Second- wave Feminism was introduced in the 1960’s and ran through the 1980’s and into today. It was coined by Marsha Lear and is highly related to what most people call Third-Wave Feminism. Some of the major movements in the 2nd wave feminism are as follows. The Kennedy Administration created “The Presidential Commission on the Status of Women” in the USA. Eleanor Roosevelt was its president and in 1963 it was said that in virtually every home in America, discrimination against women was a problem. In that same year a book was published containing interviews of women that stressed the facts by the Commission report. Immediately it became a best seller. It’s Author Betty Freidan, its name “The Feminine Mystique.”

Title VII was passed due to a combined effort from different activist from all over. Then in 1966 the National Organization for Women was formed. This organization was formed to help lookout for women who had been victims of discrimination. This made it possible for fewer women to be victims. By 1970, radical feminism was on the rise. Radical feminism is a branch of feminism that views strictly on women’s oppression. “Patriarchy”, is what radical feminists call this.

In 1974, another law was passed called Title IX. This law was passed in the Education Amendments of 1972 and it stated that discrimination could now occur in any field of education. This was important to women and it still is, especially young women who want to be involved in sports and feminist campus activism. However, even with Title IX passed, many schools did not “dish out” the discrimination law in their schools. And needless to say, many complaints were dished out about the schools as well. Within the first five years of Title IX’s commission, 50,000 sex discrimination complaints were made, yet hardly any of them were investigated.

Equality is the biggest complaint for feminists. So therefore, 2nd-wave feminism inspired the fight for equal rights and finally received the amendment between 1960 and 1970 for the Equal Rights Amendment into the United States Constitution. The Amendment said:
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Feminist Sex Wars lead the country through the 1970’s and the 1980’s between anti-pornography feminism and sex-positive feminism. After this point the road was constructed to head into the third-wave feminism and deep divisions were indented into the feminist movement. The 2nd-wave feminism also saw the beginning of the criticalness and hostile behavior of those against transgender and transsexual women.

When it came to education, many of a debate went on in the United States when there was talk about women’s college and coeducation.

In 1972, Gloria Steinem founded Ms. Magazine, which contains articles about what issues surrounded the 2nd-wave feminism.

Some of the television shows that show 2nd-wave feminism is The Cosby Show, All in the Family, A different world, Kramer vs. Kramer, Nine-to-Five, Maude, One day at a time, The Step ford Wives, Tootsie, and Murphy Brown.