Iron Jawed Angels Essay

Women have long been fighting for their right to be seen as equal to men. Even to this day, women continue to fight for their rights, things such as the right to non-gender discriminatory wages. While there may be some arguments over the state of gender equality in the modern world, it is undeniable that there have been great strides made toward recognizing the female 's worth in the workforce and as a human being. Despite these strides, however, things are still not yet ideal for women and many of the issues females face today are the very same issues that have been plaguing them for decades. While it is unfortunate the oppression of women has been so long-lived, the length of that exposure has thankfully enabled many talented writers to both lament over the fact and emphasize the need for gender equality.

The coin was small, and its value was only one dollar, but to Betty Friedan, and to women everywhere, it was worth so much more. Every person who looked at the silver coin would see not only a picture of women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony, but also a symbol of the changing world, and how hard people had fought to make that change. This was the first time a woman had been etched into the metal of a coin, and it meant that, finally, the efforts of Betty Friedan and Susan B. Anthony, herself, were paying off. Despite being lampooned and being ignored, both Anthony and Friedan made it their life’s work to grant women basic rights. Though their lives were one hundred years apart, both feminists are responsible for many of the freedoms women

To this day the women’s suffrage movement ignites women in the present to keep those right burning. Alice Paul and her fellow women suffrages demonstrated through speeches, lobbying and petitioning Congressional Committees, with parades, picketing and demonstrations, and with arrest that lead to imprisonment. These women express courage that women still uphold for years after their legacy has passed on, such as the article “Women’s Strike for Equality,” by Linda Napikoski, in the demonstration that was held on August 26, 1970 on the 50th anniversary of women’s suffrage. As well as an article “Women to Protest For Equality Today,” by United Press that talks about on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the women’s suffrage and “declared war on firms that Damage the Image,” of the fair sex. Alice Paul, set the stage for inspiring women to fight for their rights everywhere across the world.

In the class psychology of women, the class viewed the film Makers Project: Women Who Make America. The film supplied background information about how women were treated prior to the Women’s Movement, as well as during the Women’s Movement, and after. As a result of the Women’s Movement there has been a vast amount of changes impacting society.

The battle for suffrage was a long and slow process. Many women tried to initiate the fight for suffrage, like Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. “These were the New Suffragists: women who were better educated, more career-oriented, younger, less apt to be married and more cosmopolitan than their previous generation.” (pg 17) Eventually, in 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified; allowing women to vote, but it was not any one person or event that achieved this great feat. It was the confluence of certain necessary factors, the picketing and parades led by Alice Paul, militaristic suffrage parties and the influence of the media that caused the suffrage amendment to be passed and ratified in 1920. But most importantly, they successfully moved both

For example, at the height of the Women’s Rights Movement, women were very rarely seen within the sector of higher education; but today, however, women are more prevalent in higher education than at any other point in recent memory. Not only has higher education become more of an integral norm for women, but the increasing prominence of women within higher education is reflective of a fundamental societal shift – women are no longer being forced to stay within the confines of their home, but are now able to focus on their education as well as their increasing job opportunities. Additionally, women have also become more prominent within the political realm – both in terms of running for office and having the right to vote – as well as the higher tiers of corporate America; which illustrates that, as time goes on, they are becoming increasingly more powerful and are being afforded a myriad of desirable positions and benefits that used to only be available for men. With the indisputable progression of women in mind, it becomes challenging to comprehend how a film like She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry can capitalize on its foundation of activism within the current societal climate. Although there are still – and may always be – various opinions regarding women’s rights, it is clear that, since the Women’s Rights Movement, women have been presented with countless opportunities that they would not have been able to take advantage of approximately 50 years ago. As a result, a film like She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry almost seems redundant, if not somewhat

One theme we see in Iron Jawed Angels is “problems with resistance from men: in their families, in their communities, in positions of legal/ political power.” The first example of this theme that will be discussed is the scene from the parade before President Wilson’s inauguration. The Suffragists are walking with their heads held high, smiles on their faces, and confidence in their gaits. The crowd seems to be in awe of the sight before them, until men become disgruntled. One man yells out “…Get off the streets, go home to your mother!”, to which one marching suffragist responds, “My mother is here.” Tensions rise as men begin “booing” and throwing paper, glass bottles, and insults, at the women. As the anger from the crowd increases, men

I chose this topic because the feminist agenda in the United States today is often ignored because it is mistaken for misandry. I have heard countless men ( and sadly, women) say that they are not “feminists” which completely undermines the countless decades of people fighting for women to merely have the right to vote. Without the work of women like Susan B.Anthony and Cady Elizabeth Stanton,and Jane Addams, women today would still have to turn over their wages to the man of the house, they couldn’t work long term, and they most certainly could not work while their husbands stay home with the kids. I hope that this essay furthers my appreciation and educates me on the progress of women’s rights in the United States.

Iron Jawed Angels is the story of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns and their part in the fight to get women the right to vote. They originally began their fight as part of the NAWSA (the National American Women Suffrage Association) which was founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Paul and Burns meet with Carrie Chapman Catt and Anna Howard Shaw in 1912 after returning from London together. During their meeting, Burns and Paul try to take Catt and Shaw into pushing President Wilson for a constitutional amendment for women to have the right to vote, Catt and Shaw refuse.

Women used to be thought of as the stay at home mother by men. She was supposed to take care of the children and take care of the home. Seeing a woman in the workforce was desirable as long as she had an education. Women were seen working in factories or as teachers but they had no say in the government. Thanks to a few women dedicated to making a difference, women have become more independent and now have a say in the government if they choose too. The movie Iron Jawed Angels depicts a group of women who wanted women to have a voice in politics. First thing they had to do was get women the right to vote.

A powerful yet passionate film, Iron Jawed Angels, directed by Katja von Garnier, displays the hardship that suffragists faced during the years of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Despite a multitude of people strongly disagreeing with a woman’s right to vote in an election, there were influential and eager individuals such as suffragist leader, Alice Paul and one of her supporters, Lucy Burns, both of whom had remarkably strong beliefs, that were determined to stand for what they believe in and obtain the right for all women to vote. As a young adult female living in the 21st Century, I have the right and am given the option whether to vote or not, so I can not directly relate to the way that these women suffragist’s felt and experienced before

With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.

The film Iron Jawed Angels tells the viewer about the women?s suffrage movement in the 1920s. It also tells the viewer that the United States, mostly men, was strongly opposed to women?s suffrage. The disturbing violence geared towards the women suffragists also shows the discontent of American men towards the movement. Unfortunately the women suffragists were thrown in prison for blocking traffic (an excuse because they were protesting outside of the White House) and were forced to work. The hatred and animosity which suffragists faced during the 1920s is also an accurate depiction of United States life during this time period. Some questions which were left unanswered by the film Iron Jawed Angels are who started the women?s suffrage movement and where the movement started.

"National Women Suffrage Association." The Social Welfare History. State Boards of Charity. Web. 12 July 2015..

Women’s rights is apparent in the fight for suffrage in the late 1800’s-early 1900’s . It can