Mary Edward Walker Essay

478 Words2 Pages
Mary Edward walker made it possible for women to be able to work in the medical field. She was an early advocate for women’s rights. She stated that corsets and heavy skirts degenerated women’s health and where designed to limit women’s movement. According to the article, Changing the Face of Medicine, Mary Edwards walker said, "I am the original new woman...Why, before Lucy Stone, Mrs. Bloomer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were—before they were, I am. In the early '40's, when they began their work in dress reform, I was already wearing pants...I have made it possible for the bicycle girl to wear the abbreviated skirt, and I have prepared the way for the girl in knickerbockers." By fighting for comforter clothes she has enabled…show more content…
She encouraged medical education for women and aided other women to aspire other careers. According to the article, Changing the Face of Medicine, By establishing the New York Infirmary in 1857, Elizabeth Blackwell offered a practical solution to one of the problems facing women who were rejected from internships elsewhere but determined to expand their skills as physicians. She also published several important books on the issue of women in medicine, including Medicine as a Profession for Women in 1860 and Address on the Medical Education of Women in 1864. Blackwell had no idea how to become a physician, so she consulted with several physicians known by her family. They told her it was a fine idea, but impossible; it was too expensive, and such education was not available to women. Yet Blackwell reasoned that if the idea were a good one, there must be some way to do it, and she was attracted by the challenge. She convinced two physician friends to let her read medicine with them for a year, and applied to all the medical schools in New York and Philadelphia. She also applied to twelve more schools in the northeast states and was accepted by Geneva Medical College in western New York State in 1847. By persevering she was able to set a good example for women to
Open Document