... be allowed to enjoy the same rights as men in the United States, has, throughout the five decades taken to implement it, faced as much criticism and opposition from women and women's groups, as it gained in support. When first formulated, it was seen as a threat to the values of "politically conservative and religious" housewives. Vicky Randall notes that many campaigns against the E.R.A. were built around scare tactics, with the amendment "depicted as a threat to family life and a sanction to homosexual marriage, unisex dormitories for children and unisex lavatories. Women's potential eligibility for military service was also emphasised". In 1973, Karen DeCrow discusses some of the more recent protestations against this amendment, for example that women would lose the benefits that they previously enjoyed, such as the right of exemption from working compulsory overtime, the right of early retirement, and the right to financial support from ...

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