Ms. and the material girls : perceptions of women from the 1970s through the 1990s / Catherine Gourley.

By: Gourley, Catherine, 1950-Material type: TextTextSeries: Images and issues of women in the twentieth century ; v. 5. | Images and issues of women in the twentieth centuryPublication details: Minneapolis, MN : Twenty-First Century Books, ©2008Description: 144 pages : illustrations ; 27 cmISBN: 9780822568063; 0822568063Subject(s): Women in popular culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century | Women in mass media -- History -- 20th century | Feminism -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryGenre/Form: History. DDC classification: 305.420973/09045
Contents:
Prologue: The women's strike for equality, August 26, 1970 -- Who took the "r" out of "Mrs."? -- Bionic women and real-life heroines -- From denial to indulgence : the body obsession -- The material world, or welcome to the 1980s -- Guerrilla girls and other militant females march into the 1990s -- Epilogue: The girl power revolution.
Summary: Who were the women who called themselves "Ms." and who were the Material Girls? They weren't specific individuals, but rather symbols that defined perceptions of women during the 1970s through the 1990s. The term Ms. was adopted by feminists--women who believed in equal pay for equal work, freedom from sexual harassment, and equal employment opportunities. The Material Girls wanted all this, but they also wanted to be wild, sexy, and outrageously fashionable--a modern version of the flappers of the 1920s. And they wanted control over their own lives--the kind of control that could only be achieved through money and power. Ms. and the Material Girls walked different paths but together brought about major changes for women. Media provided great influence: magazines, television, and movies stressed women's liberation while still promoting femininity and fashions; rock music mocked society's materialistic ways; and newscasts showed women speaking out and taking control.--From publisher description.
Item type: Book
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Includes bibliographical references (pages 135-141) and index.

Prologue: The women's strike for equality, August 26, 1970 -- Who took the "r" out of "Mrs."? -- Bionic women and real-life heroines -- From denial to indulgence : the body obsession -- The material world, or welcome to the 1980s -- Guerrilla girls and other militant females march into the 1990s -- Epilogue: The girl power revolution.

Who were the women who called themselves "Ms." and who were the Material Girls? They weren't specific individuals, but rather symbols that defined perceptions of women during the 1970s through the 1990s. The term Ms. was adopted by feminists--women who believed in equal pay for equal work, freedom from sexual harassment, and equal employment opportunities. The Material Girls wanted all this, but they also wanted to be wild, sexy, and outrageously fashionable--a modern version of the flappers of the 1920s. And they wanted control over their own lives--the kind of control that could only be achieved through money and power. Ms. and the Material Girls walked different paths but together brought about major changes for women. Media provided great influence: magazines, television, and movies stressed women's liberation while still promoting femininity and fashions; rock music mocked society's materialistic ways; and newscasts showed women speaking out and taking control.--From publisher description.

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