BY: MORGAN KILGER, NEWS EDITOR
Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
March is National Women’s History Month. As a woman and a women’s studies major, I believe that women should be recognized more than just in March.
Even though women are only recognized for a month, they have been fighting for their rights and facing backlash for over 200 years.
Women have come a long way since the start of the women’s rights movement, which took place in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention in Seneca Falls, New York.
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women’s rights convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. The convention produced a list of demands called the Declaration of Sentiments, which sought to give women equal rights to men.
Unfortunately, women would not become close to fully obtaining the same rights as men until 150 years after the convention. Throughout those 150 years, women of all races and sexualities have fought for several rights that were handed to men.
Women fought for the right to vote, an equal education and the right to have a say on what to do with their bodies.
Alongside fighting for their own rights, women also fought for members of other communities. Feminists, as they were later named, started fighting for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color alongside their own rights.
The term feminist became an insult due to ‘extreme’ feminists — feminists who would become violent or ignorant.
I consider myself a feminist. My older sister instilled feminism into my worldview when I was about 13. She would send me ‘feminist’ stickers for my water bottles or books about famous women throughout history.
My sister giving me a glimpse into women’s history inspired me to want to fight for my rights and advocate for those who cannot participate in the fight. Even if it’s educating myself or others or reposting something on Instagram, I participate in any way I can.
One of my required courses, Introduction to Women’s Studies, is the introductory course for the women’s studies major. The course themes include feminism, oppression of women, and other qualities of the feminist community. The course required a textbook called “This Book is Feminist” by Jamia Wilson. Wilson’s book discusses each theme in her own experiences as a young Black woman.
Taking this course opened my eyes to how much women fight and continue to be put down because of their fight.
Despite women’s accomplishments and hardships throughout history being overlooked, they deserve to be recognized outside the month of March. Women have powered through oppression and inequality to get where they are today, and they are not stopping quite yet.
kilgermi22@bonaventure.edu
