Today is the first day of Women's History Month. What is your opinion

[prolesunited]

of the necessity of Women's History Month? Would you be interested in learning more about women's history?

[October]

1. Absolutely

We aren't taught our own history in school.

[mstrsplinter326]

3. Too True

[prolesunited]

4. Based on your comment below

are you meaning "white history"?

[mstrsplinter326]

2. With the whole protest about white history month...

it seems as if the naming of different months has become more important than the learning of history or fostering equality of opportunity. Maybe we should, instead of focusing on which month is which, and redouble efforts to educate. I know that's abstract and hard to achieve, but why not work toward it?

[Bridget Burke]

7. White History Month?

Could you please supply a link. I've missed this.

Sounds kind of like "Bosses' Day" at work.... Isn't every day Bosses' Day?

[MurikanDemocrat]

5. Are you offering to provide some links on women's history?

Sure, I'd look them over.

[prolesunited]

24. See Post #20

You can certainly start there.

[anarchy1999]

6. Anyone See "Iron Jawed Angels"?

ALICE STOKES PAUL

(Moorestown, NJ) Jan. 11, 1885 - July 9, 1977, Quaker, Swarthmore, U. of Penn. PhD., chief strategist for the militant suffrage wing, founder of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage and the National Woman's Party, author of the Equal Rights Amendment, organizer of the 1913 parade in Washington DC, jailed 3 times in England and 3 times in the US, waged hunger strike in prison, hospitalized, force-fed and treated as insane, law degree in 1922, international organizer, influenced charter of the United Nations.

LUCY BURNS

(Brooklyn, NY) July 28, 1879 - Dec. 22, 1966, red-headed Irish Catholic, Vassar, Yale Grad. School, organizer in England, arrested, founded Congressional Union with political partner Alice Paul, militant suffrage organizer and widely respected leader, lobbyist, speaker, teacher, editor, hunger striker. "Lucy Burns brought a fierceness and resoluteness to the American woman suffrage movement that was rarely equaled. Praised by Alice Paul as 'a thousand times more valiant than I,' Burns in her poise and strength of character was a rallying symbol for the more faint hearted...when the militant phase of the National Woman's Party ended, she had spent more time in jail than any other American suffragist." (Sidney R. Bland in Notable American Women)

And on a small, more contemporary note, please go to www.grannyd.com

She's our inspiration for today, along with Helen Thomas, Molly Ivins, B Ehrenriech (Sp?), Arundahti Roy (Sp?), Kathy Kelly and so, so many others. On a local, national and an international level. We women, have much to be proud of and a legacy to stand up for.

Thanks to all of us.

Let us not forget all of us here at DU!

The names are many......

Bev, Tinoire, El, Mari, Marianne, liberaltex, and so many more. All of you stand up and give all of us a hand. We will carry the torch. Thanks for the inspiration you all have been to me these last 3 years.

Oh, and thanks by the way to you Pro, (and all the rest yet to do so), for having recognized us.

[Bandit]

33. The Iron Jawed Angels

America is a better place today because of them.

[LiberalPersona]

8. I think the concept of ------- history month

is stupid, where ------- is anything. They should make it people history month, and encourage people to study the history of our country in general instead of the history of a certain type of people. People from all walks of life have contributed to our current existence and they should all be thanked in a month celebration not just some of them.

[anarchy1999]

9. Interesting, nice of you to share and Welcome to DU -

With reservations.

Mean rant to take on in the beginning. Trying to make friends?

[Woodstock]

10. Yes, 50% of the world

doesn't deserve to have any wrongs righted.

To hell with them.

You see, there are lots of places where the men are kept inside their houses by the women, and if they dare to emerge, the men have to cover up from head to toe for fear of their lives (like RAWA says in Afghanistan, say...oops, I got it backwards.)

And lots of places where men have their genitals removed by women so they won't stray (like in Africa, say... oops, I got it backwards again!)

There are lots of places where men can't or couldn't vote or own property, and where they have or had stuff like their feet bound or their lungs compressed in a corset so women would treat them better (oh, darn, wrong again.)

Lots of places where men are totally or 95% run by women (like the US Senate, say... oops, I got it the other way around once again!)

And where women make laws about men's bodies to decide if the men live or die (darn, what is it with me? backwards again.)

[LiberalPersona]

25. I did not say anything

about righting wrongs. That didn't even entire the discussion so I don't see what you're talking about.

[Mari333]

11. that we live in one of the most patriarchal chest thumping horrific

places on earth, the USA, where missiles are god, and nasueating impotent old men postulate and run roughshod over everyone in their quest for power and greed and control.
Bastards and more bastards. and women who buy into that are house slaves of the worst sort..see: Phyllis Schlafly and Ann Coulter.
I have read womens history for over 30 years and one thing I know..the USA is , at this time in history, is at a major crossroads as to what will happen to all of us, women and men, if we continue on the course this neofascist regime has taken.

[anarchy1999]

12. Most of all, I think it is up to all of us this time.

But now, more than ever, we women are in a unique place. I think it is time for us to stand up one more time, in a fierce way. I believe our lives, our kids and the generations to come depend upon us now, as never before.

[foreigncorrespondent]

13. Absolutely!

There are a hell of a lot of famous women wolrd wide that deserve recognition for their accomplishments.

Are you planning on doing something through out this month on DU, proles?

[OnceBlind]

14. I don't think it is necessary

And, yes, I am a woman. I have never felt like a "minority". Heck, there's more women in this world than men. I do not believe women are discriminated against. That's my opinion.

[foreigncorrespondent]

15. You should be proud of being a woman...

...and want women to be recognized for their achievements.

I suggest you also open your door and get out into the big world a lot more often if you truly believe women aren't discriminated against.

[OnceBlind]

16. I have never flet discriminated against

My role as wife, mother, and woman is very special to me and has brought me nothing but happiness in my life.

[prolesunited]

19. I'm very happy for you

and glad that you have enjoyed a fulfilling role in life as a wife and mother. That is a very noble and worthy endeavor.

However, would you agree that perhaps is NOT the right choice for some women? Maybe they want to enjoy a career AND a family. Perhaps they want to remain independent and not have a family at all.

Do you agree or disagree that women face discrimination in those "nontraditional" roles?

I don't think feminism or women's rights is about discounting this traditional choices. Rather, it is about opening up a full spectrum of opportunities for women and not relegating them to the status of second-class citizens. It's been a long struggle to secure the right to vote, to gain access to the executive suite, even to be able to control our own finances. Does that progress hold any meaning for you?

Also, minority status is not a mere numbers game. It is about who holds the power and who makes the rules. Currently, we are being ruled by a majority of white men. Sure we've made some inroads, but I'm not content.

We all (different races and sexes) have something to contribute and I won't be satisfied until more of us have a seat at the table.

I look forward to reading your responses.

[catzies]

22. Welcome to DU, OnceBlind.

Your roles as wife, mother and woman are not incompatible with feminism, you know, nor are they mutually exclusive.

[Pithlet]

28. I am a feminist and a stay-at-home-mom.

Being a wife and mother, and a feminist do not have to be mutually exclusive. Motherhood has brought me more joy than anything else in my life. But, I do not deny that sexism still exists in our society, and that discrimination based on sex still exists. Because you don't feel that you've encountered it in your life doesn't mean it isn't out there. I'm glad that you've never felt discriminated against. I hope there are more and more women who have that experience, and that it is because they truly have never been discriminated against. But, we still have a way to go.

[Skidmore]

37. How fortunate you are, but there are women who are not so

fortunate. Don't assume your experience is the experience of all women.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

26. even though we make 75cents to a mans dollar?

rape; domestic violence; sexual harassment at work and in public settings etc and you dont think we are discriminated against?

[texastoast]

30. What a lovely life

And I sincerely mean that I hope you can always have such joy that being a mother and wife can bring.

I know a lot of women who are safe and sound at home until their mid-40s. Suddenly, through no fault of their own, they are forced into the working world. I work with a lot of women who have had your situation for their entire lives until a death of a spouse, an internet romance that took their husbands away, or any number of other circumstances that were out of the wife's control.

Then, in the 1940s, the previously nonworking woman could look forward to working for a large department store which required that, as a sales clerk, they wear three-inch heels and stand on their feet all day (sitting down was not allowed--subject to firing). Out of their minimum wage salary, they had to pay for suits.

Or maybe they got lucky by the 1960s and got to go to work for Ma Bell who, as soon as the company learned that a female employee was pregnant, fired her ass out the door.

Now, women do the same work as men and do not get compensated equally for it.

Yes, we have come a long way, baby. And we still have a long way to go.

[Bandit]

35. Who are some of your women heros and why?

Can you name more than three famous women and what they are famous for?

[DrWeird]

36. I bet she can.

Nancy Reagan- She gave Ronny lot's of good advice, moral support.

Joan of Arc- Noah's wife.

Anita Bryant- Sold lot's of orange juice.

Btw, check the profile.

[pmbryant]

17. I've never heard of it until now

Overall, I think it is an excellent idea. The history of women is not very well understood, in my experience. Certainly I, as a bit of a history buff, have been completely unaware of crucial segments of it, and only vaguely aware of others.

I have a book to recommend for anyone even slightly interested in the history of the United States, men or women. It is called 'America's Women', by Gail Collins, published last year, and is an extremely entertaining and well-written rundown of the experiences of women in this country from the times of the Pilgrims to the present.

Here is the Amazon link to this book:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060185104/qid=1078156743//ref=pd_ka_1/104-5577649-5279948?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

And here is the summary:

America's Women tells the story of more than four centuries of history. It features a stunning array of personalities, from the women peering worriedly over the side of the Mayflower to feminists having a grand old time protesting beauty pageants and bridal fairs. Courageous, silly, funny, and heartbreaking, these women shaped the nation and our vision of what it means to be female in America.

By culling the most fascinating characters -- the average as well as the celebrated -- Gail Collins, the editorial page editor at the New York Times, charts a journey that shows how women lived, what they cared about, and how they felt about marriage, sex, and work. She begins with the lost colony of Roanoke and the early southern "tobacco brides" who came looking for a husband and sometimes -- thanks to the stupendously high mortality rate -- wound up marrying their way through three or four. Spanning wars, the pioneering days, the fight for suffrage, the Depression, the era of Rosie the Riveter, the civil rights movement, and the feminist rebellion of the 1970s, America's Women describes the way women's lives were altered by dress fashions, medical advances, rules of hygiene, social theories about sex and courtship, and the ever-changing attitudes toward education, work, and politics. While keeping her eye on the big picture, Collins still notes that corsets and uncomfortable shoes mattered a lot, too.

"The history of American women is about the fight for freedom," Collins writes in her introduction, "but it's less a war against oppressive men than a struggle to straighten out the perpetually mixed message about women's roles that was accepted by almost everybody of both genders."

Told chronologically through the compelling stories of individual lives that, linked together, provide a complete picture of the American woman's experience, America's Women is both a great read and a landmark work of history.

[anarchy1999]

18. Another great source:

A People's History of the United States

Howard Zinn

[Ysabel]

20. Links, etc...

Women's History Resources:

http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/WomensStudies/hist.htm

Main page Women's Studies (univ. wisconsin):

http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/WomensStudies/home.htm

Multimedia Sites in Women's History:

http://www.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women/wom-mm.html

Internet Women's History Sourcebook:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/women/womensbook.html#North%20America

National Women's History Museum:

http://www.nmwh.org/

-------------------------

Herstory / History - in the making as we speak - current:

http://www.zmag.org/genderwatch/genderwatch.htm

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/

http://www.isiswomen.org/

http://www.offourbacks.org/

-------------------------------------------------

"As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world."

- Virginia Woolf...

------------------------------------------------------------------------



edit - typo...

[prolesunited]

21. Thank you very much

for all of the links! I'll have to take some time later to go through them.

[Ysabel]

23. you're welcome...

n/t...

[cally]

27. I'm very interested in herstory

but the idea that women only have one month where herstory is highlighted is wrong. I guess if bookstores and libraries highlight great books then it will help educate folks. I think it more marginalizes the work of great historians working focusing on herstory.

[prolesunited]

29. I think that argument can be made

for any of the nationally designated months — like Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month. All of this should be included consistently in the textbooks used in our schools alongside the tales of the white men who wrote the history books.

However, until that is accomplished — and we must continue to work toward that goal — I am ready to take advantage of this specially designated time period. In fact, there is a lot I don't even know and I'm sure others are in the same boat.

Here's some more about the origins ow Women's History Month:
http://www.nwhp.org/whm/themes/history-of.html

[Kamika]

31. no, it's not nessecery

I think we should just bring up the most important stuff that happened in history, honestly.

I'm no feminist either if that makes any difference

[prolesunited]

32. And are you claiming that women

didn't do anything important in history?

Also, how would you define "feminist"? What does that mean to you?

[October]

34. We should not shrink from the word "feminist"

...but rather embrace it. Just because some men and women (Rush Limbaugh and Phyllis Schaffley come to mind) decided to make it a dirty word doesn't make it so.

Feminism is not a radical idea.

I'm an artist, stay-at-home mom, wife to a good man, and feminist.

For the record, my husband calls himself a feminist too -- without a hint of embarrassment. He feels he's standing up for me and our daughter -- and teaching our boy, as well.