What was the Women’s Liberation Movement?
MA, History (University of Edinburgh)
Date Published: 07.10.2024,
Last Updated: 07.10.2024
Share this article
Defining the movement
Emerging in the 1960s as part of second-wave feminism, the women’s liberation movement (WLM) worked to redefine women’s place in society and bring an end to institutional sexism and women’s oppression under the patriarchy. The WLM began in the United States and Europe, before moving gradually to other parts of the world. Lasting into the 1980s, the movement brought about social change regarding gender roles, sexual liberation, and economic independence for women.
In their introduction to Historicising the Women's Liberation Movement in the Western World, Laurel Forster and Sue Bruley explain that the movement emerged as a response to the obstacles women faced socially, politically, and economically under the patriarchy:
postwar affluence, rising living standards and increased educational opportunities. The WLM arose from, and was very much part of, what is termed ‘new social movements’ of the 1960s, particularly an end to the threat of nuclear war, anti-apartheid, opposition to the Vietnam war and civil rights. Women were frustrated and angry by their continued second class status in the post war world. (2019)
Edited by Laurel Forster and Sue Bruley
postwar affluence, rising living standards and increased educational opportunities. The WLM arose from, and was very much part of, what is termed ‘new social movements’ of the 1960s, particularly an end to the threat of nuclear war, anti-apartheid, opposition to the Vietnam war and civil rights. Women were frustrated and angry by their continued second class status in the post war world. (2019)
This study guide will explain the history behind the WLM, notable figures who changed the trajectory of the movement, and the lasting legacy of the WLM. (This guide will mainly focus on the United States, where the movement was largely based. For more on women’s liberation in Europe, see Jan Bradshaw’s The Women's Liberation Movement, [2013])
The emergence of a revolution
The WLM, and the second-wave feminist movement, were inspired by the writers and activists who came before, from Mary Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouge in the eighteenth century to those who fought for women’s suffrage (i.e., the right to vote) in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Though the suffrage movement had secured women the vote in 1918 in the UK and 1920 in the US, gender inequalities remained.
You can learn more about the history of women’s suffrage in our article “Who were the Suffragettes?”
During WWII, there was a mass movement of women entering the workforce as men went off to war. However, when the war was over, and soldiers came back to reclaim their jobs, the majority of women returned to the home, thereby causing many women to feel like they had lost their independence. At the time, women were economically dependent on men. For instance, before the Married Women’s Property Act (1882) in the UK, everything a woman owned automatically belonged to her husband. Women were usually expected to quit their jobs once they were married and were unable to have their own bank accounts or credit cards without consent from their husbands.
According to Nancy Hendricks in Daily Life of Women in Postwar America (2021), women were taught to submit to societal expectations around gender:
The domestic life of women in postwar America was played out amid strictly defined roles. Conformity was the norm. The “nuclear family” was defined as father, mother, and dependent children living in one household. Women became housewives, defining themselves as someone’s wife and someone’s mother rather than as individuals. For some women during the postwar years, performing that role began to take its toll.
Nancy Hendricks
The domestic life of women in postwar America was played out amid strictly defined roles. Conformity was the norm. The “nuclear family” was defined as father, mother, and dependent children living in one household. Women became housewives, defining themselves as someone’s wife and someone’s mother rather than as individuals. For some women during the postwar years, performing that role began to take its toll.
As women started accessing higher education and better job opportunities, they became more aware of social problems, including gender inequality, and grew tired of the expectation that they maintain their domestic duties at home despite being busy lives attending lectures or working. In 1949, Simone de Beauvoir published The Second Sex, in which she espoused the idea that gender is merely a social construct and women should not strive for equality by being more like men, but by being themselves. Likewise, Margaret Mead’s text Male and Female (1949), which analyzed communities in New Guinea, also illustrated the idea that gender is merely a construct and biology should not be a deciding factor in the types of activities men and women take part in.
(For more on theories around the construction of gender, see our guide "What is Judith Butler’s Theory of Gender Performativity?")
WLM activism
When the women’s liberation movement emerged in the 1960s, it challenged the societal expectations of women and fought to dismantle discrimination in education and the workplace.
Women in the home
Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963), was instrumental in encouraging women to join the liberation movement. The text spoke against the prevailing idea that women were happiest and most fulfilled staying at home with the children. Women, she argued, were not only disenchanted by their “ideal” life at home, but were actually depressed and made to feel like failures if they didn’t abide by this prescribed life laid out for them. As Elizabeth Whitaker writes,
Friedan’s ideas lit a fuse in 1963, helping to explode the stifling assumptions about the role of women and men that were causing tensions and unease in countless American homes. Her book managed to inspire women and help awaken the feminist movement, while at the same time provoking a storm of derision from powerful areas of society. She showed readers that they were not alone in needing more than to live through housework, husbands, and children. The housewife of the years following World War II was not programmed by nature but created by society. (An Analysis of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, 2017)
Elizabeth Whitaker
Friedan’s ideas lit a fuse in 1963, helping to explode the stifling assumptions about the role of women and men that were causing tensions and unease in countless American homes. Her book managed to inspire women and help awaken the feminist movement, while at the same time provoking a storm of derision from powerful areas of society. She showed readers that they were not alone in needing more than to live through housework, husbands, and children. The housewife of the years following World War II was not programmed by nature but created by society. (An Analysis of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, 2017)
One way they challenged ideas about the role of women was through establishing women’s studies programs in higher education. The first program started in 1970 at San Diego State College, later San Diego State University. In these programs, people could learn about feminism as it relates to history and sociology as well as gender theory.
Women in the workplace
The WLM also fought for women's rights in the workplace, particularly surrounding sexual harassment. According to Merril D. Smith in Sexual Harassment (2020), the WLM helped spurn the definition of what constituted sexual harassment and how it should be addressed:
What is “normal” on-the-job behavior? If a boss or colleague makes sexual remarks, touches employees, or forces them into sexual contact, is this something that they simply have to put up with? What if all women are paid less or not given an opportunity to advance in their careers? Before the mid-1970s, there was no one phrase that describes what we now call sexual harassment—and which includes gender discrimination.
Merril D. Smith
What is “normal” on-the-job behavior? If a boss or colleague makes sexual remarks, touches employees, or forces them into sexual contact, is this something that they simply have to put up with? What if all women are paid less or not given an opportunity to advance in their careers? Before the mid-1970s, there was no one phrase that describes what we now call sexual harassment—and which includes gender discrimination.
Policies regarding sexual harassment in the workplace were passed, creating positive work environments for women to grow and thrive in, though the wage gap continued. Unfortunately, this still continues today.
The contraceptive pill and body autonomy
A further challenge to the traditional role of women came with the emergence of the commercially available contraceptive pill in the 1960s, which granted women bodily autonomy and sexual freedom. However, some countries, such as Norway and the Soviet Union, banned the pill, and religious authorities spoke out against it. Feminists argued that women should have the right to make decisions regarding their bodies, without the interference of the law, religious institutions, and the rest of society. Birth control activist and nurse Margaret Sanger, expressed in A Case for Birth Control (1917), that birth control paved the way for freedom for women:
You will agree with me that a woman should be free. Yet no adult woman who is ignorant of the means to prevent conception can call herself free. No woman can call herself free who cannot choose the time to be a mother or not as she sees fit. This should be woman’s first demand. ([2017])
Margaret Sanger
You will agree with me that a woman should be free. Yet no adult woman who is ignorant of the means to prevent conception can call herself free. No woman can call herself free who cannot choose the time to be a mother or not as she sees fit. This should be woman’s first demand. ([2017])
Miss America
The women's liberation movement also focused on the portrayal of women in the media. For example, in the US, feminists protested the Miss America Beauty Pageant as they felt it objectified women and encouraged the idea that women’s worth was based primarily on their appearance:
It is this commitment to being physically fit—routinely translated from current standards of a feminine ideal—that has compelled feminists to target the swimsuit competition as perhaps the most damaging moment of the entire beauty pageant. Indeed, the sight of ten or twelve female bodies lined up to be judged and evaluated according to how closely they approximate this ideal provides a stunning illustration of the objectification and the resulting commodification of women's bodies. (Sarah Banet-Weiser, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, 2023).
Sarah Banet-Weiser
It is this commitment to being physically fit—routinely translated from current standards of a feminine ideal—that has compelled feminists to target the swimsuit competition as perhaps the most damaging moment of the entire beauty pageant. Indeed, the sight of ten or twelve female bodies lined up to be judged and evaluated according to how closely they approximate this ideal provides a stunning illustration of the objectification and the resulting commodification of women's bodies. (Sarah Banet-Weiser, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, 2023).
Feminists in the movement argued that women’s bodies were being exploited by the media to please men. Through television, films, and advertisements, women’s bodies were portrayed in hypersexualized, unrealistic ways, creating unattainable beauty standards that women felt pressured into adopting. Women in the WLM argued that these beauty standards subjugated women and supported a patriarchal society determined to dehumanize women.
Domestic abuse shelters
Those in the WLM spoke out against sexual harassment, sexual assault, and domestic violence. WLM activists were instrumental in opening women’s shelters for victims of domestic violence and helped establish women’s groups and counseling services:
Political actions and meetings specifically on domestic violence then began to be held, sometimes involving both women who had experienced violence and those who had not, working closely together. Out of these came the idea of setting up proper projects. These were conceived of as separate safe houses or refuges/shelters to which women who had suffered abuse could escape, and from which they could perhaps begin to construct new lives, free of violence [...] Abused women immediately came to them – immediately. As soon as they opened, the women and children were there. (Gill Hague, History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement, 2021)
Gill Hague
Political actions and meetings specifically on domestic violence then began to be held, sometimes involving both women who had experienced violence and those who had not, working closely together. Out of these came the idea of setting up proper projects. These were conceived of as separate safe houses or refuges/shelters to which women who had suffered abuse could escape, and from which they could perhaps begin to construct new lives, free of violence [...] Abused women immediately came to them – immediately. As soon as they opened, the women and children were there. (Gill Hague, History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement, 2021)
When the National Women’s Aid Federation, later known as Women's Aid, started in the early 1970s in the UK, a safety network for victims of domestic violence was created across the nation. This made shelters easily accessible to women and children throughout the country. Created by women for women, Women’s Aid was instrumental in petitioning for laws to protect victims of domestic violence. The group has been successful in raising awareness about the seriousness of domestic violence, controlling behavior, and sexism in the UK and beyond.
The Women’s Strike for Equality March
Throughout the movement, feminist activists marched and protested against the prevailing sexism in society. On August 26, 1970, the Women’s Strike for Equality March was organized to acknowledge and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment, which initiated women’s suffrage in America. Those involved in the strike called for free childcare, an end to sex discrimination in education and the workplace, and free abortions, among other social reforms. Thousands of women marched in solidarity in New York City and major cities around the country, raising awareness of the obstacles women faced on a daily basis:
On Strike Day, women across the country, including some veterans of the suffrage movement, marched, picketed, protested, held teachins, staged rallies, presented guerrilla theater skits, and took the day off from work or housework. In addition, the mayors of some cities officially dedicated the day to women’s equality […] August 26, 1970, marked the largest demonstration for women’s rights ever held until then. (Barbara Burrell, Women and Political Participation, 2004)
Barbara Burrell
On Strike Day, women across the country, including some veterans of the suffrage movement, marched, picketed, protested, held teachins, staged rallies, presented guerrilla theater skits, and took the day off from work or housework. In addition, the mayors of some cities officially dedicated the day to women’s equality […] August 26, 1970, marked the largest demonstration for women’s rights ever held until then. (Barbara Burrell, Women and Political Participation, 2004)
The strike was a success, with changes being made to women’s education in particular. In 1972, Title IX was passed, which prohibited sex discrimination in education courses that received financial assistance from the federal government.
The movement, however, dwindled in the 1980s as large demonstrations ceased and there was a growing sense that the WLM had achieved its primary goals.
Notable leaders
While there were many inspiring leaders during the WLM, we will highlight three women who especially stand out for their revolutionary activism: Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, and Shirley Chisholm.
Gloria Steinem
Feminist icon, journalist, and activist, Gloria Steinem, spearheaded much of the political activism in the WLM, especially in the 1970s when she campaigned for women’s reproductive rights, particularly access to abortions. She used her talent for writing and communication to enlighten the public on the experiences of women in the United States in Ms. magazine, which she co-founded in 1971. That same year, she co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC), which continues to work towards the advancement of women in political office. She supported abortion rights and celebrated the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973, which protected the right to have an abortion. In a 2023 interview with the BBC, she expressed her concern over the 2022 reversal of Roe v Wade, indicating that the patriarchy is once again attempting to control women’s wombs. Steinem was also a founding member of the Women’s Action Alliance (WAA), an organization dedicated to fighting sexism and discrimination. The organization supported women’s activists at the local level, providing resources and leading initiatives to enlighten a national audience about women’s rights.
Outspoken and willing to put herself on the front line, she is upfront about the hurdles women had to overcome in the mid-twentieth century and continue to face today. In her speech given at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. in 2017, Steinem encourages women to continue standing together in their fight against sexism:
We are here and around the world for a deep democracy that says we will not be quiet, we will not be controlled, we will work for a world in which all countries are connected. God may be in the details, but the goddess is in connections. We are at one with each other, we are looking at each other, not up. No more asking daddy. We are linked. We are not ranked. (Gloria Steinem, "Women’s March Speech 2017," Great Women's Speeches, 2019).
Edited by Anna Russell
We are here and around the world for a deep democracy that says we will not be quiet, we will not be controlled, we will work for a world in which all countries are connected. God may be in the details, but the goddess is in connections. We are at one with each other, we are looking at each other, not up. No more asking daddy. We are linked. We are not ranked. (Gloria Steinem, "Women’s March Speech 2017," Great Women's Speeches, 2019).
See William H. Pruden III’s Gloria Steinem, (2021) for more on Gloria Steinem.
Angela Davis
Angela Davis, Black feminist, revolutionary, political activist, and academic, was an influential figure during the WLM. Davis campaigned alongside Steinem during the WLM. The two supported intersectional feminism, bringing awareness to the discrimination and marginalization that social systems perpetuate on an individual’s gender, age, religion, etc. Together, they worked towards social justice and an end to sexism.
Davis was also a member of the Communist Party in the US, as well as the Black Panther Party during the American civil rights movement, where she worked to bring minority rights to the forefront of politics. Growing up in Alabama, Davis experienced racism and discrimination firsthand, inspiring her to fight for civil rights and work towards social reforms. In the 1970s, Davis became involved in a murder trial that garnered national attention. Many argued that the Black men on trial were falsely accused. Davis was accused of assisting in the murder and appeared on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” List after she went into hiding. She was eventually found and spent over a year in jail.
See Joy James’s Contextualizing Angela Davis, (2023) for more on Angela Davis.
Shirley Chisholm
Chisholm was an American politician and feminist who supported the women’s liberation movement. In 1968, she became the first Black woman to be elected to Congress. Later in 1972, she became the first Black woman presidential candidate and the first Black candidate to run for a major-party nomination for the Presidency. Throughout her career, Chisholm spoke out against sex discrimination and expressed that Black women were doubly discriminated against, as indicated in her 1974 speech “The Black Woman in Contemporary America”:
The black woman lives in a society that discriminates against her on two counts. The black woman cannot be discussed in the same context as her Caucasian counterpart because of the twin jeopardy of race and sex which operates against her, and the psychological and political consequences which attend them. Black women are crushed by cultural restraints and abused by the legitimate power structure. To date, neither the black movement nor women’s liberation succinctly addresses itself to the dilemma confronting the black who is female. And as a consequence of ignoring or being unable to handle the problems facing black women, black women themselves are now becoming socially and politically active. (Chisholm, in Say it Plain, 2006)
Edited by Catherine Ellis and Stephen Drury Smith
The black woman lives in a society that discriminates against her on two counts. The black woman cannot be discussed in the same context as her Caucasian counterpart because of the twin jeopardy of race and sex which operates against her, and the psychological and political consequences which attend them. Black women are crushed by cultural restraints and abused by the legitimate power structure. To date, neither the black movement nor women’s liberation succinctly addresses itself to the dilemma confronting the black who is female. And as a consequence of ignoring or being unable to handle the problems facing black women, black women themselves are now becoming socially and politically active. (Chisholm, in Say it Plain, 2006)
Chisholm encouraged white feminists in the WLM to reflect on where minorities fit into their agenda and assist in social reforms. Chisholm focused much of her work and activism on those on the fringes of society, especially the poor. She worked towards economic, social, and political reforms during her lifetime. Alongside Steinem and Friedan, Chisholm co-founded the NWPC to support women’s rights and women’s participation on the local, state, and national levels of American politics.
See Anastasia C. Curwood’s Shirley Chisholm, (2022) for more on Shirley Chisholm.
Legacy of the movement
The WLM played a significant role in the feminist movement of the twentieth century, making substantial strides towards equality:
The WLM produced widespread structural and attitudinal change which had a profound impact on the western world in the late twentieth century. By developing an ‘imagined community’ of feminism, women created a new sense of female selfhood. (Forster and Bruley, 2019)
Feminists in the WLM paved the way for future waves of feminism, as women continue to stand up against sexism in all facets of their lives. Many branches of feminism today, such as postcolonial feminism and ecofeminism, seek to highlight marginalized voices in the fight for gender equality, building upon these earlier feminist movements.
In 2021, for instance, Kamala Harris followed in the footsteps of Chisholm and became the first female, Black, and South Asian American vice president. She is currently running for president as the Democratic Party’s 2024 election nominee.
In recent years, feminists have focused on issues concerning body shaming, rape culture, transgender rights, and underlying sexism in society, among other issues. Though there is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality, leaders in the WLM set the path for future generations of women to feel empowered enough to speak up. Women are not only mothers, sisters, aunts, and colleagues, but first and foremost individuals who deserve to be treated as equals to men.
Further reading on Perlego
There She Was (2021) by Amy Argetsinger
The Women's Liberation Movement in Scotland (2016) by Sarah Browne
The Dialectic of Sex (2015) by Shulamith Firestone
Fundamental Feminism (2020) by Judith Grant
The Lesbian Revolution (2018) by Sheila Jeffreys
Gloria Steinem (2023) by Sydney Ladensohn Stern
Angela Davis (2022) by Angela Y. Davis
A Seat at the Table (2024) by Glenn L. Starks
Women's liberation movement FAQs
What was the women’s liberation movement in simple terms?
What was the women’s liberation movement in simple terms?
What inspired the WLM?
What inspired the WLM?
Who was a notable leader during the movement?
Who was a notable leader during the movement?
What is the lasting legacy of the WLM?
What is the lasting legacy of the WLM?
Bibliography
Banet-Weiser, S. (2023) The Most Beautiful Girl in the World: Beauty Pageants and National Identity. University of California Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/3905654
Burrell, B. (2004) Women and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/4203900
de Beauvoir, S. (2010) The Second Sex. Vintage.
Ellis, C. and Smith, S. D. (2006) Say It Plain: A Century of Great African American Speeches. The New Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/2442436
Ellis, C. and Smith, S. D. (2010) Say It Loud!: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity. The New Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/2442597
Forster, L. and Bruley, S. (2019) Historicising the Women’s Liberation Movement in the Western World: 1960-1999. Routledge. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1501525
Friedan, B. (1963) The Feminine Mystique. W. W. Norton. Available at: https://wwnorton.com/books/the-feminine-mystique/
Hague, G. (2021) History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement: We’ve Come Further Than You Think. Policy Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/3533307
Hendricks, N. (2021) Daily Life of Women in Postwar America. Greenwood. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/4164585
Mead, M. (2016) Male and Female: A Study of the Sexes in a Changing World. HarperCollins. Available at: https://search.worldcat.org/title/1445091113
Russell, A. and Pinheiro, C. (2019) Great Women’s Speeches: Speeches by great women to empower and inspire. White Lion Publishing. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/2067221
Sanger, M. (2017) The Case for Birth Control: A Supplementary Brief and Statement of Facts. Perlego. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1849147
Smith, M. (2020) Sexual Harassment: A Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/4183386
Whitaker, E. (2017) An Analysis of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. Macat Library. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/4351382
MA, History (University of Edinburgh)
Hannah Hamill has a PGDE in Secondary Education (History) from the University of Glasgow and a Master’s degree in History from the University of Edinburgh. She also received a Bachelor’s degree in English from Belmont University. Her research interests include The Troubles in Northern Ireland, Medieval Britain, the American Civil War, and immigration to the southern United States. Her dissertation examined loyalist and republican women’s involvement during The Troubles.