Women: Not So Inferior After All
Life in a woman’s shoes in turn of the century America was difficult, frustrating, and unfair. Women typically didn’t have a say-so in matters and they were shut down if they ever tried to voice an opinion of their own. In some ways, this is still the case today. Why were women considered inferior at this time, and should they still be considered inferior? Numerous women were depicted as inferior to men in turn of the century America because they were unintelligent, unhelpful burdens, and materialistic objects “owned” by their husbands, when they shouldn’t have been labeled inferior, being that all human beings are equal.
First, women were viewed as inferior because they were thought to be unintelligent, or …show more content…
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, John’s wife admits to being a “comparative burden instead of a help” (Gilman, 748). This shows that she understands her place in their marriage: she’s the woman and he’s the man; he’s in control and she’s supposed to do whatever he says. Again, this is shown with another sad truth she admits. “It is discouraging to not have any advice or companionship about my work” (Gilman, 748), which further goes to show that she is just there, not significant at all. If anything, she is bothering him by wanting him to acknowledge her. He doesn’t care for her or her feelings, he is only concerned with keeping his image clean. Other reasons women are considered burdens are because they “self-doubt more than men since they aren’t raised to trust or stand up for themselves” (Halas, 6) and “have self-blame and guilt, causing them to be misunderstood and lessen their own self-acceptance” (Halas, 7). Both of these factors stated by Halas in her novel “Why Can’t A Woman Be More Like A Man?” are ones that make men frustrated with women usually, since they’re constantly having to encourage them, boost their self-esteem, or help them not be upset, and all these have to continually be repeated. Men sometimes depict their wives or women in general as helpless, or burdens, due to them needing much love and support. The truth is that women need support when they become emotionally …show more content…
Men are always claiming “A woman’s place is in the kitchen” and “I’ll go to work and when I arrive home, you better have everything done like a good woman would” (Rossi, 89). Just because the men feel this way doesn’t mean women are inferior to them because the truth is that “There’s absolutely no natural inequality between the sexes” (Rossi, 73). Close-minded individuals need to realize that “Each individual will prove his or her capacities by trial” (Rossi, 101), which means that if a male or female is not fit for a job, it will become evident almost immediately. As explained in her book, “Essays on Sex Equality”, women can do tasks men do, and vice versa. Usually females are more artistic and do well with children, while men are typically better with their hands and at using tools. Even though this is true, don’t construction companies hire women, and aren’t there very popular male artists out there? If someone can’t do the tasks they are assigned to do at a job, they won’t be fired based on gender, they’ll be fired because they can’t meet the jobs requirements. Truly, women have had to work harder than men to even obtain the “rights” they have today, such as it taking until 1919 for women to even be allowed to vote, which affirms “This is not merely a movement for women, it’s a movement BY women” (Rossi, 93). Although men were automatically given the right to
Life in a woman’s shoes in turn of the century America was difficult, frustrating, and unfair. Women typically didn’t have a say-so in matters and they were shut down if they ever tried to voice an opinion of their own. In some ways, this is still the case today. Why were women considered inferior at this time, and should they still be considered inferior? Numerous women were depicted as inferior to men in turn of the century America because they were unintelligent, unhelpful burdens, and materialistic objects “owned” by their husbands, when they shouldn’t have been labeled inferior, being that all human beings are equal.
First, women were viewed as inferior because they were thought to be unintelligent, or …show more content…
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, John’s wife admits to being a “comparative burden instead of a help” (Gilman, 748). This shows that she understands her place in their marriage: she’s the woman and he’s the man; he’s in control and she’s supposed to do whatever he says. Again, this is shown with another sad truth she admits. “It is discouraging to not have any advice or companionship about my work” (Gilman, 748), which further goes to show that she is just there, not significant at all. If anything, she is bothering him by wanting him to acknowledge her. He doesn’t care for her or her feelings, he is only concerned with keeping his image clean. Other reasons women are considered burdens are because they “self-doubt more than men since they aren’t raised to trust or stand up for themselves” (Halas, 6) and “have self-blame and guilt, causing them to be misunderstood and lessen their own self-acceptance” (Halas, 7). Both of these factors stated by Halas in her novel “Why Can’t A Woman Be More Like A Man?” are ones that make men frustrated with women usually, since they’re constantly having to encourage them, boost their self-esteem, or help them not be upset, and all these have to continually be repeated. Men sometimes depict their wives or women in general as helpless, or burdens, due to them needing much love and support. The truth is that women need support when they become emotionally …show more content…
Men are always claiming “A woman’s place is in the kitchen” and “I’ll go to work and when I arrive home, you better have everything done like a good woman would” (Rossi, 89). Just because the men feel this way doesn’t mean women are inferior to them because the truth is that “There’s absolutely no natural inequality between the sexes” (Rossi, 73). Close-minded individuals need to realize that “Each individual will prove his or her capacities by trial” (Rossi, 101), which means that if a male or female is not fit for a job, it will become evident almost immediately. As explained in her book, “Essays on Sex Equality”, women can do tasks men do, and vice versa. Usually females are more artistic and do well with children, while men are typically better with their hands and at using tools. Even though this is true, don’t construction companies hire women, and aren’t there very popular male artists out there? If someone can’t do the tasks they are assigned to do at a job, they won’t be fired based on gender, they’ll be fired because they can’t meet the jobs requirements. Truly, women have had to work harder than men to even obtain the “rights” they have today, such as it taking until 1919 for women to even be allowed to vote, which affirms “This is not merely a movement for women, it’s a movement BY women” (Rossi, 93). Although men were automatically given the right to