Charles Darwin is the father of evolution by natural selection and was seen as a figurehead for logical and pure reasoning. Even today the image of Darwin is one of the most circulated and recognizable images. In the nineteenth-century Darwin had a cultish following from the public, but that did not mean that everyone accepted his work as fact. Those who did accept his work were quick to expand the ideas presented by Darwin and use them to justify their own cause. One of these was the use of Darwin’s work to say that women were inferior to men. In his private life Darwin saw women as having potential but in the public sphere, via his later publications, he said women were inferior to men, which could have been caused by the want to be published.
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They both agreed that women should join the workforce with men. Gilman also argued that the subjugation of women does not let society progress and that women need to be returned to their rightful place as workers and sexual selectors. Gilman argued that almost everything has been taken away from women. A male who wants to become richer, more ambitious or even has more power have the ability to just do so, while women “[These] must come to her through a small gold ring” (Gilman, pg 71). Gilman argued that women have been denied the freedom to act which is the worst thing she has been denied. She also said that all profit a woman could make has been reduced to one thing only which is “the power of sex-attraction” (Gilman, pg 63). Gilman believed that a free woman can contribute to society just as much as a man but have been denied the right to do so. She stated that “All this human progress has been accomplished by men. Women have been left behind” (Gilman, pg 74). Gilman argued using the ideas of Darwin and sexual selection that women’s best qualities have been stolen by men and that society is hurt when women are not allowed to join in. To Gilman, men and women are equal but for different reasons, she takes the good of women and equates it to the good of
They both agreed that women should join the workforce with men. Gilman also argued that the subjugation of women does not let society progress and that women need to be returned to their rightful place as workers and sexual selectors. Gilman argued that almost everything has been taken away from women. A male who wants to become richer, more ambitious or even has more power have the ability to just do so, while women “[These] must come to her through a small gold ring” (Gilman, pg 71). Gilman argued that women have been denied the freedom to act which is the worst thing she has been denied. She also said that all profit a woman could make has been reduced to one thing only which is “the power of sex-attraction” (Gilman, pg 63). Gilman believed that a free woman can contribute to society just as much as a man but have been denied the right to do so. She stated that “All this human progress has been accomplished by men. Women have been left behind” (Gilman, pg 74). Gilman argued using the ideas of Darwin and sexual selection that women’s best qualities have been stolen by men and that society is hurt when women are not allowed to join in. To Gilman, men and women are equal but for different reasons, she takes the good of women and equates it to the good of