Aaron Robinson
November 2010
History
Quiz 2
Why were White men taken by surprise in the 60’s and 70’s? In the 1960s and 70’s white men were taken by storm by women who were frustrated, and wanted to stand up for themselves in a White Male Dominated society. Howard Zinn’s A Peoples History of The United States captures various women voices in their movement to end sexism oppression that had gone on for decades.
Back in the 60’s and way before it in America woman’s roles in life were to get marries, have kids, care for the kids, cook, clean, have food ready, and be their man’s sexual toy. Women was only to be silent and obedient, no voice because she was only an extension of her husband’s success. Zinn states
Each suburban wire struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slip-cover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night-she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question- "Is this all?"
Women around the wanted to know is that all their worth, is that all to their life, it was questions like that started Women’s Liberation.
In “1959, […] a mother of four, having coffee with four other mothers in a suburban development fifteen miles from New York, say in a tone of quiet desperation, "the problem." (Zinn) Women as they conversed among themselves learned that they were not suffering alone and started to say “I’m sick an’ tired o’ bein’ sick an’ tired”. An awaking started to take over the women of American, 1964 “went on strike against the men who wanted them to cook and make beds” (Zinn). Women started burning their bras and other male oppressive things in their life. Woman Organizations started to arise such and as WITCH (Women's International terrorist Conspiracy from Hell) and others dealt with many issues such a civil rights, war, and capitalism. Women where destroying sex discrimination fighting for abortion and...