"Feminism and The Double Bind"

All of these pieces tied together really well. In Dubois' "Feminism Old Wave and New Wave" she gives us the history of the two waves of Feminism. She is not sure where the second wave end and if it still continues today. The shunning of women's right to vote by the male abolitioners gave the first wave of feminism just what they needed to start a movement of their own. Once women gained the vote the issues became different and gave way to a new wave of feminism but both strived for one thing women's liberation.

The Declaration of Sentiments was one of the first pieces of written documents of the rights of women and how they have been oppressed by men. Having this written down helped the women's movement tremendously and help take great strides in gaining supporters and taking a step in the right direction for women's suffrage.

Two years after The Seneca Falls Conference Sojurner Truth gave a speech at the Women's Conference entitled "Ain't I a Woman?". This speech gave a voice to the women who seemed to be left out of the women's movement which were women of color. The demands of Feminists at that time did not necessarily fall in line with the needs of all women. Although many black women stayed with the civil rights movement although it dismissed the rights of women was because many of them felt that the civil rights movement was better suited for their needs than the women's movement. What Sojourner Truth does is remind the white middle class women of the movement that she too is a women and that women of all races can benefit from this movement and although she is fighting for civil rights she also supports the movement.

All three readings gave us a glimpse at the history of the Women's Movement and as we look back we realize we still have far to go in gaining complete equality and women's liberation.