In the 1960s, second wave feminism was spreading across the country. Much like the first wave of feminism, it focused on equality for both males and females in America. However, she now focuses on female gender roles in society and seeks to bring justice to ensure that women are treated equally to men. This was not an easy task because the patriarchal system has been introduced into society for so long not only in American history but also in many other cultures. A patriarchy is defined as “a social system in which males are the primary authority figures central to social organization, occupying roles of political leadership, moral authority, and control of property, and where fathers hold authority over women and children. It involves the institutions of male dominance and privilege, and it involves female subordination,” according to the collective knowledge of the Wikimedia Foundation. Although woman has the ability to change the patriarchal system, the system has been in power for so long that it has been approved as social normality. Before the first wave of feminism, women could not obtain property or vote in America. This was due to the unspoken law that men were placed in a higher position of authority and could therefore deny an entire population certain rights by virtue of their gender. Such obstacles that date back to the hierarchical system of kings and princes leave little room for feminism to allow its ideals to be accepted by the society around them. This also indicates that the environment around them is true to traditional ideals where women rarely play a role in society and therefore limit their influence in the world around them. A French writer, Simone de Beauvo... at the center of the paper... controversy. Second wave feminism was no exception to these criticisms of the movement. In their article, “Feminism,” Bryant stated that “critics argue that there is too much focus on the negative and that feminists sometimes ignore recent social changes. Critics argue that feminists portray women as “passive” victims, as if they are incapable of taking action against discrimination. The same critics believe that feminists focus on a specific group, ignoring women of other cultures and ethnicities (such as black feminism).” This means that critics of feminism have argued that much of the feminist movement has focused on the negative aspects that the feminist movement brings with it. The ignorance shown towards current issues and the diversity of characteristics of each woman, often used by the feminist movement, indicated that there were still aspects of the movement that needed improvement..