The Oppression Of Women's Role In Society

Words: 1495
Pages: 6
Open Document
Through establishments in American history, citizens of all races and genders emphasized their rights for equality and political power within society. White males were most often viewed as superior citizens, granting them legal and political equality, while excluding women from achieving full citizenship rights. The oppression of women’s basic rights, such as property, voting, marriage, roles in local government, and education, living in a largely patriarchal society, greatly influenced acts of organized American movements for women’s rights. The attempts for gender equality spurred from women’s desire to achieve the same upward mobility within society at the same rate as men. Women’s emancipation was a war willing to be fought by women striving …show more content…
People often “linked such personal independence to individual ownership of property” and women, married or single, struggled with attaining property ownership rights. Legally, women who were married had little access to property and “those without property could not be independent, therefore they could not be autonomous, virtuous citizens” , emphasizing the struggle for women to exert any independence. By definition of marriage, “the husband and wife are one person in law: that is, the very being or existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage” . The issue with this concept is that it offers little room for improvement because not only do men succumb to this ideal, but also it can be inferred that society has accepted that women lose any hope for independence once married. The Declaration of Sentiments states that “after depriving her of all rights as a married woman, if single and the owner of property, he has taxed her to support a government which recognizes her only when her property can be made profitable to it” . Essentially, married women are suppressed of their rights and single women are only considered relevant in society when she has money to show, and eventually will be depleted by taxes. In the case of divorce between a husband …show more content…
Male dominance is present in all areas of society and many women’s rights activists brought this to attention. Women desired the ability to grow within their society and exhibit the same civil rights that men exhibit. A comparison between white males full legal and political equality, and rights of women during this time spurred the occurrence of women’s rights movements to eliminate oppression of women’s civil rights. The Declaration of Sentiments was derived in these efforts of emancipation and emphasized the main points of the Declaration of Independence, based on that all men and women were created equal. This document was the beginning of the movement for achieving social, political and civil rights for women in society. When the Declaration of Independence was introduced at the Seneca Falls Convention, after much deliberation and some minor alterations, it was adopted by majority
Show More

Related Documents: The Oppression Of Women's Role In Society

The Feminist Activism

important parts of the feminist movement and have helped bring out changes to our society in how woman are viewed, their rights, and how gender issues are understood. The first wave mainly focused on women’s right to vote, own property and obtain an education in the public sphere. The second wave focused on how opportunities woman suffered in the public realm to the roles they in the private sphere. These included issues on women’s sexuality, reproduction, domestic labour and domestic violence. Both waves…

Words 811 - Pages 4

Types Of Feminism

Feminism sees society as male dominated and it seeks to describe, explain and change the position of women in society. It is therefore both a theory of women’s subordination and a political movement. There 3 main types of feminism: liberal, Radical and Marxist. The roots of feminism can be related back to the late 18th century Enlightenment. Feminists argued that since both sexes had the same power of reason, these principles should apply to women as much as to men and that women’s emancipation must…

Words 1929 - Pages 8

Analysis Of Sojourner Truth's Speech 'Ain T I A Woman?'

inspiring speech. However, despite her illiteracy, in Sojourner Truth’s speech, Ain’t I a Woman?, Truth delivers an awe-inspiring speech on human rights. In her original 1851 version, she talks about injustice and the lack of rights women face in society. She begins her speech by getting right on message. She begins by saying, “I am a woman’s rights”. This statement implies that she is a feminist and is fighting for equality of the sexes. Following her position statement, she begins to elaborate on…

Words 615 - Pages 3

Function of family finished Essay

the Family The Functionalists Perspective on The Family: Functionalist believes that society is based on a value of consensus – norms and values. Allows society to co-operate well. Functionalists regard society as a system made up of different parts or sub-systems that depend on each other. E.g. family, education and economy Murdock (1949) argues family performs four essential functions to meet the needs of society and its members: Stable Satisfaction of The Sex Drive – the same partner preventing…

Words 1519 - Pages 7

The Women's Role In The Civil Rights Movement

played varying roles in society throughout human history. However, most civilizations and cultures valued their women as homemakers, domestic organizers, and mothers, with men filling most public roles. The United States of America, for all its pretensions of social equality and liberty, was no different for over a century and a half. However, the 20th century, specifically from the 1940s to the 1970s, brought about a significant shift in the way women functioned in American society. This progressive…

Words 917 - Pages 4

Women's Oppression In History

Battle of Oppression Women were abused and enslaved for many years with no rights to themselves or property. Stuck under the control of men and victim of the traditional roles passed on through the generations, these women felt trapped in routines and it needed to end. Women wanted to own their own things, be a part of the work force, and wanted the right to vote. From the help of a few great women that had the courage to speak up, the women’s oppression movement became a great deal in history. The…

Words 780 - Pages 4

Prompt One Intersectionality Analysis

help explain how the different facets of personality come together to form one identity. Privilege and oppression are two terms which are inextricably intertwined when viewed under a WGS lens. Privilege can be described as something granted to one group and withheld from another group, with this second group being identified as the oppressed. Many essays within section one of Introduction to Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, co-written by Ayu Saraswati, Barbara Shaw, and Heather Rellihan, help to…

Words 2296 - Pages 10

dbq 5 Essay

Therefore, the Second Great Awakening and the Antebellum Market Revolution played huge roles in affecting women’s role in the society. In the nineteenth century, some people began to speak out for social changes in America. Women began to speak out for more equal treatment, leaders like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott helped obtain this cause. Elizabeth and Lucretia spearheaded the first women’s right convention in America history. This convention was called The Seneca Falls Convention…

Words 512 - Pages 3

The Importance Of Women's Views On Women

on children; they should be seen but not heard. This absurd idea has been the reasoning behind many laws, and social policy that have institutionally oppressed women in one form or another. Whether it is political oppression, when women were not allowed to vote, or economic oppression, the wage gap between men and women, they are continuous ways in which women are being systematically put down. These thoughts have affected women in many aspects of their lives including religion, family, social policies…

Words 914 - Pages 4

Research Paper

A Woman Breaking Free From Oppression “Men have called me mad, but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence whether much that is glorious whether all that is profound does not spring from disease of thought from mood of mind exalted at expense of the general intellect,”(Edgar Allan Poe; Complete Tales and Poems). Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the author of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” was a feminist and social critic during the 1800-1900’s, and was also a successful…

Words 1060 - Pages 5