With only having the job as a “happy homemaker” woman in the 1950’s felt dissatisfaction and needed fulfillment in their life other than staying home, and taking care of their families. Consequently, in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller women were portrayed almost the same way. They both were treated poorly and held a position of that inferior to men. Because, women in the Crucible held no real power or independence they were forced to follow the negative stereotypes of the 1950’s. Women in the 1950’s were expected to stay home, and were more or less left out of everything that were to be of importance.
That this woman could offer so much reform and understanding for individuals without having a degree in this field is remarkable beyond words. She was an individual who did not want expressions of praise or gratitude for her work. She refused to have hospitals named after her; she desired that her achievements “rest in silence”. This remarkable woman has touched the lives of so many and it is because of her that we can not only thank for the humanity that she brought to the mentally ill but also gives us the knowledge that living conditions can determine the state of one’s
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles or gives me any best place (and raising herself to her full height and her voice to a pitch like rolling thunder, she asked) and aren’t I a woman?” In this passage, author Truth is suggesting that she had never been treated with the same respect a white woman would be treated with. Most, if not all men, believed that women shouldn’t have as many rights as men because “Christ wasn’t a woman”. She simply rebuked that phrase by asking where Christ came from. Well, he came from God and a woman of course!
However, scholars noted that there are many inconsistencies concerning this, seeing that though the Bible did say this, women were still treated as inferior to men, and that women were limited to the home. They still were seen as a means to produce children, more of an object for sexuality, and be silent while serving her husband (Ellwood 325). Some Christians even blamed women for “the sin of humanity that necessitated the death of the savior,” and they were referred to as “the devil’s gateway.” Celibacy soon became a choice of women because it soon became more holy than marrying someone (Ellwood 325). Because of these views of women, they became the popular blame for many problems, villages and towns were suspicious of women. This was seen in the Witch Trials of Salem, and these women were a woman who sinned or stepped out of their place t hat was put upon them.
Now think of ancient times, father than the fifty’s when women could not participate in voting, and farther back than the thirty’s when women were merely housewives. Women in the United States back then were considered insignificant, in that time era no man thought a woman was smart enough to learn anything beyond how to cook, clean, and bear children. They did not even bring it upon their minds or perspectives that while at home women were still working fairly hard. They didn’t even praise their wives for having their children. Men treated their women as property instead of companions.
Equality For All It’s the 21st century and our nation consists of many different cultures, race and religions. However, racial discrimination still lives on amongst every ethnicity. When my grandma left the Philippines for San Francisco in 1956, white Americans instructed she were to have no aspirations beyond being a good wife and mother. She came to America not knowing one word of English, therefore people assumed she was dumb. She was never given the privilege to work hard and become successful, all because she didn’t speak English.
The Discrimination against Women Identities Throughout history, female were considered lesser beings and nothing more than the property of their husband. In the short story, Blank Spaces by Joanna Cockerline, the acknowledgment of female being inferior creatures in comparison to men is highlighted. Struggle against misfortunes, Elizabeth is oppressed by the social inequality due to the fact that she is a girl. In Blank Spaces, the social inequality implied by the narrative severely impacts Elizabeth’s career hierarchy, character traits, and life experiences. Like many feminist writer, Cockerline focuses her emphasis on how social norm discriminate women by inhibit their job opportunities.
But then she goes on to say that she has never received such treatment from a man and isn’t she a woman as well? Her statements highlight a common mindset that was extremely prevent at the time; that black women were not considered women in the same sense that white women were. Black women were forced to endure the same hard labor that black men were, but still received fewer rights. Truth then goes on to speak about the religious reasoning behind why women shouldn’t have as many rights saying “Dat little man in black dar, he say women can’t have as much rights as men, ‘cause Christ wasn’t a woman”( Marable and Mullings, 2009, 68). This belief that because God was a male figure making women inferior, dates back before Christ and most likely arose because
Since the middle of the 19th century, when women were allowed to work, they have always been thought to be weaker than men, squeamish, and unable to perform work that required muscular or intellectual development. In most preindustrial societies, for example, domestic chores were always regulated to women. The “heavier” labor, such as hunting and plowing were regulated to men. As society has evolved from the 19th century, the roles of women have evolved as well. Although women still tend to be highly overrepresented in jobs such as clerical, service, and health-related occupations, the ratio between men to women working in male dominated occupations are changing as well.
Since then women have come very far. From not being able to vote or become noticeable members of our government to not even be paid the same wage as men. They have been thought of as inferior to men since the beginning of recorded history. Well I believe the idea of marriage parallels the idea of women being inferior to men simply because they are women. We are not in that era anymore.