Women's Suffrage

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.”

-Aldous Huxley

Image: 'Who minds the baby when the mother+goes+to+vote?' 

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            What is the purpose of learning about history? I always thought it was to have a better understanding of the world around us, and to see what has gotten us to where we are, in order to properly determine where we are going. In certain cases, I was wrong. We are taught about wars and revolutions that occurred so many years ago, based on a number of factors that one would assume should have taught us something. The reality is that history repeats itself, and it is not always for good reason.

Image: 'Seneca Falls, NY' 
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Journalism is the tool that makes history possible, or in some cases close to impossible. In the eighteenth-century, a woman’s role was known by all to be small. A woman’s role was to please her husband, bear children, and not to have thoughts of her own. Then one day, a happily married mother of seven children named Elizabeth Cady Stanton decided that this wasn’t right. In 1815 she planned an event would later become known as the beginning of the Women’s Rights Movement. In Seneca Falls, New York, 300 people gathered for a two-day convention that produced a Declaration of Sentiments. This declaration demanded that women have the same rights as men whether it is in the workplace, or at home.

              At the time, respected journalists were men who saw this “movement” as comical, and often mocked what Stanton and her followers aimed to accomplish. The seemingly insignificant convention in Seneca Falls would later become known as the beginning of Women’s Suffrage. Although it wouldn't happen for seventy-two years, supporters never lost sight of their goal: Women should have the same rights as men. In 1815, the social norm was that a woman’s place was in the home, and until Stanton came along it was something no one dared to question. Humans tend to reject the unfamiliar no matter how much it might make sense.

The same types of logical thoughts were met with laughter and distaste when the rights of same-sex couples were first brought up. According to the 2000 census, there were 594,391 same-sex couples living together in the United States, yet none could marry. According to an article on www.now.org (National Organization for Women) written by Amanda Cherrin, same-sex couples across the country are denied more than 1,000 federal protections and rights. Many reasons I've heard that people reject same-sex marriage without hesitation is a matter of religion. They want to protect the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, the “sanctity” that homosexual couples will destroy. In my opinion, it’s people like Kim Kardashian who get married, then get divorced seventy-two days later that are ruining the sanctity of marriage. In the same article NOW action Vice President Olga Vives said "We need to educate the people of this country- they need to know that the denial of same-sex marriage is discrimination".

Image: 'Providence Pride - June 16' 
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The close-mindedness that largely slowed down progress in the fight for women’s rights is the same thing that is making the fight for gay rights that much more difficult. Due to the difference in time and technology it won’t take seventy-two years for advocates to achieve their goal, but even with all sorts of social networking it has taken a lot of time. Women’s suffrage was before my time, and I don’t have a direct tie to the fight for same-sex marriage but I often try to put myself in their shoes. I know what it’s like to work towards making something right, and I can’t imagine how I would feel if I was denied things like the right to vote or the right to marry whomever I wanted.

The media has slowed the progress of both movements, thanks to people with a voice who can’t seem to let go of what they know and accept a little bit of change, especially when it is what’s right. I think that the gay rights movement has made great strides in the past couple of years, as six state governments as well as the District of Columbia have passed laws offering same-sex marriage. Hopefully the people of this country will realize that we are repeating history, and that one day we can use media and journalism to do what’s right by the citizens of this country.




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