Crossing the boundaries of race, class, region and religion, the history of American women seeks to illuminate the multifaceted, public and private lives of women who may otherwise go misunderstood or completely unrecognized. In the course of this study, the following four themes have been found to characterize the shared experiences of generations of women: the construction of gender and gender spheres, housewives v. working women, mixed signals, and the legitimization of feminism. Placed within the context of our own patriarchal society the acknowledgment of the proceeding themes and subsequent scenarios, failures and accomplishments will help contemporary persons understand where we have been, where we are now, and where we could go.
Where We Have Been
Gender has become so pervasive that many assume it is genetically dictated. In truth, gender and gender spheres are continuously being created and re-created through human interaction and experience. By controlling the institutions of knowledge and dissemination, those who possess status and power are the ones most able to dictate and manage ideals. Additional scrutiny of American history, will add validity to Barbara J. Berg’s assessment, “Patriarchy has always been America’s default setting….” Naturally, the confirmation of this theme begins with the colonists.
Steadfast in their defense of the English, ideological cloth, men and women living during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries recognized women to be vital proponents of survival and prosperity. Nevertheless, the church and state propagated the belief that women were predestined by God to occupy a secondary status. Thus, the virtues most praised and exhibited by females—compliance, modesty, affection, delicacy, grac...
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...dual forms of beauty and intelligence.
In conclusion, there are several other realistic actions I personally can take to help make the lives of women better. These actions include: not holding my fellow women and men to unfair standards; supporting my female friends, boyfriend and guy friends in their positive endeavors; educating peers about the true media agenda; and finally raising my own future children to believe in and support the feminist movement.
Works Cited
Miss Representation. DVD. Directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Kimberlee Acquaro. Los Angeles, California: OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, 2011.
The Representation Project. “Infographics.” The Representation Project. http://therepresentationproject.org/infographics (accessed December 10, 2013).
Woloch, Nancy. Women and the American Experience: a Concise History. 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
To begin with, there are many events in United States history that have shaped our general understanding of women’s involvement in economics, politics, the debates of gender and sexuality, and so forth. Women for many centuries have not been seen as a significant part of history, however under thorough analyzation of certain events, there are many women and woman-based events responsible for the progressiveness we experience in our daily lives as men, women, children, and individuals altogether. Many of these events aid people today to reflect on the treatment of current individuals today and to raise awareness to significant issues that were not resolved or acknowledged in the past.
Salisbury, Joyce E. and Andrew E Kersten. “Women in the United States, 1960–1990.” Daily Life through History.ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.
For over centuries, society had established the societal standard of the women. This societal standard pictured the ideal American woman running the household and taking care of the children while her husband provided for the family. However, between 1770 and 1860, this societal standard began to tear at the seams. Throughout this time period, women began to search for a new ideal of American womanhood by questioning and breaking the barriers society had placed upon them.
To understand the significant changes within the role of women, it’s important to look at the position women held in society prior to World War II. In a famously quoted ruling by the United States Supreme Court in a case denying a woman’s right to practice law, the following excerpt penned by the Honorable Joseph P. Bradley in 1873 sums up how women were perceived during that period of time by their male counterparts. Bradley declared, "The paramount destiny and mission of women are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother -- this is the law of the Creator" . While many women may agree that the role of wife and mother is a noble one, most would certainly not agree this position would define their destiny.
Hartmann, Susan M. The Home Front and Beyond: American women in the 1940s. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1982
DuPont, Kathryn. The encyclopedia of women's history in America. New York: Facts on File, 1996. Print.
There is so much controversy in the society that we live in, it has resulted in an absolute mess. Certain topics as in gender or men and women’s bodies, is so controversial to the point that it has caused a misrepresentation of both men and women. Both Jean Kilbourne and Allan G. Johnson form their own opinions in their articles “Two Ways A Woman Can Get Hurt” and “Why Do We Make So Much of Gender” that comment on society as a whole, while expanding on the concept of why gender is so important for a fully functioning society. Although, both Kilbourne and Johnson have differentiating opinions to gender, they both come to the conclusion that gender is a key factor to explain our society and the social change in it. We live in a society where
Schneider, Dorothy. American Women in the Progressive Era 1900-1920. New York: Facts on File, 1993.
Rosenberg, Rosalind. Divided Lives: American Women in the Twentieth Century. New York. Hill and Wang, 1992.
Moran, Mickey. “1930s, America- Feminist Void?” Loyno. Department of History, 1988. Web. 11 May. 2014.
Throughout American history women have been considered the inferior sex, and have endured the discrimination brought upon them by men. In the time period of 1780 to 1835 the United States underwent extensive societal and economical changes that resulted in a shift in the role of women, leading to the “cult of true womanhood.” Although the new “cult” restricted women to the virtues of piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity it also led to a rise in the influence of women on the developments of society. In “Bonds of Womanhood,” Nancy Cott focuses on the time period of 1780 to 1835 to effectively illustrates how the changes leading up to the “cult of true womanhood” restrained women together through the creation of a separate “women’s sphere,” while also restricting women to the ideologies that became prominent with “true womanhood.” Although I agree with Nancy Cott’s argument, it would have been more effective if she had included politics as one of the main aspects of her argument.
American women enjoy more rights and freedom than any other women in the world. They have played an active role in shaping their history and ensure that suffering and discrimination of women does not take place in the current society. It is this freedom and equality enjoyed by women in America that serves as a perfect definition of the contemporary American culture. While this might be the case for the current society, women in the 1800's and the 1900's had to endure much suffering and tribulations in the American society due to their gender roles assigned to them by the society. They have played an active role in the history of America to ensure that they enjoy freedom, independence and the liberty to do what they want without having to undergo
In Sarah Stickney Ellis’s 1839 book, The Woman of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits, she explains that the ways women act can be directly tied to the unwritten rules that have been set by society: “The long-established customs of their country have placed in their hands the high and holy duty of cherishing and protecting the minor morals of life, from whence springs all that is elevated in purpose, and glorious in action” (Ellis 1611). The author conveys that society controls and clearly defines what type of attitude and activities are to be expected of a
Judith Butler describes the political reasons behind many feminists’ insistence on defining ‘woman. ' The political system we have had in the West needs representation of women to spread visibility and legitimize women’s issues in politics (I, 2). To achieve this representation, feminists had to create a language that defines ‘woman. ' Conversely, as Butler discusses, trying to define ‘woman’ poses problems of misrepresentation (I, 2). Some feminists’ assert that they are defining women merely as a political strategy; however, Butler says, even for strategic reasons, there are consequences to defining ‘woman’ (I, 6). Western feminists relied on universalizing not just the word ‘woman, ' but the patriarchy as well; women in countries where they suffer many oppressions gave Western feminists a legitimacy in politics to act urgently against misogyny (I, 5). Butler states that representation should not be the only method to political action; “identity of the feminist subject ought not to be the foundation of feminist politics” (I, 8). She calls feminists to break away from identity politics; to break free from attempting to define ‘woman’ (1, 7).
History of Women in the United States. 9 November 2005. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Online. 15 November 2005 .