Where Does She Belong

As Emily discussed, these three readings focused on first wave feminism and the struggle to oppose de jure inequalities, with a primary emphasis on achieving the right to vote. Woman wanted to have their voices counted in the political structure of society. It is interesting to note that parallel to women’s suffrage, African Americans most often worked separately and not with this group. When Lucretia Mott, a white, feminist delegate, was refused the right to speak at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention, the chasm between these two groups was further demonstrated. Isn’t it tragic to think that two groups, slaves and white women, who were both being oppressed by the same force, refused to join together. Would these movements have been more productive if they had united? One may hypothesize that a larger group, with a wider array of participants, would have had more significant influence. The distressing result was that African American women often remained isolated.

Along with Emily and Cait, I also found Sojourner Truth’s speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”, to be the most empowering. She was not only a woman, but also a black woman. She was not treated to any of the “privileges” that a white woman’s lifestyle offered. Instead, she was forced to work as a slave as well as bear children. Women, like Sojourner Truth, appeared isolated in a world where others were struggling for rights. They fit in with neither black men nor white women. They remained an excluded subgroup of a subgroup and thus had a weak voice.

When one moves to the twenty-first century and examines the 2008 presidential election, groundbreaking advancements were accomplished. The 2008 Democratic primary was the first time that a woman, Hillary Clinton, was running for the Democratic nomination for president. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, became the first black president of the United States. It is important to note that nowhere within these presidential campaigns was a black woman nominated for the position of president or vice-president. One might suppose that this subgroup of the population continues to lag behind. It is important to recognize that Michelle Obama, the first black first lady, has impressively high popularity. “Barack Obama's approval ratings are good. Michelle Obama's are better” (Page).