What Were the MainCauses of 'Second Wave' Feminism in America?

... What Were the Main Causes of 'Second Wave' Feminism in America? 'Women are 51% of the population. That is the only category in which they constitute 51%. In virtually every other, their share is grossly disproportionate.'1 Throughout history women have occupied the position of secondary citizens in society. The 'first wave' of feminism in the early 20th Century was pioneered by women and organisations such as the C.S.U. and Margaret Mead in America and the Pankhurst sisters in Britain; however women remained very much in the private sphere designated to them by Victorian ideology, made evident by the dominant image of American women as housewives and mothers above all else. During the 40's and 50's America was the perceived epitome of domestic calm, economic boom and political hegemony: however, as Friedan has suggested, a 'Feminine Mystique' pervaded this era, an intense female frustration at their roles of mothers and wives

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