Oppression and logic; two things that are not normally brought together. But the two essays composed by Margaret Fuller and Gloria Steinem bring them together; and very well, seeing as the essays were written over 100 years apart. This is a pair of essays that have very feminist themes. The essay on the Jim Crow laws covers the struggle for Civil Rights, "The Great Lawsuit," and "If Men Could Menstruate" rightfully highlight Women's Rights, which deserve a place in our history and current lives as much as the next one.
Margaret Fuller's, "The Great Lawsuit," is something that still has relation to the current era, regardless of the publication date, 1843. Women's Rights wasn't something that was widely spread at the time, and I'm not just talking about Suffrage when I mention Women's Rights, I'm talking about the right to divorce, work, equal pay, and non-domesticated lifestyle. While we currently have those rights, Women's history is something that needs to be noted. And to any that whine about Men's history and their rights, well that's all of American History and then the rest of the world. There is one line that I noticed in the essay that is still not fully solved. "When not one man in the million, shall I say, no, not in hundred million, can rise above the view that woman was made for men." Men seem to have a sense of entitlement when I comes to those sort of things and the tables are turned in the next essay.
When I say tables turned, I mean that men have to experience menstruation. I, however, soon realized, that if men did have that misfortune, the table will turn upside down and menstruation would be something celebrated, not dreaded. The author, Gloria Steinem shared, throughout her essay, what would potentially happen if this were to happen. The line that stuck with me the most was towards the end, "I leave further improvisation up to you." There are, like all other works of literature, many ways to improvise on what is put on the paper, that's what the authors want. But this one requires more improvising, more thinking about what is now labeled as 'Gender Equality,' because it probably isn't as equal as one might think.
Hey Maddie! I have to agree with you that these essays have very feminist themes even though they were written over 100 years apart from each other. I hadn't looked at the dates when I first read them and didn't realize that they were over 100 years apart. I could tell that the "The Great Lawsuit" was written in a different time period than "If Men Could Menstruate" but I didn't realize how spread apart they actually were. I think its neat how two essays can be about the same topic even though they are so many years apart. It makes you wonder how much things really change over time.
ReplyDeleteHey Maddie! I love how you start your writing. "Oppression and logic; two things that are not normally brought together." You are completely right. I also really liked how you connect multiple essay's together through the fight for rights. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteFirst off well written and thought out, though there is one point however that needs a little clarification. When Fuller talks of not one man in a million not even one hundred million would rise against the oppression of women it is most likely false. Not all men are the same and not all were against women's suffrage. This is drawing a very large generalization line saying that all men are against it which was definitely not true. Overall though, very well done in interpreting the articles.
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