Eleanor Burke Leacock Summary

Throughout this course, we learned that women’s studies originated as a concern at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). In the past, men had more privileges than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs has divergent female

To understand the significant change in the role of the women is to understand its roots. Traditionally, women in colonial America were limited in

Language: In On the Equality of the Sexes, there are a few phrases that seem to show some importance. “There is something new under the sun” is italicized in the text. She is saying that there is going to be some change coming soon with women’s education. She also uses the word superior, or superiority, quite a bit in the text. She questions whether or not mental superiority between sexes actually exists. She also talks about imagination a lot. She makes the point that society constricts how women use their imaginations. The way she uses domestication in the text is in a negative way. She uses the phrase “fertile brain of a female” and by doing this she is trying to show that females’ brains are productive and capable of becoming so much

Both Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft agree that in society women and men are not equals. Rousseau’s idea that socialization brings inequality in his Discourse On the Origin of Inequality is manipulated by Wollstonecraft in her A Vindication of the Rights of Women. She uses his arguments to prove that the inequality between men and women is not natural, but it comes from Rousseau’s idea of socialized inequality. The inequality experienced by women is a product of society, which Wollstonecraft tries to prove by uses Rousseau’s arguments about language and dependency.

First Generations: Women in Colonial America delivers a broad analysis over American women in the colonial period. It is evident that married women in colonial America were not considered equal to their husbands or to society in general. The rights of American women have come a long way in regards to civil rights. The control a woman in early Colonial America had over her own life was linked to race, religion, and class. Berkin organizes the first chapters according to race and region. Other chapters are organized by African American women, New England, and the middle colonies, Native American Women, and white women in the Chesapeake. Within each chapter, Berkin gives details about one woman from the region. European, Indian, and African women of seventeenth and eighteenth-century America were protectors of their native land, pioneers on the frontier, like-minded immigrants, and courageous slaves. They were also, as most scholars tend to leave out, just as important as men in shaping American culture and history.

The status of women is directly tied to the culture in which they live in. Mary Jenison lived in both english colonies and with indians, she analyzed both societies and women's role in both.  John Winthrop documented the  1600’s view on women through his journal.

Women did not have many rights during 1616-1768, these three prominent women Pocahontas, Anne Hutchinson and Hannah Griffitts, will show many changes for women symbols from the Colony America, American Christianity to Boycotting British Goods. All three were involved in religious, political and cultural aspects during there time, making many changes and history. There are three documents that will be used to compare these three women Pocahontas Engraving (1616), Simon Van De Passee, The Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court at Newton (1637), David D. Hall and Women’s Role In Boycotting English Goods, Hannah Griffits (1768), The Female Patriots.

For Europeans, the to be a member of a family you had to be related to the eldest male in the household. This was a total opposite to the Indian society. For example, in the Iroquois society, family membership was determined by the family of the female. At the head of each family was an elder woman, followed by her daughter, their husbands and children, and finally her unmarried granddaughters and grandsons. When one of the men married, he moved to the family of his wife. This was a very sharp contrast to the Europeans, whom had for centuries, been the top of their social hierarchy. In Europe, the women had a very relatively primitive, limited role in society. They were not allowed to attend or partake in political affairs, with very few exceptions. Now, on the other hand, in Indian society there was a council of chiefs, whom was all male, but they were appointed by an elder women. Also, during their deliberation over issues, the males made the final decision, but would be expelled from the council, if they didn?t conclude to the same decision that the elder woman came to. The women's main job in Indian society, was being in charge of cultivation of, harvest of, and distribution of food. When the men left to go hunting, women were left to run society. The Europeans simply believed that the males were far superior to the family, which is why women could not have jobs, and were left to

Throughout history, women have been the victims of oppression in society. In specific, Aboriginal women have suffered through racism, sexism, domestic violence, and over-representation. Through the implementation of the Indian Act, Aboriginal women have been forced to abandon their culture in order to assimilate into Canadian society. The effects of colonization has changed the way Aboriginal women are treated; emotionally and physically, and therefore are the source of oppression today.

This was a very sharp contrast to the Europeans, whom had for centuries, been the top of their social hierarchy. In Europe, the women had a very relatively primitive, limited role in society. They were not allowed to attend or partake in political affairs, with very few exceptions. Now, on the other hand, in Indian society there was a council of chiefs, whom was all male, but they were appointed by an elder women. Also, during their deliberation over issues, the males made the final decision, but would be expelled from the council, if they didn't conclude to the same decision that the elder woman came to. The women's main job in Indian society, was being in charge of cultivation of, harvest of, and distribution of food. When the men left to go hunting, women were left to run society. The Europeans simply believed that the males were far superior to the family, which is why women could not have jobs, and were left to only clean, cook, and various other household chores.

As Martha Ballard writes in her diary, "A womans work is never Done as the Song says and Happy is shee [sp] whose strength holds out to the end of the rais [race]." Women, like Ballard, contributed useful and skilled labor, though it was often derided, mocked, or overlooked. However, the work of women varied greatly, due to location, social class, race, time-period, and more. This essay will focus on two very different groups of women, early female settlers of the Chesapeake area during the seventeenth century and the Native American women of the Iroquois Confederacy, spread across northeastern New York and Ontario during the same time period. Through the analysis, the necessity of the study of women 's work will become evident; it aids historians in understanding women 's past: including gender perceptions, the myriad of experiences faced by different women, and the changes over that occurred over time.

Today, women are believed to be equal to men however this was not always the case. During colonial times, women did not have the same roles as women do today; men and women had fixed roles in society. Roles between men and women do not exchange due to strict gender roles. Additionally, married women were not exactly considered as companions instead, as the husband’s property. Although gender roles were a significant issue among women in early America, another issue was the background of these women. Factors such as race, religion, geography/region, and social class were substantial to the extent of control a woman had over her own life. These factors significantly shaped the lives of these women. For instance, white women had differences

She also talks about the Native feminist ethics, which brings understanding of the cultural perspectives of leadership under the spotlight. In this respect, I think understanding of Native women’s traditional gender functions, roles and responsibilities is crucial in perceiving Indigenous feminism. This is because I think in many tribal societies such as the Pashtun tribal societies in the northwestern FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) perceive gender roles and responsibilities as complementary. The FATA areas and the colonial government system were creation of the British colonizers. This example is very much relevant to the case of Native societies that were/are colonized in North America because the British colonial rulers applied the similar methods to control and regulate Pashtun tribes in the FATA areas. In comparison to the CFR Courts to implement the Code of Indian Offences in Canada, the colonizers introduced and enforced the FCR (Frontier Crimes Regulations) in the FATA areas on the Pakistani side of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In this colonial structure, the Political Agent system implemented the FCR in which, for example, because of one tribal individual the entire tribe was punished. Unfortunately, the FCR is still very much alive and is being used the way many colonial laws are currently implemented in Canada and

Mill makes a very strong argument that the position women have in society is not the only possible way to structure societal hierarchy. The reason it seems unnatural to change its structure, he claims, is because it is uncustomary.

The perception of inequality was evident in the colonial Spanish America, man belief that women were lacked in capacity to reason as soundly as men. A normal day for European women in the new world was generally characterized by male domination, for example marriage was arranged by the fathers, women never go out except to go church, women didn’t have the right to express their opinions about politic or society issues. Subsequent to all these bad treats European women try to find different ways to escape from man domination and demonstrate their intellectual capacities, for example women used become part of a convent, write in secret their desires and disappointments, and even dress as man to