Women's Fight for Equality: The Second Wave of Feminism - Essay Sample

Introduction

The second wave of feminism focused on the issue of equality and discrimination. Women were being denied their right to control their lives by having the right to choose what happens to their lives. The social norms in society were such that women were not allowed to enjoy the same rights as men. The inequality was also in the labor industry, where they were not allowed to work and earn income. The gender inequalities left the women with no option but to fight for their rights to be respected by the people and the government.

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The goals of the second wave of feminism include promoting political participation, where the women wanted to be allowed to participate in political matters. The women wanted to be given the opportunity to choose their leaders and also their right to vote their leaders' in (Napikoski). The feminism group recognized the importance of participating in political affairs because they would be able to change the state by electing leaders with the ability to legislate the laws that take care of the needs of both genders. The movement wanted women included in political affairs affecting the people. Some laws worked against the women; hence, the movement requested the leaders to change the laws.

The equal rights law needed to be amended in a manner that al genders would have equal rights. The other law that the second feminism movement wanted changed includes the payment law where the women wanted equal payment between the two genders (Napikoski). The other law that they wanted changing is the sex discrimination law that advocated all sexes. Both men and women are equal before the law. The legislators were biased in making the laws that favored men more than women creating inequality in society.

The women who participated in the second feminism movement also demanded abortion right because they claimed that they were in control of their bodies; hence, they knew better what their bodies needed (Tobias). They claimed that denying them the right to abortion was an infringement of their right to make personal decisions regarding their bodies. There were concerns about the number of women who were dying during childbirth, bearing in mind that they could not engage in abortion to save their lives. The interference from the state in making a decision on reproductive health was not necessary.

There were perceptions that the second feminism movement wanted to change in the society where people valued male education as opposed to women being allowed to learn with the bodies (Tobias). The movement highlighted the contributions that women can make if they have the required skills to work. The movement challenged the society to give the women a chance to access education, and the community would see the contribution women would make towards a better society. The women believed that there were women with high intelligence that was being wasted by the lack of opportunity to access education and further their careers.

The feminist movement translated the goals of the second wave of feminism into popular culture as a way of expressing the importance of equality in society. The women embrace the pop culture to communicate with the people on the importance of gender equality in society and the benefits of gender equality to society at large. Pop culture contributed to the popularity of the second feminism movement.

Works Cited

Tobias, Sheila. Faces of feminism: An activist's reflections on the women's movement. Routledge, 2018.

Napikoski, Linda. "What Were The Goals Of 1960S/1970S Feminism?." ThoughtCo. N.p., 2019. Web. 7 Dec. 2019.