Summary of the Document
This paper is a speech explaining why American women are a privileged part of society. The narrator explains why women are respected and why men should help them financially and with child-rearing. The woman also mentions that she is against equal rights because the female sex is privileged in advance. At the end of the excerpt, the woman mentions what a woman’s job is. This work is printed, one person writes it, and it is unstamped and unmarked.
Author of the Document
The author of this work is American Phyllis Schlafly, a talented politician, a highly educated woman, and a charismatic orator. These qualities helped her make a loud name for herself in the political arena of the 1960s and 1970s (Archives of Women’s Political Communication, 1972). However, her emergence was also like an atomic bomb; at the height of the sexual revolution and the growing second wave of feminism, she decided to promote archaic patriarchal values.
In particular, Phyllis Schlafly publicly opposed the passage of the ERA amendment, which would have ensured the equality of all American citizens before the law, regardless of their gender. This speech originated as an editorial in The Phyllis Schlafly Report newsletter in 1972. Still, it was altered for speeches and debates on behalf of Schlafly’s organization, STOP ERA (Archives of Women’s Political Communication, 1972).
Historical Context
In 1950 and 1953, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by the American Senate (Archives of Women’s Political Communication, 1972). The ever-proposed amendment to the United States Constitution gave equal rights and opportunities to every citizen regardless of gender.
The passage of the Equal Rights Amendment led to the creation of STOP ERA, now known as Eagle Forum. The founder of this group, Phyllis Schlafly, is an ardent opponent of feminist ideas and a campaigner against the Equal Rights Amendment. She has brought together many conservative organizations and groups to oppose abortion, pornography, gun control, and labor unions.
Purpose of the Document
The author wrote this speech to express his views on feminism and equality, to contribute to the opposition to these movements: “Why should we give up these mandatory wife and child support laws so that the wife has an ‘equal’ obligation to get a job?” (Archives of Women’s Political Communication, 1972, para 11). Through this document, I learned that there was an anti-feminist movement. I looked at the issue from different angles and learned the views of the movement’s followers.
Reference
What’s wrong with ‘equal rights’ for women? – 1972. Archives of Women’s Political Communication. (1972). Web.