60s Girl Groups Unit - Early Feminism and Breaking Away from Traditional Roles

The Essential Question for students is: Were the Girl Groups of the early 1960s voices of female empowerment or reflections of traditional female roles? In this lesson, students will evaluate what the emergence of the Girl Groups said about the roles of girls and women in the early 1960s. The nation sat on the threshold of a new Women’s Rights movement that would challenge traditional female roles. In 1963, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, widely considered a milestone in the emerging feminist movement – and it came at the peak of the Girl Groups’ popularity.

Did the success of the Girl Groups signal a new female empowerment, under which girls and women could finally come out from the shadows of Rock and Roll and tell the world what was on their minds? Or did the very labels “Girl Group” and “girl singer” and the focus of so many of their songs on the search for the ideal man simply reflect the traditional domestic roles of women as wives and mothers?

Students will prepare a for a debate, however, their focus will be on building consensus rather than on identifying a “winner”. By the conclusion of this unit, students will know the musical contributions of important “Girl Groups,” including the Shirelles, the Crystals, the Chiffons, the Angels, and the Dixie Cups, the significance of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, the growing economic power of teenage girls in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and key events of the Women’s Rights movement of the 1960s and 70s.

Students will analyze the lyrics of popular songs and advertisements for meaning, link musical movements with the social and historical circumstances from which they emerged, and evaluate what the music of the Girl Groups says about the roles of girls and women in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Finally, an Extension Activity is provided - students will research a female musical group that has emerged since the early 1960s and analyze their impact on female audiences...choices include Salt n Pepa, the Go-Gos, The Spice Girls, and many more!