Women's Rights

As women struggle to identify the origins of their oppression in the society, they have realized that patriarchy has remained a significant obstacle in achieving equality in the society.

The struggle of women against discrimination goes back to the 18^th century when they started demanding for their voting rights (Flexner and Fitzpatrick 201). This paper discusses women’s rights.

Women’s suffrage emerged as a reform movement that was meant to allow women to exercise their voting rights and to contend for public offices. The movement is believed to have originated in France towards the end of the 18^th century, and it later spread to other territories such as Britain and the USA. This movement enabled women to gain consciousness about their rights to participate in political issues.

Women expressed their demands for voting rights through political campaigns. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was among the key women who struggled to achieve women’s rights.  Another personality that was instrumental in this process was Susan B. Anthony. In 1886, Susan advised women workers to have membership in various trade Unions. During the colonial America, Lydia Chapin Taft managed to be the first woman to vote in 1756. After the American Civil War, women increasingly demanded for their voting prerogatives. “In 1902, American and European suffragists formed the International Woman Suffrage Association” (DuBois and Dumenil 345).

In the 1920s, women in America extended their demands for equality in their places of work where they demanded for better terms of service. Women also encountered racial prejudice and sexual discrimination (Parks 66).

Issues that focused on women’s sexuality were expressed through several mechanisms. For instance, a film star known as Clara Bow expressed women’s sexuality through her fascinating movie presentations. Hence, the middle class began to understand the concept of women sexuality. “During the Harlem Renaissance, black artists such as Jessie Fauset, Zora Neale and Nella Larson depicted sexuality as both enslaving and liberating in their works” (DuBois and Dumenil 478).

The 1960s also witnessed profound changes in the manner women were treated in America. From the 1960s, women formed various feminism associations, which advocated for their rights in the society. Although they differed in ideological principles, they all joined hands in the fight against inhuman treatment of women.