the full extent. Therefore it was time to fight for what they had accomplished by participating in women rights movements and organizations.

2.Why have historians needed to rethink and revise Betty Freidan’s interpretation of the “feminine mystique”?

In her book “feminine mystique”, Betty Freidan captured the post war role of
domestic expected from women and how many women were not satisfied to be completely confined by the role of just being a mother and a wife. She even criticized magazine which were trying to publicize this presumption of feminine role. Although her book was really successful, many critics pointed their finger at Freidan’s views accusing her of not representing other classes of women outside the prominent white women class. They argued that the value of working women has long been praised in other classes such as the African American and white middle class women. The critics also argue that she even failed to portray herself accurately, in her book, since she was also a working woman who never went back to be a victim of domestic role confinement. Over all, she mentioned points which hit home with many women hence the huge success of her book, but the historians needed to reexamine their views of her in order to represent all classes of post war working women.


3. Who were the activist women in the 1950s? What difficulties did they face, and why?

The activist women of 1950s were the ones who became heavily involved in the work force during the war. These groups of women were given jobs during the war which were mainly performed by men before the war. During the post war era and with the return of men to the work force, women found their jobs and their new civic role in great jeopardy. The employers were more willing to hire back the men than keep the women workers. As a consequence many unions were formed by working women such as the Women of the United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA), United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers (UE), National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), League of Women Voters (LWV) and etc. These unions were formed to fight for what women achieved as equal member of society during war and sought to improve and keep the liberties granted to women in many aspects of the feminine movement. The unions helped push for women rights and liberties, decrease racial and class discrimination against women of color and lower classes. The activities of these unions paved the road for many other women activist groups during 1960s and later eras therefore making them a major contributor of women movements.

4. Why is the concept of a “bridge leader” helpful in understanding women in the civil rights movement?

The term “Bridge Leaders” was given to women participating in civil rights movements. Women of civil rights movements were not given official leadership roles since such roles were often assumed by men and women were overlooked for such positions. Men were given the leadership positions and they mediated the group communications between members, media and the government officials. Although women were not given any leadership positions, they had major participation in all aspects of the movement. Women actively participated in demonstrations, sit-ins, marches, and boycotts. Ella Baker, a well educated woman with a great character, was a perfect example of a bridge leader. After moving to New York, she actively participated in many organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and achieved to levels of leadership very quickly, but when offered positions she often denied them because she was aware of the atmosphere governing the courts and governmental agencies. Therefore she saw it more fit to have a male representative and work behind the curtain as a more effective asset.