Second and Third Wave Feminism

Canadian HistoryMs. Lim

What is Feminism?• The political, economic and social equality of

the sexes.

Key Struggles in Feminism

• Violence against women at work and at home• End to poverty• Equity• Job progression and promotion• Quality universal child care• Maternity leave• Right to control their bodies – contraception

and abortion

1950’s

• “normalize” the nation– Women to be “queens” of

their tiny perfect world• Mass marketing to be

“the perfect woman”• 1941 -5% of women

worked outside the home. In 1951 – 15%

• Legal to discriminate against married women– School boards had policies forcing women to resign when they married– 1951 Ontario Teachers Federation passed a resolution stating that

marriage should not be the grounds for dismissal and called for maternity leave.

• Discriminatory female wage rates and hiring practices.– 1951 – Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act

• first equal pay legislation• Lack of enforcement of the act

The Rise of the Women’s Liberation Movement: 1960s

• Global wave of radicalization– Vietnam, Black Power, Lesbian and Gay Rights, Indian Rights

• Between 1965-1975 the number of employed women in Canada rose by 79%. In 1961 1/3 of all adult women were working.

• Abortion, contraception services, heath centres, rape crisis services, shelters for abused women, midwifery and other services were est. – 1969 contraception decriminalized and some abortions allowed but only

under extreme conditions.• Demand for universal childcare.• Women in unions demanded promotions on the same basis as men,

paid maternity leave, elimination of sexual harassment and improved job security.

1970s

• May 11, 1970 2 days of demonstration to change abortion laws.– 30 women chained themselves to the

National Gallery in the House of Commons. 500 women outside refused to disperse.

• 1978 First Women’s Day – marches • Early 1970s Ontario teachers

successfully fought a TDSB policy requiring pregnant women to resign.

Maternity Leave

• Avg full pay ranged only 1-6 weeks• Paid maternity leave becoming a focus for

unions• 1977 Canadian Union of postal workers

included paid maternity leave after a 42 week strike.

Wage Equity

• In 1971 the avg annual earnings of women working full-time represented only 59.7% of those of men.

• Strikes were critical to achieving better wages and union membership.

• 1976 two critical organizations were formed– Women Working with Immigrant Women (WWIW)

• Pushed for policy and legislation change to support immigrant women in the labour force.

– Organized Working Women (OWW)• Consisted of women in unions who worked together to ensure

women’s issues were central at bargaining tables, and conventions.

• Strikes of 70s and 80s featured massive police presence, violence and other forms of intimidation.

1980s

• Increased recognition of women’s inequality and major victories.

• Sexual orientation included in the definition of discrimination.

• 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms outlawed discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical origin.

• Sexual orientation was added in 1995.

Minority Groups• 1980 Congress of Black Women was founded– Multiple layers of discrimination

• 1983 Ontario Coalition of Visible Minority Women was founded– Lobby for foreign credentials, racism, workplace

language training.• 1986 Coalition of Black Trade Unionists founded

Changing Laws

• 1987 Supreme Court est. women’s legal right to workplaces free from sexual harassment – Placed onus on employers to provide a healthy

work environment.• Pro-Choice Movement: 1988 Supreme Court

struck down Canada’s abortion law as unconstitutional.– Abortion no longer considered a crime.

1980s Issues• Women and immigrants hired last and fired first in

the 1980s recession. Legislation in 1982 removed the right to negotiate for pay equity, paid maternity leave, protection from sexual harassment and paid maternity leave. ---Froze women’s advancements in the workplace.

• Anti-immigrant, anti-Quebec, homophobia• Dec 6, 1989 14 Female engineering students were

gunned down at Montreal’s E’cole Polytechnique. The gunman shouted, “I hate feminists”

The Glass Ceiling

• Men promoted in disproportionate numbers

Pay Equity Act

• 1988 Ontario Government passed the Pay Equity Act

1989 Time’s Cover story: Is Feminism Dead?

Third Wave Feminism

• Organizing of…– Multi-racial– Multi-gender– Multi-class

1990s• 1996 Women’s March Against Poverty– Largest women’s demonstration in Cdn history– Women in low paying, repetitive jobs.

• 1990’s many unions were successful in re-defining “spouse” to include same-sex relationships

• Late 1980s and 1990s saw the beginning of anti-racist initiatives within unions, locals and labour centrals– 1991 Black and Philipino nurses challenged racism and

discrimination. Forced the Ontario Human Rights commission to address it as Canada’s first systemic case on the grounds of race.

Contemporary Threads• Girlie Feminism

– Reclamation of makeup and other girlie accoutrements and the validation of female activities like cooking, crafting and talking about sex.

• Pro-Sex Feminism– Reaction to feminist anti-porn crusade and sexual

repression.

• Post-Feminism– Idea: feminism has outlived its usefulness. Put

down your torches because the fight is over. Suggests that everything is hunky-dory.

Double Standards

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOjNcZvwjxI

How to ask good interview questions

• Comparison• “To what extent”• “How”• Clear up misconceptions – start with the

definition• Follow up questions to get more information– Give me an example

Alternative Assignment

• Write a 500 word newspaper article on second or third wave feminism. Be sure to include contrasting opinions and at least three quotations.