Friday, September 16, 2011

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

The "Seneca Falls Address" is a speech Elizabeth Cady Stanton gives in order to get the ball rolling for woman's rights. In this discourse she describes how much society has belittled women and how much in actuality she really does to contribute to the continuity of humankind. Through the use of biblical references she refutes man's idea that the bible says that women are inferior to men. I really thought that her explanation to the Adam and Eve story was interesting. She used the term men use that women are "creatures of affection" while men are "beings of reason" in this instance to show how opposite this idea truly was. According to Stanton, Eve had to be manipulated through her desire to improve her intellectual nature while Adam only followed what his wife told him to do because of his blind affection. Stanton also uses examples of cultures from all over the world trying to explain how women are treated but how they are equal to men also. Although Stanton says that women and men are equal, she talks about man in a condescending tone. The worst thing someone can do when they are trying to gain respect is belittling them also. I am not a feminist and do not argue that all of her points are valid but she does make people think of the predicament women are in. When she was making the point that men are not always physically stronger than women, she referred to the Amazonian women. I thought that was really funny.

This speech reminds me that the way they treated women back in the day was not as a person but as a property. I remember when I read what Peter wrote in the bible there was quite the problem back in the day. Women were mistreated and if the man wanted to divorce her, he would find any petty reason like because she burned the food so I don't want to be with her anymore. I read that the woman should have a profound respect towards her man and that he is her "head." I don't think this is in any way demeaning but rather establishes someone to be in charge. Man and woman work together so that they can reach their goals; furthermore, the woman is complement to the man and her opinions are taken into consideration when making decisions. Even though now in America the treatment towards women is much better than before but definitely not as well as it should be.

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