Study Guide

What are some things women wanted during the first wave feminism movement?

Study Guide 7 | Lehman College for students to use. During the first phase of the feminist movement women looked to vote, choose their career without children, and/or marriage. In the late 1800s to the beginning of 1900, women became physically active, playing sports such as basketball, tennis, among others. The ultimate goal was to have equality in society between women and men. Women start to wear tight clothing, differing from the societal norm of clothing for women.

Describe job opportunities for women at this time.

 Initially women became secretaries, and nurses among other positions in servitude of men in a way. However, at this point women were becoming teachers, doctors, scientists. Things started to improve for women, in 1920 white American women gained the right to vote. Became independent of men in terms of finances, and were able to achieve much success in the professional world.

How does masculinity relate to women’s advances at this time?

 The more women advanced in society, the higher the challenges to masculinity was felt by men and society. Women that chose careers, and supported the suffrage were seen as masculine, and against the family, and children. The blockage for women was spread throughout the system.

What is “Race Suicide?”

 The definition of race suicide is literary “the gradual extinction of a people or racial strain through a tendency to voluntarily restrict the rate of reproduction”, according to the Webster dictionary. Therefore, if the abortion rate among Hispanic women is 30%, that could potentially be race suicides’ if the other percentage is mixing with other races, resulting in the extinction of the Hispanic, and Caribbean people potentially. 

Kathy Peiss, Charity girls and City Pleasures

Answer each question in three or more complete sentences in your own words

What is the social world like for young working class women?

Women are often unsafe in many social worlds dominated by men. For instance, the business world is very challenging for women, not the work, or career at all, but women are victims of harassment, and are arguably under pay compared to men. College campuses are also unsafe places for women, where the “no means no” movement initiated, and applied the most.

What challenges do young women face in their efforts to have an independent social life?

Women’s Independence was faced with a challenge from societal norms. For instance, women’s independence financially, and academically was seen as an assault on the family structure, among other factors. Ultimately, women won voting rights, and independence; having the choice of career without children, or marriage and children, and anything that made women happy, and resulted in fair equality of the sexes.

What are the various ways that women participate in popular culture, recreation, and consumerism?

Women in the early 1900s became independent, and left the household opting to not have any children. Hence, become sexually, and fionacially independent. However, at the same time, women became taxed by the women, and participated in the economy of the United States as shoppers, and workers. Women participated in basketball games, tennis, cycling, and consumerism as financially independent.  

For what are “charity girls” known?

Most charity-girl women were  known as single wage workers in the city’s factories, and stores. However, these women would also use their income for the night life, annulment, and other forms of nightly entertainment. Popular for their adventurous spirit.

What is your opinion of this piece?

I feel it is well deserved, and just fair for women to have voting rights, and other equalities. For example, women won the freedom to choose to become adventurous, and free with their sexuality, and relationships with men to an extent. While also maintaining the traditional system for those who chose to have children and marriage often without careers. Financial dependency on men puts many women at risk even of death. However, after the early 1900s this started to change, and women became independent.

Traffic in Women by Emma Goldman

Background info: This is part of a 1911 speech by a radical feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman.  She was born in the Russian Empire in 1869, and was part of the Jewish immigration to the US.  A trained nurse, she was an early advocate of feminism and birth control, among other causes.

According to Goldman, why does prostitution thrive?

Emma Goldman argued that women who opted to become independent were seen as prostitute. This created a conundrum that resulted in the predictable unlimited source of “prostitutes” in that sense. Therefore, the same system produces that it was meant to stop, or penalized. 

What are two important ideas from this speech?

There are many interesting ideas from Emma Goldman’s speech. For instance, she argues that patriotism is one side with a superiority complex and she goes from there. However, patriotism can slo mean loving your national culture, and people. For example, loving Italian food, and Italian people would be a reasonable way for Italians to express their patriotism, and pride for your “peace of land in the world”, according to Emma Goldman. However, considering she was self proclaimed anarchist, her speech has many anarchical ideals, and values with many valid points that coincide with societal constructs that are unjust, and unfair to some.   

Women Rebel, 1914

What does Sanger write about young women’s sexual desires?

Margaret Sanger was a feminists’, and New York born advocate for women’s birth control, and sex with the connection to birth. She is the founder of Planned Parenthood of New York, and later of the country. However, from birth control, to sex education, and sexual freedom. But likely thousand of abortions monthly.

What are some of the purposes of this new publication, written by Sanger?

Margaret Sanger was a champion of women’s rights origination in New York. Her new publication was aimed at enlightening women, and challenge society on young women’s sexuality, and feminist goals in society. Hence, she empowered women in the 20th century with her legacy in Plan Parenthood which benefits women in many ways.