Have Public Schools Forgotten Women’s History Month?
March 13, 2010
by Contributor
|The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and not necessarily those of The New Agenda.
In school, we had just last month celebrated Black History Month. There were speaker announcements, newspaper articles and classroom discussions all commemorating the importance and history behind the month. This week was “language week” where my 
school hung posters, had announcements given in foreign languages and held activities for those learning a foreign language. Next week will be “random acts of kindness week”. One thing is surely being disregarded these weeks and this month of March, Women’s History Month.
After speaking to an administrator of the lacking importance being placed on the should-be celebration, it was clear – nothing is planned for the ever important month. And it isn’t just my school that is writing off this piece in history. Across the country, behind the doors and at the heels of the classrooms, you’ll find chalkboards everywhere barren from talks of Hillary Clinton or Alice Paul or any of the suffrage movements that sprung up in the late 1800′s, early 1900′s.
Barack Obama’s presidency has definitely given an arousal to Black History Month. You would think it would have the same effect with women like Hillary Clinton & Sarah Palin blazing through trails and advancing the historic accomplishments of females for that of Women’s History Month.
I encourage The New Agenda’s readers to call their local school districts and ask: what is being done to celebrate Women’s History Month?
Maybe, women’s history and the learning of equal rights should be made a requirement in the curriculum’s of public schools. Perhaps, schools administration’s think it’s inappropriate to teach women’s history because there are both sexes of students attending school. However, as a male myself and a senior I believe it’s not only important for honoring and celebratory purposes, but to also leave school with a wealth of knowledge about the diversity and historical integrity of our country could really benefit us all.
Dane, great points.
I work at a large high school and can tell you your analysis is right on.
Although we do have an “Alice Paul Room” in our building (I created it), no mention of Women’s History Month thus far (except for one announcement), which I wrote…
I reside in Texas and the State Board of Education is currently debating who and what to include in new Social Studies textbooks. Currently women only represent 2 percent of people mentioned in Social Studies textbooks…2 percent!
I do believe it would be helpful if concerned citizens would contact the Texas State Board of Education as they prepare to vote on this topic. As goes Texas, so goes the rest of the country where textbooks are concerned, because Texas, being such a big buyer of textbooks, dictate what other states receive. These books usually have a lifeline of ten years! I doubt at this point that Hillary, Sarah, or Alice is at the top of their discussion.
Thanks, Dane, for bringing up this important topic.
As a former teacher I can say that what needs to happen is that we need to provide classroom materials, including lesson plans, for all age groups, and we need to get them into the hands of teachers for free or nearly free, and then we need to get a couple of topical questions on every state assessment test. “What gets tested, gets taught.”
Oh, thank you for this article, Dane! You are absolutely correct in your assessment that Women’s History Month is given the cold shoulder by our libraries and schools. And your suggestion for action is simple and something anyone can do. We must ask / demand / pressure / get involved in order for Women’s History to be acknowledged.
I’m sure Black History Month is even more celebrated since the Obama presidency, but the Civil Rights Movement did an excellent job of getting Black History acknowledged and taught. In fact, lesson’s on the civil rights movement are some of the few things I remember from high school history. I’d like to have as a goal that within 10 years few children graduate high school without knowing who Alice Paul is. Kids today graduate high school without knowing one iota about the suffrage movement ( mean beyond the knowledge that Susan B. is on some coin that looks like a quarter).
And I’d love to know from others… how is Women’s History being celebrated in your community this month?
Excellent article, Dane! Thank you for joining this chorus of voices. This issue needs to be raised everywhere, and it helps to have students’ perspectives.
Alison, I think that is an excellent goal. 10 Years to Alice Paul. I love it.
thanks for addressing the ignorance of the public schools. imagine what would happen if all school girls would learn how long it took to gt the vote, what women had to do to get it. it would destroy the common attitude that women’s right to equality is evolving without a fight.
Here are some really good sources I suggested to our local school (without success so far). PBS as well as Scholastic and NPS.gov have great resources.
the scholastic material is for 4/5 th grade the diary from 1917 where a young girl worries and thinks about her mother and aunt picketing the white house.
http://www.scholastic.com/dear.....tm#summary
the next PBS probably more for middle school
Alice Paul on PBS for kids
http://www.google.com/imgres?i.....CBMQ9QEwBQ
Women and the Vote: Alice Paul’s Fight for Suffrage
Throughout the winter of 1917, Alice Paul and her followers in the National Women’s Party picketed the White House. They stood silently at the gates, holding signs that said “Mr. president, how long must women wait for liberty?” The picketers were suffragists. They wanted President Woodrow Wilson to support a Constitutional amendment giving all American women suffrage, or the right to vote.
Picketing At first, the suffragists were politely ignored. But on April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I. The suffragists’ signs became more pointed. They taunted Wilson, accusing him of being a hypocrite. How could he send American men to die in a war for democracy when he denied voting rights to women at home? The suffragists became an embarrassment to President Wilson. It was decided the picketing in front of the White House must stop.
Spectators assaulted the picketers, both verbally and physically. Police did nothing to protect the women. Soon, the police began arresting the suffragists on charges of obstructing traffic. At first, the charges were dropped. Next, the women were sentenced to jail terms of just a few days. But the suffragists kept picketing, and their prison sentences grew. Finally, in an effort to break the spirit of the picketers, the police arrested Alice Paul. She was tried and sentenced to 7 months in prison.
Alice Paul in jail Paul was placed in solitary confinement. For two weeks, she had nothing to eat except bread and water. Weak and unable to walk, she was taken to the prison hospital. There she began a hunger strike–one which others would join. “It was,” Paul said later, “the strongest weapon left with which to continue… our battle . . .”
In response to the hunger strike, prison doctors put Alice Paul in a psychiatric ward. They threatened to transfer her to an insane asylum. Still, she refused to eat. Afraid that she might die, doctors force fed her. Three times a day for three weeks, they forced a tube down her throat and poured liquids into her stomach. Despite the pain and ilness the force feeding caused, Paul refused to end the hunger strike–or her fight for the vote.
Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession By the time Alice Paul was sent to prison, the fight for women’s suffrage had been going on for almost 70 years. It had started in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, at a small Women’s Rights Convention. These early feminists wanted the same opportunities as men. They wanted the chance to attend college, to become doctors and lawyers, and to own their own land. If they could win the right to vote, they could use their votes to open the doors of the world to women.
For the next 50 years, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony led the women’s rights movement. Thanks to their efforts, the women’s suffrage amendment was presented to Congress for the first time in 1878. But Congressmen refused to allow a vote on the issue. The amendment was reintroduced every year for forty years. During that time, it was never voted upon.
By the time Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party began their suffrage campaign, the old leaders of the women’s movement were gone. But support for the suffrage amendment had grown. Women were already voting in twelve western states. And in 1916, Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first women elected to Congress. Yet Congress was no closer to passing the suffrage amendment than before.
Protesting Women Paul was a veteran of suffrage protests. She had served a prison term in Britain for supporting women’s right to the vote. She and other younger leaders like Harriet Stanton Blatch thought one last push was needed to get the attention of the President and the Congress. Giant suffrage parades were held in New York and Washington. Thousands of suffragists in long white dresses marched. There were floats, women on horseback, and banners flying. A number of men joined in. But the parades did not change the minds of President Wilson or Congress. So the picketing began at the White House.
After 5 weeks in prison, Alice Paul was set free. The attempts to stop the picketers had backfired. Newspapers carried stories about the jail terms and forced feedings of the suffragists. The stories angered many Americans and created more support than ever for the suffrage amendment.
Women Voting Finally, on January 9, 1918, WIlson announced his support for suffrage. The next day, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Susan. B. Anthony Amendment, which would give suffrage to all women citizens. On June 4, 1919, the Senate passed the Amendment by one vote. And a little more than a year later, on August 26, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment. That made it officially the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Suggestions for further readings. American women at last had the right to vote. But Alice Paul and her colleagues did not stop their campaign for women’s rights. Instead, they began to push for an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, which would guarantee women protection against discrimination. Some 80 years later, the battle for such an amendment is still being fought.
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Learn about PBS’ award-winning history series, American Experience
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this NPS site is great for history in high school. has the speech Elisabeth Cady stanton gave in 1848. both speeches in 1848 at the convention and 1892 before congress are great and demonstrate the state of affairs for married women at the time.
Nps.gov
Resource for Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Sentiment speech with all signers
Speech given at age 77 january 18, 1892 before congress, solitude for herself (most famous and best speech of ECS)
thanks for addressing the ignorance of the public schools. imagine what would happen if all school girls would learn how long it took to gt the vote, what women had to do to get it. it would destroy the common attitude that women’s right to equality is evolving without a fight.
Here are some really good sources I suggested to our local school (without success so far). PBS as well as Scholastic and NPS.gov have great resources.
the scholastic material is for 4/5 th grade the diary from 1917 where a young girl worries and thinks about her mother and aunt picketing the white house.
http://www.scholastic.com/dear.....tm#summary
the next PBS probably more for middle school
Alice Paul on PBS for kids
http://www.google.com/imgres?i.....CBMQ9QEwBQ
Women and the Vote: Alice Paul’s Fight for Suffrage
Throughout the winter of 1917, Alice Paul and her followers in the National Women’s Party picketed the White House. They stood silently at the gates, holding signs that said “Mr. president, how long must women wait for liberty?” The picketers were suffragists. They wanted President Woodrow Wilson to support a Constitutional amendment giving all American women suffrage, or the right to vote.
Picketing At first, the suffragists were politely ignored. But on April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I. The suffragists’ signs became more pointed. They taunted Wilson, accusing him of being a hypocrite. How could he send American men to die in a war for democracy when he denied voting rights to women at home? The suffragists became an embarrassment to President Wilson. It was decided the picketing in front of the White House must stop.
Spectators assaulted the picketers, both verbally and physically. Police did nothing to protect the women. Soon, the police began arresting the suffragists on charges of obstructing traffic. At first, the charges were dropped. Next, the women were sentenced to jail terms of just a few days. But the suffragists kept picketing, and their prison sentences grew. Finally, in an effort to break the spirit of the picketers, the police arrested Alice Paul. She was tried and sentenced to 7 months in prison.
Alice Paul in jail Paul was placed in solitary confinement. For two weeks, she had nothing to eat except bread and water. Weak and unable to walk, she was taken to the prison hospital. There she began a hunger strike–one which others would join. “It was,” Paul said later, “the strongest weapon left with which to continue… our battle . . .”
In response to the hunger strike, prison doctors put Alice Paul in a psychiatric ward. They threatened to transfer her to an insane asylum. Still, she refused to eat. Afraid that she might die, doctors force fed her. Three times a day for three weeks, they forced a tube down her throat and poured liquids into her stomach. Despite the pain and ilness the force feeding caused, Paul refused to end the hunger strike–or her fight for the vote.
Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession By the time Alice Paul was sent to prison, the fight for women’s suffrage had been going on for almost 70 years. It had started in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, at a small Women’s Rights Convention. These early feminists wanted the same opportunities as men. They wanted the chance to attend college, to become doctors and lawyers, and to own their own land. If they could win the right to vote, they could use their votes to open the doors of the world to women.
For the next 50 years, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony led the women’s rights movement. Thanks to their efforts, the women’s suffrage amendment was presented to Congress for the first time in 1878. But Congressmen refused to allow a vote on the issue. The amendment was reintroduced every year for forty years. During that time, it was never voted upon.
By the time Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party began their suffrage campaign, the old leaders of the women’s movement were gone. But support for the suffrage amendment had grown. Women were already voting in twelve western states. And in 1916, Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first women elected to Congress. Yet Congress was no closer to passing the suffrage amendment than before.
Protesting Women Paul was a veteran of suffrage protests. She had served a prison term in Britain for supporting women’s right to the vote. She and other younger leaders like Harriet Stanton Blatch thought one last push was needed to get the attention of the President and the Congress. Giant suffrage parades were held in New York and Washington. Thousands of suffragists in long white dresses marched. There were floats, women on horseback, and banners flying. A number of men joined in. But the parades did not change the minds of President Wilson or Congress. So the picketing began at the White House.
After 5 weeks in prison, Alice Paul was set free. The attempts to stop the picketers had backfired. Newspapers carried stories about the jail terms and forced feedings of the suffragists. The stories angered many Americans and created more support than ever for the suffrage amendment.
Women Voting Finally, on January 9, 1918, WIlson announced his support for suffrage. The next day, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the Susan. B. Anthony Amendment, which would give suffrage to all women citizens. On June 4, 1919, the Senate passed the Amendment by one vote. And a little more than a year later, on August 26, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment. That made it officially the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Suggestions for further readings. American women at last had the right to vote. But Alice Paul and her colleagues did not stop their campaign for women’s rights. Instead, they began to push for an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, which would guarantee women protection against discrimination. Some 80 years later, the battle for such an amendment is still being fought.
Learn about PBS’ award-winning history series, American Experience
—
this NPS site is great for history in high school. has the speech Elisabeth Cady stanton gave in 1848. both speeches in 1848 at the convention and 1892 before congress are great and demonstrate the state of affairs for married women at the time.
Nps.gov
Resource for Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Sentiment speech with all signers
Speech given at age 77 january 18, 1892 before congress, solitude for herself (most famous and best speech of ECS)
Our local school district has completely forgotten Women’s History Month. However, our public library has not. They’ve turned the whole library into a celebration. There are displays all over the place, coloring contests in the kid’s sections, speakers in the evening.
I guess I was one of those lucky girls that got to learn about women’s history in school. My mother for one, has been very instrumental by buying me books about different women since I was young. When I was in high school, the library had a display every March. And we learned about it in class. Not to be rude or anything,but I do think that Black History Month is a bigger deal then Women’s History Month.
Anna,
I’m not sure what your mean… In what way do you think that Black History Month is a bigger deal then Women’s History Month?
I think Anna in AK is expressing a widespread opinion, that nothing trumps the abolition of slavery. and that is certainly propagated by the current media.
by not teaching women’s history hardly anybody is aware of the dismal state of women’s affairs in the 19th century. when you read the sentiments and resolutions of 1848 read by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and voted upon in this first convention you realize how similar in many ways a married woman’s life was to slavery and why so many suffragettes were also abolishionists. husbands owned their wifes. they could work in factories if needed and the husband received the money. If the husband fall sick or died the wife did not get automatically custody of their children. these were two of the sentiments together with the vote suffragettes in the 19th century faught for. if your husband drank you ended up battered and poor with no way out. That is why so many suffragettes were also attracted by the temperance movement. women were seen to bare children, to raise them if in lower classes and entertain their husbands.
a lot has changed today and women develop their talents to some degree. but usually they learn to be modest and not compete with males. they rather spend their efforts to please men, learn everything about how to present the body parts males are interested. and as we see from earlier and earlier ages on. if you don’t look right, don’t have a boyfriend / husband and think sex or sex with a man is the top pleasure there is, most people think something is wrong with you. this male-centered (or should I say phallocratic) society takes a huge toll from girls/women developing their talents.
It’s very odd that people pit the experiences of Black America against the experiences of American Women. This happens again and again. Growing up in a Jewish neighborhood I also saw this happen in regard to Black America versus Jewish America. (White) non-Jewish students complained about learning about the Holocaust and said that it was irrelevant when so many Jews were so well-to-do in the United States. And that the Civil Rights Movement (which was taught very well in my High School) was much more important. Why pit different cultural groups against each other? Should we give each group a numerical value in terms of how valid their experiences are? And what numerical value would Native Americans have? How do their experiences compare? This weighing in of oppression and accomplishment is entirely unnecessary and benefits no one but the male status quo.
“Why pit different cultural groups against each other?”
It’s as simple as math, Alison. The Civil Rights movement benefited half (the male half) of a 13% percent demographic, but the power structure gets to claim benefit for the whole 13%. The best part for them (the power structure) is that they don’t have to share wealth and opportunity with a larger group. That’s why white men and black men have been fighting against women since the 14th amendment. And, if we are to judge from Anna’s response, that effort has been quite effective via modern pedagogy. This is another reason it is so important to get the information in schools, even if the students poo-poo it at first.
Anna Belle and Anna #2,
Excellent summation for why this problem exists. It always feels like a kick in my gut when women say women’s rights/ history/ livelihood is not as important as black men’s rights / history / livelihood. It’s a kick in the gut when men say this but it always takes me a bit off guard when a woman says this.
Um, the experience of white women in the 19th century just cannot be compared to slavery. That minimizes exactly what slavery was and what slavery meant. (And for what it’s worth, I’d be surprised if Black History Month got more play after Obama. There are a ton of people who want to believe racism is over.)
But I don’t see why it has to be either/or. Neither Black History nor Women’s History Month are getting the attention they should. Neither Black men & women nor white women are being incorporated properly into history textbooks. Frankly, nobody other than white men is treated as integral to the narrative of American history, despite the fact that this country was built on the backs of all. This isn’t a competition, especially not for black & hispanic women, who are dealing with discrimination on both fronts.
Chris,
“Um, the experience of white women in the 19th century just cannot be compared to slavery.”
and
“This isn’t a competition”
are a contradiction.
It’s not actually. There are some historical phenomena (New World slavery, the Holocaust, etc.) that happened to specific groups of people that were so horrific in their magnitude that nothing else compares. Even slavery doesn’t compare to the Holocaust.
But my larger point is that women’s experiences over centuries don’t need spurious comparisons to slavery to be viewed as of serious concern and worthy of serious integration into history curricula. (I say integration rather than inclusion because including women in side boxes on the page does little to erase the perception that women were incidental to the course of American history.) Comparing the history of women’s oppression (or said otherwise the history of patriarchal equilibrium, to use Judith Bennett’s formulation) to slavery in fact weakens the claims; eliminates black women, who did not have what few benefits white women received, from the historical picture; and currently may turn black women off from the important work of feminism.
When did Women’s History become white women’s history? Some of these comments assume that when you talk about women making history in the United States that you only mean white women. Everyday women are making history here in the United States and that includes every race. You would think that finding a woman who was first to do something in medicine or law or politics or academia, etc. wouldn’t exist any longer in our country. But there are still so many firsts that haven’t happened, and many of them that are happening as we speak are happening to Latinas, African American women, Asian women, and the list goes on.
Small minds limit women’s history to white women.
Absolutely, Optixmom, but comparing women’s oppression to slavery (which you haven’t done but others in the comments thread did) pits white women against black women who were slaves. The history of “married women” in the 19th century that anna is referring to above is not one that includes black women. The history of women of color does in fact require dealing with race and racism, not as a competition but as another factor complicating the lives of these women. It’s the intersection that I find the New Agenda really struggles to handle.
Chris,
“Comparing the history of women’s oppression to slavery in fact weakens the claims;eliminates black women.”
I strongly disagree. White women included all women in their fight for rights, including the right to vote. The 15th amendment while giving black men the right to vote, for the first time, specifically defined that right as a “man’s” right. It excluded black women, Indian women and Latinas as clearly as it excluded white women. I suppose that because white women were allowed to marry and sleep with white men, they had it better? It is easy for black women and Latina women to identify with their men because they share cultures and experiences. If all women continue to emphasize our shared experiences and goals (education, family planning, domestic violence, equal rights, etc.) it can only bring us all together. One needs only to look at the last election to see that the general public and mainstream media is reviled at the slightest hint of racism (as it should) but hardly aware of the sexist tones rampant in our society. Imagine the outrage if an experienced, more mature black man had lost to an up and coming, younger white man (or woman) in a Democratic primary. Imagine if blacks were 52% of the population and still had 16% representation in congress. The comparisons are there to put things in perspective, not to minimize the suffering of any group of people. Bottom line is that a lot of women in this country don’t identify or vote for other women. If we did, we would be properly represented. Shirley Chislom (the first black congresswomen and the first black women to run for president) said “Of my two “handicaps” being female put more obstacles in my path than being black.” and she also said “in the end antiblack, antifemale, and all forms of discrimination are equivalent to the same thing – antihumanism.” Her last year in office was 1982.
While driving around today I thought about Chris’s comments and I finally get it. By bringing everything back to Black Men versus White Women, Chris (as well as the rest of Liberal Dude Nation) is taking a stand against ALL women and that includes women of color. Yet white women become the main bullet point for why women’s issues aren’t that big of deal. Cause, ya know, some white women these days have graduated from ivy league schools and have rich husbands and work as lawyers! That seems to be the train of thought…
Chris will allow for the highest level of acknowledgment of the racial discrimination that women of color endure – because that is discrimination that (more importantly) men of color endure.
But Chris and LDN will rarely if ever gather interest in the other forms of discrimination that women of color (and really all women) endure: rape, sex trafficking, domestic violence, sexual harassment, lower pay, lack of political and media representation as well as the difficulty of mothering in societies that often offer little support. Single motherhood is not easy for those of any ethnic background.
Will Chris speak up on behalf of African American women who endure a 30 percent higher rate of domestic violence than other American women? I don’t think so because that would mean standing up against men.
Chris does not care about women: black women, white women, latina women, asian women. Just there husbands, boyfriends, fathers and brothers.
Also, Chris is factually wrong about public school curriculum. The history of slavery and Civil Rights are a big part of the k – 12 curriculum. Although that does not account for all of African American history those are some important topics that are well represented in public education. And it is because of the activism of the civil rights movement that these important historical moments are taught in school.
On the other hand, there is no element of women’s history that is well represented in k-12 public schools and I believe women today should be inspired by the activism of the civil rights movement and work diligently to get our public schools to include women’s history.
“Frankly, nobody other than white men is treated as integral to the narrative of American history, despite the fact that this country was built on the backs of all.”
“I say integration rather than inclusion because including women in side boxes on the page does little to erase the perception that women were incidental to the course of American history.”
“the important work of feminism”
All statements made by me that state clearly my feminist position. Alison, you can believe what you want but I am indeed extremely concerned about all the issues you mention. I’m incredibly troubled by the recent study showing the abysmal median wealth figures of women of color, in which the median wealth of women of color between the ages of 36-49 was $5. White women had considerably more wealth but were still well shy of that of men and were left incredibly vulnerable if widowed or divorced.
I also never said that the persistence of patriarchal equilibrium is not important or doesn’t matter. It does. It affects all women. But it affects different women differently based on race, class, age, ability, and sexual orientation. Without that very fundamental recognition, there can be no united women’s position. This may be disappointing to you but my being black affects my life just as much as my being a woman does. They cannot be separated because people deal with me as a black woman and all that entails.
I also continue to be amused by how little the commenters on this blog can handle productive debate. Your position can only be stronger if you incorporate the views of all women, not just the views of women who believe in the zero-sum game.
Okay, Chris. I understand your perspective a little better. I’ve listened to your argument from far too many liberal white men and I mistakenly thought that this was who you are. My bad.
But we have some fundamental disagreements.
I strongly believe that this tendency that we have in regard to giving oppression a numerical value is dangerous. Usually it comes up when someone wants to silence, on some level, another group. You absolutely have been “weighing” oppression during this discussion. Of course this discussion started much earlier when another commenter said that Black History Month was a “bigger deal” – and then many of us responded.
Comparing the Holocaust and Slavery (as you did to make a point) is also unnecessary and divisive. Growing up in a Jewish neighborhood with also a component of white Christians and Black Christians I saw this debate come up and it was very unhealthy and led to grotesque comparisons. And if you are surprised by the reaction you have received here, I’d like you to imagine the reaction I might receive if I went up to a group of African Americans and told them that I thought the Holocaust was more horrible than slavery. And then what if I said this while said group of African Americans were actively celebrating Black History Month. This would certainly be a slap in the face toward those Black individuals as well as Blacks as a collective group.
These comparisons have to stop. Dear God, I would never hope to be put up on stage and asked to evaluate which is worse – the 18 year old white girl who is kidnapped and kept as a sexual slave for 10 years or the Haitian immigrant who is sodomized by white policemen for one night but permanently disabled. Or the African American woman who is gang raped by a group of White men. I don’t think we need to go there and I think it is grotesque to weigh the value of their oppression.
I fundamentally disagree with your about intersectionality. I know sites like Feministing are big on this but too often I see intersectionality being used to refocus the discussion on race and defocus the importance of gender oppression against women. Their is racism, their is sexism. Women of color are victims of both.
Last, I’d just like to add that patriarchy is made up of more than white men. Black men, Latina men, Asian men, White men are all part of the patriarchy.
Alison, we largely have the same opinion; we’re just coming at it from different angles. To be clear, the only reason I brought up slavery and the Holocaust was in reference to another commenter who made the comparison to slavery as a reason why Women’s History Month is important. I still believe that there are a few historical events that were so severe in their intent towards certain groups of people that they deserve to be treated separately. But I do not extend that comparison to the present day. I too find no value in choosing from among the examples you cite and I believe feminism and things like Women’s History Month are important on their own terms, not in a competition with other oppressed peoples. (We also agree on who constitutes the patriarchy but it must be said that there is no equality within the patriarchy.)
I know intersectionality is a bit controversial and I certainly take your point. But I do think there’s some value to the concept even if you don’t buy into it altogether. Too frequently here and in other blogs, women’s concerns are raised by denigrating other identities. I think it’s one thing to focus on women; I think it’s another thing to actively downplay other groups with which women may identify and which impact their lives in tandem with their gender. The trick is finding a balance between the two positions.
Chris,
Thanks for clarifying and yes, I will agree with you about the lack of equality within the world of male power.
In regard to what Anna said about American women and slavery…. I think what she wrote is fair. That it was”similar in many ways” to slavery…. not identical to slavery and not identical to the specific horror of African American slavery. And like Anna wrote, I don’t think that many people understand the lack of freedoms that even “free” women had back in the day. I am not an expert in Women’s History but I am a teacher. When I taught my ESL high school students about American history I taught them about slavery, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, the Underground Railroad, Cesar Chavez and the Japanese Internment Camps. I rarely taught them about women because I didn’t know. When I watched the movie Iron Jawed Angels it was a revelation. And then reading about how women couldn’t own property, money, how they were often stuck in horrible situations if their husbands died or if their husbands beat them. How even discussing birth control was illegal… all these things are somewhat new revelations to me. So women were not slaves exactly but they were not entirely free and full citizens either.
Reading Nicholas Kristof’s new book Half the Sky has also been a revelation which of course is about global women and not American women. Have you read that book yet? If not I suggest it to everyone!
Chris, would you mind telling me how “women’s concerns are raised by denigrating other identities” at this blog? I’ve been reading the articles here pretty much from the beginning and I really don’t understand this comment at all.
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