History of Women’s “Sexual Liberation” Essay

Today, women have been able to create a discriminate position for themselves in a hitherto man dominant world. They have done wonders in various fields, like flying across the Atlantic, swimming across the English Channel, being part of the coveted Space Shuttle, being elected to the highest post in a government, etc. But this was not the case a few years back.

Women were oppressed and were not as privileged as they are today. The reforms in the condition of women can be stated to have started from the year 1968 onwards, when women were freed from the political and social restrictions and were allowed to vote on matters concerning the nation – in Switzerland.

This was the first step by women to traverse the social barricades. There was a subsequent uprising across the Western world where the role of women in the society was given a new dimension. This revolution is termed as ‘Sexual Liberation’. The word ‘sex’ should not be misinterpreted for the actual meaning but on the contrary, sexual liberation means a complete change in the perspective in which women were looked upon in the society; especially the Western society.

There is one organization that did splendid work towards creating an environment of equality for women’s in all fields. This organization was formed in 1966 and was called the National Organization for Women (NOW). ‘NOW’ tried its best to bring women into the mainstream of the society. During the years, more women came under the fold of ‘NOW’ and by the year 1978 its membership crossed the 100,000 mark.

But despite all the achievements and the work done by various organizations and individuals, there was still one area where women were still oppressed, and this was the work place. This was one place where women were not able to get their due reward or position. This happened because of a trend, called glass-ceiling, being followed in the corporate world.

The word “ceiling” depicts a kind of barrier for the progress of women and the word “glass” is used as an adjective for ceiling because as glass in invisible (transparent), the barrier is also invisible. This glass ceiling acted as a barrier for women to attain higher posts and higher salary slabs.

By the year 1980, the revolution that had started with a simple cause of attaining the right to vote, had taken a mammoth shape and it became a battle of recognition.

Following is a brief time-line of important events pertaining to the sexual liberation that took place between 1968 and 1980:

1968 – Miss America Beauty Pageant witnessed a protest from women. The reason for the protest was that the pageant portrayed women as objects of allurement and beauty.

1971 – The concerned authority approved the bill pertaining to the equal rights for women.

1972 – The bill was approved by the Senate as well and was validated and executed by the states. This was a big triumph for the women.

1973 – Abortions were legalized during the judgment process of a case. This further boosted the morale of women.

1973 – Anti rape laws came into being which defined rape as a criminal offence.

1975 – In a typical rape case, the victim was discharged of charges of murdering the rapist. The murder was seen as an act of self-defence.

1978 – The membership figures of the ‘NOW’ crossed the 100,000 mark.