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Thank
you for your note to FEMINIST.COM.
I think that most people would
agree that the current women's
movement, which began to take
form around the mid-1960s, grew
out of the civil rights movement
of the 1950s. Similarly, the
first wave of feminism, which
secured basic rights for women
to vote, own and inherit property,
etc..., grew out of the abolitionist
movement, which brought an end
to slavery.
As for the civil rights movement--many
of the women involved in that
struggle realized that women
weren't leaders nor were they
recognized for their work. Additionally,
the linked struggles of racism
and sexism were not being identified.
For these reasons--and I'm sure
many others, too-the women's
movement became its own movement.
Many women were responsible
for the civil rights movement--Rosa
Parks and the group that organized
the Montgomery Bus Boycott were
mostly women. The student organizing
groups that did voter registration
efforts throughout the 1960s
were led by many women.
If you go back and read some
of the earliest things about
the women's movement, I think
you will discover this reality.
—Amy
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