Gohar Blog # 14

Gohar Blog # 14


1. What were the main sources of feminism’s revival in the late 1960s and early 1970s?
The feminism movements experienced a revival and reinforcement during 1960s and 1970s. “Feminine Mystique” written by Betty Freidan marks the beginning of the second wave of feminism in the United States. The reinforcing events during the late 1960s and early 1970s were the civil right movements after assassinations of Martin Luther King and President Kennedy, anti-Vietnam War movements, and “Women’s Liberation” movement. Women who were involved in civil rights movements were gradually recognizing that many fundamental sources of inequality, such as gender role, were completely intact and needed immediate attention. Therefore soon many women rights organization turned their attention in social, political, and education issues involving gender roles and their effects in order to gain equality for women in all aspects of American life.

2. What insights does the protest at the Miss America pageant in 1968 give you about “women’s liberation?”
The 1968 Miss America pageant protest was organized by N.Y.R.W. (New York Radical Woman) organization, which was known because of its civil rights protests and anti-war protests. On one hand, the protest was a very successful step in “women’s liberation” movement because it drew the attention of the media on an unprecedented scale. The Miss America pageant was one of the most viewed programs on the television and protesting the pageant brought women’s liberation movement out of the shadows and presented it to the attention of the general public in a very effective way.
On the other hand protesting Miss America pageant presented conflicting views of the women’s civil right movement associations. The organizations were fighting to gain freedom for women and protesting some of the given rights by condemning the pageant and its activities. Such hypocritical moves by the women’s civil right organizations were sometimes more damaging than constructive to the general flow of the movement.

3. In your opinion, is the war of the sexes over (in the 21st century) or do women still have a long fight ahead of them? Why of why not?
Since the beginning of the feminism and women’s rights movements women have gained many valuable civil rights. The gained victories through the years have gained female gender a huge deal of respect and equality. Women are now (in the 21stcentury) more independent and have more control over their lives, but this does not mean that the war of sexes is over. Gaining various rights and liberties by women has made a huge impact on our society. As a result, our life style and social norms and values have been impacted as well therefore giving the battle of the sexes a new momentum. Women are now faced with various new and unexplored aspects of social and personal life. They feel the need to expand their liberties and rights to these new aspects, but the way to equality is in no way hassle-free and smooth. Therefore women’s rights organization needs to adapt to the life style and social changes in order to address all the concerns promptly and effectively.

4. What was Mary Tyler Moore able to do as a “liberated” woman in the 1970s, and how does Orenstein compare that to the “liberation” in Sex and the City? What values guide her judgment?
Orenstein views Mary Tyler Moore, as a liberated woman, who was able to leave her boyfriend, move to the big city, get a job, and make new friendships. All the gained liberations would help portray Mary as the independent woman of the 1970s according to the view of feminist movements. The liberated Mary would promise the viewers the notion of “living happily ever after” and “making it” in life. Orenstein accuses the HBO series; Sex and the City, to be portraying women heroines as cheap figurines who treat everything, from shoes to boyfriends, as accessories in their lives. She thinks that the series only tries to glamorize some aspects of women liberation and rights such as sexuality and materialism and this is not how liberated women supposed to be. Orenstein praises the liberated woman’s image and how she can be goal oriented and successful, but she does not think over emphasizing of a few liberties does justice in portraying the liberated woman.

5. Based on the excerpt you read from Rebecca Walker’s writings, would you expect Walker to agree with Orenstein?
I would expect Walker to agree with the views of Orenstein. Walker thinks that sex and bodily pleasures are undeniable parts of womanhood and women need to explore and experiment these acts in a safe environment in order to develop their sexual personality. Development of a woman’s sexuality is an important step in self growth and validation of self confidence that needs to be granted to each woman in order to have thinking, liberal, and self aware women in the society. Orenstein would agree that sexuality is an important aspect of womanhood and sexual liberty is one of the most crucial women’s rights therefore it has to be subject to responsible propaganda which is free of over exaggerations and misguidance.

6. How realistic do you think Sex and the City is? Has sexuality liberty gained enough ground for all young women to be a sexually active as the women in the program?
In my opinion Sex and the City is not a realistic image of today’s young women. There are many similar factors governing the lives of the new generation of women, such as gaining sexual experience and independence, but the possibility of having such characters in real life is slim to none. Even with the possibility of finding women, in our modern society, that govern their lives exactly like the characters of the Sex and the City, we will soon find out that they are a very small minority among all the women. We will be able to see that they also have other values in life which empowers them in their daily endeavors and makes them the women they are. These women will not have strict, two-dimensional, personalities, as portrayed in Sex and the City, who only think about sex and materialistic rewards. They will also cherish and value other women’s rights and liberties that helped them create their self identity and try to base their life decisions on their total womanhood rather than just an image of a flashy, liberal, and sexually irresponsible girl.