Average Waves in Unprotected Waters

Although the feminist movement first took hold in the United States in the late 19th century, the second wave of feminism gained traction after the Women’s Strike for Equality March on August 26, 1970. Inspired by activist Betty Friedan, author of the groundbreaking bestseller The Feminine Mystique (1963), the 50,000 women who occupied New York City’s 5th Avenue that day sought to draw attention to the inequalities between men and women at home, in school, and in the workplace. While these women did not accomplish all of their goals, they did catalyze important legislative changes such as legalizing abortion and no-fault divorce and outlawing gender-based discrimination in schools and workplaces. Additionally, they spread awareness and put a spotlight on the movement.

Often called the “Women’s Lib” movement, second-wave feminism focused on liberating women from the stifling expectations of wives and mothers in the 50s and 60s. No longer did women accept that their place was in the home, that they should make their marriages work regardless of circumstance, that they didn’t belong in college or the workplace, or that they weren’t entitled to pursue their own wishes and desires. Divorce laws loosened, employers could no longer discriminate against pregnant women, many universities started women’s studies programs, and women began to run for political offices. Women were beginning to realize they were stronger and more capable than the male-centered world believed. At the same time, second-wave feminism tended to universalize the experiences of middle- and upper-class white women; poor women and women of color always worked, for example, and parallel feminist movements emerged to address the specific concerns of women overlooked by mainstream feminism.

In “Average Waves in Unprotected Waters,” Bet Blevins is a product of the liberated, second-wave feminist environment. Throughout the story, Bet provides examples of her determination and lack of willingness to acquiesce to male authority. Her marriage is a result of rebelling against her parents’ wishes. When her husband leaves her and Arnold after a doctor confirms the baby’s developmental disability, she does not crumble but instead persists and raises Arnold as a single mother. Her decision to institutionalize Arnold is complicated, and Bet’s interiority in the story reveals both her concern for his well-being and her desire to reimagine her identity outside the labels of “wife” and “mother.” At the same time, this plotline reflects the way second-wave feminism often excluded people with disabilities from its considerations. Concurrently with this story’s publication, the disability rights movement in the United States was on the rise, and by 1973, the American Rehabilitation Act prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in federal institutions. People with disabilities did not secure full civil rights until 1990 with the passing of the Americans With Disabilities Act.