ABSTRACT
THE EMERGENCE OF THE feminist movement at the end of the 1960s generated a veritable shock wave. It marked the convergence of a series of transformations in the economic, social, and cultural spheres, as well as transformations in the balance of political power. The emerging feminist movement also coincided with several “breakthrough” political phenomena that affected society as a whole, from the radical critique of the extreme Left to the mobilization of women as a potentially united political force, embracing those women who were involved in promoting women's issues within national and international organizations, those who fought to make contraception available, and those who struggled in unions and political organizations. The feminist shock wave began in the United States and very quickly spread to Great Britain and Germany in the 1960s. The widespread and explosive student unrest of 1968 provided fertile ground for the dissemination of feminism, and the highly publicized appearance of the American women's movement in 1970 lent impetus to European movements. Anglophone feminists in Canada generally shared the perspective of feminists in the United States, while for the women of Quebec the feminist movement was a part of the claim to nationhood. Feminist movements in Portugal, Spain, and Greece grew out of the planning and realization of the International Year of Women celebrated in 1975.
