A Sociological Look at the Feminist Movement & the Civil Rights Movement
The Feminist Movement & The Civil Rights Movement
Lauren Greene
SYG2000 Tuesday/Thursday 5:00 pm
December 9, 2012
Social Movements Impact Western Culture For centuries, large groups of individuals have come together to oppose prevailing ideas, challenge conformity and promote great change in beliefs, government policy and overall social reform. Whether it is an instinctual component of human existence or a way of survival as learned from previous generations, social reform is an integral part of Western culture’s growth and development into modern society. When discussing this topic, two very great movements come to mind. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s and the Feminist Movement of the 1960s and 1970s serve as two meaningful and consequential social reform movements. When examined from the sociological perspectives of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis and conflict theory, one can stand to gain a varied ability to conceptualize social phenomenon such as the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements. This writing will serve to review these movements from the three sociological perspectives including the influential impact that society and people have had on one another. Through the first sociological perspective of Symbolic Interactionism, the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements can be interpreted in terms of the symbols for which both represent. Symbolic interactionism examines the symbols that people attach meaning to as well as the impact that their subjective meaning has on the way in which they act (Henslin). Prior to the Civil Rights movement, there were many derogatory words associated with minorities, specifically those of the black race. These words were negative in their connotation and conveyed a sense of inferiority associated with unintelligence and animalistic characteristics. Due to the negative perception of the black race, day to day living had many other symbolic representations of the
Lauren Greene
SYG2000 Tuesday/Thursday 5:00 pm
December 9, 2012
Social Movements Impact Western Culture For centuries, large groups of individuals have come together to oppose prevailing ideas, challenge conformity and promote great change in beliefs, government policy and overall social reform. Whether it is an instinctual component of human existence or a way of survival as learned from previous generations, social reform is an integral part of Western culture’s growth and development into modern society. When discussing this topic, two very great movements come to mind. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s and the Feminist Movement of the 1960s and 1970s serve as two meaningful and consequential social reform movements. When examined from the sociological perspectives of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis and conflict theory, one can stand to gain a varied ability to conceptualize social phenomenon such as the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements. This writing will serve to review these movements from the three sociological perspectives including the influential impact that society and people have had on one another. Through the first sociological perspective of Symbolic Interactionism, the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements can be interpreted in terms of the symbols for which both represent. Symbolic interactionism examines the symbols that people attach meaning to as well as the impact that their subjective meaning has on the way in which they act (Henslin). Prior to the Civil Rights movement, there were many derogatory words associated with minorities, specifically those of the black race. These words were negative in their connotation and conveyed a sense of inferiority associated with unintelligence and animalistic characteristics. Due to the negative perception of the black race, day to day living had many other symbolic representations of the
Cited: “Civil Rights Movement”. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. n.d. 8 Dec. 2012. Evans, Sara. “Women’s Liberation Movement.” Research. Our Voice Our Country. 2009. Our Voice Our Country, Inc. 8 Dec. 2012 Freeman, Joy. “From Suffrage to Women’s Liberation: Feminism in Twentieth Century America”. Women: A Feminist’s Perspective. n.p. 1995. 8 Dec. 2012. Henslin, James. Essentials of Sociology A Down to Earth Approach. 9th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2011. Pillai, Prabhakar. “1960s Civil Rights Movement in America”. Buzzle. Buzzle. 2011. 8 Dec. 2012. Sink, Nancy. "Women’s Liberation Movement." 1960s – 1980s Women’s Liberation Movement. Evans and Sink. 2008. Nova Online. 8 Dec. 2012