Antifeminism:
“Antifeminism
opposes changes in women’s roles, status, rights, or opportunities.” (Wood,
2011, p. 90)
First wave Feminism
Counter Movements:
·
Antisuffrage
movement (1870-1920): men and women both believed that if women were
allowed to vote and have higher education that it would ruin their “natural”
roles as wives and mothers. Many
wives of men in positions of high power spoke out against suffrage. An organization was started called the
National Association Opposed to Women’s Suffrage that had over 350,000 members.
Second Wave Feminism
Counter Movements:
·
Antifeminist
movement (1970’s): Marabel Morgan started the Total Women movement and
Helen Andelin started the Fascinating Womanhood movement (Wood, 2011, p. 91).
Both groups fought for women to return to traditional attitudes, values, and
roles. The Total Woman movement
taught women that they should be sex objects and should be submissive to their
husbands. It urged women to focus
their time on becoming sexually irresistible to men. Many women took classes on how to become more “sexually
attractive and submissive to their husbands.” (Wood, 2011, p. 91) This was during a time when women were
economically dependent on their husbands and didn’t want that to change.
·
STOP ERA
campaign (1970’s): ERA was a campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
and STOP ERA was a direct response to this. Phyllis Schlafly, a large spokeswoman for STOP ERA, traveled
to warm women and men that feminism was turning women into men. She encouraged the traditional roles of
women staying in the home and men being the head of the house. The ironic part was that she defied
everything that she taught because she took on masculine roles by being a
political activist. The members of this campaign also taught that passing ERA
would “undercut men’s willingness to support children, allow women to be
drafted, threaten the family, and permit women and men to use the same
restroom. “ (Wood, 2011, p. 91) These claims were not based in fact. The upper
economic class, whom it benefited, funded this campaign.
Third Wave Feminism Counter Movements:
·
Antifemimism of the new millennium (2000’s): A
book titled The Surrendered Wife: A
Practical Guide for Finding Intimacy, Passion, and Peace with A Man written
by L. Doyle in 2001 “counsels women to abandon the quest for equality if they
want happy marriages.” (Wood, 2011, p. 92) Other authors are coming out and
claiming that women’s rights movements have come too far and that men are
suffering. Christina Sommers
published a book titled The War Against
Boys in 2000 detailing the struggles of boys being disadvantaged in schools
because of the women’s rights movements.
Another author Hise wrote a book called The War Against Men in 2004, which discusses how women have taken
power from men and that this is “contrary to God’s commandments, which define
the proper relationship between women and men.” (Wood, 2011, p. 92)
The two major
antifeminism claims:
1.
With women becoming more independent, they are
failing to keep up at home thus causing marital problems, delinquent children,
and broken homes. Feminism hasn’t helped women, it has only created more
problems for them and therefore feminism should be renounced.
2.
Women have gained all the rights that they can
and therefore there is no longer a need for feminism.
Wood, J. T. (2005). Gendered lives: Communication, gender and culture. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
Author: Erin H.