Shift Trivia Quiz

Answer: Women's reproductive freedom/rights

The first wave of feminism was focused on women's right to vote, women's right to "ownership" of their children, and women's right to education. In the United Kingdom and America, many famous feminists emerged in the quest for voting rights, such as: Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Alice Paul, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Emmeline Pankhurst.

Several books were published by female authors during that time that also criticized the lack of equality between men and women, as well as the ways in which women should be allowed access to the same rights and privileges as men. The quest for equality began with the right to voice their opinions in elections. The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution on August 26, 1920, finally allowed women the right to vote; ever since 1971, August 26th in the United States has been known as Women's Equality Day in commemoration of this momentous event for women.

Answer: Griswold v. Connecticut

The second wave wanted to take on the "boys' clubs" that existed all over American culture; feminists joined together to lobby and advocate for more women's rights. Griswold v. Connecticut was a ruling made in 1965 by the U.S. Supreme Court repealing a Connecticut law that prohibited using or dispensing birth control/contraceptives. The birth control pill was made available to American women in 1960 and this Supreme Court ruling opened the door for women's national access to birth control.

During the second wave two critical pieces of legislation were also passed, the Equality Pay Act of 1963, which abolished the standardized wage disparity that existed between men and women in the workforce, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, religion, and disability. Several other critical pieces of legislation were put through during this time, including: the Women's Educational Equity Act (1972 & 1975); the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978; the 1967 Executive Order extending Affirmative Action to include sex; and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974.

Answer: Judith Butler

The third wave of feminism (1980s onwards) is vast and there is no one single ideology that unites these feminists; it is a wave that is defined by embracing contradictions in ideologies and resisting a unitary definition. Judith Butler's theories are very complex but they are critical in modern feminist studies as well as in the understanding of the intersecting oppressions of race, class, sex, and sexuality; while third wave feminism lacks one unified ideology, these four areas of oppression are at the core of their advocacy, activism, and research.

The third wave is also the root of the underground feminist 'punk riot grrrl' movement and there has been a proliferation of women's music festivals and workshops across the USA, designed to continue the consciousness raising ideologies of the second wave, such as the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival.

Answer: Pat Robertson

As far as first wave feminism, Mary Wollstonecraft published "A Vindication on the Rights of Women" in response to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord's sexist report on the education of women, which was originally published in 1791. Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" continues to be internationally renown for the second wave feminist analysis of the treatment and status of women throughout history. Simone was the first to argue that women were an "other" sex and always secondary to that of the "first" sex, men. bell hooks' published "Ain't I a Woman" in 1981, which originally was the title of an impromptu speech given by Sojourner Truth in 1851. This book was all about Black women and feminism; it examined the interwoven oppressions of racism and sexism on Black women, and the ways in which Black women have been historically classified in our culture due to pervasive attitudes that derive from the nation's history of slavery.

Many other famous feminist authors emerged during this period, including Germaine Greer, Marilyn French, Kate Millett, Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison, Helene Cixous, Angela Davis, Luce Irigaray, Adrienne Rich, and Judith Butler.

Pat Robertson is definitely not a feminist author or supporter and was once shockingly quoted as saying "Feminism is a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians." I can categorically say with 100% certainty, Pat Robertson is completely wrong.

Answer: Betty Friedan

The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded by Betty Friedan in 1966 with the original goal of "bringing women into the mainstream of American society now in full partnership with men." The organization is the largest women's group in America and it focuses heavily on legislative lobbying, public demonstrations, and litigating women's issues.

In 1971, Betty Freidan, Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Myrlie Evers, and Gloria Steinem all formed the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC) which was a bipartisan organization that supported and encouraged women to seek elected and appointed positions in the American government. It was Bella Abzug that famously declared, "This woman's place is in the House - House of Representatives."

Answer: Gloria Steinem

In 1963, journalist Gloria Steinem went undercover to expose what it was like to work as a Playboy Bunny at the New York Playboy Club and her exposé gained her national attention. She was heavily involved in campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment, and co-founded both Ms. Magazine and the Ms. Foundation for Women.

In 2005, Steinem co-founded the Women's Media Center with Robin Morgan and Jane Fonda, which is an organization dedicated to having more women's voices in the media in the forms of advocacy and the creation of original content. As of 2011, the Ms. Foundation for Women has continued to annually award people "Gloria" awards, in honor of Gloria Steinem's legendary feminist contributions.

Answer: Combahee River Collective

The Combahee River Collective was founded in 1974 and derived its name from Sojourner Truth's Underground Railroad campaign in 1863; Truth was able to free over 750 slaves by taking them alongside the Combahee River in South Carolina. The Collective was also very important for publishing their organizational "Statement," which remains a critical document detailing Black Feminism and Black women's idea of identity.

In 1968, Black women in the USA were finally assuming leadership roles in national organizations and in the legislature. Coretta Scott King decided to take control of the Civil Rights Movement after her husband was assassinated and in doing so, she decided to focus more heavily on Black women's rights. In addition, Shirley Chisholm was elected to the United States Congress for New York state in 1968, making her the first African American woman to hold a position in Congress.

Answer: "Valley of the Dolls"

"The Personal is Political" is synonymous with second wave feminism, as the second wave saw women's oppression and inequalities in both cultural and political systems as being inextricably linked. This is a key feminist concept which is essentially the process of learning through sharing personal narratives and joining together to form a cohesive and supportive group committed to positive change. The many books that have been published are all about identity and sharing narratives of one's life, upbringing, culture, experiences, etc.,and it is an education to readers on issues surrounding gender, race, class, sex, religion, sexuality, disability, etc.

"Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" is an autobiographical work from lesbian feminist writer Jeanette Winterson. "Zami: A New Spelling of My Name" is an autobiographical work from 1982 of African-American poet, Audre Lorde. "Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza" is the autobiographical work of Chicana feminist writer, Gloria Anzaldua. Each of these books is highly recommended. While "The Valley of the Dolls" is a fascinating read, it is fictional and is not considered a feminist novel.

Answer: True

Essentially, Betty Freidan, as the president of NOW, felt that allowing lesbians to advocate on behalf of their own oppressions would inevitably detract from all of the other forms of progress Betty and NOW aimed to make for "women." This has always been a highly controversial conflict in feminist history and it illustrates perfectly that feminism is not always "all inclusive" when it comes to everyone's concerns.

During suffrage, Black women formed their own organizations for voting rights and were not allowed or even considered in the pursuits of white suffragettes. This rejection from NOW caused lesbian feminists to form their own organizations so that they could pursue issues that effected them most deeply. Essentially the ideology behind this kind of thinking is "lets start with what is most important and we'll get to you later," and while this is not entirely a bad approach, it begets the question "how much later will I have to wait for my rights?" This has caused a lot of separatism within the feminist community, as groups of feminists tend to categorize themselves and split off into different groups centered around whichever feminist issues concern them the most.

Answer: European feminism vs. American feminism

Within the umbrella term of feminism there are dozens of different subgroups with specialized interests and drastic shifts in opinions. For example, there are: post-modern, post-structuralist, ecofeminists, standpoint, womanism, cultural, Marxist, socialist, post-colonial, Africana womanism, and third world feminists - just to name a few...

Sex-positive feminism focuses on women embracing their sexuality and sexual lifestyle, whatever it may be, and recognizing that there should no longer be any shame in a woman embracing herself, her body, and her sexuality. Anti-pornography feminism is not only against pornography, but it also argues that the pornography industry is the cause of violence against women.
Lipstick feminists fight against the second wave radical feminist ideology that women should not wear make-up, dress provocatively, or use their sexuality to their advantage under any circumstances (certainly not for empowerment).