Equality between Genders

During mid-19^th century, women were not seen equal to men and were treated differently. To begin our Women’s Reform unit we analyzed a photo of a snapshot of a woman and her children in a typical day. A woman’s job during this time was to stay home and manage the house so it was a quiet environment, while their husbands were working. They were supposed to be in charge of the children’s education, the making the children’s clothing, keeping the children entertained, fixing broken things, cooking and cleaning, and they were supposed to do all of these things without any acknowledgement. Many of the tasks I mention are shown in this illustration, Sphere of Women.

Next, we read chapter 6: The Intimately Oppressed from HowardZinn’s “A People’s History of the United States”.  We read through it in groups and chose 5 excerpts we thought were intriguing. After, we did an activity called Laws and Practices. We read through The Rights of Women: Laws and Practice. We analyzed this and highlighted the legal limits women had and the limits people practiced but which were not part of the law. I really enjoyed reading this document because I find it interesting that many things that women did were not legal limits but were things that were just practiced. Additionally, we learned about the abolitionist movement. Then, we learned about the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. It was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and it was written because women wanted the right to vote. The first half is the grievances and the second half covered the demands that they wanted. This lead to learning about the SenecaFalls Convention which was the first time the right for women to vote was publically demanded by a political group. Finally, we read one of the newspaper article reactions to the Seneca Falls Convention from the Library of Congress. My group read the Mechanics Advocate, Female Department. The very last activity we did was share what the reactions were from the articles each group read.

The essential questions for the Women’s Reform Movement was; How did mid-19^th century American society react to women’s demands for equality and Does 21^st century society still react differently to men and women? The reactions from the American Society depended. For example, from the article my group read, Mechanics AdvocateFemale Department, the reaction was that women should not fight for their rights. The article mentioned, “Every true-hearted female will instantly feel that it is unwomanly.” Another article that had a negative reaction was the OneidaWing. The article mentions, “If our ladies will insist on voting and legislating, where, gentlemen, will be our dinners and our elbows?” Although many reactions were negative, there was some positive reaction. For example, the NationalReformer had a positive reaction. The reaction from the society really depended on the situation. I think that the 21^st century society still reacts differently to men and women. In class, we watched a Pantene Commercial that showed how men and women in the same position are given labels based on their gender. For example, a woman in high power could be seen as bossy, but a man in the same power would be seen as a boss. It is really surprising that women are still not fully treated equally to men.