NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Women and Equality Equality of man has been one of the most pursued activities throughout human history. Mankind has made several mistakes during this long quest for a prejudice-free society. However, in order for humans to continue evolving in the making of ourselves as better, we must look back at these mistakes and learn from them. Women's suffrage is an applicable topic when discussing this. If we look back upon the injustices that women faced, then perhaps we can look ahead and spare ourselves from serving injustices like these to anyone again.
Society has always placed a second-class rank upon women. However, this issue is not nearly as severe as it always has been. During the late 19 th century and the early portion of the 20 th century, women were placed in an inferior position to men. Certain restrictions would not allow women to participate fully in societal roles.
Restrictions such as women's right to vote, their right in the workplace, and their right in politics were just a few of examples which shows the inequalities women faced during that time. Society's view on women during the early 1900 's was one of inferiority. Women's role in society was seen as less important than that of a man's. Society felt like women were not capable of making as good of a decision as men were.
Proof of injustices such as women's denial of their right to vote show this to be true. There was not much difference between the viewpoints of those internationally. All around the world, women were not equal to men. It was not anything new either. This perception of women has long existed. Not only was this way of thinking prevalent in places far away, but even in places more closer to home, in America.
The progression of women's liberation was more speedily in America than that of other countries, though. Not only were women placed in second when it came to politics, but as a whole, they had to suffer being inferior. Their position at home was to be the epitome of a housewife, to be "pregnant and barefoot" as it were. Men were considered to be the main breadwinners. In an overlook of the progression of women being given their rights, we can see that it has been a long struggle. The battle for the establishment of women as equal in the eyes of society has been an ongoing one for more than a century now and it continues to be fought.
In looking at specific examples, notice how women's liberation has been a slow progression. In 1890, the National Women's Association and the American Women's Suffrage organization merged to form the National American Women's Suffrage Association, or the NAWSA, becoming the liberation movement's mainstream organization. In 1903, the Women's Trade Unions League was formed helping to bring to the public's attention the concerns of women workers. There was a significant change of events that occurred in favor of the women's movement. In the Muller vs. The State Oregon case held in 1908 at the United States Supreme Court, the Court declared unconstitutional protective legislation for women workers.
By 1910, the number of women attending college rose 150 percent since the turn of the 20 th century. On May 10, 1913, the largest suffrage parade held to date took place in New York City. With an addition of around 500 men, the parade marched down Fifth Avenue in support of the liberation movement. It was not until the First World War that society noticed a huge increase of women in the work force. Traditional jobs of men were now being forced to become jobs of women. In 1917, there were more women working jobs in heavy industry such as mining, chemical manufacturing, and automobile and railway plants.
Finally, in 1917, Jeanette Rankin of Montana became the first ever woman elected to the Unites States Congress. By the time the halfway point of the 20 th century rolled along, 30 percent of all women were active in the paid labor force. By examining the above examples of women being established their rights, we can see that it was only by the force of their collective formed associations that women were winning the battle of equality. Was the women's liberation movement always on the progressive side?
Hardly. Overall, the rights and status of women have improved considerably in the last century; however gender equality has recently been threatened within the last decade. While it is true that blatant sexist laws and practices are slowly being eliminated, social perceptions of women's roles continue to stagnate and even regress back to traditional ideals. It is these social perceptions that challenge the evolution of women as equal on all levels. In today's society, women are placed on a different pedestal. No longer are they in second-place, but they now play an important role in the progression of humanity; however, women are still being faced with trying situations.
There are many factors that contribute to the problems that women still face in their quest for equality. One of the main factors is maternity. Offspring may force upon the woman a distressful life and future. Psychological harm can play a key role here.
Mental and physical health may result from the stresses of child care. In today's age, there are also the distresses associated with unwanted children as well as single-parent mothers. Regardless of the positive changes occurred in the field of gender inequality, society still encourages the inequality of women. For example, the issue of abortion has been a problem since the beginning of this country but was not discussed openly until the recent Roe vs. Wade trial. The reason as to why it was never discussed is that this issue was not socially acceptable.
A culture that does not openly discuss issues that have such a profound effect upon women is a culture that encourages women to be voiceless, and a person who is voiceless is powerless. In relation to the abortion issue, women saw the pendulum of women's liberation swing against the women's right movement. Violent acts against women who sought abortions became common in the 1980 's, and the government was unsympathetic towards the victims. You can parallel the African-American civil rights movement to that of the women's rights movement. African-Americans have long been accustomed to the government being unsympathetic towards them. During this civil rights movement, legal action seemed to take place only when white civil rights activists were killed.
Women are facing similar disregard by the government, and their movement truly is one for civil rights. A national campaign held by the National Organization of Women began on March 2, 1984. Here, the organization demanded that the United States Justice Department investigate anti-abortion terrorism. On August 1, authorities finally agreed to begin monitoring the violence. However, Federal Bureau Investigation director William Webster declared that he saw no evidence of terrorism. Only on January 3, 1985 did the President refer to the series of bombings that had been occurring at anti-abortion rallies as "violent acts." He never referred to them as terrorism, and the persons directly involved with the bombings were let off of their terrorism charges.
It is disturbing to see that the slow gains achieved by the women's movement are so volatile and endangered whenever conservative administrations gain a majority in government. To put this problem into perspective, a woman's right to have an abortion did not come until 1973. Less than three decades later, the President of the United States is pushing to take away that right. It seems obvious that society is still bent upon putting women in their places. There are several feminist approaches that are aimed to eliminate the gender inequalities.
Liberal feminists are the least 'radical' of all feminist perspectives. The main aim of the liberal feminists is the creation of equal opportunities, particularly in education and work. Probably the most positive thing liberal feminism has for itself is the fact that it has contributed to considerable social change, especially in relation to employment opportunities and conditions, and social policy. Liberal feminist themselves have not produced a clearly developed theory of gender, but they generally rely on role theory. One of the main strengths of liberal feminism is that they aim for gradual change in the political, economic and social systems of Western societies which, it is assumed, will in turn transform gender roles. This is considered a strength because it is a reasonable and realistic accomplishment.
Liberal feminism is willing to take the appropriate time it may take to produce gender equality. With this time liberal feminist pursue an aim through the introduction of legislation and by attempting to change attitudes. They encourage and support such measures as anti-discrimination and equal pay legislation in the hope that they will help to end discrimination. Liberal feminists do not seek revolutionary changes in society, but rather reforms that take place within existing social and political structures. If there are any weaknesses to the liberal feminists this may be it. Other feminist may argue that the liberals are not aggressive enough and rely too much on hope.
Radical feminists turn their explanatory focus onto heterosexuality as a social construction. Radical feminists thus often see the social context of heterosexuality, family life, as central to women's oppression in modern societies. If men oppress women, then surely heterosexuality constitutes 'sleeping with the enemy'; the slogan which emerged in the 1070 's-'feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice'-captures the essence of this perspective. The radical feminism perspective is filled with weaknesses.
The largest weakness among the radical feminists comes from the separatist feminist, who argues that women should organize independently of men. This argument usually leads to the view that only lesbians can be true feminists, since only they can be fully independent of men, which in turn downgrades all other feminists. For the radical feminist the subordination of women is seen primarily in terms of relations of dominance between men and women as distinct social groups. Because men as a group are seen as being opposed to women's liberation by definition, many radical feminists reject any cooperation with them in their struggle to achieve the social change they seek. Looking at all men as a 'group' and then deciding to turn against them is a serious weakness for any feminism. This would only suit the lesbian feminist, and would hold no relevance for heterosexual feminist.
Another weakness in the radical feminist perspective is the way they group. Radical feminists use patriarchy as the most important concept for explaining gender inequality. They use this term to provide a detailed explanation of how power operates within sexual relationships. They argue that politics was not just an activity confined to political parties and parliaments, but one, which exist in 'all' relationships. The radical feminists go on to argue that rape and other forms of sexual violence are ever-present possibilities and ways in which 'all' men intimidate 'all' women.
Marxist and socialist feminists regard capitalism rather than patriarchy as being the principal source of women's oppression, and capitalists as the main beneficiaries. Marxist / socialist feminists and radical feminists have many similarities when it comes to what they see as a problem, however, their solutions are not exactly the same. For example, like radicals they see women's unpaid work as housewives and mothers as one of the main ways in which they are exploited. However, although individual men benefit from this arrangement, it is especially capitalists who gain from women's work, since new generations of workers are reproduced at not cost to them.
Marxist feminists also place much greater stress on the exploitation of women in paid employment. The disadvantaged position of women is held to be a consequence of the emergence of private property and subsequently their lack of ownership of the means of production, which in turn deprives them of power. The biggest strength of the Marxist / socialist feminism is their ability and willingness to cooperate with the opposite sex, rather than turn completely against them. For example, although they agree with radical feminists that women as a group are exploited, particularly since the advent of capitalism, they pay more attention to the differences between women belonging to ruling-class and working class families. In this respect women have interests in common with the whole working class, and Marxist and socialist feminists often see greater scope for cooperation between women and working class men than do radical feminists. By looking at the injustices that were placed upon women, we can see that mankind is still prone to making prejudices out of anything.
Not only have we as humans places restrictions upon ones on the basis of gender, but we have also served many others, specifically minorities, the same discomfort as was given to women. How can we learn from these horrid mistakes and then, in turn, apply what we have learned and prevent ourselves from making the same mistakes? We must first learn to look at where society is at in terms of women being treated more fairly. The world definitely benefits from the supplement of women in the work force.
For example, in the medical field, some the best professional doctors, surgeons, specialists, and nurses are women. The have helped to add to the care that patients need in order to continue living. Women in politics also help to show that women provide the needed balance that society needs to continue improving; however, there's yet to be a woman who's held the highest elected position in this country of President. Word count: 2253
Free research essays on topics related to: one of the main, civil rights movement, 20 th century, liberal feminists, radical feminists
Research essay sample on Civil Rights Movement 20 Th Century
