Women in the 19th and 21st Century..

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had all the responsibilities of their household (Wojtczak). Upper class women were used to luxuries and once they had their own household and plantation to run they had to take over all the responsibilities involved in running the slave plantation (Wojtczak). Once a woman was married, everything she owned became her husband’s. In general, a white woman in the 19th century had no or very few political rights. They were unable to vote, or have any political views. They also had a very limited career selection, as women were excluded from most jobs and they were not often very educated (Brislen).

Accordingly, the nineteenth century was a time of domination, democracy excluded women, but women were not passive victims and the birth of feminism is proof of that. There were many changes that occurred throughout the century. During this period there was a breakdown of the female model that was intended to standardize women´s social roles as wives and mothers whose rights were defined in terms of their duties.

On the other hand, women in the United States in the 21st century enjoy many liberties. Women receive education, voting rights, work and career opportunities equal to men. Yet, since we live in a sexist environment there are many occasions where men are preferred over women. Women in the United States share a greater advantage over women in developing countries where many inequalities exist in a greater scope. In the United States, many inequalities are seen in the job fields. Women are usually expected to into fields where they may become nurses, secretaries, hairdressers, etc. with some exceptions of course. In the business realm, men are often times preferred over women. Another example of inequalities found in today´s society is when a rape crime is committed. There are countless cases of rape and it is the only crime in which the offender and the victim are judged. Most victims are women and the judgments made toward women when the crime is committed show that females are still seen as a sex object by force by justifying the acts of rape as the victim provocation (women wearing miniskirts or any kind of provocative clothing).

To conclude, the 21st century talk of women discrimination in Western societies seems unnecessary specially if the topic of discussion is education. It is generally believed that the laws and social changes that have occurred guarantee equality for women. One cannot deny that the situation of women is currently better than 100 years ago, and that many men and women today enjoy the same rights and identical social duties; laws are not only equal but also protective of women. However, we live in a sexist society and many inequalities are still seen today.