Response Paper #8
When many hear the word Feminist, they might envision a group of only women fighting for liberal rights such as abortion, and women to be considered equal in a male dominated society. In part this is a correct vision in that women do fight for personal rights such as abortion, sexual freedom, but this is not the only thing that the Feminist Movement fights for. Feminism is a movement to actually end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression in both female and male. The African American woman not only faced 2 battles within herself. She first fought to be free and not to be judged by her color, but then she had to fight for her gender. The reason that she was a woman did not mean that she could not make decisions for herself and have to be always seen through the male shadow. The Contemporary Feminist Movement made drastic changes in sexual freedom, gender and race equality and the ending of domestic violence; women would no longer be seen the same in their community.
The Sexual Revolution’s message was all about free love. Women were fighting for their rights to choose with whom and when they wanted to be sexually active. Furthermore, this free love within the female community brought upon the issue of unwanted pregnancy. During the 1960s and 1970s, many women saw the consequences of illegal abortions due to forced marriages or ashamed that they did not use contraceptives. To really be a supporter of the Feminist Movement is to still be pro-choice and to support those females and their freedom to decide for themselves if they want to or not to have an abortion. The right to have safe contraceptives available to them as well.
The idea of raciscism and sexism served as a dangerous place for the sisterhood. Women were not only being separated by their sex, but also by the color of their skin. Many white women still had to overcome the obstacle of color within their own gender. The work of many black activists’ changed the aspect of...