Questions for Class Discussion:

1. In what ways is the feminist movement similar to other movements for equality and social justice in American history (e.g., the abolitionist movement, the labor movement, and the civil rights movement), and in what ways is it different? How is feminism affected by the fact that most women have intense personal relationships with men?
   
   
2. What are the roots of the disagreements between equal rights feminism and those feminists who advocate attention to gender difference? What are the implications of each position for government policy (e.g., regarding workplace protections, regulation of pornography, or separate-sex education)?
   
   

Suggested Student Exercises

• Select one nineteenth century or early twentieth century womens leader (e.g., Lucretia Mott, Frances Willard, Jane Addams, or Charlotte Perkins Gilman), and compare and contrast their ideas about womens issues and roles in society with that of a prominent second wave feminist leader (e.g., Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Catherine Mackinnon). Consider which differences are due to the different times in which they lived, and which reflect underlying philosophical disagreeements about gender and society.
  
  
• Trace the changing numbers and roles of women in the U.S. Congress from the 1950s to the present. Examine a few female representatives and senators careers and voting records to uncover their relationship to the visible feminist movement. (Perhaps compare two female officials from different party affiliations or different regions of the country.)