10 things a woman could not do in America before 1970
- Get a credit card
- Keep her job if she was pregnant
- Report cases of sexual abuse in the workplace
- Have a legal abortion in most states
- Serve on a jury
- Refuse to have sex with her husband
- Get a divorce with some degree of ease
- Get an Ivy League education
- Be acknowledged in the Boston Marathon
- Read a magazine written by and for women (see Ms. Magazine)
Those were only the legal barriers for a pre-Women's Liberation woman. Socially, women were treated in almost every respect as the "second sex". In this 1968 CBC interview with young journalist Gloria Steinem, Steinem explains what it is like to be a pretty woman trying to write. Later, in the same professional live interview, Steinem is asked about her ironing habits.
From the CBC Digital Archives. Video length: 45 seconds
|
Video length: 8 seconds
|