A Sociological Look at the Feminist Movement & the Civil Rights Movement Essay Example for Free

A Sociological Look at the Feminist Movement the Civil Rights Movement Essay 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 division between whites and blacks beyond just the words used to describe the segregation. Jim Crow laws, for example, ensured that public facilities maintained the segregation of blacks as it was believed for them to be inferior to the white race including public restrooms, water fountains, parks, theaters, railways, schools and hospitals. The quality of the segregated facilities was, of course, inferior. (Pillai) The many symbols associated with minorities were viewed in a positive light by those superior because they helped to maintain the stability of their beliefs, the conformity and social order for which they sought. As the Civil Rights Movement went underway, the negative symbols associated with minority groups were challenged. As great strides were made to grant equality, the symbolic representation of blacks as inferior to whites slowly shifted thus causing a reform. Symbols that once ensured the segregation of minorities were no longer such. The Supreme Court’s ruling of segregation in schools as unconstitutional granted for equal education and â€Å"freedom rides† helped to desegregate interstate travel (Pillai). Employment discrimination and segregation of public facilities were eventually outlawed (â€Å"Civil Rights Movement†). Although many symbolic representations of how minorities were once subjectively viewed still resonate with many today, the Civil Rights Movement can be said to have challenged and restructured the symbolic representations of minorities thus impacting how we as human beings interact with one another. Prior to the Feminist Movement, many symbols represented the subjective opinions of women and therefore dictated how women were viewed and treated. Women have often been described as the weaker sex, passive, emotional, un-intellectual and dependent (Evans). They were expected to dress a certain way including little to no make-up, no pants and of course, nothing deemed overtly sexy. Women in the workforce were given positions of the clerical nature and often in factory assembly lines. They were viewed as meek and were expected at all times to be respectful, polite, refined and pleasant, never to engage in rowdy behavior or use profanity. (Freeman) Symbolically, women were expected to get married, raise children, cook, clean and maintain an orderly household. Again, the symbols associated with women were believed to be positive by those superior because they maintained the stability of their beliefs. Eventually, many women began to challenge the symbols associated with them including their traditional roles and they began re-thinking the meaning of womanhood which eventually led to the Feminist Movement which similar to the Civil Rights Movement, resulted in reform. New symbols associated with women began to emerge and offered a new subjective view reflecting equality and potential for greatness. Some of these symbols include more gender neutral clothing, the right to sexual expressiveness, diminished emphasis on the double standard and the right to hold jobs of equal pay (Evans). Although some sense of the belief of women as inferior to men still holds true today and can be seen in such concepts as ‘the glass ceiling’ effect, the Feminist Movement played an essential role in reforming the symbols and subjective meanings that are representative of women. When examining these two movements from the Functional Analysis perspective, one will see how many different facets to our society come together to comprise the overall structure, similar to how many different puzzle pieces come together to form the whole picture. Functional analysis looks at how the many different aspects of society are interdependent and together contribute to how society functions at large (Henslin). Examining from a smaller level, it becomes apparent that there were many facets to maintaining the segregation and oppression of minorities and women. Segregated schools systems were inferior in quality in terms of the education being provided to minorities thus resulting in the diminished growth of educational and mental development of black children. The jobs then made available to black men were often that of manual labor requiring limited intelligence. (Pillai) Women often times were educated in order to be groomed for positions such as clerical work and home economics thus unable to really attain higher education (Evans). This kept them working at lower rates and often times they were not up to the educational capacity required to hold higher positions. Religious oppression as well kept women in a role of inferiority often denying them roles in churches and synagogues which men believed were supported by biblical versus such as 1 Corinthians 14 34-45 which stated that women should be kept quiet in the church (Sink). Minorities and women followed suit for so long and did not challenge the status quo out of fear of repercussions. So, for quite some time, these many facets, all interrelated, served to keep the overall picture together and functioning quite well which was a good thing for those viewed as superior. Taken as a whole, if the belief were that minorities and women were inferior and should be kept that way, the many facets of our society such as school, the workplace and religion served to keep that overall vision intact for so long and it worked well to serve that overall belief. It was not until social reform brought about by the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements that those aspects of our society were forced to change in order to support the new vision that minorities, women and proponents of equal rights sought to create. The third perspective of sociology, known as Conflict Theory, is one that promotes social change. Conflict Theory suggests that anywhere inequality potentially exists, there will be competition for scarce resources, contributory to the ever-changing nature of society (Henslin). Interest in Conflict Theory appeared to arise during the 1960s perhaps due to this being a time of turbulent change. The Civil Rights and Feminist Movements were alive during this time. The social order that the ‘elite’ were attempting to force upon minorities and women were being considerably challenged and this evoked fear in those wanting to maintain control. During the Civil Rights Movements, as blacks sought to gain racial equality, desegregation and the right to vote, the ‘elite’ began to fear the loss of ownership of economic, political and social systems and as well feared non-whites gaining control over whites (â€Å"The Civil Rights Movement†). During the Feminist Movement, as women sought to gain empowerment, higher education, equal pay and a voice in government, the ‘elite’ began to fear the loss of job security and better pay as well as concern for who will maintain the household and care for children (Evans). Control over such scarce resources is the driving force in establishing and maintaining social order and just as conflict theory suggests, when inequality exists such as that experienced by minorities and women, there is bound to be conflict which is not only evident in the Civil Rights and Feminists Movements, however on-going and still evident in our society today. When examined from the three sociological perspectives of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis and conflict theory, the contributory factors and ultimate results of the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements can be identified and conceptualized. These two significantly impactful movements lend themselves to having an improved understanding of the many facets that have helped maintain certain aspects of how our society functions and also the many challenges and changes that our society have undergone. The growth and development of Western culture has been largely influenced by social reform including the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s and the Feminist Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. It seems safe to speculate that large groups of individuals will continue to come together to challenge prevailing ideas, defy conformity and advocate for great changes in beliefs, government policy and overall social reform. Works Cited â€Å"Civil Rights Movement†. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. n.d. 8 Dec. 2012. Evans, Sara. â€Å"Women’s Liberation Movement.† Research. Our Voice Our Country. 2009. Our Voice Our Country, Inc. 8 Dec. 2012 Freeman, Joy. â€Å"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. â€Å"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