Defying Expectations: Women Artists and Social Change

How can art and collective action challenge expectations and inspire lasting social change?

Mastery Objective

• Students will be able to analyze how artists challenged societal expectations during the Women's Liberation Movement and apply these insights to their own experiences by creating dual portraits that contrast expectations with authentic identity.

Day 1 - Students will:

• Watch a clip about Mary Ford created by Gibson Guitars and explore how she defied gender expectations in the 1940s-50s through technical innovation in music recording
• Analyze how one person’s actions can create a ripple effect that inspires others to challenge societal barriers

Day 2 - Students will:

• Listen to “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore and identify how it gave voice to collective feelings during the Women’s Liberation Movement
• Explain why music and creative expression are important tools for mobilizing people to push for social change.

Day 3 - Students will:

• Listen to “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy
• Discuss the relationship between financial independence and personal empowerment
• Consider why celebrating progress is important for social movements

Day 4 - Students will:

• Listen to “I Am Every Woman” by Chaka Khan
• Recognize how the Women's Liberation Movement evolved to include diverse voices
• Explain how movements can acknowledge both diversity and unity

Arts-Based Activity - Students will:

• Apply the week’s learning about defying expectations to their own lives
• Consider how to support others facing unfair expectations
• Create a visual art project that contrasts societal expectations with authentic identity

In this lesson, students explore how artists used creativity to defy expectations and inspire social change during the Women’s Liberation Movement. Students will analyze how individual barrier-breaking, collective voice, celebration of progress, and inclusive movements work together to create lasting change. Students will develop social awareness by recognizing how societal expectations shape individuals and communities and understanding that people within movements have different experiences. The lesson culminates in a dual portrait art project where students contrast societal expectations with authentic identity. Note that this lesson serves as a case study for social change and is not a comprehensive study of the Women’s Liberation Movement or the associated artists.

Required for all lessons:

• Student Journals
• Art Supplies

Arts-Based Activity:

• Paper for dual portraits