Women In The 60's

Words: 1550
Pages: 7
Open Document
The past 60 years have been filled with many great writers that changed the views of literature for future Authors. Writers wrote things and said things that weren’t publically talked about ever before. Talk of sex, drugs, homosexuality, and feminism were running rampant through the patriarchal, white-centric, nuclear-families of the 50’s and 60’s that lead to a slow increase of equality for women in the 70’s and 80’s. These so called vulgar writings were invading the common wealth and making a statement. Out of these topics, Feminism might have been the least talked about because the writers of these texts, women, were more discrete in there writings. These writings didn’t scream Feminism, but the message and the intention was there. Throughout …show more content…
“Female” can be used interchangeably with vagina and is built for “masochistic calm”. Men see women as just that, something to get their pleasure from, something to calm down the urges men get. “Ductile” means versatile. Prima is telling men that yes, women can be used for sex, but women also have other uses; such as childbirth. Prima also hints that yes, men gain pleasure from women, but women might not be getting the same pleasure in return. Why else would Prima describe it as “deadened nerve” and “minimal feeling?” Personally, this is the first time I have read something that would even hint that women don’t like sex, and that they feel that it is something they have to do, not want to do. This must have made some men upset. How dare women not get pleasure from something men use to make themselves feel better! Prima ends this poem with “what applause?” (DiPrima 26). Men praise a women’s sexual prowess, even if it’s in private, but they do not praise the gift of childbirth. Usually, women in the past had the mentality that if they pleased their man, their life would be great. But what kind of life can be great when you are thought of as just “the cunt [that] gets wide/ and relatively sloppy” and to “bring forth men children only”? (DiPrima 14-15). Prima is the women telling all others that women are so much more than what men say they are. Women can take control of their bodies and men really do not have a say in the …show more content…
Women writers have always written about the empowerment of women. Authors such as Diane DiPrima and Anne Waldman are only two of the many women that have taken up the cause of providing a voice to the voiceless. Even if the topics of their writings varied, the core message was always centered on women and their fight or struggle to be viewed as strong, independent, and knowledgeable. These women have paved a path to a brighter and more enlightened future for women, and all of society.

Work Cited Boston Women's Health Book Collection. "Abortion." Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New

Century. Touchstone, 1998. Print. 19 November 2014.

Charters, Ann. "Diane DiPrima." The Portable Beat Reader. New York, N.Y.: Penguin, 1992. 361-369. Print. 19 November 2014.
Charters, Ann. "Anne Waldman." The Portable Beat Reader. New York, N.Y.: Penguin, 1992. 421-424. Print. 19 November 2014.
Charters, Ann. "Gary Snyder." The Portable Beat Reader. New York, N.Y.: Penguin, 1992. 291-292. Print. 19 November 2014.
Sorensen, Bent. "The Atlantic Community." : "Minor Characters"? Beat 'Others' 1. Ed. Stuart
Noble. Web. 20 Nov. 2014. <http://atlanticcommunity.blogspot.com/2008/03/minor-characters-beat-others-1.html>.
"Women's Strike for Equality." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
Show More

Related Documents: Women In The 60's

Arnold Friend Analysis

The final part of 1960’s culture the story focuses on is the increased danger of the 60’s. The story uses the character of Arnold Friend to establish how dangerous society had become in the 1960’s. The 40’s and 50’s are always idealized as clean cut wholesome. America while the 60’s are seen as a more dangerous and turbulent time. Most people view the 40’s and 50’s in a way similar to Happy Days or Grease. While they view the 60’s as a time of war protests and racial struggles. The character of Arnold…

Words 1065 - Pages 5

Essay about Popular Culture in the 1960's

SOSE Multi-Modal Script Para 1: Intro statement +what life was like in the 1960’s The 1960’s in Australia were a decade of change. It was the beginning of many things including women’s and aboriginal rights. The 60s were when the children of a post war era began to mature and influenced by the Australian cultural landscape and started to lean new things such as changing beliefs. These influences resulted in large protests and demonstrations against many issues including the Vietnam War, women’s…

Words 2083 - Pages 9

Notes on betty friedan Essay

was the first president of the National Organization for Women How are they approaching the study of consumer culture? (e.g., historical, contemporary, etc You may need to google the author and see what other works they’ve produced, etc.) • Friedan discusses the consumer culture of the 1950’s and 60’s • In this chapter, she focuses on why and how advertising companies focused their attention on women and the effects this had on women. • Her approach of the study of consumer culture had to…

Words 1213 - Pages 5

mechanical engineering Essay

very different from today’s world, the events during that time helped make it possible to build our country into what it is today. Men and women both held different roles in raising their family. The phrase separate but equal played an important role for education. Did you know that women were asked to leave their home to serve for our country during the 1960’s?” These were some of my grandfather thoughts when I asked to interview him regarding his 20’s.There are many differences from fifty years…

Words 826 - Pages 4

Women in Theater Essay

Theatre Today Chapter 11: Broadway and Beyond When you finish Ch 11, you should be able to n Recognize the influences of the post-modern theatre of the 60’s and 70’s n Know what the theatre is a forum for n Define dadaism n Recognize Joseph Charkin’s contributions to theatre n Recognize the changing status of women in the theatre n Name important people and influences in modern theatre n Identify the different types of theatres in existence n Know the top ten cities for theatre in the…

Words 988 - Pages 4

Rebellion and Teenagers Essay example

The New Age of the Teen-age The 1950’s were a time for new ideas, events, and characteristics to spark up. A lot of these new values and subjects arose due to World War 2. For instance, the men went off to fight and the women were at home working, providing for themselves and their families. Women started to get good at these new roles and by the time the men came back from war, the men had some competition to get their jobs back. When the men returned back home a huge marriage boom occurred followed…

Words 1082 - Pages 5

Classical Cinem Gender Roles And Norms

well as the norms of its time, which were heightened around the 50’s and 60’s. Women on the classic hollywood screen became a spectacle for the audience and in particular men. It is no surprise that around the 50’s and 60’s was the height of ‘sex sells’ in the advertising industry, and of course this overflowed into cinema. As explored in the introduction feminists take cinema to be a ‘cultural practice regarding myths about women and femininity, as well as about men and masculinity’(Smelik,2016…

Words 625 - Pages 3

Women In The 1960's

The 1960s was a time of revolution for the women in America; they were voting, going to college, and working outside of the comfort of their homes. Women fought for equal pay, their substantial status in politics, new technology such as birth control pills and acceptance into more “masculine” activities such as organized sports and clubs. The shift in gender roles that took place during the 1960’s happened at the same time as the change in women’s wear. Women were branching out of their traditional…

Words 1498 - Pages 6

The Feminate Mystique Essay

Friedan’s arguments are about women in the 1940-60’s, that had to face a problem which cannot be classified in her time by doctors. Friedan called it, “the problem that has no name”. Women in her generation was told by the media to have kids and a husband, and also do meaningful labor like taking care of the household, the kids and satisfied the husband needs. The media wanted to tell the women to be more feminine and enjoyed its benefits. Things changed in Friedens’s time when women had more freedom, like…

Words 710 - Pages 3

What Are The Famous Flappers In The 1920's

groups of women during the 1920’s, you could spot one by the dress she wore which, “was often low cut, revealing neck and throat and sometimes more. The skirt rose just an inch . . . below her knees” (Gourley 60). Before the Flappers during the 1910’s, “the feminine ideal in the United States was the Gibson Girl, created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson” (Sagert 2). The Flapper and the Gibson Girl were complete opposites one was defined as curvy and Graceful, the other as a rule breaker. Women during…

Words 348 - Pages 2