Title: Success and solitude : feminist organizations fifty years after The feminine mystique /
Authors: Maxwell, Sarah,
Publisher: University Press of America,
Year: 2009
Subjects: Feminism United States History; Women United States Social conditions; Social movements United States History.
Abstract: "In the early 1960s, a wife, mother, and activist asked, "Is this all?" and the second wave of feminism was born. The Feminine Mystique marshaled support for women's causes, particularly among white, suburban homemakers who were educated but intellectually frustrated. Through the National Organization for Women, Betty Friedan and her colleagues aimed their message to both the frustrated homemaker and the employed middle-class woman. Thousands of grassroots and national organizations emerged as a sizable powerhouse for women's rights. Organizational membership grew, laws were passed, public policy acquiesced, and women entered academia, the workplace, and politics in dramatic fashion over only a few decades. Where is the Women's Movement today, a half century later? The answer is deeply rooted in the health and vitality of the organizations that comprise the national movement. Many women are now successful, but feminist organizations find themselves in solitude, nearly fifty years following The Feminine Mystique. In Success and Solitude, the women's movement as a national social movement is critiqued and analyzed at an organizational level."--Jacket.
Contents: Section I. Building a movement : from Friedan to NOW -- The fight for equality -- The approach -- So what? -- Societal trends and feminism -- Limitations to studying social movements -- Organization of the book -- Inequality and resources in social movements -- The history of social movement theory : bridging theories to yield commonalities -- Defining social movements for analysis : resources as the foundation of sustainability -- Resource mobilization and commonalities applied -- Resource mobilization, commonalities, and next steps -- Social infrastructure, resources, and membership -- Methodology -- The fight for equality -- Perceptions -- Membership in women's organizations -- Conclusion -- Section II. The changing nature of the women's movement over fifty years -- The changing nature of educational inequality for women -- Opportunities in the labor market, the significance of 76 cents -- Political equality -- Indicators of inequality in 2000-2008 -- Changing trends : we're not joining, but Friedan's message survives -- changes in feminist organizational membership since the 1980s -- Membership decline -- General trends among women's organizations -- Trends in perceived discrimination, membership, and belief in feminism -- Success and solitude nearly a half-century later -- The unfolding feminist organization story : why is membership declining? -- Are women still experiencing inequality? A synopsis -- Do women perceive discrimination? -- Linking perceived inequality and attitudes about feminism : how do women regard feminism now? -- Do membership levels reflect the changing movement? -- The path : actual inequality, perceived inequality, self-ID as a feminist, and membership -- Where is the women's movement now? What has changed? -- Larger societal trends and declines in feminist membership.