Depth Study:

Second Wave
Feminism
How effective was the Australian
Women’s Movement of the 1960s /
70s in achieving their goals?
UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT
1960s: Read information on p. 225, then list the many
changes that “interacted with and inspired” the
Women’s Liberation Movement at this time, including:
o American Civil Rights Movement
o Anti-war / anti-conscription demonstrations
o Environmental movement
o Universities as centres of radical ideas and student
activism
o Technological changes (consequence of the Cold War) –
led to changing economy and more ‘female-friendly’
jobs in the service industry and less work in
manufacturing = increased participation of women in
the workforce. Also freed up time for women to read,
meet with friends/groups and become educated. Martin Luther King National Historic Site, Atlanta
Artist: Louis Delsarte
 Contraception Revolution 1961: The development of the contraceptive pill had
the following benefits for society:
 increased female participation in higher education and in
the workforce on own terms
 couples had two incomes for longer.
 Women gained more control over their bodies (this is still a
debate being had today in relation to abortion).

Read over information and view short video on NMA

website (link on Unit Page), and add to your notes
relevant points about the revolutionary nature of this
development.
View the ABC video on the revolutionary nature of the
‘pill’ (on Unit Page).
 What were the fears and concerns mentioned by
some people in response to this medical
innovation?
 List quotes by two different women interviewed
about how the pill changed their lives
 What does this photo reveal about the nature of
Press conference on birth control, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 29 July 1968.
debate around contraception at this time?
 METHODS AND
TACTICS
Read and discuss the lyrics to “Don’t be too polite girls”
and watch the student film (link on Unit Page):
 Who would be the audience for these performances?
Would this affect the impact?
 List the main grievances targeted by the song
 How does the song define work – use a quote

Read this article https://insidestory.org.au/gloves-off/ and

summarise key points that link to our study, including
specific examples of:
 the significance of historical events outside the WLM that
coalesced to contribute to a broader movement for change
 how women of SOS were treated at the time and remembered
over time – what does this tell us about expectations of
women and their contributions to historical change?
Extension: This is an interesting read on politeness – what do you think? https://www.elle.com/culture/a35854625/no-more-politeness-2021/
 continued… methods
and tactics
• Read and summarise
the main developments in the
Women's movement in USA and
in Australia.
• Answer question 3, 4 and 5 p.
230 (on methods/tactics of 70s
feminists).

Photo: Leading US feminist Gloria Steinem at ERA rally

 OBSTACLES TO
CHANGE
• Watch the first 10 minutes of the
1967 ABC investigation into women
and work (link on Unit Page or click
on picture )
• List, under the heading of the video,
the practical and cultural obstacles
that were mentioned or inferred
regarding women's employment
opportunities. Use a table.
• What is your understanding of the
term ‘social conditioning’ as used in
the video? Add this to your glossary
terms. This term will be useful as we
continue on to look at the writing of
GERMAINE GREER
Source studies p. 230 – 233
Read/discuss Germaine Greer’s ideas and why they were
significantly different from 1st wave feminists (Add words like eunuch
and subversive to glossary terms). Her main points:
 First wave feminists didn’t change ways of thinking
 Women didn’t do anything with the new opportunities like
education and politics
 Calls for revolution, not just reform
 Even women who ‘have everything’ want change because
women’s natural rights as humans have not been achieved
and this affects everyone
 Women are beginning to really understand / question what is
considered ‘normal’ (marriage, children etc)
 All about recognising and potentiating women’s natural ‘free
will’ i.e. to reject social ‘conditioning’
 Wants the book to shock and make people think and act (be
subversive because it challenges whole structures of society)

Respond to sources on Greer – all questions

Germaine Greer in her London flat, 1970
MAKING DEMANDS
• Responding to sources on Women’s Action Committee (1970) and Women’s
Liberation Agenda (1973) p. 232/3 – complete table and questions below:
DEMAND TYPE (Govt/private action) Impact Revolution or reform?

1. What demands were realistic for the time (1970s)?

2. What ones are yet to be achieved? Why?
3. Look at the protest photos pp. 234 – 236 and conduct a full analysis to
draw conclusions about what women wanted at this time (see next slide).
4. List the changes and continuities in demands and nature of activism in
Source 8.39 (2018 march)
To what extent are these sources useful in helping us to
understand what women wanted and how they attempted
to achieve these goals? (analyse and evaluate with three ‘c’s – content,
context and comment).
LEGISLATIVE CHANGE – 1970s and 80s (Read p. 237 “Quiet Revolution”)
Look at Slide 17 of the introduction PPT on the Unit Page – discuss which laws were the
most significant / revolutionary, then summarise the following notes:
 The election of the Whitlam government in 1972 reflected the mood for change and legislation to
progress the rights of women followed shortly afterwards, including the Maternity Leave Act (1973),
the Family Law Act (1975) and the Anti-Discrimination Act (1977).
 The work of women appointed to the position of Women’s Advisor to the Prime Minister and the
Office of Women’s Affairs was vital in achieving these changes.
 Beyond legislative changes was funding, benefits and public awareness directed towards services for
women that were previously run by volunteers. E.g. childcare, women’s refuges, legal services and
family planning.

Investigate each of the three laws above and summarise how that legislation
that would have improved the lives of women.
Draw connections between the legal, financial and social status of women in
the post-war era and the need for place like Elsie House
 The stories we are told:
WOMEN IN HISTORY
Read p. 238 and consider the book cover on this slide – why
is the woman on the right giving the other woman some
serious side-eye? What is the benefit to society of depicting
women as these two-dimensional caricatures who are pitted
against each other?
o Notes: The mid-1970s saw new wave of publishing on
women’s history and issues.
o For example, Anne Summers’ Damned Whores and God’s
Police is considered one of the most influential texts of
this period. (Where have we heard Anne’s name before in our
study?)
Answer questions 2, 3 and 4 in response to sources A&B on p.
238
ART AND POP CULTURE: CHALLENGING THE DISCOURSE
Extension: What does this article say about
the ongoing need for bands like Bikini Kill?
https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/bikini-kills-messa
ge-female-empowerment-important-2157916
Music and film reflected the changing discourse (conversation) around gender roles with artists like
Helen Reddy popularising the theme of women’s empowerment. However, the WLM took on a
different tone via film and TV in the 80s and 90s, with women reclaiming their sexuality and showing
their anger at ongoing and pervasive sexism. The reactionary conservative backlash reflects the
polarised view of women as either saints or sinners.
Re-view parts of the documentary “Battle of the Sexes” (23.48 – 26:30 and 29 – end). Then
respond to these questions:
o Why did MTV create a problem for the women’s movement?
o What are some of the themes of Third Wave feminist music?
o What common characteristics of these performers is most striking to you?
o How are these performers challenging the sinner-saint dichotomy?
o In what ways could the methods used by third wave feminists to raise awareness of
deep cultural and institutional sexism actually have the opposite effect?
 Use the examples of Bikini Kill, Salt-N-Pepa, Spice Girls, Beyonce etc (as part of the
late 90s/early 2000s “Girl Power / Riot Grrrl” movement) to explain the potential
problems with this characterisation of feminism (consider using terms like aggressive,
conservative, demure, immoral, modesty, misandry, ‘slut-shaming’, double standards,
lipstick feminism, objectification, male gaze, victim blaming, rape culture, consent, etc
– you might need to look these up).
o Read comments made by Germaine Greer about artists like Beyonce. What does her
opinion reveal about this ‘double-edged sword’?
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jun/08/germaine-greer-criticises-beyonce-sexual-display-nu
EDUCATION OF GIRLS AND
WOMEN

Australian Schools Commission, established in

1973, investigated gendered schooling and
produced a report that found:
 girls were less likely to stay in school or go on to tertiary
education
 girls were less confident and ambitious
 girls were less inclined to see that they had control over their
own lives
 schools reinforced gender stereotypes in a variety of ways.
Consider the ways that schools (in your experience) still
reinforce gender stereotypes
Find evidence in the textbook (p. 240) to support the suggestion
that gendered education of girls has negative consequences for
women as adults.
Read this UNESCO article(2023)
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/smashing-gender-stereotypes-and-bias-and-through-education

and add quotes as examples of how gender bias in education can