How did the goals of the early American feminist movement sometimes differ from those of the suffrage movement?
The American feminist movement was fundamental with the entrance of women into certain of the professions was only one of the social changes underlying the growth and diversification. One of the major difference between American feminist movement and suffrage movement was the suffragists put the blame on the liquor interests and big business trusts (Evans, 1977). On the other hand the American feminist movement was largely involved in general processes of social and political change. Delap (2007) says that unlike the American feminist movement the suffrage movement was allied to social movements such as temperance, abolitionism and social purity. Delap (2007) continues to say that the suffrage movement operated trans-nationally at all levels except perhaps the fifth of this framework of joint political action.
The American feminist movement aimed at giving more independence and more control over the density of women but their reasoning had seldom been as explicit embracing this (Evans, 1977). Within the suffrage movement, Delap (2007) says that there was much evidence of interaction with subscriptions and exchanges between the journals of the large suffrage organizations, however diverse their tactics. Unlike the suffrage movement the American feminist movement concentrated on the vote and paid no attention to many issues such as the condition of working class women (Evans, 1977). Suffrage movements collapsed once the national crisis over manhood suffrage was resolved while the feminist movement formed the social and political condition necessary for permanent radicalization.
Do you think that the "sexual revolution" of the early 20th Century was truly revolutionary?
Yes. This is because some scholars believe that sexual revolution was a great tide of history that was spawned by the effectiveness and accessibility of modern birth control technology and planning (Mass, 2000). According to (Mass, 2000) this has welled with such interrelated developments as the evolution of civil liberties for women, children, and sexually variant persons. We can also say it was a true revolution because the movement encouraged for sex education and the control of sexually transmitted diseases (Mass, 2000). It is also important to note that sexual revolution was truly revolutionary because it was bigger and more important that industrial revolution for its role alleviation of recurrent STD epidemics.
Allyn (2001) says that sexual revolution was truly revolutionary because it meant personal, psychological transformation and freedom from hang ups. Allyn (2001) further says that "sexual revolution also means that personal liberation was gained through the required social and cultural change by the elimination of repressive laws, the abolition of damaging stereotypes, the relaxation of taboos on public displays of sexual affection like holding hands and kissing" (p. 158). Sexual revolution involved liberations from homosexual inclinations because they were initially portrayed as paragons of sexual repression.
