Boards
March is the month to celebrate those strong, inspiring, amazing women in history! | Source: Shutterstock.com
Happy March, everyone! Hard to believe 2013 is flying by, but March is an exciting month because it is Women’s History Month here in the United States.
It got me thinking about how a few weeks back, I wrote a post related to National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and a couple of the comments questioned if we should single out a day for women in that way. Let me first say that I understand where they were coming from, and I agree that I would probably be peeved if there was a “male-specific” holiday.
That said, I still don’t think that days or months that specifically celebrate women are sexist. I figured that the start of Women’s History Month is a perfect time to explain why I feel that way.
“History” in its most basic form is already “men’s history.” Here’s what I mean by that: if you open up your history textbook, I’m going to bet the majority of the people in that book are men. The thing is that when we just refer to “history,” most of those stories and perspectives are those of men. “Women’s History Month” serves as a way to try and address that imbalance.
Don’t get me wrong – there are many men who have had a huge, gigantic impact on history, and we do need to learn about them and understand their impact. Women’s History Month doesn’t mean women are superior in history, but it is a way of ensuring that not only one gender is considered in the grand scheme of history. It offers us a chance to see history in a new perspective and celebrate accomplishments that for a long time (and still) sometimes go unnoticed. The actions of women throughout history are not isolated, but rather have affected all people – not only their own gender.
The point is, I definitely don’t think that a month like this is sexist. In fact, it’s trying to fight sexism by giving a voice to those who have been affected by sexism. That’s why it is exciting to see that this celebration of historical women has been embraced and grown since “Women’s History Week” was first established in 1981.
So what can you do to celebrate Women’s History Month this year? The national website has so many amazing resources, from audio-visual materials to various collections worth checking out. If you have a big history project coming up and there’s a way you could highlight a woman, that would be a great way to share your knowledge with your peers.
If nothing specific is going on in your area, try to organize something! Local libraries are usually a great place to hold community events so you may want to get in touch with yours. Other ideas include reading some inspirational quotes from women or try to catch a re-run of the recent PBS special, “Makers: Women Who Make America”. Talk to an older relative to hear about history through her eyes.
I enjoyed hearing from commenters in a recent post I wrote about women who accomplished impressive “firsts,” and they make great points about how there are many, many women who deserve celebratation. I hope you all take advantage of the opportunity during this month, but also throughout the rest of the year, so that we can continue to celebrate more diversity when talking about “history.”
Does your community do anything special for Women’s History Month? Who is one of your favorite women in history to learn about? Do you think it is sexist to have a Women’s History Month? Tell us in the comments!
10 Women In Technology You Should Know
And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!
Don’t I feel special, seeing as my comment generated a whole article?
Anyways, thanks for this. It’s really great to see a website that rwspons to the users. Opinions make the world go round.
The thing with history is men did impact it more. Why? Because the majority of cultures favored men. I honestly can’t name a single Ancient Greek woman who made a difference (heck i cant name a single Greek woman). I’m sure there are many, but not near as many as men. Women were shut inside of a house all day. Parties were segregated. The Olympics which inspired one of the biggest international traditions we know today were entirely consisting of men. Women couldn’t even watch. That’s how the culture was. There was no room for women to make a national difference. In Rome, women could own land and run businesses, but most didn’t. They never became king, senator, or emporer. While they weren’t as secluded as in Hellenic Greece, they lived a very different life than their male counterparts. Again, facts of the society. Egypt was a little more generous. On a few occasions, women did become Pharaoh, such as Hatshepsut and Nefertiti. The majority were women, though.
Society stayed pretty much the same for a while, men over women in differing degrees. In China women had incredibly low status. As time goes went by, women started getting more and more attention, at least in the western part of the world. Many women spied on their husbands and oter make family members during the American Revolution, giving information to the other side. In the Civil War, some exceptional women went onto battle fields to care for men, endangering their lives and going against societal norms. And ou hear about these women, though in smaller detail as they didn’t impact as greatly as men did. Again, historical fact. A nurse may have changed the lives of many soldiers, but she never changed the fate of America like the generals did.
Women are often given as much credit as they deserve in history. It’s not sexist, it’s fact. I know I will never change the course of America, but my brother might. Why? Because that’s what he is intereste in. I’m interested in teaching music.
Again, thank you for the lovely article. I really enjoyed hearing your views on it. When I posted my original comment, I was in a snappy mood and was kind of putting my frustration into putting others down, and for that I apologize. That was my problem and I had no right to shove it onto you lovely ladies.
As a reply to Rose, I think racism is rather prevalent in America, though against whites, not blacks. It’s basically a punishment to be a white male, because thy had it better in the past, so now it’s the blacks turn to have a good life. Kid of messed up logic. Why can’t we all be equal? Why are there so many scholarships only for blacks, or Mexicans, or Native Americans, or Asians? Double standards, much!!
Reading through that comment, let me amend it slightly:
Women DID influence society greatly. It’s virtually impossible for us not to, as we have lived just as long as men. However, given societal (is that a word) circumstances, the most notable events largely occurred thanks to men. Was it right that women were stuck on the back burner? Probably not, but that is neither here nor there. What happened happened, and honestly I would rather have 1950s era women for forever rather than another event like the Holocaust or the bombing of Hiroshima.
Another factor is what style history you like. Some people love studying the humanities aspect of history, or the culture, the social structure, etc. I prefer wars and big events, in other words what is usually thought of when the word history comes to mind. Whatever sinks your submarine. Women influence history and society in a cultural aspect much more than they affected the “big, life-changing” events.
In conclusion, do I have a problem with Women’s History Month? Not really…it’s just not something I think is incredibly important. My interests lie elsewhere. Is that a problem? Absolutely not! Good for you for pursuing what you feel passionately about. I know I said that this ‘holiday’ (why do we have so many holidays? They kind of start to lose their point) was sexist. Let me rephrase that: I find it ironic. Why not have equality day, when we can celebrate both genders for their amazing and sometimes differing accomplishments, ALL races for their contribution to society and most importantly the fact that we are all people, and anything else that you want? Since there isn’t a day, week, or month dedicated to this (probably is, actually…) lets just do this every day!!
You seem like a really cool person, Meg. So awesome to find writers catering to teens that aren’t afraid to touch on ‘adult’ topics!
Women’s History month is sexist? Yeah…and Black History month is racist -_- Shameful..it took like 50 years AFTER the 15th Amendment for us to vote! We celebrate male especially white male history every day! We barely ever hear about Ada Lovelace or Garrett Morgan. Yet they both impacted history greatly! While the (currently all male) presidents were working on politics, the first ladies were helping in other ways! They should be recognized just as much as men. I mean I can easily count 10 women who impacted my life dead or alive, but they aren’t recognized y everyone for there strengths. I mean women had to make there own declaration for men to get it! We deserve respect, equality, and recognition for when we do amazing things.