AP Syllabus focus:
‘Feminist activists mobilized behind claims for legal, economic, and social equality, challenging discrimination in work, politics, and family life.’
Introduction
Second-wave feminism emerged as a powerful movement challenging entrenched gender inequalities. Activists confronted discrimination in employment, education, politics, and domestic life, demanding structural reform and expanded conceptions of women’s rights and roles.
The Context and Foundations of Second-Wave Feminism
Second-wave feminism developed in the early 1960s as women increasingly questioned persistent inequalities that remained despite earlier suffrage victories. Many activists drew inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement and New Left organising, adopting similar strategies to confront systemic barriers affecting women.
Women’s experiences in postwar America sharpened awareness of inequity. Although the postwar period promoted the ideal of the suburban, domestic “feminine mystique,” large numbers of women entered paid work, confronted workplace discrimination, and lacked legal protections for equal opportunity.
Feminine mystique: A cultural ideal that framed women’s primary role as homemakers and mothers, marginalising their ambitions for careers, education, or public leadership.
Growing dissatisfaction with these restrictive expectations encouraged women to articulate a broad critique of gender norms and demand far-reaching reforms.
Key Goals and Ideological Strands
Second-wave feminism encompassed diverse ideological currents, but most strands shared a commitment to expanding legal, economic, and social equality. Activists targeted discrimination that limited women’s autonomy and reinforced male authority in public and private spheres.
Major Areas of Focus
Workplace discrimination, including unequal pay, limited promotion opportunities, and job segregation
Educational inequality, particularly barriers to higher education and biased admissions policies
Reproductive rights, emphasising bodily autonomy and freedom from restrictive laws
Political representation, addressing the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles
Family law and domestic life, challenging assumptions that domestic labour and childcare were women’s sole responsibilities
While activists varied in approach—ranging from liberal reformers to radical feminists—they consistently foregrounded women’s structural disadvantage and the need for collective action.
Organised Activism and the Growth of Women’s Organisations
A significant development of the era was the formation of women’s advocacy groups that coordinated campaigns for reform. The National Organization for Women (NOW), founded in 1966, became a leading institution advocating for legal and economic equality.
National Organization for Women (NOW): A feminist organisation dedicated to advancing women’s rights through legal reform, political lobbying, and public advocacy.
NOW pursued litigation, public pressure campaigns, and policy proposals to enforce existing anti-discrimination laws and expand protections where gaps remained. Its efforts demonstrated how formal organisations could shape national debates and influence legislative priorities.
In contrast, radical feminist groups emphasised consciousness-raising, critiqued patriarchal cultural norms, and highlighted gendered power dynamics within families, schools, and workplaces.
Women participate in a consciousness-raising group in New York in 1972, sharing personal experiences that exposed broader patterns of gender inequality. Such groups helped radical feminists connect private struggles to systemic oppression and influenced strategies for cultural transformation. The surrounding webpage references later movements like #MeToo, which extends beyond the syllabus but does not affect the historical accuracy of the photograph. Source.
Their strategies helped broaden the scope of feminism beyond legislation to include cultural and personal transformation.
Expanding Legal and Economic Equality
One of the central aims of second-wave feminism was securing equal treatment under the law, particularly in employment and education. Activists recognised that wage disparities, job segregation, and cultural biases reinforced women’s economic subordination.
Legislative and Legal Strategies
Advocating for stronger enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited employment discrimination
Pressuring the federal government to establish and expand the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Supporting affirmative action policies that addressed long-standing gender inequities
Challenging university admissions practices and demanding women’s access to professional schools
These efforts helped expose systemic patterns of discrimination and provided new mechanisms for women to assert their rights.
Women march down Fifth Avenue during the 1970 Women’s Strike for Equality, carrying a banner demanding equal jobs and educational opportunities. The protest illustrated national momentum behind feminist calls for workplace fairness and expanded access to education. The image also reflects the movement’s strategic use of public demonstrations, a detail that slightly exceeds the syllabus but enriches understanding of activist methods. Source.
Social Equality and Changes in Family Roles
Second-wave feminists also sought to reshape social expectations surrounding gender roles, domestic labour, and family life. Many women rejected the assumption that caregiving and housework were women’s natural obligations and argued that these expectations restricted their personal and professional development.
Activists encouraged shared domestic responsibilities and promoted opportunities for women to pursue higher education and career advancement. They also challenged cultural messages in media, textbooks, and advertising that perpetuated narrow definitions of femininity.
Gender role: Socially constructed expectations about appropriate behaviours, responsibilities, and characteristics associated with being male or female.
Campaigns targeting gender roles helped broaden public understanding of women’s capabilities and emphasised the importance of individual autonomy.
Expanding Political Influence and Public Debate
As feminist activism grew, women gained greater visibility in political and policy debates. Their campaigns addressed underrepresentation in government, pushed for the appointment of women to public offices, and urged political parties to integrate gender equality into their platforms.
Political Tactics
Lobbying lawmakers and federal agencies
Supporting women candidates for elected positions
Forming task forces and caucuses within political parties
Organising marches, petitions, and public demonstrations
These political strategies helped institutionalise feminist ideas and ensured that gender equality remained prominent in national discourse.
Cultural Critique and the Transformation of Public Attitudes
Second-wave feminists also challenged pervasive cultural stereotypes that limited women’s choices. Through art, literature, academic scholarship, and media criticism, activists reshaped public conversations about femininity, sexuality, professional ambition, and personal agency.
Many argued that cultural change was as essential as legal reform in dismantling inequalities. Their critiques encouraged broader discussion about how gender shaped daily life, influencing subsequent movements for equality and contributing to long-term shifts in societal attitudes.
FAQ
Feminists strategically used magazines, television appearances, and newspaper columns to challenge stereotypes and present alternative models of womanhood. These interventions helped normalise discussions about workplace inequality, reproductive rights, and domestic expectations.
Some activists also created women-run publications that offered space for political analysis and cultural critique outside mainstream editorial control.
Consciousness-raising encouraged women to share personal experiences of discrimination, revealing patterns that had previously been dismissed as individual issues. This method built solidarity and generated grassroots activism.
It also helped identify structural problems—such as unequal domestic labour or workplace harassment—that required collective political solutions rather than private coping.
Universities acted as important hubs for feminist organising, providing access to student networks, intellectual debate, and emerging research on gender. Activists used campus platforms to demand women’s studies programmes, improved admissions policies, and fair employment practices.
These efforts also helped professionalise feminist scholarship, giving the movement academic legitimacy.
The movement encouraged families to renegotiate domestic responsibilities, challenging assumptions that women should perform most childcare and household tasks. This shift opened the way for dual-income households and broadened expectations for men’s participation in family life.
Feminist critiques of marriage and domesticity also prompted broader discussions about partnership, autonomy, and personal fulfilment.
Some women argued that mainstream feminist organisations focused too heavily on the experiences of white, middle-class women, overlooking racial, economic, and cultural differences. Others felt that radical groups downplayed the value of motherhood or failed to accommodate religious or traditional identities.
These critiques encouraged more inclusive organising and helped broaden the movement’s agenda in later decades.
Practice Questions
(1–3 marks)
Identify and briefly explain one way in which second-wave feminists challenged discrimination in American society during the 1960s and 1970s.
Question 1 (1–3 marks)
Award up to 3 marks:
1 mark for identifying a valid method used by second-wave feminists to challenge discrimination (e.g., lobbying for enforcement of Title VII, organising consciousness-raising groups, campaigning for equal employment rights).
1–2 additional marks for explaining how this method helped confront inequality or shift public or institutional attitudes (e.g., exposing workplace discrimination, challenging restrictive gender roles, increasing visibility of women’s rights issues).
(4–6 marks)
Explain how second-wave feminism sought to expand both legal and social equality for women. In your answer, refer to at least two different strategies or areas of reform.
Question 2 (4–6 marks)
Award up to 6 marks:
1–2 marks for describing legal inequalities targeted by feminists (e.g., unequal pay, restrictive admissions policies, limited workplace protections).
1–2 marks for explaining one strategy used to expand legal equality (e.g., lobbying the EEOC, pursuing litigation through organisations like NOW).
1–2 marks for explaining a second strategy focused on social equality (e.g., consciousness-raising, challenging gender norms in media, advocating for shared domestic responsibilities).
Stronger responses may connect activism to changes in public debate or institutional policy.
