Women for a Change

                America has a history of change.  We were founded because citizens of England and other European countries wanted a change from their king; and when they were not granted these changes they lead a revolution.  The largest issues this country has seen in its relatively short lifespan have spawned because of oppression: from the early settlers to racial equality and the emergence of Feminism in the 1960’s.

                After the passing of the 15^th Amendment which banned the discrimination of race voting women across the country rose up and wanted to be heard.  For too long women had been secondary to men and in a land of “free” people it was time to change this.  Alice Echols describes it best as, “Nothing short of radically transforming society was sufficient to deal with what they were discovering: that gender inequality was embedded in everyday life.[1]” Many brave women such as Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Phyllis Lyon led the movement and paved the way for the world we live in today[2].  I won’t say that today’s world provides a completely equal playing field for men and women but we stand much closer to that reality today than we did in the 1960’s and that is because of the hard work and dedication of these women.  We are now in an age where women can serve on the front lines of the battlefield, which to me is an incredible step forward.

 

 

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[1] Alice Echols, "From the Feminine Mystique to "Second Wave" Feminism," Major Problems in American History Since 1945, ed. Robert Griffith and Paula Baker (Boston: Wadsworth, 2007), 299

[2] The City University of New York, "Women's Leadership in American History." Accessed April 1, 2013.