Feminist Thought Has an Assigned Topic - Essay Example

Sojourner Truth has become the icon of feminist thought. Thesis statement: The analysis of Sojourner Truth's contributions to Feminist Thought and my understanding of feminist thought based on her life experiences prove that she was in favor of equality between men and women, was against discrimination, and her harsh life experiences transformed her to a feminist with a different viewpoint on equality.

Analysis: Contributions to feminist thought
As pointed out, Sojourner Truth fought for the well-being of women and hindered the progress of social evil barriers like discrimination and marginalization in society. She spoke about anti-slavery and women's rights, often giving personal testimony about her experiences as a slave. She strongly argued against the inequality among men and women in the name of gender status, and male supremacy. Joy Hakim points out that “She works for women's rights, black people's rights, prison to reform, and temperance” (N.pag.). While there, she tried to challenge discrimination based on racial identity.

As a women's rights activist, Truth faced additional burdens that white women did not have, plus the challenge of combating a suffrage movement that did not want to be linked to anti-slavery causes, believing it might hurt their cause. Yet, Truth prevailed, traveling thousands of miles making powerful speeches against inequality among men and women, slavery, and for women's suffrage. Besides, she preached a combination of feminist Christianity, abolition, inequality, and women’s rights. In general, Truth's view of the social relation of the sexes differed totally from the prevailing philosophy that women should be silent or should be placed on pedestals. If institutions in the public sphere, such as the courts, were not fit places for women, she thought they were unfit for men as well. She declared she could work as much as a man. In her 1867 speech, she claimed to be over eighty years old and said that she would live more years to see women get their rights Man is so selfish that he has got women’s rights and his own, too, and yet he would not allow women to enjoy their rights.

My understanding of Sojourner Truth
I consider that life experiences transformed Sojourner Truth into an activist. The truth was a lover of humanity and promoter of equality. She was born in New York and was sold several times before escaping to freedom with an infant daughter in 1827. She was enslaved by five different masters. Margaret Washington makes it clear “Isabella's owners were local merchants, gentlemen farmers, and customers of the traders” (10). One of her masters (third master) forced her to marry another slave by the name of Thomas, and they had five children. But most of them were sold as slaves. She was even brutally raped by one of her masters.

She accomplished a lot through her life and never gave up on the ideals of freedom and equality for all people no matter the color of their skin. She was resolved to help African American women. After the war, she assisted freed slaves by helping them to find jobs. Later she became an Abolitionist and feminist. Sojourner Truth began life as a slave and ended it as a celebrated anti-slavery activist. She has been generally considered a powerful symbol of African –the American spirit of free thinking and political activism against racism.

She has the merit of being the first African American woman to win a lawsuit in the United States; when she fought for her son's freedom after he had been illegally sold. Truth shared her views on many different occasions on different topics. One of her famous speeches is “Aren’t I a Woman" delivered in 1851 at the Women's Rights Convention. Isabella Baumfree even changed her name to Sojourner Truth devoting her fighting spirit to bringing equality among men and women, marginalization, and slavery. So, Truth’s life story is interconnected with the fight against racial discrimination and marginalization faced by female African Americans in America. 

Besides, she was in favor of gender equality and was totally against male supremacy. In short, Sojourner Truth's life and her experiences prove that women are not to be controlled by men because the same leads to discrimination and related issues. On the other side, the harsh life experiences helped Truth to be at the forefront of feminist activism and human rights activism.

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