Class 9_8

When reading the "Declaration of Sentiments" from the Seneca Falls Convention, I found myself agreeing with many of the claims made by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. I think they made very solid convictions of how women were being treated, and to an extent, how women are still treated today. The fact that women were subjected to laws in which they could not voice their opinions on, and were treated as slaves in their marriages still resonates with me in today's society. While women are allowed to vote, there has yet to be a single woman President or Vice President, and in many families across America, women have a very inferior role to their husbands. I admire the "Declaration of Sentiments" that these two women wrote, and their courage to speak out against men.

The Dubois article, “Feminism New Wave and Old Wave”, reminded me of Ellen Neuborne’s piece, “Imagine My Surprise”. When Dubois spoke about how Lucretia Mott was not allowed to represent the United States as a delegate at the World Anti-Slavery Convention, I was reminded of how Neuborne spoke about being pulled off of the reporting job down south. As Dubois says, women have always done the “shitwork”, and the men have received all the credit. In Neuborne’s piece, she was responsible for the story right up until it was time to do the story, in which a male was assigned to it. I am strongly against this type of prejudice and I feel that women can represent themselves and present work that is just as good, if not better, than a man’s work.

Dubois’ article also discussed the two waves of feminism that have occurred in our country. There is no doubt about the first wave, when women fought for the rights of men. However, the second wave of feminism is still occurring. While Dubois remains optimistic that two waves might be enough to “free us”, I believe that it might take more than that. I feel that today’s wave of feminism is much weaker than the first, and women have grown comfortable with their role in society. I don’t feel strongly that there are many women out there like Elizabeth Cady Stanton who are willing to fight for more equality. I hope that women will continue to slowly work their way farther into society, so we can see equality in the sexes, especially in the workforce. It would be nice to not have a “male dominated industry” or a “female dominated industry” in the future.

I think Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott would agree with Ellen Neuborne in the sense that women are highly programmed in today’s society, and we need to break free of that in order to strive for equality. I especially agree with one line in Neuborne’s article, “It is a dangerous thing to assume that just because we were raised in a feminist era, we are safe. We are not. They are still after us.” (pg. 184). I think that many women do assume that we are safe because of the long fight that occurred before us. I think we overlook the injustices because on the surface, we are an “equal” society. I think we need to check ourselves, and learn to recognize programming so that we can finally overcome it.