Critical Response paper - Essay Example

For women to be denied a sense of their own history–indeed, to be informed that there exists no history worth recounting–is to suggest that they havebeen shaped by something other than history” (Strong-Boag, Gleason, and Perry, 1). The above quote means that just because men have dominated history due to their prominence of power, does not necessarily mean that history about women is unimportant. If one suggests that only men were important in history, that implies men shaped women. This would mean every woman in every culture passively let men shape their every thought, move, emotion, and essence.

No male dictator in history has ever had that much control. Women have been suppressed, but still contributed to the history of the whole human race. The history of women is very important, because this history has not only shaped women of today, but also the men. Women today have been shaped by the history of their culture. For example, Canadian women have contributed to the Canadian culture. Strong-Boag, Gleason, and Perry state, “A vision of history devoid women is at least half wrong” (1).

What Canadian leader can claim that they were not influenced by at least one woman, whether it be mother, wife, lover, or friend? Women have influenced history, forging their own history, even if it has not been formally acknowledged. Not only have women shaped all history, but their own history. Some aspects of this history are not pleasant or widely focused on. An example would be when discussing the suffrage movement in the United States, women of the upper class did not want equality for all women, especially their servants.

This has continued to this day. You do not see Hilliary Clinton going to Arkansas speaking with uneducated poor women with twelve children, declaring that they are equal to her. Canadian women are not above this bias. For example “Jeans/Johns—Talon, Simcoe, Macdonald, Lesage, Diefenbaker, and Chretien, and the Roberts—Baldwin, Borden, and Stanfield, Bourassa—who monopolized the textbooks” (Strong-Boag, Gleason, and Perry, 3-4). These women felt that the aboriginal women were not their equals.

This is an accurate portrait of womens history. Women can change the future of history. When feminism or womens rights group start advocating equal opportunities for all women such as “women of color, working class-women, poor women, disabled women, Jewish women, lesbians, old women”, then the future will be shaped by both men and women (Bennett, 13). Of course, both sexes create history, but when equal opportunities are offered to everyone, then everyone will perceive that history is shaped by men and women.

Historical records will reflect this change by focusing on issues concerning both men and women. Feminism and womens rights activists are misunderstood in history. Many perceive that feminists are militant and want to be men. Nothing could be further from the truth. True feminists, want equal opportunities, not to dominate men. One example is Olympic wrestling. Can a women wrestle a man in the Olympics physically? Wrestling is divided by weight. If Jonie Lauer (WWEs Chyna) was a contestant with the right training, she could probably take a man.

However, not every women could wrestle a man physically, but the opportunity should be there. Jonie Lauer could not wrestle a man in the Olympics, because the rules do not allow it. Not every man could wrestle in the Olympics, but they have the opportunity to try. The physical differences between men and women should be recognized, but not as obstacles or as negative traits. Feminism celebrates the similarities and differences of men and women (Kent, 275). A feminist only wants the right to prove themselves without limitations set by society and men.

History has been created by men and women equally. The problem has arisen when historians ignore the contributions by women, favoring only mens accomplishments. The only way to change this perception is to start giving equal coverage to events that happen in history and what is happening today. Future history will be made by the events occurring today. ReferencesBennett, Judith M. “Feminist History and Women’s History.” History Matters: Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. 6-13. Kent, Susan.

“Worlds of Feminism.” Women’s History in Global Perspective. Vol. I. Ed. Bonnie G. Smith. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2004. 275-277. Strong-Boag, Veronica, Mona Gleason, And Adele Perry. “Introduction.” Rethinking Canada: The Promise of Women’s History. 4th Ed. Veronica Strong-Boag, Mona Gleason, and Adele Perry, eds. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2002. 1-4.