Human sexuality and gender roles have evolved through dramatic change throughout the past century, some decades more than others. Sex role changes generally occur “if there is a belief that the disadvantages of a given individual or group are created by sex differentiation and not by other circumstances may aggression be directed towards the system of sex differentiation” (Holter 21). People do not wish to change a system of gender roles if they find the situation satisfactory. It is only when the disadvantages outweigh the advantages in this kind of system that opposition to the system arises. Between the years 1970 to 1974, social concerns regarding male and female sex role changes ran high and maintained a diverse spectrum. Changes in male sex roles: During the early 1970s, the subject of men’s gender roles and their transformation and social impact was not yet a topic of study. Consequently, there is a significant lack of information about this subject. According to Harriet Holter, “The relative neglect of men’s roles by social scientists is probably, in part, a reflection of the fact that it is women, not men, who complain most about the bases of role differentiation. It is also probable that social scientists make the common assumption that men constitute the norm with which members of the deviant sex, women, should be compared” (17). As women are the main critics of gender roles, and are typically the focal points of scientific study, the topic of men’s roles is not generally addressed. Men’s’ overall lack of aggression towards the gender role system, in addition to the assumption that women are to be compared to their roles and actions, contributes greatly to the lack of information about their role changes. The following information does not account for most of the male population between 1970 and 1974. They are abnormalities and exceptions to the general sociological trend of the time.
In 1971, a court order ruled for gender equality with respect to airline hires. Prior to the decision, jobs as flight attendants were available exclusively to women. Shortly after the ruling, major lines like Pan American, American, and United began hiring and training males for this position. Some passengers on subsequent flights were “sickened” by the thought of being served by a man, and the male stewardesses themselves worked feverishly to prove their heterosexuality. Although the negative social impact of this role change was not great, it is interesting to note that men were subjected to the same type of conduct as the women. They too were grabbed and hit on in the socially accepted manner with which female stewardesses were traditionally treated. In 1972, the official job title of “stewardess” was changed to “flight attendant” to account for both genders. (“Coffee, Tea, or He”)
During the early 1970s, some men responded to the feminist movement by turning inwards, towards themselves, to understand the issue. They sought to comprehend more about their relationships with their wives and their socially ingrained gender bias. They took a new standpoint with which they viewed their treatment of women. Many “compare[d] women to oppressed minorities and castigate[d] themselves as oppressors” (“Men’s Liberation”). They viewed the treatment of women virtually in tandem with the treatment of the underclass, undervalued peoples of the past. These men met in groups to discuss these issues and many tried to implement these new ideals in their work and home lives. Men began to clean and other chores that were once seen as “women’s work.” Some men, however, joined the groups for different reasons. These men sought to understand the new perspectives of their active-feminist wives. They realized that without understanding, their marriages might dissolve completely. (“Men’s Liberation”)
The initial step on my quest to find information about male sex role changes between 1970 and 1974 was a Quick Search on the Main Library website. I restricted my search to documents/books/etc. to these years. Performed searches under: sex role changes, male role changes, male sex changes and a variety of other topics. My searches yielded many books about feminism but not many about males during the period. Through this search, I located the book Sex Roles and Social Structure by Harriet Holter. Within this book is an explanation for why I could not locate any other materials about male sex role changes (this justification is stated in the above article). Searching for books about the topic brought me into the depths of the Main Library and The Stacks. During my mission, I learned how to locate materials in The Stacks, how to operate the moving bookshelves (which reminded me of a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom), and how to conquer claustrophobia and achluophobia. Back in the Undergraduate Library, I embarked on a fruitless search through the Reader’s Guide and various other publications between 1970-1974. After combining information with my fellow group mates, we discovered that we had two solid articles about male sex role changes and a paragraph from a book about sex roles. From this information, I produced my portion of this project. – Lindsay Gomes Concerns of Women’s sex roles between 1970 and 1974 During the early 1970’s women began to break out of their censored shell and began acting as they pleased. The new attitude women possessed stemmed from women’s liberation which took place throughout the seventies. Evidence of the liberation is seen in they way women viewed sex and in general their personal sexuality. In 1972, there was a law suit between Roe vs. Wade, which concerned whether woman had the right to control their pregnancy. The suit argued that women should be able to have an abortion due to “…their constitutional right to
privacy…” (American Decades). At the time abortions were outlawed in many states and even “…punished as a criminal offense” (American Decades). The Supreme Court concluded “…that women had the right to abort a pregnancy in the first trimester” (American Decades). Feminists pushing for liberation favored this outcome stating that women now had the right to control when and by whom they became pregnant. This gave women more control in their lives however, gave critics of the women’s liberation a headache. Critics included “…conservatives, clergymen, and public health officials” (American Decades). Some concerns were that because there seemed to be less consequences to promiscuity that there would be a rise in sexual activity. This was a change for women as they were suppose to practice abstinence like respectable women, however the women’s liberation movement allowed women to do what they wanted without following social norms. Abortion was not the only catalyst to the new rise in sexual changes in the early 1970’s among women. The media played a significant role in promoting sexual behavior. According to American Decades, pornography was on the rise in the beginning of the seventies. Men were still gawking at the female figure in magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse but now women were exploring the male sex too with the production of Playgirl, in 1973, and dirty romance novels such as Royal Bondage and Sweet Savage Love (American Decades). Women were expanding their sexual horizons in another way; women began openly discussing whether or not they were homosexual. Lesbians during the time professed their feelings through articles and new magazines created strictly to promote women and revolt against male domination. An example of a magazine is The Furies: Lesbian/Feminist Monthly. According to the article found in the January volume of 1972, “The Lesbian rejects male sexual/political domination; she defies his world, his social organization, his ideology, and his definition of her as inferior. Lesbianism
puts women first while the society declares the male supreme” (“Lesbian’s in Revolt”). This quotation demonstrates that women were not afraid to put their ideas out in the public view. Once again there were critics of the outspoken woman. Women who did not approve of the women’s liberation movement opposed women acting out; it was not their place to do so. Furthermore, conservative women opposed lesbian activity as it was not the social norm. The information I used for this paper came from several sources. I used the American Decades series which I found in the undergrad library in the reference center. I simply had to locate the book containing the 1970-79 decade and check out the index to find my information. I also used the micro film to view magazines as well as the reader’s digest to locate the magazine articles which I used. Through the reader’s digest I was able to find the magazine article concerning lesbians and their views. I found that the reader’s digest helped to locate the magazines that I needed to compile a good amount of information. Additionally the American Decade series was very helpful as it provided numerous categories for me to research. Through the reference book I was able to find my information on the media, sexual roles of women and law suits in the 1970’s which promoted the women’s liberation. Also, I found who was concerned with which issues and why within the American Decades series. –Ally Hess Social Concerns for Women, 1970-1974 During the early 1970’s, women were hanging up their aprons, going from the kitchen to the office, and giving a new definition to the term “women’s liberation.” No longer willing to be considered the “inferior” sex or invisible gender, women began demanding independence, respect, and equality in every aspect of their lives. For example, in 1972 the Title IX of the Education Amendments prohibited sex discrimination in all federally funded education programs and promised to revolutionize women’s education (“Feminism”). In that same year, the Supreme
Court held in Reed v. Reed that legal classifications could not be based solely on sex and that it was illegal to deny women economic equality with men; succeeding cases have upheld women’s right to serve on juries, to practice law and medicine, to work in bars, to be protected from pregnancy discrimination, and to take control of their reproductive lives (“Equal Rights Amendment”). However, women’s liberationists were active on a variety of fronts, including the improvement of the health care system, promotion of day care, and the reform of divorce and rape laws (“Women’s Liberation”). As women experienced a newfound sense of freedom and liberation, they became more independent than ever before. Divorce rates rose 82% from 1962 and women took on the position of the divorcer, rather than the divorcee (“The New Divorcees”). The number of women living alone rose to 14% and the percentage of the unmarried population also showed an increase along with the number of births to unmarried mothers (“Family Life”). The fact that women were only earning 57% of male wages didn’t stop them from surging full force into the work place (“Women’s Liberation”). Women began to flood law and medical schools, take over the journalism industry, and some were even appointed as generals and FBI agents (“Women’s Liberation”). One possible reason for this occupational insurgence was the media. Women began taking over the television and magazine industry. Female publishers, such as Helen Gurley Brown of Cosmopolitan, were widely admired and Ms., a new feminist magazine, was founded in 1972 by Gloria Steinem. Television programs like The Mary Tyler Moore Show (one of the highest rated programs of the 1970’s), Charlie’s Angels, and Alice portrayed women as “strong, independent women characters” (“Women’s Liberation”). Mary Richards, the heroine of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, was a single woman working to support herself and dealing with real-life, everyday issues, not just concerns dealing with men. Advertisers discovered a
new female market causing advertisements to appeal more to women. One of the most popular ad campaigns of the early 1970’s was for Virginia Slims cigarettes. It featured the slogan “You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” and, for many, embodied the triumph of the women’s movement and feminism of the 1970’s (“Women’s Liberation”). In order to find the information needed for this project, I used a variety of sources courtesy of the Undergraduate Library. I decided to first use The American Decade Series (years 1970-1979) to get a basic overview of what was happening between 1970 and 1974, and to see what kind of issues women were facing during this time. This proved to be my best reference tool because it literally had everything about social concerns for women, including timelines and excerpts from real articles. Along with The American Decades Series, I employed another reference book- The Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. This provided me with a lot of detailed information concerning the women’s’ liberation/feminist movement. I also used the microfilm machines to look at issues of Cosmopolitan magazine from 1970-1974, which was in itself an experience. The microfilm machine I was using happened to be broken so I had to do everything by hand, including rewinding the whole roll of film. I then decided to tackle the Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, which proved very helpful because it told me where to find specific information on just about any topic. All in all, this project allowed me to get a good feel for the Undergrad Library and the many wells of information it provides. –Natalie Rende
Works Cited “And Now, Men’s Liberation.” Time: Date: May 10, 1971. Page #: 54 Baroni, Diane. “The New Divorcees.” Cosmopolitan. October 1970: 60, 66. Bunch, Charlotte. "Lesbians in Revolt: Male Supremacy Quakes and Quivers.” The Furies: Lesbian/Feminist Monthly. Jan. 1972: 8-9. “Coffee, Tea, or He.” American Decades Primary Sources, 1970-1979 8 (2004): 369371. “Family Life.” American Decades Series 1970-1979. Ed. Victor Bondi. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1995. 334. Gianoulis, Tina. “Feminism.” Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Tom & Sara Pendergast. Michigan: St. James Press, 2000. 84-89. Holter, Harriet. Sex Roles and Social Structure. Norway: Universitietsforlaget, 1970. "Lifestyles and Social Trends." Ed. Victor Bondi. American Decades: 1970-1979. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1995. "Lifestyles and Social Trends." American Decades Primary Sources: 1970-1979. Detroit: Gale Group 2004 and Thomas Learning Inc., 2003. Purdy, Elizabeth. “Equal Rights Amendment.” Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Tom and Sara Pendergast. Michigan: St. James Press, 2000. “Women’s Liberation.” American Decades Series 1970-1979. Ed. Victor Bondi. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1995. 344-350.