"Second wave" feminism is worse than people remember

The so-called "feminist" movement that has been going on for over a hundred years in most of western countries can be, and has often been, divided into three periods, or "waves".

The "first wave" of feminism fought for women's suffrage (ie. right to vote) and overall that all laws be the same for men and women, without discrimination nor special treatment.

The "second wave" feminism fought for the "sexual liberation" of women, and to change the traditional roles of women.

The "third wave" feminism is the current neo-Marxist anti-capitalist fascist totalitarian ideology that has taken over 99% of academia and science, 99% of the press, and at least 90% of giant megacorporations, is extraordinarily racist, is coaching children into going to life-destroying surgery and drugs, and will physically assault you if you disagree with them or use the wrong words (and, in a few countries already, the police may come knocking on your door because of your wrongthink).

Because of the absolute insanity that's the modern "third wave" feminist social justice ideology, many people, even many people who are very knowledgeable about these things and oppose the movement, have this mistaken notion that second-wave feminism was at the very least "ok", if not outright acceptable and good thing.

In a few ways, perhaps yes. Barely. However, in many ways it was not.

The whole idea of a classical "housewife" and stay-at-home mother being not only antiquated but in fact detrimental to the "liberation" of women didn't come from the modern social justice ideology. It came from the "second wave" feminist movement, in the 1960's and later. The archetypal image of a "destroy the patriarchy" unkempt hairy-armpits undateable feminist comes from that era, not the current one.

"Second wave" feminists did not merely tell women that it's ok for them to get a job and make a career, to go outside and be the breadwinner. They took it much farther than that. They shamed women who just wanted to be housewives who stay home with the children. They considered it shameful, degrading, and detrimental to all women. They actively wanted to end the traditional family structure, to end the very concept of "housewife stays at home caring for the children, husband goes to work and is the breadwinner". They actively wanted to remove this choice from women.

This idea has persisted strong to this day, and you encounter it all the time. And it comes from "second wave" feminism from the 1960-1970's. It's not a modern invention. The ideology was so effective that many people have been deeply indoctrinated into believing it, and to have that instinct. Whenever you see someone (man or woman) scoff at the idea of a woman wanting to be a housewife and not going to work, that's second-wave feminism in action in the modern world.

Whenever you see support for the notion that it should be completely ok for women to have sex with as many people as they want, and scoff at the idea that perhaps they should be a bit more responsible and mature than that, that's second-wave feminism in action. When you see the concept that women can be completely happy if single (for long periods of time), that's second-wave feminism. When you see the notion that there's absolutely nothing wrong in single motherhood, that's second-wave feminism.

In fact, the whole muddling the distinction between genders and sexes has its roots in second wave feminism. It was not fully invented by modern social justice ideology. The idea of the destruction of the traditional family structure was not fully invented by modern social justice ideology. 

Perhaps the only thing that has changed recently is that in the past you were completely free to criticize those ideas without much repercussions. Nowadays the fascistic oppressive totalitarian system will likely destroy your life, try to make you a social outcast and, in some cases, even physically assault you.