With War Comes Social Change!

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We were all taught about World War II in history class, where the majority of the attention was placed on events such as Pearl Harbor, Hitler and the Nazis, and the Allies verse the Axis.  While all of this is immensely important in human history, something else was lost, shadowed by these great tragedies.  Women, for the first time, were rising above and beyond their perceived potential.  Before the 1940's, a man was expected to be the "breadwinner" for his family.  If his wife, for any reason, needed to leave the home to contribute to the financial needs of their family, that man was seen, by society, to be inadequate.  This belief, that a woman should stay at home and tend to the needs of her family, became the social norm after the Industrial Revolution, and wasn't tested until World War II.  At this time, some 10-million working-aged men set off to fight the war, leaving our country with a severe labor shortage.  With no one else to turn to, our nation finally decided to give a chance to the able-bodied women who inhabited it. 


Much to our nations surprise, not only did millions of women leave their aprons and house chores for overalls and power tools, but they excelled in whatever trade they belonged to.  "All responsible people connected with industry today agree that women are equal to men as far as being able to do almost any industrial job," said The New York Times, 1942.  Although our nations primary objective of flooding newspapers, magazines, and other media outlets with positive images of female workers was strictly to fill factories with able-bodied workers while the men were off at war, a byproduct of this objective occurred, unbeknownst to everyone.  For when the men came home from war, the women weren't too eager to give up their new found purpose in life outside the home.  By the wars end, more than 1 million more women had joined the workforce, even though many women were forced to quit there jobs for or by men.  Social norms work on a continuum, and from this point forward, it seemed women would play an active role in the workforce.

"Media Images of women were expansive, widening the range of acceptable behavior, providing positive examples of unconventional women, and blurring traditional gender distinctions."~ Susan M. Hartmann

So how is it that we can progress so drastically within 5-6 years of our nations history, but than come to a screeching halt, where it seems we've, at the very most, been crawling ever since.  It is now the year 2012, and women are still lucky to make 70% of what our equal male counterparts make for the same position.  It is also, unfortunately, not against the law to discriminate against a person based on marital status.  A single mother is less likely to be given a job then a woman without children; a woman without children is less likely to be given that same job than a man of any marital status!  The average 25 year-old woman who works until the age of 65 will make half a million dollars less than the average working man. (Women's eNews)  The truth is we are still far from equal, but what has caused this stop in the drive to progress?  I believe it has something to do with the way our media perceives women.

In the 1940's, the popular ideal was for women to join the workforce out of necessity to help provide for our countries war efforts.  Today, while women might get an equal amount of attention from the public eye, it is not for the same reasons.  The media has learned to dehumanize women, like in the Advertisement above, making their worth equal to the amount of youth and beauty they possess.  Women are still expected not only to hold a full-time job, but to run a household and take care of her children, all while maintaining her sexuality and beauty.  It seems the demands on women have increased, but our rights have yet to do the same.  While the same thing was happening in the 1940's, where Hollywood-essque models were being used to portray what the "working woman" looked like, today it has only become worse.  the "beauty" standard was at least feasible for more than a fraction of the population to achieve.  Today, women are expected to look a way only 5% of women can naturally look like.  Women have become an overly sexualized being.  We have become a play thing for men in this newfound "rape culture."

Rosie the Riveter, a poster child for strength, feminism and power, was once the ideal held by most women.  This is what they wanted to be: independent, hard-working, and strong… Equal!  Today, Those role models are few and far apart.  Who knows, maybe it will take another tragedy to wake our nation up into realizing what we are allowing to be accepted as social norms in what is supposed to be "the land of the free."

History Repeats Itself!

Can you believe, at one point, people were unknowingly medicated from alcohol, morphine and opiates?  I can!  It isn't too different from now though, is it?  While we might frown on the use of these particular substances, i think we live in an era where not only does this happen, but its even accepted… But should it be?  Before we speak of how horrendous it used to be, and shake our heads at the ignorance of the generations before us, take a look at the world we live in today.  Pharmaceutical companies are multibillion dollar corporations!  We live in a country that works on crisis care, rather than preventative!  And you don't think that the profit made from medications had any influence in this?  I do!

"Gullible America will spend this year some seventy-five million dollars in the purchase of patent medicines… In consideration of this sum, it will swallow huge quantities of alcohol, an appealing amount of opiates and narcotics, a wide assortment of varied drugs ranging from powerful and dangerous heart depressants to insidious liver stimulants; and, far in excess of all other ingredients, undiluted fraud." ~ Samuel Hopkins Adams

How are we different now?  Because alcohol and opiates and curtain narcotics have been made illegal?  But what about the ever growing number of individuals going on mood stabilizers, antidepressants, ADD/ADHD medications?  Are we a nation of the numb?  Yes, I believe some people benefit from these medications, but where is the benefit of prescribing these medications to the most mild of cases?  The benefit is held by the few who make these drugs possible.  So think about it, in a few generations, what will the people of that today think about us?  Just like Muckraker Samuel Hopkins Adams, who brought light to the problems that they faced in the early 1900's about the overuse of those particular "medications," maybe we should be looking into who we trust with our health.

Terror of the Trusts, and the Queen of the Muckrakers

http://bit.ly/JUOb6c

When the United States reached the Industrial Revolution, the country went into warped speed, moving forward technologically.  The political plan, according to chapter 6 in Mightier than the Sword, was to "transform the United States into an industrial giant, while protecting American business from foreign interference."  But to do so, many decided to take short cuts, partaking in under-the-table deals.  Like many social issues in this country, our advancements were good for some, but bad for many!  The greed of a select few, who had no problems riding on the back of the many, became detrimental to small business owners, as well as the working class, during this era.  Luckily for us, there were some brave citizens who decided to tell it how it was, or, in the words of President Roosevelt "Rake the Muck!"  Of all the memorable journalists that came out of this time, I've decided to dedicate this entry to one woman who overcame all odds in becoming what could possibly be the most influential reporter of this time… Ms. Ida Tarbell.

During the early 1900's, it was unusual for a woman to work in a field dominated by men, let alone go against those same men and challenge their manhood.  Her journalistic talents can possibly be held responsible for the later political moves, which permanently shut down monopolies, which made our country a tad easier for the average man, or woman, to advance.  In fact, her most successful series "History of the Standard Oil Company,"  Challenged John D. Rockefeller himself.  She definitely know how to rake the muck.   Because of her, the Hepburn Act was created, which made it illegal for major companies, like Rockefeller's, to pay off railroad companies.  With the railroads on the side of a single company, it made it almost impossible for other oil companies to compete, monopolizing the oil industry, which allowed them to set prices as high as they wanted.  A few years later, Standard Oil, Rockefeller's company, was forced to break into 38 smaller companies.  Who said one woman couldn't make a big difference! 

Tarbell made a huge impact within her lifetime, she proved the power of the pen, and then some.  Who knows where our country would be if not for her, and people like her, who dedicated their lives to call out all the social injustices in this country!  Reading about this woman really sparked a fire within me, she has definitely influenced me to keep going in the world of journalism.  A woman, during a time where women couldn't even vote yet, brought down one of the biggest corporations ever to breathe within our nation!  Makes you wonder, what could I do!  How much could I change in a world not too different from hers?

What's Important?

   

     Yet another example proving society hasn't changed much since the mid-1800's!  In my book, Mightier Than the Sword, I came across a quote that was printed in the New York Tribune, what was then this countries most "widely read and respected newspaper.  The Quote did something that is oh too familiar today, it attacked the character of powerful women!

"Our heart warms with pity towards these unfortunate creatures.  We fancy that we can see them, deserted of men, and bereft of those rich enjoyments and exalted privileges which belong to women, languishing their unhappy lives away in a mournful singleness."

     So lets not listen to these poor, manless women because, well, they don't have a man, so they must not have a brain either?!  This is ridiculous and doesn't state one thing based on fact, all pure opinion.  Whats worse, this still happens in The United States today.  Just think about it, what do you know mist about the females in politics today?  I can clearly remember reading an article about how haggard and old Hilary Clinton looked at a public speaking.  I can also pull up MANY pieces on what exactly Michelle Obama was wearing.  Somewhere, buried within all of this, they do occasionally speak about their actual politics.. but what does the general public absorb?

     Its like, If they cant fight against the logical arguments of intelligent women, they use the fallacy of appearance to nullify their ideas!  Yes, it's true, things aren't as bad as they used to be, but when we still focus so much on a females appearance as top priority, we aren't giving them the respect they deserve. 

Seneca Falls Convention

This is a pretty Decent Video From Youtube about the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848!    

We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident: That All Men, AND Women, are Created Equal."

http://bit.ly/I2tNvL

 As a woman, I have had to overcome certain obstacles that only those of my gender could understand.  I have been harassed in the streets, overlooked, belittled, and joked about, just for having a vagina... and its 2012!  I chose chapter 3 because, well, I get it!  I owe it to the women of Seneca Falls, NY, 1848!  They are the courageous women who got the ball rolling! 

  

     Of course, the problems those women had to overcome seem more obvious than those we face today.  Women didn't have the right to vote, heck they didn't have the rights to their own children if they chose divorce!  Somehow, our Constitution has made this small error time, and time again.  They forgot to include all people when they stated "We, the people."  Why did this extreme inequality exist?  Well according to Rodger Streitmatter, it was believed that "She was considered, by nature, to be incapable of serious thought or important decision making."  Isn't it terrible that such thoughts still breathe life today?  Women in the workforce are lucky to make 80% that of their equally qualified male counterparts!  Women still have to walk the streets in fear when they decide to walk alone, always cautioned of men who believe they have the RIGHT to harass them!  I chose this chapter because the Feminist movement needs to press on!  Men and women alike, blindly believe that the women of the Suffragist Movement have long accomplished what they sought out for, instead of seeing it for what it was, just the beginning!