Women's Movement In America In The 1960s

1245 Words5 Pages

Sit-ins, riots, boycotts, radical students: this was the landscape of America in the 1960s. Referred to as the “radical ‘60s’, it was a time when people were questioning society. African Americans were fighting for equality, low-income families were pleading for assistance from the government, and the youth culture was finding its voice and using it to rebel against the societal rules thrust upon them. While activists pushed for government reform, others wanted government abolishment; they felt the world would be better without a government, the people should rule the country. Feminists, such as Valerie Solanis, thought there should be a government, but one run by women, the sane, clear thinking gender. She explained that view in her S.C.U.M Manifesto, published in 1967. Women were raising their voice against gender discrimination after Betty Friedan wrote Feminine Mystique in …show more content…

Founded December 31, 1967, by Jerry Rubion and Abbie Hoffman, yippies did not stand for one issue as several of the other activists groups in this time, there mantra focused on rebelling just to rebel. They mocked society and the rules connected to it while described as anti- authoritarian and anarchist. Rubion and Hoffman wrote the “Yippie Manifesto” in 1968. It was a persuasive piece urging people to follow their views and denounce government. Spurred by the November 5, 1968 presidential election, the “Yippie Manifesto” urged people not to vote, but join their movement instead. They thought the youth culture should stage a revolution and run the country. They stated, “Don’t vote in a jacka**-elephant-circus. Let’s vote for ourselves. Me for President. We are the Revolution. We will strike and boycott the election and create our own reality” (Yippie Manifesto, 279). Along with denouncing the government, yippies had a long list of what they supported and