ABSTRACT
Liberalism, the school of political thought from which liberal feminism has evolved, is in the process of reconceptualizing, reconsidering, and restructuring itself. This chapter focuses on the history of twentieth-century liberal women's rights groups and their activities, most of which have been in the area of legislation. Liberal feminists wish to free women from oppressive gender roles- that is, from those roles used as excuses or justifications for giving women a lesser place, or no place at all, in the academy, the forum, and the marketplace. These feminists stress that patriarchal society conflates sex and gender, deeming appropriate for women only those jobs associated with the traditional feminine personality. In recent years, nonliberal feminists have increasingly dismissed liberal feminists. Liberal feminists increased stress on issues of race has prompted an increasing number of minority women to join and become active in liberal feminist organizations.
