A.P. English Language
13, November, 2012
Women In Society Even with the dominance of strong, patriarchal-based societies, women have fought for their right to become part of every-day life and to be treated as equals. Since the beginnings of history, life has been especially hard for women especially in Chinese and Islamic cultures. The Chinese invented a tactic called “foot-binding” where they would wrap a young girl’s feet tightly so they could not run away or try to disobey; these bindings would never come off to show complete dominance over the women. Similarly, Islamic cultures would (and some still do today) veil the women’s faces and required them to cover their entire body with clothing at all times. Although it was hard to escape patriarchal dominance in some cultures, others found “loopholes” and ways to make themselves important in society. For example, the paterfamilias in the Ancient Roman Empire would have control of the women and all the affairs associated with the family; however, the women eventually made it to the point where they had a say in the household and could even own pieces of property. Even in Egypt, women were held on a higher standard because a few managed to become pharaohs. As time went by, the importance of women began to seclude itself more towards European culture, especially in England with the arise of the Elizabethan Era. This was a time where the arts, theatre, and literature flourished and it just so happened to be under the rule of a woman. Queen Elizabeth I marked the beginning of a woman solely having legitimate power in a culture as national female leader. In societies like England, a king is predominately ruler of the country. However, he almost always has a queen by his side. This is what originally sparked the respect of some high women figures in politics. From when America was “discovered” and settlers established their first town there, to the inauguration of President George Washington, men had always been the leaders of politics. This is what ultimately has put us behind most other first-world countries in the topic of women being political leaders. There has yet to be a woman president in the United States since the first in April 1789, with only very few ever getting seriously involved in the campaign. Hillary Clinton was well in the race back in 2008 until she lost the primary to now, President Obama. And even running against Obama in 2008 with candidate John McCain was Sarah Palin. She was the first woman to be governor of Alaska and she explained how it was a change, “I'm the first female governor in Alaska, so that's brought with it kind of a whole new chapter in Alaska's life.” (Sarah Palin Quotes 1). Women like Clinton also hope for a better future for women in politics, “Children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States.” (BrainyQuotes 1). Additionally, facts show