Response to Xinke Liu's Post

Despite a strong female desire to reconstruct and revolutionize society, they were for the most part relegated to performing menial tasks, while men took any and all credit for change. Ellen Dubois discusses the two feminist waves that occurred in the United States. Despite being separated by several decades, both waves had many similarities. Women have since realized that if they want change they must actively create it. However, as discussed in class and as seen in Sojourner Truth's speech, change meant different things to women of different races and classes. Sojourner constantly poses the question "Ain't I a woman" to the audience, because she demands to know why she isn't treated as such. Unfortunately, African American women are considered double-minorities in this country. This posed to them the incredibly difficult question of true self- identity....meaning am I a woman first or am I African- American first. Of course, nowadays we would like to think that they are simultaneously both, but this was not the case when Sojourner was living. 

The egregious hypocrisy of the time is almost mind blowing. The New Left claimed to be radical and revolutionary. Promises and visions of equality were the theme songs of The New Left's chants, as they set their sights on abolishing slavery, on the premise that it was morally reprehensible, because ALL MEN are created equal. This statement was upheld at the World Anti- Slavery Convention is London, when E. Stanton & L. Mott were not allowed to attend the meeting. The delegates attending the convention proclaimed to be the most educated and progressive people of their time and yet women were excluded. This event alone speaks volumes on the types of obstacles feminists were and are currently still facing. 

Now that we are in the year 2010, it is time to reflect on female progress and ask ourselves "what next?" Should we as women band together like the Little Rascals and create a girls only club? Or is it finally time to extend our hand to the opposite sex and ask them to join us, to create a society in which we are all truly equal? We can only hope that there will be a hand willing to grasp this problem.