Feminism is a monumental challenge to mainstream political ideas and has been a catalytic force challenging public opinion. This presentation looks at the second and third wave feminist movements, focusing on the turning points and the iconic texts and individuals, and the consequent and accompanying shift in attitudes through the years.

1. The Eye-Conics of Inequality:
Feminism -- The Defining Idea of Our Time
Daniel Drache, Senior Research Fellow and Associate Director
David Clifton, Research Associate
Marc Froese, Research Associate
A Digital Report From
The Counter-Publics Working Group
lease Send Comments To drache@yorku.ca
ugust 2005
Eye
Conics

2. Feminism Is A Monumental Challenge To
Mainstream Political Ideas And Has Been A
Catalytic Force Challenging Public Opinion

3. Feminist Activism Is A Bold Strike At Male
Privilege

4. WWII Opened New Jobs For Women, But
Only Temporarily

5. The UN’s Global Promise Of Equality
“Everyone Is Entitled To All The Rights And Freedoms. . .
Without Distinction Of Any Kind, Such As Race, Colour, Sex,
Language, Religion, Political Or Other Opinion. . .”
Eleanor Roosevelt Chairs the UN’s Commission on Human Rights 1946-48

6. Simone De Beauvoir’s 1949 Book, The Second
Sex, Argued That ‘Womanhood’ And
‘Femininity’ Are Social Constructions To Be
Contested At Every Turn

7. Equal Pay For Work Of Equal Value Becomes
The Gold Standard For Gender Equality, But
Women Still Earn 76 Cents On The Dollar

8. The Feminine Mystique (1963) Exposes
“The Problem That Has No Name.” The
Post-War Marginalization Of Women
Launches Second-Wave Feminism.

9. Meanwhile, Our Bodies Ourselves Puts Women’s
Health Front And Centre In The Movement.
Taking Control of Your Body Is The Message That
Resonates Down To Today.

10. The Personal Is Political
The Defining Idea Of Our Time

11. North Of The 49th Parallel, The 1970 Royal
Commission On The Status Of Women Is Derided
By The Male Majority In Parliament

12. The Sexual Revolution Is All About
Power. Sexual Politics Highlights The
Ubiquity Of Patriarchy In Western
Literature And Culture.

13. Kinsey Reports Back: The Really Radical
Idea Is That Women Are Sexual Beings. No
Surprise To Half The North American
Population.
1953
1948

14. Germaine Greer Fires A Blistering
Broadside Against Modern Sexual Roles,
Galvanizing The Feminist Movement
And Igniting A Firestorm Of Popular
Debate That Is Still Relevant Today

15. Rape Is The Most Violent Form Of
Gendered Oppression. Susan
Brownmiller’s Against Our Will Reveals
The Legal Inequality That Condones It.

16. “Liberation is not the private province of
any one particular group.” – Audre Lorde
Feminism Becomes More Inclusive And
Diverse

17. In This Bridge
Called My Back,
Women of Colour
Attack The Racial
And Economic
Exclusivity Of The
Second-Wave
Feminist Movement

18. A Decade Later, The
Beauty Myth Attacks
Mainstream Media’s
Manipulative And
Destructive
Commodification Of
The Female Form

19. The Guardians Of
American Morality Strike Back
In 1982, The Ratification Of The Equal Rights
Amendment Falls Three States Short Of The
Majority Needed To Amend The Constitution

20. Reproductive Freedom is the Litmus Test of
Gender Empowerment Across the Globe

21. 1982 Women’s Rights Are Written Into
Canada’s New Constitution
Womens’ Groups Begin To Use The Charter To
Push For Equality And Gender Rights In The
Courts.

22. The 1989 Montreal Massacre Galvanizes
Public Opinion Behind Canadian
Feminism
Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Barbara Klucznik Widajewicz
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte

23. Canada And The United States
Diverging Trajectories

24. Public Opinion is Split, No Where
More So Than Between Canada And
The United States
Men are Naturally
Superior to Women
40
30
Canada
20
USA
10
0
1992
Michael Adams, 2003
1996
2000

25. Patriarchy vs. Gender Equality In
Canada And The US – A Growing
Divide in Public Opinion
Father of Family Must be
Master of His House
50
40
30
Canada
USA
20
10
0
1992
Michael Adams, 2003
1996
2000

26. Church Is Important to 59% of
Americans But Only 30% of Canadians.
Abortion And Gay Rights Are Less
Constrained By Christian
Fundamentalism in Canada –
www.pew.org

27. In Canada The Majority Support
Same-Sex Marriage. In 2005 Equal
Marriage Becomes the Law.
Gay Marrage
60
Percent
50
40
Favour
30
Oppose
20
10
0
Canada
US

28. On August 30, 2004 Canada’s Supreme
Court Becomes The Most
Representative In The World
The Supreme
Court Of Canada

29. Contemporary Third-Wave Magazines Like
Bitch: A Feminist Response To Pop Culture,
And BUST Advocate A More Individualistic
Feminism

30. Feminist EyeCons Are A Living Archive Of Public
Ideals. They Compete With Male Stereotypes And
Reach Out And Grab Our Attention.