History of Feminism

Living in a time where “Women were the property of men (Proto-feminism article)” would have been horrible. Mary Wollstonecraft, the mother of the feminist movement, was born into the world where women was not allowed to be educated, own property, or have a job without damaging her reputation. Though she was restricted she self-educated herself and fought for equal education rights for women. In my opinion she was very brave to do this when men earned everything.

If I was living during her time period I would have probably been too scared to stand up for women’s rights. I am not ashamed to admit that I would have not fallen in line with Mary. If I was born at that time I would have been uneducated and not have known better. However, since I was born after the second wave of feminism I do expect equal rights and can appreciate what the women in the past have accomplished. Women’s rights have come a long way. It may have taken 72 years but women can now vote (The First and Second Waves of Feminism in the United States by Amy Kesseiman pg. 558.) I am also impressed with how far women study programs have come. By 1989 over 500 colleges in the United States had women study programs (Women Images and Realities pg. 9.) 

While reading the article Men and Women’s Studies: Premises, Perils, and Promises by Michael Kimmel I was blown away with his point of view. This made me stop and think about how men reacted positively to equality for women. Men Acting for Change (MAC) is a male pro-feminist group. He had a good point when he asked what the men were doing when the women was fighting for equality.  Against the Tide is a book that holds some history of how men reacted positively to the Feminist Movement.

            Though the United States has made substantial progress concerning women’s rights there are other women who have to suffer the same inequality as women in Wollstonecraft’s time period. Saudi Arabia is the only country that banes women from competitive sports including the Olympics. In the article I found it states that girls are banned from participating in any sport if they attend a state school. Other issues concerning women rights in Saudi Arabia include having their body fully covered while exercising, not being able to drive, and having to have a male accompany them anywhere they go.
http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/05/18/saudi-ban-on-womens-sports-blamed-for-rising-obesity/

Introduction

             Hello! My name is Susan Webb. I am double majoring in Criminal Justice and Police Studies. I will be graduating in December. This both excites and terrifies me. I love cats and reading. I absolutely hate fish wither they are pets or served for dinner.

            The reason I am enrolled in this class is to fulfill my last general education requirement. In all honesty I’m not sure what I expected of this class. Before reading the course overview it started as a class I had to take. After reading the course overview my interest in this class increased.  I agree with the fact that women are severely under-represented in other courses (found in course overview reading first page.)

            I am very interested in watching one of the documentaries on the list given. I decided to watch a documentary about sex trade. I think this will fit me perfectly because the topic not only fits my major but also contains my interest. Not only does the documentary topic fit into my major but so does this class. I hope this class gives me prospect on criminal justice issues concerning women.