Medicine Lodge High School
Medicine Lodge, Kansas
Teachers: Devra Parker and Mike Hubka
Women in Today’s Communities
By Dacy Larson
12th Grade
A burden of pressure has been laid on the shoulders of women since the beginning of time. This pressure comes from a feeling of inadequacy when compared to their more dominant fellows. Women have fought to be compared equally to the male gender for many years. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were two of the first women who stood up for the equal rights of their gender. Many associations were formed, many conventions were held, and many riots took place during the time period when these women fought for equality. Eighty years after the first signs of equality for women, a marking in national history took place; the 19th Amendment was passed. This was a major step for women; it gave them the right to vote. Women have gained many successes throughout the fight for equal rights. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go before women, in actuality, are treated the same as men in their communities. My personal role in my community is to be an independent and strong young woman. In my doing this, it moves other women to stand out and be a strong character within their communities.
Laurie’s morning starts off the same way each day. She gets ready for work and takes the subway to the office. As Laurie enters the building, the stare of eyes follows her as she walks into her office. Laurie is the only female who works for the company. She works hard at her job and received it fairly because she is the best for what it required. The problem is Laurie leaves her job everyday feeling unsatisfied. She wonders why the men of the company get credit for their jobs, and she goes unrecognized.
Problems like Laurie’s occur everyday in the lives of women in the work force. In both small and large communities, women go unrecognized for the work they do and the efforts that are put into their jobs. The preconceived picture of men slaving away at the job to provide for their families has taken a turn. Many women have joined into the work force with eager anticipation. They are filled with many high hopes that they, too, can provide for the family. Yet, a problem exists in this situation. Women are experiencing a lack of support from the work field. A hard working woman deserves as much credit as the man sitting next to her does. To get this credit, a woman must sacrifice many of her own feelings. It is not easy to accept the fact that unfair treatment in the workplace still occurs today. I feel that we, as women, need to stand up and realize the rights that we do have. We need to take advantage of the laws that protect equality in the workplace, such as equal pay for equal work. Affirmative action has been put into place to protect and make up for the past deprivation of equality for women. On the other hand, laws like these are usually not put into use because some women are afraid to stand up for their rights. As I utilize my responsibility of standing out and creating a new wave for women, I hope to changes the attitude of fear and rejection that most women experience through unequal treatment in the workplace.
Kate’s family of four consists of her two daughters, Dawn and Kristen, and her husband, Grant. She spends many hours at the office, but is still delighted when she returns home. Kate’s day is far from over though, she must cook the dinner, clean the house, do the laundry, and still manage to spend time with her family. She is exhausted at the end of the night, and feels frustrated because she is the only one in the family who helps out around the house. Kate wishes that the children and her husband could help with the household duties. Unfortunately, Kate does not get much support from the family in this situation.
Instances like Kate’s happen to most women of the world. After moving through the centuries, women today are still being thought of in the roles of the household mothers they once played. Although great achievements in history have led to the evolution of women’s rights, one factor continues to remain. This factor is discrimination in the home. Through community life it has been led to assume that women should be the caretakers of the home, and the men should have the control. Many women experience a lesser sense of significance in the home. They must live up to the expectations of cleaning the house, taking care of the children, cooking the meals, and maintaining a successful career. Through all of the work that women do in the home, men are still considered the kings of their castles. Women deserve to have recognition and share the roles of the family. A good, solid foundation from just one family will lead others to join in the process of making women within the community stand out. If this can be successful, women will make many more advances in equality for themselves through the lives of people and their communities.
Since the beginning of the women’s movement, there have been select individuals that work harder than the others have. It should not be this way, for it is all women that those certain females are fighting for. Therefore, if women within a community were to ban together and work as hard as the leader, so much more advancement would be possible. I believe the only way to win the war of equality is for all women to fight for it together.
Answers To Questions
Q1- How does society invest in marriage in the USA and in Manus?
The Manus are hesitant about supporting a man who has often been divorced. They focus on lasting marriages, which in a sense, leads to greater success rate in this area. It is as if they invest in the subject of marriage as well as the outside and surrounding shells. Marriage in the USA is a thought of commitment, but not always a lasting or ultimate commitment. People's search for a mate is often based on comfort or popularity, instead of love. Therefore, the actual succession rates for United States marriages decline.
Q2- Interview 10 married people. State the length and number of each one's marriages and a line or two of advice from each on how to maintain a long, happy relationship.
The first subject has been married for seven years in his first marriage. Advice given to a successful marriage is to be honest- brutally honest- even if it hurts. Another has been married for 18 years in her first marriage. The advice was to be really patient, and to be able to give more and take less. The third couple has been married for 23 years in their first marriage and the key to their marriage is communication. The next subject has been married for five months in her first marriage. Her advice is to respect others opinions. The sixth person has been married twice; three years in her first marriage and six in her second. The next subject has been married for eleven years in her second marriage. Her advice is to never go to bed angry. The eighth couple has been married for 47 years in their first marriage. The advice is to have interests together, but still be your own person. The ninth person has been married for two years in her first and says to always remember the love you feel even when your mad. The final couple has been married for 22 years in their first marriage. The key to their marriages is to remain the people they were when they first fell in love.
Q3- According to Richard Eckersley, what should our collective
goal be?
Our goal should be to dematerialize society without reducing the quality of life. Some environmental research and advocacy organizations have urged a halving of global material flows in order to achieve this.
Q4- Write a worthy goal for your local community.
We have many individual needs for our local community. Needs for the young, the elderly, the married, and the single. These needs stretch to parents, single and married, supporting themselves as well as their children. Often times we overlook helping the younger generation. People need to realize that these young people are the future and there are many things that go unfulfilled to the children of my community.
Q5- Comment on the excerpts from “Tomorrow’s Child.”
I believe that the drop out rate of civil society has a direct effect on the increase of America’s minority population. The growth will continue and further rise in the future. It will also widen the gap between each of the races that are affected.
Q6- How does the fact the USA is a democracy make lawyers particularly helpful, according to Kathleen Sullivan? How does our diversity, wealth, and size make lawyers particularly helpful?
Lawyers protect us from the dangers of tyranny by creating a form of public responsibility and accountability. Some of this is because in the United States culture, we are a bit reluctant to come up with national governmental solutions to problems which develop into court cases. Setting world standards, dealing with respect, lawyers become very helpful. Our constant conflict is where the law steps in. Collective luxuries are also a place where the law has to step in and draw the line. A single social custom is clearly a reason where lawyers must do their jobs.
Q7- Ms. Sullivan claims bad practices either change by regulations or punitive damages. Which do you prefer and why? Can you think of an alternative?
Regulation seems the best. Allowing people to create contracts to regulate and anticipate disputes is the most effective from my perspective. This provides solutions before actually stumbling onto the actual problem.
Q8- Briefly describe three ways society would benefit from the coming retirement of baby boomers, according to the required reading.
Benefits of retired baby boomers will offer baby-sitting services to those having babies. These people can also provide care for parents and their busy schedules as well. They can run the household and make the errands.
Q9- Evaluate the likelihood of Presidents Clinton’s anti- poverty program making a real impact. Give at least three reasons to back up your conclusions.
I think that his anti-poverty program will have some effect. But I don not think the impact will be that large. For one, most who suffer from poverty suffer greatly to where they have no food or clothes. Another reason the program could be unsuccessful is there are many of those who suffer from poverty that will not be located or found. How can they receive help? The last reason is there are too many people suffering from poverty for this one single program working alone to cure.
Q10- Name three things in Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis have in
common.
Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis on an individual basis ran schools. They were both actively involved is positive programs for kids, providing them with role models.