tsul trim 2

Sunday, October 23, 2005

"Well-behaved women,rarely make history"

(I saw this sentence,written on a car)

David said...: I am not sure that whether a woman is "well-behaved" or not is an important determinant of her memorability with respect to history. I think that a woman can stand up for what she believes in and still be polite and well-mannered. Perhaps the author of this statement was defining a "well-behaved woman" as a woman who meekly accepts a role secondary to that of men. I suppose that women who either choose to or are forced to live that sort of life are not often able to achieve anything that will be remembered by future generations.

One woman who comes to my mind who was very well-mannered and who also made some very important history is Eleanor Roosevelt. She was very much responsible for the creation of the United Nations.

However, some now famous women were definitely not considered to be "well-behaved" by many men of their time. Two excellent examples are Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. These two women lead the woman's suffrage (the right to vote) movement in the U.S. Their hard work and willingness to go against the establishment (men in power) were very important to women in the U.S. gaining the right to vote in the 1920's. They were also founding figures in the American feminist movement. Here is a link where you can learn more about them if you are interested.; 11:35 PM