You Go Girl

As plopped myself upon the not-so-comfy couch in the library to read yet another few chapters for my religion course, a book across the room catches my eye. It reads A Woman's Place. It goes without saying that this title made me curious, as it probably would the rest of Professor Ambrose's Lives and Times class. I walk up to make a closer examination of the book and find that it rests within an exhibit on women in politics. I notice a book on first ladies, "an intimate look at how 38 women handled what may be the most demanding, unpaid, unelected job in America." I begin to wonder, "Has society truly changed?" 

I finally come across another book within the exhibit entitled Casting Her Own Shadow. Perhaps this biography on Eleanor Roosevelt can answer my question. Eleanor Roosevelt lived in the shadow of her very significant husband, Franklin Delanor Roosevelt. In ancient history, Eleanor would have had the greatest honor: being in the shadow (which all women were) of the most authoritative figure (which all men were) in America. How much more could she ask for? Eleanor came up with a few ideas such as desegregation, civil liberties, and civil rights for ALL. Sure, being a first lady made her name known around the world; however, Eleanor Roosevelt felt more constrained by her role as first lady in the White House, only saying and doing what could be most beneficial to her husband. After her husband passed away, Eleanor took advantage of her world-known name, her freedom from the white house and her above average identity as a woman. From the past stories we have read in class, we have come to understand that identity is in fact socially constructed. Eleanor no longer lived in the shadow of a president, a husband and a man. She took this opportunity to speak her mind, work for civil rights and liberties and create her own shadow.

This biography that I happened to stumble upon that day in the library became significant to my understanding of woman's history. It shows that throughout history, women have never truly rid themselves of the injustice that restrained them. Although, it is important to understand that women have gained the right to speak, and this enables all of us to make shadows of our own and change the future.