What is the Equal Rights Amendment mentioned in the Canal + series, broadcast from this Thursday, August 10 as a bonus? How? ‘Or’ What Mrs. America looks back on the feminist and political struggle that marked the 1970s in the United States? We explain …
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It arrives on Canal + this Monday August 10, from 9:05 pm! Mrs. America is likely to be talked about in the coming weeks. Why ? For its casting, its subject and its production. We also take the bets, it is very likely that several actresses of the show will be named at the next major ceremonies (Golden Globes, Emmys …). This nine-part mini-series traces the journey of several pro and anti-feminist women who will all fight for – or against – the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (proposed amendment to the American Constitution, designed to guarantee equality rights between men and women) in the 1970s in the United States. All having, for the most part, really existed! We tell you about the story behind the series.
The story of anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly …
Before each new episode, the series warns with a sober message: “This series is inspired by the events and debates around the Equal Rights Amendment for Gender Equality. Scenes and characters have been invented.”. Featured in the first episode, Phyllis Schlafly (portrayed onscreen by Cate Blanchett) believed that a woman should take care of her home and her family first and foremost. Having become famous across the Atlantic in the early 1970s for her fight against the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, she was, as the series shows, a fervent reactionary Catholic who argued – among other things – that this amendment would harm women and abolishing alimony for divorced women or even by creating mixed public toilets. Despite this, she managed to interfere in the small circle of American politics. His ideals punctuated the speeches of Republicans and right-wing parties which then led to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 as head of the country.
How did the Equal Rights Amendment flop?
You should know that this Equal Rights Amendment was first tabled in 1923 by the National Women’s Party. By the end of the 1960s, lawyer Bella Abzug (played by Margo Martindale) and other pro-feminists managed to find new support for her until she was approved by the United States House of Representatives in October 1971. and by the United States Senate on March 22 of the following year. But it was without counting on Phyllis Schlafly who, in 1972, quickly created the pro-family campaign group “Stop ERA” against this amendment, which Congress had initially set the deadline for ratification on March 22, 1979. Then begins a long fight for Schlafly and his supporters who successfully mobilize the opposition. Several states (Idaho, Kentucky …) initially favorable to the ERA revoke their ratification. At the end of the deadline, in 79, three states disapproved of the amendment. The ratification deadline was then extended until 1982, but here again the conservative woman mobilized and the amendment finally fell flat …
And the rest?
After this success, Phyllis Schlafly has remained a prominent conservative voice in American politics. She made her life, a permanent fight against the rights of women by writing or co-writing more than 25 books, by hosting radio shows, by participating in television shows. At the age of 50, she even decided to resume her studies in order to obtain a law degree and managed to pass the Illinois bar in 1978. Died in 2016, Donald Trump said of her that she was a heroine. of the nation…
Today, thanks to new feminist movements like MeToo, the Equal Rights Amendment may well find a new lease of life. More than a century old, this amendment was ratified in 2017 by the State of Nevada and in 2018 by the State of Illinois, both of which until then had spoken in opposition to its implementation. up … but the fight is not yet won!
Mrs. America is a Canal + series to be found on the website of Canal+.
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