What is feminism?

The beginning of the feminist movement seems to have its roots embedded in the 1920's when women were gaining their right to vote.  The feminist movement had its fair share of problems, one of which were how women of color still did not have the right to vote because of laws passed in the South. 

 In Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism, we learn that colored men received the right to vote before women of color.  The separation that society instilled in the feminist movement caused women of color to march separately from white women.  According to an online article called Black Women & The Suffrage Movement: 1848-1923,  “There is a great stir about colored men getting their rights, but not a word about the colored women; and if colored men get their rights, and colored women not theirs, the colored men will be masters over the women, and it will be just as bad as it was before.”  This quote from a lady named Sojourner Truth shows us the true implications of oppressing colored women during the women’s suffrage movement. 

 Despite these troubling times, women of color were collective and had the courage to keep fighting for their rights to vote, which eventually caused the 19^th Amendment to encompass every woman, regardless of color and race.  The history of oppressing women stems from the old idea’s which gave the power inside the house solely to the husband. 

 In Friedan’s article The Problem That Has no Name, we explore the social norms that have been created in history and their impact on women.  From being raised and taught how to take care of a child, satisfy the husband, clean the house, and cook in the kitchen, the majority of women have been shut away from their choice to live the life they always dreamt of.  The consequence on women’s conscious is evident because of the fact that society has placed dominance and leadership in the hands of man instead of woman.

 The image of a warrior symbolizes the feminist movement because despite their troubled moments, the movement has grown to encompass humanity as a whole and is slowly but surely working on creating equality in today’s world. 

Friedan, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: W.W. Norton, 1963. Print. 

 Kilson, Midge. "Black Women & The Suffrage Movement." Black Women & The Suffrage Movement: 1848-1923, MLK - Wesleyan University. PBS, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2002.

 Valenti, Jessica. Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters. Emeryville, CA: Seal, 2007. Print.