Women In The French Revolution

Females Fight for the Revolution
The struggle of being a woman in a male dominated society is never ending: it is not only a modern issue for feminists, but something that has affected humans for generations. The notion that women are less than their gender counterparts was a big portion of the struggle that females experienced during the French Revolution. Women felt limited and isolated with no voice in their society and personal lives. These feelings accumulated and drove women to fight for change in their lives. The political, economic and social position of women in France during the 18th century made them more motivated for revolution, as opposed to the men, because they were treated as passive citizens by men, were, and are still, forced
They were “destined to play domestic roles inside the family rather than public, political ones.” The responsibility of being the actual head of a household, the person who raises and cares for the children, does the work around the house and otherwise, is a huge role and very difficult job. Women were expected to want to take on this role, despite any other outside interests or ambitions. Multiple pre- revolutionary philosophers and writers believed in emphasizing women bringing up the children, limiting their opportunity outside the house for occupations (1). Many women felt this was unfair and an unreasonable expectancy: “We could never resign ourselves to bringing into the world children destined to live in a land subject to tyranny.” The question not only proves that they didn’t appreciate the presumption that they would bear children but that they also opposed the male dominated rule (159). The men really did rule france because it was thought “that women belonged in the private sphere of the home and therefore had no role to play in public affairs”(2). It was deemed that they were somewhat undeserving of a life outside the home. Because they could rarely obtain jobs, getting food to feed their children was a struggle. Revolutionists really pushed for the guaranteeing of food for families by lowering the high prices of food staples, such as bread and milk (5). Besides facing
Women felt fed up with the sexist oppression, and rightly so. The power of unity was proven when females stood together to get what was just. Nowadays, the wage gap between men and women is still a very real issue. With the help of women’s rights activists, this problem can be solved, thanks to the example set by revolutionary women. The tancity that women demonstrated in the revolution validates the well deserved position in society that some females have today. The fight is not quite over yet; equality may be on the horizon in the United States but it is something that should be made global for current and future generations of