About Us!

Welcome to our blog on feminism! We’re three University of Maryland: College Park Scholars students seeking to explore the similarities and differences between the feminist movement of the 1960’s and that of today. Over the past month, we’ve been studying the art of rhetoric, from its origin with the ancient greeks, to its political and societal applications today. Throughout its existence, rhetoric, and specifically rhetorical appeals, have been consistently used to develop and articulate arguments of any nature. Through our blog, we will apply these rhetorical appeals in an analysis of two chosen texts; each of which accurately represent the movement of the time. An analysis and contrasting of the appeals will reveal the evolution of feminism, specifically with regard to objectification and gender bias.

Our first text tackles the advancement of sexual freedom through birth control. With FDA approval in 1960, a statement that skyrocketed birth control use, it was logical to examine an ad by Yasmin, a popular brand then and now. Through our knowledge about the rhetoric of the time, we were able to conclude that while the ad does a great job of advertising sexual freedom, even if it does so through an air of sexism; the same sexism prevalent throughout the rhetoric of the time. Our second text communicates a noticeably different argument, a plea not only for body freedom, but for body/gender equality. The #LikeAGirl campaign by Always, one of the biggest makers of feminine care products, stole the show as a 2015 Super Bowl ad.  During a media high coverage on the wage gap and gender inequalities, the 60 second commercial brought to life the real and common perceptions facing women in this modern day and age. It's no doubt that much work has been done, but this ad server to highlight the changes that still need to be made.

Feminism has become increasingly popular over the past few years, especially with the advent of social media. While the 1960's experienced the second wave of feminism, we've now progressed to the third. These waves are meant to identify different goals of the movement; however, many of the underlying definitions remain the same, with equality at heart. During the 1960’s women didn’t have many freedoms; they were mostly housewives and men made all the decisions.  So, when the birth control pill came out it shined a new light on sexual freedom, a freedom that let women make their own decisions about their body. In today’s society, we're continually working to recognize these inequalities. The birth control pill was a huge step, but the movement didn't stop there. The #LIkeAGirl ad communicates how much work can still be done for gender equality, and it motivates us to continue working for the equal rights of all.