Sherri Joiner
November 25, 2012
Maria Kithhart
Women and GLBT Yesterday and Today
Throughout history women and people of the gay, lesbian, and transgender community have faced many acts of inequality. Women have experienced inequality in many aspects such as jobs, voter rights, public offices, and other areas simply because of the fact that they are women. People of the GLBT community have faced these inequalities in jobs, society, public offices, and other areas as well because of their sexual preference. Both women and members of the GLBT have emerged to see these inequalities being overcome throughout the last century.
Throughout time, women have always been seen as the weaker sex of the human race. Not only have they been considered weaker, but also intellectually inferior to men. Women were considered to be better suited for roles inside the home as a wife and a mother. They have had fewer legal rights and career opportunities. In the 20th century, women won the right to vote and also increased their educational and job opportunities. With these opportunities, women have merged onto the workforce and political stages.
The general consensus of a woman today is no longer confined to the home as a housekeeper and mother taking care of her children. Great strides have been made for women. Today, women are CEOs, hold political offices, business owners, police officers, and much more. Not only are women all of these, but they continue to be the mother and housekeeper as well. They are not simply seen as the weaker sex, but are now seen as intellectually equal to their male counterparts. In some instances, the roles have been reversed in this modern age and some women are the wage earners of the family and the male is the housekeeper and homemaker.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Most women today are employed as pink-collar workers in clerical work, sales, and services; jobs intended just for females. Furthermore, many men do not support women’s attempt to gain economic equality because they believe this would threaten their superior status in the job market and at home. Regarding educational attainment, women’s role has been traditionally limited to the household, while men have always been figures in the public sphere. The emphasis on this tradition has impacted women greatly. Women compromise two thirds of illiterate persons worldwide. In regards to gender political representation, women have been far less visible than men in politics. Male dominance is associated with politics due to the aspects of power and authority. Women’s ultimate fight for the right to vote was at the beginning of the twentieth century, unfortunately we continue to fight and face opposition in the political…
- 936 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
When we look back at the way GLBT was looked at it was just as bad as African Americans was looked at. Just like African Americans the GLBT community was subject to discrimination and prejudice. They had to hide who they truly were. In the old days if you came out and said you were gay or a lesbian they thought you had a disease. Without technology they did not know what to do they did not know that it was not a disease but someone’s right of choice. It wasn’t until 1973 until “The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders (Pearson Education, 2013). Today in America the GLBT community is making a lot of progress when it comes to their rights. Just like women they have had to fight for everything they want. People today tend to look past the fact that you are gay or a lesbian. Their still are some prejudice people and they still get discriminated against but it is getting better. The gay and lesbian movement is doing a great job showing people that they this is not a fade they are here to stay. By doing this they are fighting to be equal. Some of the social issues relevant to the GLBT community are health care, housing, economic support and education. Concerning political issues two that are standouts in this very election and those are women’s right and same sex marriage. The social issues for the GLBT community are mainly based on poverty,…
- 993 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Throughout history the roles of women have changed dramatically. Since the 1950’s, women have slowly but surely evolved into the individuals one sees today in public offices, law firms or even the five o’ clock news. However, this evolution did not occur over night. Although women in the 1950’s and today have dealt with similar stereotypes, today life has greatly improved because women aren’t as pressured to get married, are taken more seriously in the business world, and are even making as much or more money as men.…
- 675 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Even in modern times, the woman is still often looked upon as in inferior class. They often do not enjoy the same benefits, political influence or power as their male counterparts. In the Western nations, women enjoy increasing respect, equality and affluence. Women have acquired a role more on par with males through a long struggle for independence and equality. Society no longer expects women to be ruled by men because they themselves are incapable. They may choose their own paths, become educated, support themselves financially, and choose their partners…
- 2181 Words
- 9 Pages
Better Essays -
While societies today have become more progressive towards the acceptance of women, they still face major setbacks. Stereotypically, women are responsible for household…
- 677 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community, also known as the LGBT Community, have experienced huge inequalities for years now. Recently however, the LGBT Community experienced a big win in their fight for equality. After almost fifty years of fighting for equality, the Supreme Court ruled that states must license and recognize marriage among people of the same sex in June 2015. Although the LGBT Community has taken substantial steps towards equality, disparities still remain between the LGBT Community and non-marginalized groups in the United States. In regards to these disparities, there is still a huge gap between the health of heterosexual individuals and homosexual individuals.…
- 1070 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The lesbian, gay, and bisexual community have experienced a lot of discrimination throughout most of the 20th century. There have been public opinion polls taken in the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s that proved that the negative opinion about the gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual community. There is also discrimination, and pre within the gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual community. One of the most common discrimination within their community is between the gay and bi-sexual man. During my interview, I was surprised to know that there is personal identity issues within our race, with African American’s tend to be less exceptive of other gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual individuals, then in any other race. Some believe today’s discrimination is mostly towards the gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual community. You can see some of the discrimination…
- 983 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
When we think of a stay-at-home dad, we think of a deadbeat dad that can’t get a job and support his family. In reality in these economic hard times more and more men are forced to stay home and raise their children while the wife works. In our culture we’ve had fixed gender roles where men were the breadwinners and the women stayed home raising the children. We should not judge those dads that are taking on the role of Mr. Mom because they are doing their part in rearing their children. The old fashion thinking that men are better workers than women is now more scorned at than understood. Yet, thinking that women can take care of the household better than a man had not changed until the early nineteen-hundreds when we had a depression and everyone had to find work to be able to survive. According to the (“Family Roles”) Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender, family patterns and roles have been greatly affected during the past century by contemporary trends that include changes in urbanized, economic modernization, the shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy, and improvement in the status of women in the United States and around the world.” This change was started when women were brought into the factories during World War II because they needed workers to build the war machines and the men were shipped off to fight in the war. When the war ended and women were then expected to resume their duties at home, they were not happy about it. The women got a taste of working and earning a pay-check to support their family. As a result this started some disharmony in the family unit and men were expected to share in the raising of their children. During the sixties and the women’s movement, some women were convinced they could do any job a man could do and achieve anything they desired. As a result of all of that, a woman being out of the household working a fulltime job could possibly have been the cause of more…
- 1460 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Women have always been perceived as subordinate to men. As time has passed, women’s equality has improved, but they are still not seen as equal to the opposite gender. Women have been treated unjustly for centuries, simply viewed as the caretaker of household duties. Women (the female gender) are more misunderstood because they are stereotyped in the media, viewed as the weaker sex in the workplace, and suffer from pay inequality.…
- 1226 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Women in recent history had a commonly held expectation that once they became a mother, they would stop working in order to look after their children. The husband was the one who would work on weekdays, while the wife would stay home as the dedicated parent figure (this of course was not relevant to all parents, but was very common). However, throughout the last few decades, the expectation for women to be home-makers and housewives has greatly lessened, allowing women to pursue careers of their own and reach their own potential. The burden of life after children has significantly been lifted, allowing women to discover new experiences and opportunities in their lives. The lives of women have been put entirely into the hands of women themselves; we are no longer socially defined in our roles. And the less defined we…
- 570 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Our history and present have demonstrated many issues regarding gender. Despite suffrage, women still believe that they are the weaker sex due to circumstances involving the workplace.…
- 2039 Words
- 9 Pages
Better Essays -
But as we look in society women are getting up there just last presidential election we had two women going for major positions in society our president and to just think that just about 75 years ago women couldn’t even vote. Throughout most of recorded history and around the globe, women have taken a “back seat” to men. Generally speaking, men have had, and continue to have, more physical and social power and status than women, especially in the public arena. Men tend to be more aggressive and violent then women, so they fight wars. This leads to males holding public office, creating laws and rules, defining society, and—some feminists might add—controlling women. For instance, not until the 19th century was women in the United States allowed to own property, vote, testify in court, or serve on a jury explain in Simone de Beauvoir’s work and in other feminist’s writings. Male dominance in a society is termed patriarchy. Sexism is the assumption that men are superior to women. Sexism has always had negative consequences for women. It has caused some women to avoid pursuing successful careers typically described as “masculine”—perhaps to avoid the social impression that they are less desirable as spouses or mothers, or even less “feminine.” Sexism has also caused women to feel inferior to men or to rate themselves negatively. More recently, though, researchers have found the gap in these sorts of ratings to be closing. This may be due to social commentary in the media regarding sexism; growing numbers of successful women in the workforce. Sexism produces inequality between the genders—particularly in the form of discrimination. In comparable positions in the…
- 1189 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Women can be a powerful ‘force multiplier’ for the overall progress of society, and that notably includes the well-being of the family unit, if they are treated as equals in letter and spirit and are able to make their contribution in all fields of human…
- 1045 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
For centuries, housework, chores and raising children are generally considered to belong to a woman's domain. They are the ones who take care of the whole family, maybe without the help of anyone else. Usually their housework is believed to be obvious, it’s the thing every women have to do. That’s the role of women in their family. The question is that “Has anyone ever understand how hard it could be for a woman- a wife to finish all her housework?.” However, women have been able to complete everything without complaining a word. They should really be praised for their silent but important role they have successfully accomplished.…
- 896 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The role of women in society has been greatly overseen in the last few decades but now are coming to a more perspective to people. In the early days women were seen as wives who were intended to cook, clean, and take care of the kids. They were not allowed to even vote while men took care of having jobs and paying any bills that had to be paid. Soon enough it caught on that women should have a bigger role than what other people thought women should have.…
- 557 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays