Blog 3 1940-1969

Gender and Power:

Women in the Workplace

 So far, we have seen women progress in the workforce; they have gone from having no rights at all to being relied on during the wars. This progression continues in the 1940's. The start of the 1940's began with the attack on Pearl Harbor which resulted in the United States going to war with Germany. This put an enormous amount of pressure on the government and the American people. In 1942 the war became so big, women weren't only needed in the workplaces, they were needed in the armed forces. The Women's Army Corps (WAC) and Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES) were established. So, not only were millions of men volunteering to serve in the armed forces or help out on the home front, millions of women were as well. This was big for women because all of a sudden women were not depending on men, the roles had turned and now it was the United States and men who were depending on women going out into the workforce.

As the war continued and ended women were not at all about to stop there. More women were rising up and more were becoming successful. Before, birth control was illegal and the only people to use condoms were prostitutes so of course nobody would be spotted with a condom. But, Margaret Sanger was a women who wasn't going to let abortions be the only choice women had of not having a baby. She wanted a pill that could provide women with cheap, safe, effective and female-controlled contraception. Finally after finding someone to do the research and someone who was interested in this research ENOVID was FDA approved! Whoohoo! Not only were women fighting in the war, they were changing the laws, for the better. Although there were some skeptics over this pill many, many, many women were taking it and abortion rates were decreasing rapidly. Yay for safe sex!

The end of the 60's ended with the National Organization for Women being formed and best of all- a beauty pageant! You'd think women would like this right... wrong. Feminist protested this pageant for Miss America. The N.Y.R.W was the group who protested. They protested the pageant for being sexist and racist since no black women had taken place among he finalists. The women's movement gained momentum and the media increasingly took it seriously. The Miss America pageant telecasted and was ne of the highest rated programs of the year. I mean, who doesn't love beautiful women.

Over alllllll these years women continued to prove themselves, they were more than just a pretty face. Women were doing things men were and more. This period of time was probably my favorite to learn and blog about, because women weren't just fighting for more freedom, they were taking the freedom they had and they were changing things for themselves. In today's society, women are still fighting in the wars, taking birth control and attending beauty pageants. Things have continued to change though.

Women are very much appreciated in the wars today, but they aren't as appreciated as much as men are. Whenever I see a veteran being appreciated it's always been a man. A wounded man most of the time; I have yet to see women being put on this pedestal right next to men. As for birth control, we have come a long way with that. We have created more methods of birth control and although abortions are still being done the rates are much lower than in the 60's. Prostitution is still a thing but nowadays condoms are being promoted and most of the time women are hoping the men have one. Everything has changed for the better, except for beauty pageants. Now every country, state, city, and town have beauty pageants. Women competing against each other instead of encouraging each other like they did in the past. What a shame. Yes, beauty pageants can be fun but they set a certain image for women- skinny and dumb. When most of them are probably not dumb but that's how they are portrayed. Sad. But, at least the important things in life are changing for the better. Not only are these things changing, more and more women of different cultures are standing up for themselves. See what happens when one women starts the change, she gives hope to women who are born decades after.