Final answer:
Phyllis Schlafly was a conservative attorney and activist known for her opposition to the feminist movement and the Equal Rights Amendment, arguing it threatened traditional family values. Her efforts were crucial in preventing the ratification of the ERA, and she represents a complex figure within the history of feminism and women's rights in America.
Step-by-step explanation:
Who Was Phyllis Schlafly?
Phyllis Schlafly was a conservative attorney, activist, and an influential figure in 20th-century American politics. Despite being a well-educated professional woman herself, she became renowned for her opposition to the feminist movement and the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Schlafly argued that the ERA would undermine the traditional family by eliminating gender distinctions in laws, and she spearheaded the STOP ERA movement. Her activism played a pivotal role in the ultimate failure of the ERA to secure ratification by the requisite number of states.
Impact on the Feminist Movement
While the feminist movement of the sixties and seventies achieved significant advancements in women's rights, Schlafly's counter-movement cast doubt on whether such legal equality would benefit the traditional role of women as homemakers. Despite being an accomplished individual who broke many barriers for women in her own career, Schlafly's views and activities are considered by some to be antithetical to feminism. She viewed feminism as a dangerous attack on family values, and her work contributed to the splintering and eventual slowing down of the feminist movement by the end of the 1970s.