It is not surprising to me that women have been fighting for so long for their basic rights and recognition for all that they do. Women have never gotten the credit they deserve and it is crazy for me to think that this fact stems from the way women were viewed in society so long ago in the middle ages. In the book, Zinn compares the treatment of women to the treatment of slaves. Both groups were seen as inferior on so many levels, and were often sexually abused. It saddens me how much oppression women and slaves had to endure during these times in history.
The fact that in these times men took credit for all the many accomplishments women achieved deeply upsets me. Women are not objects, but they have been treated as such since the early days of existence, and in some cases still today. Women in these times first belonged to their fathers, and then when they got married they belonged to their husbands. Beyond this, “Besides absolute possession of his wife’s personal property and a life estate in her lands, the husband took any other income that might be hers. He collected wages earned by her labor…” (Zinn 107). Despite this, I am proud that so many women stood up for themselves throughout history, and fought for their rights. Women such as Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley will forever be remembered for courageously sticking up for themselves and other women through their poetry.
I was also very saddened to read Zinn’s comparison of women to slaves. They were a convenience to men and men actively worked to keep them in their inferior role. I thought a very interesting part of the chapter was when Zinn used the phrase “separate but equal” to describe the relationship between women and men. Women were given work to do that was equally as important as a man’s work but it was completely separate, different, and unappreciated.
Reading Zinn’s descriptions of how women used to be treated as property to men really boiled my blood. Hearing anything about men taking advantage of women never sits right with me, but I am also so proud of the women in our history for standing up for themselves. These brave women should be talked about much more in our history’s curriculum; girls at a young age need these women engrained in their minds more than historical powerful men. They need to know not to take any man’s crap! Reading about these rebellions makes me wonder if I would ever be so brave to speak out against such terrible oppression in that time period.
I also found it interesting when Zinn used references to slavery and segregation to explain the mistreatment of women. I think he does this to emphasize the importance of the matter because everyone knows how terrible black people were treated in this country, however we never really learn how oppressed women are. Zinn does an excellent job underscoring the importance recognizing mistreatment of women.