(http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.ZS?end=2015&start=1960)
And yet a group that makes up more than half of everyone we are surrounded by is being oppressed.
In 1848, the first women's rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. There, an agenda and list of grievances was set forth for women's rights. 12 resolutions were established calling for equal rights for men and women. (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html)
Even though this was 168 years ago, women have been oppressed since that day and are still oppressed today.
Let's look at some of the ways women have been oppressed in the past and what they had to go through to get out of/improve that oppression.(http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html)
VOTING:
-The convention at Seneca Falls called for equal voting right for women in 1848.
-In May of 1869, The National Woman Suffrage Association was formed.
-Susan B. Anthong, Elizabet Cady Stanton and others focus on gaining voting right for women through amendments to individual state constitutions.
-In December of 1869, Wyoming become the first territory to pass a women's suffrage law.
-National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) stages campaigns in each state to obtain women's suffrage rights.
-CO adpoted an amdendement granting women the right to vote in 1893.
-1913 - the Congressional Union (later the National Women's Party) is formed to try to pass a federal amendment giving women the right to vote.
-1919 - Federal Woman Suffrage Amendment is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate.
-19TH AMENDEMENT SIGNED INTO LAW IN 1920.
-ABORTION/BIRTH CONTROL
-First US birth control clinic is opened in 1916 in NY by Margaret Sanger. She is arrested and it is shut down.
-1921 Sanger founds American Birth Control League (Later the Planned Parenthood Federation of America)
-Sanger wins her case through the courts and opens another clinic in 1923.
-1936 - contraception information is no longer classified as obscene.
-1960, FDA approves birth control pills
-1965, Supreme Court strikes down state law prohibiting contraceptives by married couples.
-1972, unmarried people have a right to use contraceptives - ruling by Supreme Court
-Roe v Wade rules abortions are safe and legal in 1973, overturning many state laws saying otherwise.
-1986, Supreme Court reaffirms a woman's right to an abortion.
-Supreme Court bans "partial birth" abortion procedure.
-POLITICS
-After WY passed the first women's suffrage law in 1869, women started serving on juries in that territory.
-EMILY'S List established to support women (especially Democratic pro-choice women) running for Congress. Substantially increases the number of Women in Congress.
-Sandra Day O'Connor is appointed as the first female Supreme court Justice.
-In 2016, many articles, including this one are published claiming a woman is unfit to be president.
-WAGES/WORKING CONDITIONS
-1903 - The formation of the National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) is established to improve wages and working conditions for women.
-Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workplace.
-Eleanor Roosevelt chairs the President's Commission on the Status of Women which reported substantial discrimination against women in the workplace. They strive to improve hiring practices, maternity leave, and affordable child care.
-Equal Pay Act is passed in 1963 making it illegal to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for doing the same job.
-1964, passage of Title VII of Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in employment based on race or sex.
-NOW (National Organization for Women) is founded seeking to end sexual discrimination in the workplace.
-1968, sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal. (This ruling is upheld in Supreme Court)
-Jobs that are substantially equal but not identical fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act according to a court case in 1970.
-1974, An employer can't pay a woman less simply because men would not work at that low rate.
-1978, Pregnancy Discrimination ACT bans employment discrimination against pregnant women.
-1984, Sexual Harassment in a form of illegal job discrimination according to the Supreme Court.
-A woman can sue for damages for sex discrimination according to the Supreme Court in 1999.
-2009 Obama signed Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against employer.
-FAMILY/PERSONAL LIFE
-"No fault" divorce law passed in CA in 1969. This allows couples to divorce by mutual consent.
-1969, laws passed regarding equal division of property in divorce
-1976, First marital rape law passed in NE making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife.
-Violence Against Women Act increases penalties for sex offenders and serves victims of rape and domestic violence.
-RACE
-National Association of Colored Women formed combining more than 100 black women's clubs.
1935 - National Council of Negro Women formed to lobby against job discrimination, racism, and sexism.
-SEXUAL ORIENTATION
1955 - First lesbian organization in the US is formed - The Daughter of Bilitis. Later becomes a political organization to win acceptance for lesbians.
-EDUCATION
-1967 - Affirmative action policy expanded to cover discrimination based on gender to ensure women enjoy the same education opportunities as males.
-Title IX bans sex discrimination in schools in 1972.
-Supreme Court rules that all-male school must admit women in order to receive public funding in 1996.
-Supreme Court rules that Title IX includes the fact that you can't punish someone for complaining about sex-based discrimination.
Okay, we get it. Women have been discriminated against in all of these instances and ARE STILL FACING OPPRESSION IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE WAYS TODAY.
Like, come on people, it's 2016, can't we get with the program?
So let's look at some general questions behind this oppression.
What are the critical misunderstandings that contribute to the oppression of women?
In general, The misunderstandings come simply from the idea that women are weaker than men, physically, intellectually, and basically in every other way. It comes from the idea that they are made differently (I'll give you that) but those differences in no way impact a woman's ability to think, do a job, or even run a country.
How has the group traditionally been treated in the U.S.?
I would begin answering this question by stating that as a woman living in the U.S., life is pretty good. Obviously it's not nearly as bad as in some other countries, so do we have that much to complain about? YES. Literally you can read through every single one of the above organizations and supreme court rulings and find that the same issue has NEVER arise for males. So yes, in a country that claims to have so much equality and freedom, we can do better. As a group, women have NOT been treated EQUALLY.
How is the group portrayed in the media?
In current media, women are portrayed for their blonde hair and big boobs. Forget the fact that Amal Clooney is an amazing lawyer, activist, and author specializing in international law and human rights. Here's a screen shot of what comes up when I google "Amal Clooney"
"Shoulder-Baring Polka Dots"
"Best Looks"
"Style"
"Michael Kors Floral Dress"
"Pants Style"
"Glamorous"
Exhibit A:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFAXipLomts
Apparently all we care about is their looks.
Another prime example of women in the media was so blatantly seen when Bruce Jenner transitioned to Caitlyn. Of course he/she is still the same person, but look at the news coverage the following day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kgQADIHVSA
"You see, Caitlyn, when you were a man, we could talk about your athleticism, your business acumen, but now you're a woman and your looks are really the only thing we care about."
"Okay, I have to ask the most important question, does she have a better body than Kim Kardashian?"
"Caitlyn Jenner, congratulations, welcome to being a woman in America."
What are some of the negative consequence of the oppression of the group?
I think Bill Gates explained this best.
https://www.pinterest.com/wicsandiego/inspiration/
I can't say how true this story/quote is, but it gets my point across anyway. Women have SO much to offer, but if they're prevented from getting an education or working as a CEO or anything like that, society is punishing themselves. Who knows what amazing developments we may have if it didn't take until about 50 years ago to make discriminating against women in the workplace illegal. (Note: I'm not saying discrimination has stopped, just that it's now illegal.)
What are some of the positive coping and resiliency strategies utilized by the group?
Well in the words of Kimmy Schmidt:
https://www.redbubble.com/shop/females+are+strong+as+hell+postersWomen throughout history have banded together and fought for what they knew was right. Through various organizations and small but very important steps, their consistent and dedicated striving have got them to where they are today.
What can educators do to support anti-oppression efforts for the group?
As a woman currently studying math in college, I believe the role of a teacher in a young girl's choice of study is very important. Just as with any group, we can provide positive role models of women in STEM fields (or all fields really) to send the message that these young women truly can be anything they want. We can allow them to do a project on an important female political figure instead of a US president. They can research women's current contribution to math instead of presenting on a dead, white, male mathematician. There are so many empowering females to start with, no young woman should have the idea that women aren't strong as hell.
Ending Words:
First off, this is ridiculous. I'm so bothered that this is even still an issue. That oppression of any kind is still an issue. How can we expect to be a world power when we're literally oppressing every single group you can think of except white males. It took until 2016 until a woman was a presidential nominee and yet third world countries in Asia and South America have had female leaders for years. We really should get on that page.
So, even though I was able to research for days all of the steps women have made throughout history to make discrimination of them in various forms illegal, that does NOT mean it's nonexistent. The wage gap is an active debate in the politics of the economy as is planned parenthood.
After looking at some of the social media sites, here are a couple snippets of information I've found:
http://salon.tumblr.com/post/125181179753/women-make-up-nearly-50-percent-of-americas
http://good.tumblr.com/post/142258922090/the-gender-decoder-will-tell-you-if-a-job
We're not there. We're not even close.
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