Sexual Equality

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    It has been argued by many historians that women during the Jacksonian Era were no more than a household employee. Cleaning and taking care of the children in the house were the primary objectives of the women. However, that was in the Jacksonian Era, as time changed, so did the social status of women. They became more involved in politics and became significant in their society. They changed the way we see women and men today.
    Many historians agreed that Jacksonian women were nothing but “impractical, emotional, unstable, given to prejudice, easily hurt, and largely incapable of facing facts or doing hard things” (Zinn, 503). That a woman who cultivated people, who belong to a club, and who make herself interesting and agreeable is the ideal woman (Zinn, 503). This was true in the early and mid 1800s. Women were fashioned in a way that pleases the society. They have to act and dress a certain way just to be a perfect woman. This was true during the Jacksonian Era, however, as time change, so did the women.
    In the early and mid 1800s, women were more outspoken and more active with the equality issue. In the 1840s, feminist movements occurred and more women were speaking out about “antislavery, temperance, dress styles, prison conditions…and their own situation” (Zinn, 120). They believed that what ever a man can do, a woman can do. Women were educated more, read more, and communicated more. They wrote for magazines and newspapers and publishers. Not only do they are highly literate, they also began organizations that aim to help other women.
    In 1821, a woman named Emma Willard founded the Troy Female Seminary, the first recognized institution for women educations. In 1843, a doctor named Harriot Hunt started the Ladies Physiological Society after she was refused admission to Harvard Medical School. She taught women about diet, exercise, hygiene, and mental health. In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell set up the New York Dispensary for poor women and children for women to consult with a physician of the same sex. All these societies and organizations were started by women who aimed to aid other women. However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg comparing to the 1900s.
    The 1900s women were activist feminists, they marched, protested, and boycotted to their point straight. They were civil rights activists and antiwar protestors. Many organizations started by these feminist such as the Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (WITCH) founded by NY Radical Women, who marched to Washington, D.C., to protest Third World treatment by the United Fruit Company. The National Organization for Women (NOW) formed in 1966 to protest corporation charging sex discrimination. The National Domestic Worker Union for household women. Not only these women were activists but also outspoken about their feminine issues such as rape, sexual harassment and private female issues like menstruation, masturbation, menopause, and abortion” (Zinn, 511). These women were more open about conflicts and issues and they weren’t afraid to show it no more.
    Most people don’t know what August 26th is; well it’s the Women Equality Day. It’s a day where they remember what they have accomplished, from the suppressed Jacksonian Era to the opened and freed society of today. Equality is no longer a major issue, men and women work together and sexual discrimination is outlawed and where men don’t see women as subordinates but as employees, wives, and mothers.