Interview With Phyllis Shlafly Summary

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The women’s rights movement focused on gender equality. Liberal and conservative women disagreed on many issues that the second wave of feminism, the basis of the women’s rights movement, brought to light. Two documents reveal the differences in the opinions of the opposing sides during the women’s rights movement. In an “Interview with Phyllis Schlafly” by the Washington Star, published on January 18, 1976, Ms. Schlafly opposed both the ERA and the Women’s Rights movement. Comparatively, the “Statement of Purpose” by the National Organization for Women, published on October 29, 1966, stated that NOW stood for Women’s Rights and equality. The two documents do agree that a woman’s role of being a mother is most important, but differ in their opinions of women in the workforce. …show more content…

In her interview she explained her displeasure for the ERA and the women’s rights movement. She viewed the ERA and the women’s rights movement to be destructive, anti-family, and would negatively affect women (Story). She believed that women were meant to be wives and mothers while men were meant to financially support his wife and children (Story). Schlafly believed that women should not be hired for jobs they are unable to do physically and that in doing so it would be hurtful to men, hurtful to women, and hurtful to the community (Story). That the introduction of the ERA would not benefit would women but instead put them in financial strive. Ms. Schlafly finished her interview by reminding the reader that men and women were not equal and that the though itself was nonsense