Freedom for Women

Forging the Women's Liberation Movement, 1953-1970

Plot

The author argues against the prevalent belief that the women's movement grew out of frustrations over the male chauvinism experienced by women in the Black Freedom Movement and the New Left. Instead, she contends, it was the ideas, resources, and skills that women gained in these movements that were the new and necessary catalysts for forging the women's movement in the 1960s. Special focus is on the movements in Florida. The study takes notice of the leadership of African American women in the movement.