"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" Maya Angelou

March is Women's History month. Women throughout American history have made astonishing strides toward equality for all and the betterment of society as a whole. It seems impossible that in the early nineteenth century, Women were relegated to citizens of the second class. Women's existence was limited to inside the home and to caring for the children, which men notoriously had little to do with and to a large extent still underfunction in this all important capacity. Women were considered completely subservient to their husbands. Post marriage Women did not have the right to own property, maintain their wages, sign a contract, or vote. It was expected that women be obedient little wives, never to think for themselves or express own their needs, and never to formulate a thought or opinion independent of their husbands way of thinking. It was considered improper for women to travel alone or to speak in public. basically, Women were extensions of their husbands and homes.

"With the belief that intense physical or intellectual activity would be injurious to the delicate female biology and reproductive system, women were taught to refrain from pursuing any serious education. Silently perched in their birdcages, women were considered merely objects of beauty, and were looked upon as intellectually and physically inferior to men. This belief in women's inferiority to men was further reinforced by organized religion which preached strict and well-defined sex roles." The History Channel

The catalyst for the gathering that would incite the Women's suffrage movement was the World Anti-Slavery Convention held in 1840. In 1848 the Women's suffrage movement was officially propeled.

"In attendance were Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were forced to sit in the galleries as observers because they were women. This poor treatment did not rest well with these women of progressive thoughts, and it was decided that they would hold their own convention to discuss the social, civil and religious rights of women. Using the Declaration of Independence as a guideline, Stanton presented her Declaration of Principles in her hometown chapel and brought to light women's subordinate status and made recommendations for change. Resolution 9 requesting the right to vote was perhaps the most important in that it expressed the demand for sexual equality. Subsequent to the Seneca Falls Convention, the demand for the vote became the centerpiece of the women's rights movement." The History Channel

Long ignored in cirricula from kindegarten to higher education, Women's history was pushed along by the U.S. feminist movement and now holds a wider recognition of historical contributions by Women in education and in the larger cultural spectrum.


~Resources and Trivia~

The Feminist Majority Foundation has an excellent page on Women's History.
https://www.feminist.org/other/womenshistorymonth/wh_month.asp

https://www.advancingwomen.com/index.html

ACLU
https://www.aclu.org/

Did You Know?
https://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/womenhist/index.jsp?page=trivia

Campus PrideNet
https://www.campuspride.net/

About Nefertiti
https://womenshistory.about.com/od/nefertiti/p/nefertiti.htm

April is National Poetry Month 2005
https://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=https://www.poets.org/npm/

Women's eNews
https://www.womensenews.org/

21 Leaders for Women
to Benefit Women’s eNews
https://www.womensenews.org/21leaders2005.cfm

Learn Effective Self Defense Tips, Tricks and Advice for Women in minutes!https://www.safetyforwomen.com/order/?hop=mariner99

https://www.dadsanddaughters.org/

Women's History Month provides an opportunity to celebrate some of the diverse accomplishments Women have achieved.

"One is not born a woman, one becomes one."
Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)
The Second Sex (1949-1950