Women

The sad truth is that we are taught from an early age as girls to obey and submit, that we are the weaker sex, and that we need to be hyper-aware of how we appear to others, especially boys. This mindset has been taught since Biblical times, but I think it needs to change. We’ve made some progress throughout history, such as the right to vote and the right to own property. Yes, in 1848, women couldn’t even own property.

The Women’s Rights Movement started on July 13, 1848, when Elizabeth Stanton and four of her friends decided to make some changes.( Eisenberg, Bonnie and Ruthsdotter , Mary, the National Women’s History Alliance. 1998, https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/history-of-the-womens-rights-movement/) It was a hot summer day in July of 1848 when she and her friends decided enough was enough and us women should be eternally grateful that she and her friends had the courage to finally stand up and say something. She had twelve grievances on the day of the Women’s Rights Convention, and all twelve passed unanimously except for women’s right to vote. This was an inconceivable notion that would not take effect until August 18, 1920, when the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. (National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment, February 8, 2022)

Today, we have come a long way since the 1800s, but women will always be fighting to be seen as equals. I would like to discuss some of the laws from history, laws from today’s world, and things that should be put in place to protect women’s rights in the future. The right to vote was a monumental and hard-fought right for women. It took seventy-two years from the beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement to get Congress to pass the Amendment. The battle to vote was fought by both women and men who supported them. This was accomplished in many ways. Some organized, petitioned, and, picketed for this cause and; it took decades. By 1878, the Amendment was introduced to Congress. Some challenged male-only voting laws in court and, others took a more confrontational tactic. Some suffragists were jailed, heckled or, even physically abused for their pursuit towards of this cause. The Fair Labor Standards Act was also an important bill for women as it made the pay equal for both men and women.

( US Department of Labor,https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history) President Franklin Roosevelt and Frances Perkins were largely responsible for this bill passing through Congress, as they worked together to make it happen. President Roosevelt was quoted on May 24, 1937, saying, “all our able-bodied working men and women a fair day's pay for a fair day's work." The Fair Labor Standards Act was finally passed on October 24, 1938. Now that we know a little about women’s rights from history, let’s look at what is being done today to help women. Today, the focus is mostly on LGBTQ+ rights, women feeling they have choices when it comes to their bodies and, domestic violence is still an important issue. An important law in Tennessee is the primary aggressor law. This law means that law enforcement must find the offender in domestic violence calls that are more dominated in aggressive behavior. Meaning that they may not have initiated the fight, but they are the most significant aggressors.

(JUSTIA US Law, https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-36/chapter-3/part-6/section-36-3-619/)

This law has a statute of 36-3-619, and was established on July 1, 1995. I think this law is important because it ensures an arrest and in most domestic violence cases, the victim is going to feel guilty and not want to press charges, but this way it is the state pressing charges, and that way it goes on the offender’s record at least. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed by the Supreme Court, which stated that employers can not discriminate based on sex, race or, gender.

Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_rights_in_the_United_States, April 3, 2025

In June of 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that gender identity and sexual orientation are included under “sex” in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is important to accept everyone, no matter their race, gender, or sexual orientation. We are all just humans at the end of the day. So, what can we do to improve women’s rights in the future? We have come so far since the 1800’s but there are still so many stigmas in our communities, churches, and in our culture that it makes life hard for women. Women are still expected, especially in the Deep South to; grow up, get married to a man and, have babies. I think it’s past time that we open our eyes and realize that it is just not a healthy stipulation to put on our little girls. If they want to do this, then that’s fine but, we teach our little boys to grow up and find a career path so, why not do the same for the girls? It is time that we teach empowerment and strength to our girls so they know they can accomplish anything they want without a man. Also, although there are solid laws in place for rape and domestic violence victims the stigmatism is still there. It is often asked what the women wore, was she drinking, or did she say no? Why can’t we teach little boys to control their actions? If a woman seems uncomfortable or if she is unconscious, then it’s not okay. All this calls for is some human decency and kindness. Pay attention to your companion. Care for them, be kind and, treat others as you would yourself. We all live on this planet together and, we all bleed red.

**This was a persuasive essay I wrote for my communications class in college. I thought this might be enjoyed here as well. Good vibes and God bless, ladies and gents!