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Essay On Second Wave Feminism

496 Words2 Pages

I believe that second-wave feminism began as a result of the fundamental conflict between Americans wanting the comfort of home after World War II and women who were in the workforce during the war. During World War II, the United States was in a very concentrated and unique state of mine; World War II dominated the entire culture of the United States, and everything everywhere was all about winning the war and supporting the Allied Powers. Unsurprisingly, Americans grew war weary and tired of this obsession with war, and instead sought the comforts of home to take their mind off the devastation of the war. Furthermore, the Cold War had just begun, which put further stress on Americans as the Soviet Union and the United States searched for ways to one-up each other. This only increased the yearning for the comforts and safety of home within the United States. The easiest group in society that could be targeted to fill this niche were women. This is due primarily to the fact that historically in the United States as well as around the world, women had been …show more content…

These women had to take jobs traditionally held by men since so many men were off fighting the war. During the war,American women became adjusted to this lifestyle of working, rather than being a housewife. Consequently, once the pressure to become a housewife was placed on women once more after the war, they were unhappy and ultimately protested against it. This is clearly seen in the foundations of second-wave feminism, which focus greatly on the relationship between women and the workplace as well as family. Overall, American women’s involvement in the workplace during World War II would not allow them to return to be housewives and caregivers as they had been throughout much of the

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