Women are raised to be a prize possessions. Patriarchy has been a constant epidemic throughout the years and the world. Men prance around showboating our very existence as if we aren’t equal to them, but even in our own gender women suffer from inequality. According to Davis the history of American feminism is incomplete. This essay will be extending into detail why there is inequality. There are two major concepts in women history that provide valuable information as to why there is inequality amongst women. First, it be will argued Davis’s thoughts on Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Second, this essay will explain how the three types of inequality plays a role. Thirdly, the essay will compare and contrast the social intersectionality …show more content…
as a social analyst to Davis historical method. At the very beginning of the women’s movement all the of the focus was on two important ladies, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
These two women are known as the “history of feminism”(Da47). In this time period not all women was included in the movement, there were numerous women left out based on race and class. Lucretia and Elizabeth are middle-class white women (Da49). Who were only fighting for the rights of women in their standards. Because all the focus was on them the thought didn’t cross other minds that they weren’t fighting for blacks, or lower class women. These women came from being housewives, and didn’t like the standards of being a wife at that time. In fact Stanton contacted Mott because of her domestic situation (Da49). Society didn’t notice the blind spots placed in this movement because the founders where middle- class whit women. The thought of inequality was non-existence in this process Mott and Stanton wasn’t calling an end to slavery, they were feminist but wasn’t expansive. They normalized their characters, but yet black women where still …show more content…
enslaved. According to Davis there are three reasons why there is inequality in the world of feminism: racial, sex and class. Upon the women suffrage movement those three aspects were vital to the movement t. In this time racial discrimation was the norm, so it wasn’t a shock finding out that black women were excluded from this movement. Just because they’re skin is darker than the whites the black women weren’t allowed to fight for their rights. Being a female in that time period was rough, females at that time had no rights; other than pleasing their husbands. Which is why sex is a key aspect. Whatever class a women falls over is also very essential. The women’s movement wasn’t for the working class women, but was for high-class or the middle class. Women without money at that time was served with complete dissatisfaction. The Senceca Falls Declaration all but ignored the predicament of white working class women and ignored the conditions of black women in the South and North (Da53). The Declaration was supposed to help women, but the Declaration proposed an analysis of the female condition which disregarded the circumstances of women outside the social class (Da54). Not only were these women exclude from their rights, but was forced to work in health threating conditions. Women would work long and rigors hours daily twelve, fourteen and sometimes sixteen hours daily. (Da 54). These women were working in inhumanly crowed loving quarters (Da54). That’s a serious problem, women who worked their selves to death want even to fight for their rights. At these jobs they didn’t even have enough time to eat and have time to themselves. Previously, this essay went into detail as to why American feminism is incomplete. Now this essay will continue into comparison of the social intersexuality as a social analyst to Davis historical method. Socioeconomic class is the social position where people enjoy the result of their income, education, occupation, and place of residence (De19). The definition of socioeconomic class ties into the comparison of social intersectionality and Davis historical method because, Davis books goes into detail on how women at this time was not happy with their work life nor home life. Intersectionality recognizes the social realities and inequalities produced (De20). Much as the same as Davis’s book, emphasizing what intersectionality recognizes. Along with Davis and educator states that one cannot accomplish social justice by addressing one form of isolation (De20). Just focusing all attention on one thing isn’t going to benefit anything, all that’s going to be there blind spots. Refereeing back to Davis’s book all the attention was on Mott and Stanton (White middle-class), not the working class or black women. Even though social intersectionality and Davis have many similarities to compare, but there are also major differences the separate the two.
Although it was challenging to find evidence that one differs from other, but they do. One major difference that stood out was the mindset of the different methods. Defranssico went from stating that’s focusing all the attention on one aspect is bad, to focusing on one aspect. A good part of the section was just about black women, but black women wasn’t the only ones excluded. The attention to intersectionality identities and oppressions are meant to highlight cultural identities (De21). The only problem with that is that is it shouldn’t be about culture it should be about equality. Which Davis made clear didn’t exist in the world of feminism throughout
history. My personal reflection on this position is very opinionated, but are very similar to Angela Davis. History behind feminism was very unethical in my opinion, and was disgraceful. All women were being mistreated back then, so the fight should have been for ALL WOMEN. Mott and Stanton fought for rights that would benefit them and their social and economic class. These women were complaining about their domestic life, when working women were living in crowed and inhumanly living quarters. There were so many women out there that deserved to be fought for. And personality it’s sad to hear the stereotype “Black women are lazy”, that’s stereotype is truly pathetic and ignorant. Angela Davis book opened my eyes to a situation that I wouldn’t necessarily hidden but wasn’t brought up a lot. The women right movement wasn’t for all women, the movement wasn’t equal at all. The history of feminism is incomplete, but for so many reasons more than just race. It was incomplete due to race, sex, and class women were wrongfully treated because they weren’t rich and materialistic.
America is well known for many things, and one of the main qualities is the idea and practice of freedom and liberty. When thinking of the United States, one would probably say “Land of the free, Home of the brave.” America is a place where citizens have rights, can have happiness, and are free to live the life they choose. Although America is so free now, have citizens always had the rights that they have today? The founding fathers of the United States of America made the way to freedom when the Declaration of Independence was written, but even though it was written down, not all citizens had freedom. When Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote The Declaration of Sentiments, she used The Declaration of Independence as a guide. Freedom was still freedom, of course, but Stanton used it for a purpose that was different from how the founding fathers used it. When Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, she not only included the way Americans believe in freedom and liberty, she also included the way the beliefs can change and be interpreted in different ways.
Throughout history, women were challenged with inequality and discrimination within a patriarchal society such voting in presidential elections, owning property and having job opportunities. During the last century, there have been many achievements that guarantee women rights and equality. For example, the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920 and the Equal Employment Opportunities Law prohibited employers from discriminating against gender in 1988.1 In her essay, “Pink Think”, Lynn Peril argues about the pressure on women that follow the rules of femininity.2 She describes the word “Pink Think”, as ideas and attitudes of proper women behavior.2 Although there are still some aspects of “Pink Think” culture that is still recognized today, the shifts in cultural and political events in recent centuries have increased attention to women’s issues against social injustice. Nevertheless, Peril neglects the fact that women today are living in a totally different time than how she pictures it because of the newly evolved cultural attitudes of gender roles and identity, labor, and living the American Dream.
Susan B. Anthony is the most well known name in women's rights from the 1800s. Most people who are not familiar with the history of this time are aware of Susan's reputation and nearly everyone of my generation has seen and held a Susan B. Anthony silver dollar. For these reasons I was greatly surprised to learn that Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the original women's rights movement spokeswoman and Susan B. Anthony her protégé.
“To deny political equality is to rob the ostracised of all self-respect.” - Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
When looking at Terborg-Penn’s article with the speech Susan B. Anthony gave in 1873, we see a contrast of feminist ideas. Susan B. Anthony speaks about the equality that women
In anaylsing the validity of this statement, “We are all benefiting from the great feminists who struggled and suffered and worked to give us everything women now enjoy.” it can be concluded that Stanton was a women who was able to reinvent and influence women’s rights all over the world. She was a feminist who encountered many struggles, leading and influencing thousands of women throughout her career. To this day her work is still remembered and recognised by all, as the right to vote becomes increasingly important in today’s world.
Women, Race and Class is the prolific analysis of the women's rights movement in the United States as observed by celebrated author, scholar, academic and political activist. Angela Y. Davis, Ph.D. The book is written in the same spirit as Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Davis does not merely recount the glorious deeds of history. traditional feminist icons, but rather tells the story of women's liberation from the perspective of former black slaves and wage laborers. Essential to this approach is the salient omnipresent concept known as intersectionality.
From the birth of the United States of America, true freedom was never essential in the land of liberty. Throughout history America truly shows us this from the 1600’s to the 1800’s; Citizens had to fight for their God given rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Instead citizens in minorities saw a whole different side of America. Unfortunate citizens in minorities had to suffer in that era but after a long hard battle minorities began to receive their god given rights.
In the speech, Stanton mentions the “record of blood and cruelty the pages of history reveal” (Stanton) in regards to the established patriarchy. The phrasing of the “pages of history” grant Stanton support and belief because the actual historical record of Stanton’s argument displays the accurate knowledge of events and implies a need for change. Also, Stanton uses the conflict between man’s law and God’s law to support her cause: “she must respect his statutes, though they strip her of every inalienable right, and conflict with that higher law written by the finger of God on her own soul” (Stanton). Through the juxtaposition of man’s “statutes” and “higher law,” Stanton validates her standing because by using God as a higher power and implying that men are against God, it is only natural for women to gain rights because it is the “godly” thing to do. Elizabeth Cady Stanton implements ethos to gain validity in her cause in employing actual evidence for history and emphasizing the support of women’s rights by
Society has long since considered women the lessor gender and one of the most highly debated topics in society through the years has been that of women’s equality. The debates began over the meaning between a man and woman’s morality and a woman’s rights and obligations in society. After the 19th Amendment was sanctioned around 1920, the ball started rolling on women’s suffrage. Modern times have brought about the union of these causes, but due to the differences between the genetic makeup and socio demographics, the battle over women’s equality issue still continues to exist. While men have always held the covenant role of the dominant sex, it was only since the end of the 19th century that the movement for women’s equality and the entitlement of women have become more prevalent. “The general consensus at the time was that men were more capable of dealing with the competitive work world they now found themselves thrust into. Women, it was assumed, were unable to handle the pressures outside of the home. They couldn’t vote, were discourages from working, and were excluded from politics. Their duty to society was raising moral children, passing on the values that were unjustly thrust upon them as society began to modernize” (America’s Job Exchange, 2013). Although there have been many improvements in the changes of women’s equality towards the lives of women’s freedom and rights in society, some liberals believe that women have a journey to go before they receive total equality. After WWII, women continued to progress in there crusade towards receiving equality in many areas such as pay and education, discrimination in employment, reproductive rights and later was followed by not only white women but women from other nationalities ...
Among the many subjects covered in this book are the three classes of oppression: gender, race and class in addition to the ways in which they intersect. As well as the importance of the movement being all-inclusive, advocating the idea that feminism is in fact for everybody. The author also touches upon education, parenting and violence. She begins her book with her key argument, stating that feminist theory and the movement are mainly led by high class white women who disregarded the circumstances of underprivileged non-white women.
While both African Americans and Feminists wanted equal education and equality to white men, the differences in the standards imposed upon them by society caused the rest of their goals to differ. Since society’s notion of women was for them to be wives and mothers, feminists wanted to change it to where they had a choice in what they did with their lives. Feminists wanted to work and receive equal pay to what men received. They
As women, those of us who identify as feminists have rebelled against the status quo and redefined what it means to be a strong and powerful woman. But at what cost do these advances come with?... ... middle of paper ... ... Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/whatisfem.htm Bidgood, J. 2014, April 8 -.
Throughout history, women have remained subordinate to men. Subjected to the patriarchal system that favored male perspectives, women struggled against having considerably less freedom, rights, and having the burdens society placed on them that had been so ingrained the culture. This is the standpoint the feminists took, and for almost 160 years they have been challenging the “unjust distribution of power in all human relations” starting with the struggle for equality between men and women, and linking that to “struggles for social, racial, political, environmental, and economic justice”(Besel 530 and 531). Feminism, as a complex movement with many different branches, has and will continue to be incredibly influential in changing lives.
Women have always been essential to society. Fifty to seventy years ago, a woman was no more than a house wife, caregiver, and at their husbands beck and call. Women had no personal opinion, no voice, and no freedom. They were suppressed by the sociable beliefs of man. A woman’s respectable place was always behind the masculine frame of a man. In the past a woman’s inferiority was not voluntary but instilled by elder women, and/or force. Many, would like to know why? Why was a woman such a threat to a man? Was it just about man’s ability to control, and overpower a woman, or was there a serious threat? Well, everyone has there own opinion about the cause of the past oppression of woman, it is currently still a popular argument today.