Feminism : Women And Women

In the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s, women were not given the rights they have today and were being mistreated, but because of a few brave women who gave up their lives to fight for what they knew was right, this all changed. Many of these women were educated and brave, but were still denied their rights. Women have suffered through this long battle to get what they knew they deserved and took time out of their lives to fight for what they believed in, which was to have a voice. Women wanted to get the same respect that men were given. The women’s suffrage movement was not only in the United States, but it was all over the world. It took the women’s suffrage movement many years to work and come through, but women were finally able to vote and have the same rights as men. Through their work in the suffrage movement, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony and many more changed the role of women in society.

The mid 19th century in American history was one of changing perceptions and tides. As anti-abolitionist movements and causes grew in scope and significance, so too, did the first ideas of feminism and of women's rights. Of course, as with any social movement, there is always pushback, whether from people who are afraid of change or progress, or people that don't agree with that particular social movement.

Early feminism was typically focused only on white women, likely because racism was still extremely prominent at the time feminism began emerging. It was not until Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term “intersectionality” in 1989 that feminism started to look at oppressed group’s needs (Nash, 2008, 2). Intersectionality is a way of thinking that acknowledges that when a person has identities that belong to more than one oppressed group, it impacts their quality of life more negatively. In this paper, I will argue that intersectionality is important in the discussion of feminist theories and activism because it ensures that feminism is for all women, not just a select group of them. Intersectionality has changed the way the feminist movement handles the overlapping of different identities, which has helped feminist theorists understand the experiences of women of colour much more clearly. While intersectionality has a very important role in the conversation and practice of feminism, there are certainly critiques of the concept that should be brought up. These critiques, however, can offer a way to improve the study of intersectionality.

Throughout the history of this country especially beginning in the 1800s with the women's suffrage movement, women have fought for equality. It is no secret that the role of men versus women have change immensely over the last century however some things have not changed. As a result of the unchanging or slowly evolution of equality feminism has arise.

As the century immediately following the American Revolution, the 19th century experienced a rise in feminism as it harbored the first feminist movement in America. Although some women chose to embrace their “roots” by retaining their domestic sphere of influence, many women began to show discontent with the limited number of rights women held. Soon enough, the fight for women’s rights resulted in women gaining more prominence in society.

During the 1800s, it was a difficult time for women to live their life as they wanted. While, men and women are treated equal in today’s society, this was not the case in previous centuries. Women couldn’t serve or obtain the same rights that men had. These women had no rights to obtain a decent job, get educated nor vote like men did. Women were denied in having the same access that men were capable of.

In the late nineteenth century, America presented women with more opportunities than they had ever seen before. Before these new opportunities, women were only allowed to work in the home, doing household chores and taking care of their families. Technology was on the rise which gave women more occupations to choose from outside of their home. Appliances were manufactured for homes, making house work much easier for women. Job

Women in America in the late 1800’s were treated poorly because they did not have any rights to an education or equal marriage, and they eventually started to refute back to overcome the stereotypes men gave women. Women started going to college, getting divorces, and taking stands against men for their rights. The late 1800’s for women was a life changing time. Women were fighting against what society holds of them. “At the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, there was a Women's Building that displayed items of art, crafts, and inventions by women; this represented an early achievement in the feminist struggle for suffrage and equal rights” (Manning 2013). Women were not just stay at home mothers and housewives. They represented that they can make something of themselves just as men do.

The early 1900s for women weren’t perfect. They were treated as second class citizens, forced into unhappy marriages, paid way less than men and looked down upon for being independant. However, we can slowly see some baby steps towards real rights for women starting to form. We can see both women and men fighting for these rights in an effort to make the world a more equal

The women’s rights movement has been around since the beginning of the United States. Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her husband, John Adams, saying that women will not be suppressed by this nation for long, that women will eventually rise up to get the equality they deserve (“Abigail Adams Urges Husband to ‘Remember the Ladies”). Almost a century later, Elizabeth Cady Stanton became a crucial activist in the women's rights movement for both suffrage and equal rights. The First Women's Rights convention was held in New York City in 1848 where Stanton made a speech entitled, “Address on Women’s Rights” which became a famous address for women’s rights. This was Stanton’s first public speech. In this address, she confront the issues of gender equality (Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton on Women's Rights September 1848).

Once upon a time in a world dominated by men, women had been forced to comply with society 's blinding notion that they were pieces of property meant to play the domesticated role of a dutiful housewife. This was true up until the late 1840s when women began to realize their worth was so much more than a floor-moping, dinner-making, stain-bleaching slave to six children and an ungrateful husband. That may sound rash and some situations may have been different, but before the civil war these women did not have the opportunities to be properly educated like men. Courageously strong women, over time, from the early 1800s up until the 1920s and counting, such as Elizabeth Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem have all become recognized for their dedication and persistence in bringing about changes in defending the rights of women and suppressing the bias against gender equality thus paving the road of feminism. However, even in today’s world anti-feministic backlashes are still occurring in the sense of politics, workplace, and society.

In the nineteenth century women lived in an age of inequality because of their gender. Women had very limited choices when it came to their occupational choices, which is why most women stayed home to care for their children take care of the house, keep things clean, and in line and make sure that everything was ready before their husbands came home from their longs days of working.

In the 19th century, a woman's place was in the home. Although a small numbers of women were attending university and creating a career for themselves. Still most women's lives were restricted to the home and the tiring physical work of maintaining a house and raising a family. Women were seen as emotional, weak and unable to make decisions.

Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men. In the nineteenth century, different things were expected between men and women. Men were supposed to go out and work, make money and put food on the table for the family. The women were expected to stay home, cook, clean, sew and take care of the children and a lot more homebound. The women were not allowed to vote or be seen doing anything taboo.

Many people are often misinformed or given bad first impressions of feminism. However, feminism is equal rights for all people of different race, sex, gender, and sexuality. Many of the people that give feminism a bad name, include a self-proclaimed feminist that is running for presidency, and meninists who are satirical equal rights activists. In reality, feminism is pro-gender equality and opportunities for all types of people.