Sure, but we can acknowledge progress and still note how white women’s political emancipation wasn’t all women’s emancipation, because it really wasn’t. If we ignore that, we’re ignoring the whole story of what actually happened. We can also understand that the second wave also tended to focus pretty much on upper and middle class white women’s problems still. And keep in mind that the group that most benefited from affirmative action was in fact white women.
I don’t think it’s pessimism to point out realities that too many people are unwilling to acknowledge or face. I think it’s just honesty.
