Venegas english 227
Karina Venegas
Texas A&M University
Woman's suffrage has been around since before women writers muttered their first words through their pieces of literature. They used writing as a liberation from the role as wife and mother who could not express themselves freely because of the era they lived in. The very first signs of women really fighting to break the mold and become equal were seen in the 19th century when writers like Anne Bradstreet, Alice Duer Miller, and Sarah Orne Jewett wrote pieces which were both moving and revolutionary but were in disguise because of the knowledge that the pieces would be ignored if they came from a woman. It has since developed from these 19th century writers wanting to exhibit their work equally to the 20th century women and their ambitions to gain the right to vote. Women like Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt were influenced by the ambitious 19th century women and fought through women suffrage to eventually accomplish the goal of gaining women voting power. Early women writers also helped pave the way for 21st century women who have developed from normal working women, to joining forces with feminists to present the issue of inequality within the workplace ranging from difference in wages, positions of power, and even harassment.
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Though women writers have been around for centuries now, hundreds of pieces of literature are yet to be credited and studied. Sharon M Harris describes the lack of completion in the subject of woman's studies. Those who study Nineteenth century women writers realize the short amount of progress they've had though there have been many years to explore and comprehend this area. Harris mentions how vast this problem is throughout the country, stating there are so many unheard of pieces and writers in different parts of the country, showing even further how shortly lived this area of study really is and how much more they have to discover to actually have any sort of completion.
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"A New Era in Female History": Nineteenth-Century U.S. Women Writers
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Are Women People?: Alice Duer Miller`s Poetry and Politics
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  Alice Duer Miller was one of the most influential and ground breaking women writers from the 19th century. She was a polymath and a very accomplished woman, having mastered many areas of study including poetry, novels and plays. Miller first appeared on the map around 1915 when one of her novels Come out of the Kitchen became very popular and really put her out there, later writing more than 30 novels that had a lot of success. She was also an active feminist, fighting for woman's rights and trying to get other young women writers out there to exhibit their work and to fight for equality. She was a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and was very hardworking and active in her position. "Are Women People?" was a revolutionary piece of poetry that helped women become a subject of discussion regarding woman's right to vote. It's irony made people think, especially those who where causing the suppressing. Miller's contributions to anti suffrage were beyond influential and she was a very significant part of the fight for equality. |
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Alice Paul was a very
successful feminist, suffragist, and political activist who had a vast number
of achievements under her belt. She spoke for women all over in the 20th century
and helped pave the way for many others who wanted to be part of the movement
toward a more appreciative view of a woman's role in the household and in life.
She helped organize the largest parade of suffragists and feminists ever seen,
with about a half a million showing up. Paul could not have been more active,
successful, and hardworking than she was during her lifetime. She accomplished
more for women than could have been imagined, and influenced many of today's
feminist groups that work daily to find the equality they still feel is missing
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Alice Paul
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America`s Twelve Great Women Leaders during the Past Hundred Years as Chosen by the Women of America; a Compilation from the Ladies` Home Journal and the Christian Science Monitor
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Perhaps was a piece that sent out its message through different methods, including repetitions and parallelism. Each sentence began with "Perhaps if you" and ended with "you would be ready to join the Woman Suffrage Association" showing how important the WSA was to its members. Perhaps was written by writer, activist, reformer, and teacher Carrie Chapman Catt. Her hard work was noticed by other famous suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony, who befriended her and helped her get the position of President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, succeeding Anthony herself. Catt stood out as a leader in the suffrage movement and went on to be the founder of the League of Women Voters. Without her, many of the actions during the movement could not have been, and it would have been harder to get to their goal of having a suffrage amendment passed.
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Perhaps by Carrie Chapman Catt
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21st century women's literature
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Though women are now basically allowed to write about anything they please, there are many women out there in the 21st century who are still feminists and who still believe there is a fight to take part in. Authors like Linda Hirshman who wrote the book in the picture, believe the role of women in the home and in politics is a very complex idea that has yet to be completely defined. Hirshman is also a lawyer and feminist, and her beliefs lie within the idea that there are too many women dropping out of the U.S. Labor Market where they have high paying successful jobs, to stay at home with their children. She criticizes women for doing so and also thinks men should take a larger role in raising their own children and helping out around the house. Her novel Hard Bargains: The Politics of Sex states these issues and many others that she believes are pushing women back instead of forward.
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A more recent issue that surrounds women's progress in equalizing their roles in society is workplace harassment. Though this condition can go both for women and men, women are the primary targets, and they are also the first ones to have spoken up. Harassment of employees in the workplace has been around longer than recognized, but it is women who have finally spoken up and done something about it. Harassment is still a large problem, but women everywhere have been fighting to get rid of this problem, and to be able to work without worrying about being abused in any way. Workplace Harassment policies have been enacted throughout the country preventing this problem from getting any further and women who have been abused have become stronger and have spoken up to get those who harass them prosecuted. The picture to the right is a guide written for other people, mainly women who have been victims of this crime and who need help.
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Sexual Harassment guide
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In conclusion, we have seen how much progress women have had in the life long battle against inequality. Issues like patriarchy have been the hardest to get over, but women still believe they can reach complete and successful equilibrium. Though many thought women would never even be able to publish literature, women have proved them wrong and have gone beyond that accomplishment. Through time suffrage has developed, from activists who just wanted to be heard, to those who wanted the right to vote and be part of the democratic government our country was so proud of. Now women are stronger than ever, but no matter how much those Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, Miller and Anthony have already accomplished for women, they all believe there is still a lot to be accomplished and the hard work will continue to flourish.
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