The Eye-Conics of Inequality: Feminism -- The Defining Idea of Our

TimeDaniel Drache, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Director

David Clifton, Research Associate Marc Froese, Research Associate

A Digital Report From The Counter-Publics Working Group

Please Send Comments To drache@yorku.caAugust 2005

EyeConics

Feminism Is A Monumental Challenge To Mainstream Political Ideas And Has Been A Catalytic Force Challenging Public Opinion

Feminist Activism Is A Bold Strike At Male Privilege

WWII Opened New Jobs For Women, But Only Temporarily

The UN’s Global Promise Of Equality “Everyone Is Entitled To All The Rights And Freedoms. . .

Without Distinction Of Any Kind, Such As Race, Colour, Sex, Language, Religion, Political Or Other Opinion. . .”

Eleanor Roosevelt Chairs the UN’s Commission on Human Rights 1946-48

Simone De Beauvoir’s 1949 Book, The Second Sex, Argued That ‘Womanhood’ And

‘Femininity’ Are Social Constructions To Be Contested At Every Turn

Equal Pay For Work Of Equal Value Becomes The Gold Standard For Gender Equality, But

Women Still Earn 76 Cents On The Dollar

The Feminine Mystique (1963) Exposes “The Problem That Has No Name.” The

Post-War Marginalization Of Women Launches Second-Wave Feminism.

Meanwhile, Our Bodies Ourselves Puts Women’s Health Front And Centre In The Movement.

Taking Control of Your Body Is The Message That Resonates Down To Today.

The Personal Is Political

The Defining Idea Of Our Time

North Of The 49th Parallel, The 1970 Royal Commission On The Status Of Women Is Derided

By The Male Majority In Parliament

The Sexual Revolution Is All About Power. Sexual Politics Highlights The

Ubiquity Of Patriarchy In Western Literature And Culture.

Kinsey Reports Back: The Really Radical Idea Is That Women Are Sexual Beings. No

Surprise To Half The North American Population.

1953 1948

Germaine Greer Fires A Blistering Broadside Against Modern Sexual Roles,

Galvanizing The Feminist Movement And Igniting A Firestorm Of Popular Debate That Is Still Relevant Today

Rape Is The Most Violent Form Of Gendered Oppression. Susan

Brownmiller’s Against Our Will Reveals The Legal Inequality That Condones It.

“Liberation is not the private province of any one particular group.” – Audre Lorde

Feminism Becomes More Inclusive And Diverse

In This Bridge Called My Back, Women of Colour Attack The Racial And Economic Exclusivity Of The Second-Wave Feminist Movement

A Decade Later, The Beauty Myth Attacks Mainstream Media’s Manipulative And Destructive Commodification Of The Female Form

In 1982, The Ratification Of The Equal Rights Amendment Falls Three States Short Of The

Majority Needed To Amend The Constitution

The Guardians Of American Morality Strike Back

Reproductive Freedom is the Litmus Test of Gender Empowerment Across the Globe

1982 Women’s Rights Are Written Into Canada’s New Constitution

Womens’ Groups Begin To Use The Charter To Push For Equality And Gender Rights In The

Courts.

The 1989 Montreal Massacre Galvanizes Public Opinion Behind Canadian

Feminism Geneviève Bergeron Hélène Colgan Nathalie Croteau Barbara Daigneault Anne-Marie Edward Maud Haviernick Barbara Klucznik Widajewicz Maryse Laganière Maryse Leclair Anne-Marie Lemay Sonia Pelletier Michèle Richard Annie St-Arneault Annie Turcotte

Canada And The United StatesDiverging Trajectories

Public Opinion is Split, No Where More So Than Between Canada And

The United StatesMen are Naturally Superior to Women

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Michael Adams, 2003

Patriarchy vs. Gender Equality In Canada And The US – A Growing

Divide in Public Opinion Father of Family Must be Master of His House

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1992 1996 2000

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Michael Adams, 2003

Church Is Important to 59% of Americans But Only 30% of Canadians. Abortion And Gay Rights Are Less Constrained By Christian Fundamentalism in Canada – www.pew.org

In Canada The Majority Support Same-Sex Marriage. In 2005 Equal

Marriage Becomes the Law.Gay Marrage

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The Supreme

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On August 30, 2004 Canada’s Supreme Court Becomes The Most

Representative In The World

Contemporary Third-Wave Magazines Like Bitch: A Feminist Response To Pop Culture, And BUST Advocate A More Individualistic Feminism

Feminist EyeCons Are A Living Archive Of Public Ideals. They Compete With Male Stereotypes And Reach Out And Grab Our Attention.