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Mirian Vanegas

Prof. Jennifer Rodrick

English 115

10/20/18

Women In Time and Space

Women throughout history have always found themselves conforming to society's

standards and views. Women in history and society have always been forced to conform to the

ideas of the time. For the longest time in history women were never able to reach their full

potential based on the sole belief that they were women. Many societies saw women as second

class citizens that were not able to push their society forward or make significant

accomplishments of their own. However, women didn't always conform to the expectation

society had enforced upon them. Culture, religion, history, socioeconomic status, have been the

driving forces that shape a woman's role and identity in society.

Culture has shaped the way women chose to live their lives. The collective mindset of the

american society is that women should only be able to choose one path and navigate life in that

lane. In the article “Women’s Roles Vs. Social Norms” by the New York Times, the author

describes how women have to choose between being able to provide for their families or to take

on house work. The article states that “The challenge for the future is to find a reconciliation

between the roles of wife and mother and that of wage earner.” Which means that for now

women are stuck in between two choices that can either help or hurt their state of living.

Culture can be defined as many things but, there is so much more than what we think culture is

and how it truly influences women’s identity. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary

culture is defined as : “ the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes
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an institution or organization”. For example in the workplace many women are seen as

individuals that can’t be professionals or are capable of handling jobs that were specifically

created to fit the capacities of a man. This only makes it harder for a woman to prove her

capabilities in the workplace and to break any type of stereotype of the weaker sex.

Throughout time Religion has also greatly influenced society into thinking of women as

individuals whose only jobs are to serve and obey men. In many religious aspects women don’t

have a voice or say in what they can do or can’t do in their lives. In the article “Religion and

Women” by Nicholas Kristof, Kristof addresses the issue between religion, women and how

significant it is since their lives are in the center of religion. He states “The belief that women are

inferior human beings in the eyes of God,” Mr. Carter continued, “gives excuses to the brutal

husband who beats his wife, the soldier who rapes a woman, the employer who has a lower pay

scale for women employees, or parents who decide to abort a female embryo.” Which means that

women become powerless because of these beliefs that are deeply rooted in their minds. These

beliefs cause people to use God as an excuse to act upon women violently and not care about

their being. Not only does this affect women physically, emotionally, and mentally but it affects

their relationship with the deity they worship. Although many women receive abuse they seek a

higher role in religion because it is important to them. In the article “Religion has a Women

Problem” by Linda Woodhead, she describes the struggle that women have when it comes to

playing a higher role in religion. She states, “women have been wanting greater roles, more

leadership, greater participation and at the same time that has actually been becoming harder for

them to do” For example, in Christianity there aren’t any women as priests or popes other than

nuns which is the highest role a women can aspire to have in this religious scene. Women to this
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day still desire and want a higher role in religion because many religions have been central in all

or some religions.

In history there have been examples of women who decided to not conform to society’s

norms and expectations. These women saw something within themselves that helped them

realize that they were capable of doing more than what they had been told. Susan B. Anthony

was one of those women she knew that there was something more that she could do not only for

herself but for others. She along with other great women dedicated their lives to have social

equality and she played a big role in the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the 19th Century.

Another great women was Mary Wollstonecraft who was a writer and an advocate for Women’s

rights. In one of her books called “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” she talks about how

women in the 18th Century didn’t need to have an education because to society back then it

wasn’t necessary for women to gain a higher education. Mary wanted the educational system to

give girls the same advantage as boys because not only would it benefit the girls but it would

benefit all of society. Thanks to these women who fought for our undeniable rights we now have

a secure opportunity for a better life in today’s society.

Socioeconomic Status has a lot to do with how a woman identifies herself in the

workplace. In the article “Men still earn more than women in the same jobs” by Jessica Dickler,

Dickler states “ Nearly 20 percent of all women and 36 percent of those with MBA degrees said

their gender was a factor in missing a raise or promotion.”. This means that although women

work hard to have these jobs they still have to compete with men even though they have the

same capacities but they lose their opportunities to earn a promotion or a raise in their jobs.

When women decide to have children and are pregnant they go on maternity leave which ends up

hurting their income because in many cases they don’t get paid for being absent from work. For
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those who are parents know how expensive it is to take care of a child. In the article “The

world’s richest countries guarantee mothers more than a year of paid maternity leave. The U.S.

guarantees them nothing.” by Christopher Ingraham, talks about how when women give birth to

their newborn children they are forced to stay at home and take care of their children. He states,

“infants and toddlers — require a lot of intensive, hands-on care. That usually means that in the

early years someone has to take time off work, and the biological realities of childbirth means

that person is usually the mother.” which means that the women lose an advantage at work and

this ties up with how women are forced to chose to have a professional career or become a stay

at home parent. This disadvantage hurts the women’s role and place in society and how they end

up viewing themselves at the end.

Women throughout history have been forced to conform to society’s norms but times

since then have changed. We have become performative over the years because we found out

that not everyone can fit into the mold society created. Women are more than what they are

thought to be and great women have fought for our rights. We are not the weaker sex because we

are more than capable of doing things with equal or greater capacity as a man. Although culture,

religion, history, and socioeconomic status have controlled our beliefs of how a woman should

identify herself there is so much more that we can do to change the way society views women

and how valuable our contributions are. The space we find ourselves to be in definitely

influences our views as women and how we see the world around us but we can change how we

see the world and create the change needed to have the same opportunities as the other gender.
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Works Cited

Nytimes.com. (2018). WOMEN'S ROLES VS. SOCIAL NORMS. [online] Available at:

https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/30/style/women-s-roles-vs-social-norms.html

[Accessed 22 Oct. 2018].

Merriam-webster.com. (2018). Definition of CULTURE. [online] Available at:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture [Accessed 22 Oct. 2018].

Kristof, N. (2018). Opinion | Religion and Women. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/opinion/10kristof.html [Accessed 22 Oct. 2018].

Woodhead, L. (2013). Religion Has A Woman Problem. [online] Washington Post. Available at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/religion-has-a-woman-

problem/2013/03/08/dd5e4fb2-87f1-11e2-9d71-

f0feafdd1394_story.html?utm_term=.a39e4d39fe22 [Accessed 22 Oct. 2018].

Wollstonecraft, M. (2012). A vindication of the rights of woman.: Empire Books.

Dickler, J. (2018). Men still earn more than women for the same jobs. [online] CNBC. Available

at:https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/05/men-still-earn-more-than-women-with-the-same-

jobs.html [Accessed 22 Oct. 2018].

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Ingraham, C. (2018). The world’s richest countries guarantee mothers more than a year of paid

maternity leave. The U.S. guarantees them nothing.. [online] Washington Post. Available

at:https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/05/men-still-earn-more-than-women-with-the-same-

jobs.html [Accessed 22 Oct. 2018].