“The history of men 's opposition to women 's emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.”(Virginia Woolf) The women’s rights movement has been a key change in America since the 1930’s. Whether it was defying the norm, fighting unequal pay, job discrimination or maternity leave women never backed down in the face of the men who asserted their control over them. Ever since the 1930’s, females have made huge strides in gender equality, but even with so many acts, women’s rights still have aways to go.
As society ages, so do stereotypes of that time. One such stereotype is that all women are weak, scatterbrained, and emotional. This stereotype was enforced by the ruling men, in which a patriarchal system dominated. In this system men not only ruled the home life, but the political scene as well. Just as women got the right to vote, an evolution started in females all over America. Best quoted by Louise Benner, she said “The ‘new woman’ was on her way” (1). This evolution entailed what is called the “flapper”, a woman who threw out the old belief that women needed men. They personified independence, wearing unconventional clothing, working a man’s job, and having a behavior seen un-lady like during that era. Louise Benner stated “society now accepted that women could be independent and make choices for themselves in education, jobs, marital status, and careers” (1). In many ways women were detaching from this Rettig 2 stigma of being weak, presenting a capacity to choose for themselves, no longer relying on men as much. It was like a domino effect-when women got a better education, a better job was possible thus the need to marry became less necessary allowing them to find true love. Being a mom is a job in itself, one that was not taken lightly back in the 1930’s. This role was almost forced by society, as the women ran the household and the men made the money (9). Very few women had jobs at this point in time, and if they did it was a low paying job in a factory or shop, while the more domestic jobs such as factories and shops were held more commonly by black women. In fact, only 15% white women and 30% of black women held jobs at all (1). Their role became even harder as the Great Depression set in, as many men lost their jobs the wives had to be crafty and not only save money where possible, like making clothes instead of buying them, along with keeping the family together (9). Some broke this norm and got jobs as well, but pressure from society in certain instances made them drop the job. This was because many men were without jobs, and females were in the same boat as blacks because society dictated that a white male deserved a job more than females or blacks. Nevertheless, since it was okay to pay a female less than her male counterpart for the same work, many businesses would hire her. As the Great Depression was nearing its end the public acceptance of women holding jobs became more prominent (1). As a result, over one quarter of all women held paying jobs (1). Their job opportunities expanded as well because of flappers, leading to more female nurses, doctors, and female presence in our government. This lead to …show more content…
In fact, in most instances when talking to a female athlete reporters talk more about their clothes and relationships; rather than their athletic ability (7). Maria Sharapova is a prime example of this attitude. Evidence has shown that the topic of most of her interviews is about clothes; not a past,current, or future competition she will participate in. A lack of funding only makes this worse, as USA Today reports that “for every $1 spend on women’s college sports, $3 is spent on men’s, with women receiving only 38 percent of scholarship funds and 27 percent of recruiting funds” (7). To add on to this injustice, ESPN devotes only 1.4% of all air time to women sports (7). This lack of attention could drive this behavior of “money follows the attention”, as struggling athletic females would have to aspire to be on a magazine. Finally, one more thing in men 's sports
As society ages, so do stereotypes of that time. One such stereotype is that all women are weak, scatterbrained, and emotional. This stereotype was enforced by the ruling men, in which a patriarchal system dominated. In this system men not only ruled the home life, but the political scene as well. Just as women got the right to vote, an evolution started in females all over America. Best quoted by Louise Benner, she said “The ‘new woman’ was on her way” (1). This evolution entailed what is called the “flapper”, a woman who threw out the old belief that women needed men. They personified independence, wearing unconventional clothing, working a man’s job, and having a behavior seen un-lady like during that era. Louise Benner stated “society now accepted that women could be independent and make choices for themselves in education, jobs, marital status, and careers” (1). In many ways women were detaching from this Rettig 2 stigma of being weak, presenting a capacity to choose for themselves, no longer relying on men as much. It was like a domino effect-when women got a better education, a better job was possible thus the need to marry became less necessary allowing them to find true love. Being a mom is a job in itself, one that was not taken lightly back in the 1930’s. This role was almost forced by society, as the women ran the household and the men made the money (9). Very few women had jobs at this point in time, and if they did it was a low paying job in a factory or shop, while the more domestic jobs such as factories and shops were held more commonly by black women. In fact, only 15% white women and 30% of black women held jobs at all (1). Their role became even harder as the Great Depression set in, as many men lost their jobs the wives had to be crafty and not only save money where possible, like making clothes instead of buying them, along with keeping the family together (9). Some broke this norm and got jobs as well, but pressure from society in certain instances made them drop the job. This was because many men were without jobs, and females were in the same boat as blacks because society dictated that a white male deserved a job more than females or blacks. Nevertheless, since it was okay to pay a female less than her male counterpart for the same work, many businesses would hire her. As the Great Depression was nearing its end the public acceptance of women holding jobs became more prominent (1). As a result, over one quarter of all women held paying jobs (1). Their job opportunities expanded as well because of flappers, leading to more female nurses, doctors, and female presence in our government. This lead to …show more content…
In fact, in most instances when talking to a female athlete reporters talk more about their clothes and relationships; rather than their athletic ability (7). Maria Sharapova is a prime example of this attitude. Evidence has shown that the topic of most of her interviews is about clothes; not a past,current, or future competition she will participate in. A lack of funding only makes this worse, as USA Today reports that “for every $1 spend on women’s college sports, $3 is spent on men’s, with women receiving only 38 percent of scholarship funds and 27 percent of recruiting funds” (7). To add on to this injustice, ESPN devotes only 1.4% of all air time to women sports (7). This lack of attention could drive this behavior of “money follows the attention”, as struggling athletic females would have to aspire to be on a magazine. Finally, one more thing in men 's sports