Running head: FEMINISM AND STUDENT SERVICES

Mueller 1

Feminism and Student Services

Chandler Mueller

Salem State University

History of Higher Education

Dr. Cameron Beatty

April 19, 2017

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INTRODUCTION

If we were to take a quick snapshot of student services in higher education today and

compared it to a snapshot of student services in higher education from mid-19th century, we

would find a totally different world. At that time, access and attitudes around higher education

was wildly exclusive and incredibly homogeneous. The demographic of individuals who

attended institutions of higher learning were white, affluent, men who could afford both their

time and money to go to college. Amongst the wide variety of individuals who were excluded

from this academic arena, women were unanimously cut-off. Over the past 100 years or so, there

have been significant changes to how the institutions of higher education operate; one being the

expansion of student services and its growth surrounding the waves of feminism. In this history

research paper, I will explore the effects and influences of first, second, and third-wave feminism

on the existence of student services within higher education.

The first wave of feminism began in the middle of the 19th century leading into the 20th

century. At this time, there were significant social factors limiting women; the rigid social

expectations and gender roles being one. The political and social limitations of women centered

on their perceived biological inferiority and innate function to act as the family caretaker,

nurturer, homemaker etc. that quite literally set the home as a boundary for which they had any

control. This climate was full of injustices that sparked the development of the first wave

feminist movement; catering primarily, if not exclusively, to white women. Women were not

welcome in the workforce, had no political say, and were barred from participating in higher

education. Making significant strides toward political representation and activism, the womens

suffrage movement gathered momentum as the first instalment of the feminist movement also
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known as Liberal Feminism, fighting the subordinate role they historically played (Nicholson &

Pasque, 2011, p. 5).

While accomplishments were satisfying, the presence of inequality remained. We began

to see women in many different facets of society than we ever had before; however, sexism,

gender roles, and stereotypes prevailed. As progress was gaining traction, the generations of first-

wave feminists were fading out and with the transition of generations and eras, society was

evolving. The expansion of new technology, industry, media, etc, introduced its own set of

barriers and the feminist movement responded accordingly. With a new set of activists in a new

era, this generated the motive for redefinition. Women were no longer pushing the suffrage

movement; instead a transformation of goals had developed. Women's liberationists of the

1960s recognized their historical predecessors by defining themselves as Second Wave

feminists, acknowledging their values and taking ownership of their new platform (Hewitt,

2012).

The period of the second wave transitioned much quicker than the inaugural first wave.

In only 30 years, The Third Wave announced its emergence in the United States in the early

1990s and is present up until today (Hewitt, 2012). In our expanding society where we see the

volume of feminist voices increase once again, the United States is introduced to feminist art and

the intersectional differences and varying identities of women. The third wave feminist embodies

the power to take ownership of their own femininity and/or masculinity, means of expression,

and battles the double standard often set between men and women. For example, the sexual

behavior between men and women is often referenced as a platform of unjust expectations. This,

amongst others, is one of the social conflicts third-wave feminists challenge.

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Between the mid-19th century through today, we can attribute a lot of social reform to the

ideals and varying platforms of the feminist movements. With the large-scale, multi-generational,

quasi-platform social movement such as the first, second, and third wave feminists, we can find

much of their social impact carryover into the realm of student services in higher education.

Using the natural timeline of each wave, the various social platforms, and some significant

events, I will outline the historical relationship between the three tired feminist movement and

the response of varying services provided to students in higher education.

FIRST WAVE FEMINISM

From a historical perspective, we can formally attribute much of the inspiration and

development of the first wave feminist movement to the attitudes and expectations placed on

women leading up to the mid-19th century. It was a society constructed from the traditional

beliefs and values that systematically oppressed women and limited their ability to contribute to

the greater community in which they live. The public, political, and economic world belonged

to men, whereas womens sphere was limited to the household and children (Gordon, 1991,

p.13). It was believed that women were biologically inferior to their male counterparts and were

not physically, mentally, or emotionally capable of participating in the social facets dominated by

men. This was a driving force that cultivated and fostered the momentum gained by first wave

feminists. This wave, propelled by middle class white women, focused on equity through

political and legal re-form (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 6).

In this time, white men were the controllers of what happened in the United States. They

were law and policy makers, land owners, had access to higher education, engaged in the

workforce, etc. and anyone outside of that demographic was oppressed, thus creating a climate
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for change. The beginning attitudes of first wave feminists challenged the types of access offered

to white women. This generation of women pushed for greater access to higher education. By

going to college, women would sever the tenuous connections between education and

domesticity and enter the domain of men (Gordon, 1991, p.17). It was feared that women would

cease to perform their God-given duties if they were to enroll in college. It was also countered

with the mentality that women did not have the physical capabilities to perform in such a setting

and remain healthy. It was believed that too much study drew blood away from the ovaries to

the brain, particularly if the female student overexerted herself during menstruationthus

endangering their health and perhaps rendering themselves incapable of bearing healthy

children (Gordon, 1991, p.18). These ideas perpetuated the notion that women were subordinate

to men and were used to keep them disenfranchised from going to college. This, however, did

not stop first wave feminists from making progress.

The push for access to higher education initially resulted in the creation of Womens

Seminaries and normal schools. This was measurable progress as it introduced a new setting for

women to participate in, however, the curricula reinforced womens perceived intellectual

difference and destined them for the domestic sphere where they were learning how to thrive

using their domestic skills and perpetuated the segregation between men and women (Perkins,

1993, p.265). This added fuel to the Womens Rights Movement. The advanced educational

environment provided to white men was not accessible to women. However, the formation of the

Womens Suffrage Movement sparked the beginning of coeducation. Leading up to the Civil

War, only a handful of higher education institutions admitted women; it was not until the war

that we saw significant advancements toward the goals of the first wave feminists. The Civil War

created an opportunity for change and served as a major turning point for how women were
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perceived in society. The Civil War took away so many male students that the University of

Wisconsin feared for the universitys survival (Gordon, 1991, p.23). Universities had to find a

new means of generating income and opened their doors to white women. Although placed in

separate classes, women now participated alongside men and received education on equal

platforms. Women had made a longstanding mark on higher education that once the war ended, a

significant portion of women remained.

With the new opportunity of coeducation for women, the development of womens

colleges also became a valuable prospect. Womens colleges appealed to the ideals of the first

wave feminists as it provided an advanced environment where women can learn and engage in

society while maintaining their womanly qualities. Womens colleges developed partly from the

long standing traditions of Women Seminaries such as religious obligations and requirements

that continued to diminish the sense level of equal education. This encouraged first wave

feminists to prefer attending institutions of coeducation. Discipline, religiosity, and the lowering

academic standards for a preparatory department caused womens rights activists and some

prospective students to prefer coeducation in the late nineteenth century (Gordon, 1991, p.27).

Through the power and expressive attitudes of feminist leaders, Womens Colleges responded

accordingly and combined insistence on collegiate level instruction with a commitment to social

amelioration (Gordon, 1991, p.27). White women gained access to opportunity, however, black

women were not part of the major push of the first wave feminist agenda. Educational

opportunities increased significantly for white women while the status of black women remained

virtually unchangedit was more difficult for a Black woman to gain entrance into a white

womens college than it was for a Black man to enter a white male college (Perkins, 1993).
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First wave feminists used their platform to create doors that once were walls. [White]

women were now enrolling in college that once were exclusive to white men and were receiving

an education that was comparable to that of their male counterparts. Women took business

courses, planned graduate study, or attended professional schools, entering and influencing the

male worlds of higher education, the professions, and politics (Gordon, 1991, p.35). This was a

catalyst for the second major turning point for first wave feminists and the Womens Rights

Movement. Women were now entering the world with an education and a much louder voice.

They knew business and politics and had a broader span of social representation, however, their

new voices did not hold much weight. Although they were in colleges and universities, they did

not have any political capital. Through the beginning of the twentieth century, women were not

allowed to vote and therefore could not formally represent themselves in the government.

Womens Suffrage leaders and first wave feminists alike fought for the equal political rights had

by men which sparked the creation of the Nineteenth Amendment. On 26 August 1920, with

Tennessee's vote having made it the thirty-sixth and final state needed to ratify the Nineteenth

Amendment, twenty-six million American women were enfranchised (Chapman & Mills,

2006). With the new constitutional amendment that recognizes the voice of women, we saw a

change in attitude regarding the social limitations of women. The expectations of domesticity

were not as rigid as they once were and the now women carried political weight.

As it relates to the work in higher education and student affairs, First Wave feminism

served as the backbone of the feminist approach to the higher education in student affairs field

and can be reflected in the discussions by women in the field as far back as the early 1900s

(Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 6). The efforts of first wave feminists played a valuable role on

how institutions of higher education support and serve their students. Between the evolution of
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access to higher education for women and gaining rights through political reform, the original

operation of colleges and universities had to adjust. With the new population of people present

on campus, student services shifted as the growing need for support extended. We saw the

expansion of Deans of Women whose role evolved to adapt as the needs of women students were

not adequately met in the early stages of coeducation. They handled complexities of life for

women students in the residence halls including issues of mental health, academics, mentorship,

and co-educational spaces (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 6).

SECOND WAVE FEMINISM

The first wave of feminism covered substantial ground given the overt exclusive

regulations limiting their involvement in the social, educational, professional, and political world

but, however, was exclusive to marginalized populations of women who were not white. The

first wave of feminism was generally propelled by middle class white women, the second wave

drew in women of color and developing nations, seeking sisterhood and solidarity and claiming

Womens struggle is class struggle. (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 4). Beginning in the 1960s,

second wave feminists were a generation of activists that tailored their fight to the individual

rights and expectations of women. The second wave of feminism, also known as Radical

Feminism, focuses on personal freedom of expression but also turns to androgyny as an option,

allow in for genders to exhibit a full range of masculine and feminine qualities, stating that no

human being should be forbidden the sense of wholeness that comes from combining his or her

masculine and feminine dimensions (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 6).

The transition toward second wave feminist ideals lies in within the injustices that

continued to limit women. Equal pay for equal work; Affirmative action; Title IX; The politics
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of housework; The glass ceiling; Mens only clubs; The concept of gender privilege; Domestic

Workers Unite; Date rape; Roe v. Wade; and The personal is political are all coined phrases

and key concepts stemming from second wave feminists (Belkin, Marshall, & Pollard, 2008). All

of these phrases and events center on meaningful turning points in the progress of the Womens

Rights Movement that also outline the platform of the wave.

Although the access and job market looked significantly different in the 100 year time

frame for women, society had rooted and systemic forms of sexism. These advancements did

not alleviate gender inequalitywomen worked in the public domain but still earned a lower

wage, participated in higher education but were unable to equally pursue the same career goals as

men, and were voted into office but struggled with significantly influencing government

(Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 256). Women began to fight for equality on many of these

different platforms. Second wave feminism responded to the discriminations by demanding a

change. The current process of employment, although seemingly inclusive, was often found to be

limited toward women. Affirmative action statements appeared on all listings for jobs

protecting marginalized applicants from discrimination and exclusion from professional practices

(Belkin, Marshall, & Pollard, 2008). Affirmative action was a cornerstone initiative for second

wave feminists as it formally introduced a legal means of holding professional institutions and

organizations accountable.

At the beginning of the second wave, we also see universities responding to these

injustices with the development of Women Centers. Despite their diversity, womens centers

share many commonalities; they generally advocate institutional and individual change to

improve womens position, status, and training in academia (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p.

256). This is a formal institutional unit that advocates for the faculty, staff, students, and
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administration and protects them from discriminatory policies, procedures, or regulations.

Similar to formal measures of accountability and advocacy produced from affirmative action

legislation and the work of Womens Centers, first wave feminists were also successful in

promoting the federal action of reducing discrimination based on sex. The Education

Amendment known as Title IX passed in 1972 that was created to prohibit sex discrimination in

educational programs and states that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be

excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under

any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance (Paule-Koba, Harris, &

Freysinger, 2013). Title IX made major headway for the second wave feminist movement. Not

only was sexism being recognized within the legal system in the United States, but now it was

illegal.

Similar to first wave feminists, second wave or radical feminists had agendas that were

not entirely inclusive to people of all identities. The second wave feminist movement was

primarily constructed by and for white women of the middle and upper-middle class thus

inspiring a need for a form of feminism that included and represented the needs of women of

color (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 6). With Radical Feminism also came Black Feminism or,

also known as, the Womanist movement. The Black Womanist feminism movement comes

out of the feminist movement in the 1970s and recognizes that women of African descent in the

United States faced a unique set of issues that were not being addressed by the predominantly

white feminist movement... and enabled people to resist a unilateral approach and work through

the interconnections of gender, racial, ethnic, and class identity development simultaneously

(Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 7). Black Feminist/Womanist ideals advocated for those who fall

outside of the privilege qualities limiting the radical feminist movement. It understood that there
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were oppressive features that added to the lived experiences of women of color that many second

wave feminist leaders did not have.

From the combined efforts of the second wave and Black Feminist movements,

institutions of higher education responded accordingly. As this informs our work in higher

education, we need look no further than our work with students of all genders, gender identities,

and forms of gender expressionour work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender

communities are particularly affected by this thinking which has laid the foundation for the

development of some queer identity theories (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 7). The feminist

thought stemming from radical feminism informed the development of queer identity theories

that, in turn, inform the work of LGBT centers, alliance organizations, ally communities,

SafeZone Trainings, Preferred Name Policies, etc. that not only represent a marginalized

community of people but ground their work in theory. We can also attribute a significant impact

on the attitude of student affairs professionals to the workings of Black Feminism/Womanism

ideology. Instead of focusing the identity development of students on one specific identity, the

womanist perspective provides the opportunity to consider many layers of oppression at once

and engage the personal, intellectual, and activist parts of the self (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011,

p. 7). The concept of approaching lived experiences through a lens using multiple identities

informed student affairs professionals the value of acknowledging intersectional differences

between students, faculty, staff, and administration and that policies and procedures may be

exclusive to individuals with varying identity configurations.

THIRD WAVE FEMINISM

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Beginning in the 1990s, we see the transition into the form of feminism we frequently

find today. Building off of the second wave platform where we find the battle for individual

freedoms for women and the fight between masculine and feminine qualities, arguing that the

root cause of the problem is not femininity, but the low value that patriarchy assigns to feminine

qualities, third wave feminism takes that platform and reclaims femininity in a powerful rebuttal

towards traditional patriarchal attitudes (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 6). Third wave feminists

have reclaimed lipstick, high heels, and cleavage; accentuating their femininity with efforts of

socializing society and articulating the message that femininity and masculinity do not affirm

strength, power, and ability but knowledge, resilience, competency, etc. are better qualifiers of an

individuals capability to succeed. The third wave breaks constraining boundaries of gender,

including what it deems as essentialist boundaries set by the earlier waves (Nicholson &

Pasque, 2011, p. 6).

Moving away from legal and formal reconstruction of institutions that comprised much of

the missions of the first and second wave, third wave feminism pushes a broader reform of social

attitudes and perceptions of women, femininity, and feminism altogether. Also known as

Postmodern Feminism, the third wave is the ultimate acceptor of diversity as it recognizes

multiple truths, multiple roles, and multiple realities of individuals and is open to a multiplicity

of identities, lived experiences, and definitions of gender roles (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p.

11). More specifically, the battle of language is often cited as a major platform for postmodern

feminists. Specific terminology that is regularly used in our mainstream repertoire are frequent

examples of unconscious microaggressions that reduce women. Third wave feminism challenges

the habits of modern-day society with an urge to use equal forms of language. This includes the

use of the word women in place of girls when talking about all college-going females,
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including 17 to 21 year olds (Nicholson & Pasque, 2011, p. 11). The fight to change vocabulary

when discussing grown, adult women is a small, but important message generated by third wave

feminists. It accepts the idea that language usage is important and has outstanding affects that

weight greater than seemingly arbitrary synonyms.

Third wave feminism has informed the practice of student affairs and influence student

services from a social justice approach. Enforcing a sense of accountability in regards to how

people refer to women shifts the vernacular in higher education to a more equitable level. Using

terminology that lifts women up is empowering through the sheer symbolic nature of how we

appraise the significance of words. Third wave feminist ideology in higher education perpetuates

inclusion as it challenges the former thought process and habits of professionals as well as offers

an alternative (i.e. girl to woman). Third wave feminism also shaped the work of student

services in higher education as it disrupts the binary between masculinity and femininity;

working to liberate both men and women and allowing them to construct their own means of

gender expression.

CONCLUSION

With a clear understanding of feminism, it is hard to miss the influences the movements

have made on society over the past 200 years. From first wave feminism fighting for the basic

right for political representation and equal access to college to second wave feminism and their

fight for civil liberties and individual rights to third wave feminism challenging the unconscious

biases and double standards ingrained in society, the evolution of feminism has shown stamina

and endurance in the face of oppression. In the scope of student services and higher education,

each wave, and their respective sub-waves, offer valuable insight as to how to better support not
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only women, but the growing demographic of students as a whole. While it is clear that

privileged white men still hold numerical sway over academic life, women, feminist women in

particular, do hold many positions of importance in todays universitiesindeed, in todays

university system, it is often difficult to succeed without having at least a measure of feminism in

ones theoretical pot (Golumbia, 1997).

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