The Dawn of Feminism

In the early 19th century, women faced discrimination and oppression based on their gender. Their only purpose was to take care of the house and children. Howard Zinn begins Chapter Six, The Intimately Oppressed, of his A People's History of the United States with "It is possible, reading standard histories, to forget half the population of the country. The explorers were men, the landholders and merchants men, the political leaders men, the military figures men. The very invisibility of women, the overlooking of women, is a sign of their submerged status." Women were viewed as basically property and had little to no rights. Some of the laws or practices held against them are shown below.

 In the mid-19th century, women wanted to change all that. They held the Seneca Falls Convention and issued the Declarations of Rights and Sentiments, which ironically looks much like the Declaration of Independence.

While some men attended the convention, most of the feedback it received was from disapproving males through newspapers. The Oneida Whig, for example, had some sexist things to say: for example, "If our ladies will insist on voting and legislating, where, gentlemen, will be our dinners and our elbows?" 

The struggle for gender equality continues today. In 2013, Pantene aired a commercial in the Philippines about gender stereotypes. 

It shows how differently women's roles are seen versus men's. It's impossible for men and women to be equal in everything, but gender-based stereotypes need to stop. What we need is for everyone to have the same rights and opportunites.

Bibliography
Zinn, Howard. The Intimately Oppressed. http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinnint6.html 
Declaration of Rights and Sentiments. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/vc006195.jpg