Changing Gender Roles

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Change in Gender Roles Today, men and women seemingly have equal rights, but was that true one hundred years ago and if so, what sparked these changes? There is no doubt that the roles of men and women have changed throughout history, more so women than men. Women throughout history have strived for equal rights, opportunity, and education. Without the determination of these women, the world would be a very different place for women. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century women had few rights, but made efforts to gain their rights. Women couldn’t vote, serve on juries, and couldn’t hold elective office, and they also faced a wide-range of discrimination that marked them as secondary citizens (Evans par.1). Women who were married were governed by their marital status; for example a married woman had no separate legal identity from her husband, had no right over her biological reproduction, she had no right to sue or be sued, and she couldn’t own property or even chose a career of her choice (Evans par.3). Married women were pretty much dominated by their husbands, if their husband wanted to have a baby than they would have a baby. By the early Twentieth Century women began to speak out and strive for a change. This sparked the first few changes of the decade (Evans par. 5). Due to the expansion of women’s education and a wide variety of reform and profession, a massive suffrage movement began (Evans par.5). This movement led to the demand of the most basic rights of citizenship for women (Evans par.5). Women’s suffrage groups fought for equal rights, and in 1920 the 19th amendment was pasted, giving women the right to vote (Evans par.8). This was ultimately a huge achievement for women during this time. After women gained their... ... middle of paper ... ...Deborah. "American History of Women in the 1980s." InfoBarrel History. N.p., 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. Diane, Deborah. "American History of Women in the 1990s." InfoBarrel History. N.p., 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. Dionysiou, Kalli. "Female Stereotyping In the Media." : Women Portrayed in Television 1950s- Present Day. Blogspot, 8 Nov. 2010. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. Davis, Donna. Personal interview. 23 Sept. 2013. Evans, Sara. "Women in American Politics in the Twentieth Century." The Gilder Lehrman. The Gilder Lehrman Institution of American Histroy, n.d. Web. "Introduction" Feminism in Literature Ed. Jessica Bomarito, Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 4. Gale Cengage 2005 eNotes.com 8 Oct, 2013 Pearson, Chris. "Male Stereotypes In Early TV." RSS. Blog.evergreen, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013 Roobixcoob. "A Women's Role in the 1950's." Colorado.edu. N.p., 17 Nov. 2005. Web.

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