Maya Angelou Women's Rights Movement

1005 Words3 Pages

Introduction
Girl power, women empowerment, gender equality, feminism, this was the 90s. Female roles were continuing to grow and close the gender gap. Discrimination in education, government, employment, and the law was coming to an end with women making up 50 percent of bus drivers, 29 percent of all chemists, 12 percent of dentists and 44 percent of economists. Empowerment of women found its way into society through media and poetry supporting women and their beauty, and unlike today was free from misogynist backlash. So what’s changed? If women’s rights movement was developing progressively, why is it now, in the year 2017, women are still grabbing the short straw when it comes to their rights?
Hello and welcome to the trending ABC program,
By 1975 Maya was much more than a poet, she was recognized as a spokeswoman for both blacks and women in their time of need. The way she utilized writing techniques such as dialogue and plot throughout her autobiography was an innovation for the 50s through to the 90s. Maya’s poetry is seen as a strength for women and their rights to happiness and justice, a breath of fresh air for women around the world. Maya Angelou, successfully nudges the conscience of society through her expressive poem, ‘Phenomenal Woman’, highlighting the importance and value of women accepting their inner and outer beauty, despite the typical societal beauty definition that attempts to define
This tone can be seen at the start of each stanza with, ‘I say’. This is a cue that Maya is openly speaking her mind on how phenomenal women are those who be themselves and stick to their own image. The repetition of, ‘I say’, is followed by her point of view on her own physique and why she believes that she is beautiful in her own unique way. This confidence tone is directly said by Maya towards the end of the poem, ‘Now you understand why my head’s not bowed, I don’t shout or jump about or have to talk real loud when you see me passing it ought to make you proud’. Through this line Angelou conveys that she doesn’t let criticism define who she is because she doesn’t need anyone else’s opinions to gain attention, it is her confidence and expression of womanliness in herself, that attracts the attention.
Conclusion
In summary, society is always making women feel like they will never be good enough or pretty enough or smart enough to be successful in life. Therefore, through Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘Phenomenal Woman’, she nudges society’s conscious through describing the allure women have and the attributes they possess, that deem her and other women irresistible, despite having no relation to the societal definition of beauty. Maya makes women of any shape, size or race, feel confident and fearless in being a phenomenal woman inside and out, by just being themselves.
Thank you for joining us

Open Document