1. The Women’s Movement

2. Myth’s about the Women’s Movement
Myth- Women burned their bras
Truth- Women protested against anything that symbolized them as beauty objects.
They created “Freedom Trash Cans” and threw away bras, girdles, hair curlers, Playboy and Cosmo magazines.

3. Miss America
A major protest was staged in 1968 at the Miss America Beauty Pageant because it promoted “physical attractiveness” and charm as the primary measures of a woman’s worth” (Sawhney 2004).
Women especially objected to the swimsuit portion of the contest

4. The Women’s Lib Movement
Many women believed they had been denied some basic rights and were trapped in the house.
The women that were employed believed they were discriminated against on the job because of their sex.

5. Women Speak Out!
In 1963, Betty Friedan, wrote the Feminine Mystique, which had a huge impact on women in the 1960s.
Her book described how some women had become frustrated because they were expected to find fulfillment through the achievements of their husbands and children.
Since the Civil Rights Movement was going on at the same time, women used this opportunity to speak out for women’s rights.

6. Health Issues
Roe v Wade did not go into effect until Throughout the 60s, many women went underground to secret clinics and had abortions which was very dangerous.
A huge achievement for women was when the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills.

7. Women in the Workplace
Many women were reluctant to leave home because she felt guilty leaving the children.
According to Margaret Sanger, society believed that women should stay home and take care of the children. The number of working women did increase in the 1960s.
In the 1960s, there were no women bus drivers, welders, firefighters, news anchors, CEOs, or Supreme Court Justices.
Women made only 60% of what a man made, or 70 cents for every dollar a man made
They were often denied credit by banks to start a business.

9. NOW In 1966, the National Organization for Women was formed.
The purpose was to seek equality for men and women within the government, employment, labor unions, civic and political organizations. Most of the members were young women college graduates. These women also had antiwar view and were in favor of Civil Rights.
There was also a group of women who belonged to NOW that were more radical who challenged the male dominated power structure and who fought against women being seen as sex symbols. They also focused on issues involving violence, reproductive rights, and women and housework.
NOW during the sixties failed to include minority groups, and the working class.

10. A little known fact
During the 1960s, 13 women were secretly trained by NASA in a secret lab as astronauts, along with seven men. The program was called the “Mercury 13,” and it was scrapped because it lacked political support.

11. In Conclusion
Women’s Rights did not stop in the 1960s. During the 70s, the ERA was proposed, and even though it was defeated in the 1982, women have made great strides.

12. Timeline of Events leading up to the Women’s Movement of the 1960s
1769- the husband and wife are one person
1776- Abigail Adams “Remember the Ladies”
1777- all states adopt laws to take away a women’s right to vote
1778- Deborah Sampson disguises herself as a man to fight on the
battlefield in the American Revolution
1839- Mississippi grants women the right to hold property with
their husband’s permission
1848- Seneca Falls- Declaration of Sentiments
1850- The first Women’s Rights Convention (Mass.)
1869- first Woman suffrage law is passed in Wyoming, and the
American Woman Suffrage Association is formed
1870- women are excluded from the right to vote by the 15th
amendment
1873- Bradwell v Illinois, Supreme Court rules that a state can deny
a married woman from practicing law

13. 1879- Belva Lockwood with the help of Congressional legislation is
the first women to try a case before the Supreme Court
1890- Wyoming gives women the right to vote in all elections,
National Americana Women’s Suffrage Association is
formed
1893- Colorado is the first state to pass an amendment giving
women the right to vote
1896- The National Women’s Trade Union League seeks to
improve wages for women
married women gain control over their property and earnings
1908- Muller v Oregon uphold 10 hr workday for women
Margaret Sanger opens up the first U.S. birth control clinic
1920- Women receive federal suffrage with the 19th amendment
1923- National Women’ Party proposes Constitutional Amendment, men
and women shall be equal
1932- National Recovery Act forbids more than one family member from having a government job
the fair Labor Standard Act establishes minimum wage for everyone regardless of sex
1947- Fay v New York ruled women were equally qualified to serve on juries as men, but have an exemption if they choose

14. 1960- The Food and Drug Act approves birth control
Kennedy establishes President’s Commission
on the Status of Women
Betty Friedan publishes the Feminine Mystique
Congress passes Equal Pay Act
Title VII of Civil Rights Act passed (no discrimination with job opportunities regardless of sex, religion, race or color)
Weeks v Southern Bell opens up jobs previously held by women
Griswold v Connecticut overturn state laws prohibiting the prescription use of contraceptives by married couples
Executive Order prohibits sex discrimination by
government contractors and requires affirmative action plans
for hiring women
The EEOC rules that sex segregated help wanted ads in
newspapers are illegal
California becomes first state to adopt “no fault “ divorce laws
Ms. Magazine is published, 300,000 copies sold in 8 days
The ERA amendment passes Congress and is sent to states for
ratification, which died in 1982
1972- Title IX bans discrimination in schools
Supreme Court ruled in Roe v Wade that a woman has the right to a safe
legal abortion