"I Am Woman"

"I Am Woman"

I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore,
And I know too much to go back and pretend
'cause I've heard it all before,
And I've been down there on the floor,
And no one's ever gonna keep me down again.

Oh, yes, I am wise,
But it's wisdom born of pain.
Yes, I've paid the price,
But look how much I gained.
If I have to, I can do anything.
I am strong (strong).
I am invincible (invincible).
I am woman.

You can bend but never break me,
'cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal.
And I come back even stronger,
Not a novice any longer,
'cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul.

Oh, yes, I am wise,
But it's wisdom born of pain.
Yes, I've paid the price,
But look how much I gained.
If I have to, I can do anything.
I am strong (strong).
I am invincible (invincible).
I am woman.

I am woman watch me grow.
See me standing toe to toe,
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land.
But I'm still an embryo
With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother understand.

Oh yes I am wise,
But it's wisdom born of pain.
Yes, I've paid the price,
But look how much I gained.
If I have to I can face anything.
I am strong (strong).
I am invincible (invincible).
I am woman.

Oh, I am woman. (I am woman.)
I am invincible.
I am strong.
I am woman. (I am woman.)

I can't believe I haven't thought of this song until yesterday.  I've been involved in the Women Unbound reading challenge for two months – TWO MONTHS – and had not thought about the song that hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I heard it.  Released in 1972, "I Am Woman" became the anthem for the women's liberation movement.  That was the year I made up my mind about getting a divorce, though that was a scary thing for a mother of three who was still trying to finish a college degree.

I remember I was in the car, listening to music, about to leave the downtown area of Chattanooga on my way home. I was in the right lane, stopped at the light beside the Read House, when "I Am Woman" came on the radio. I was so excited and energized by the song that, when the light changed, I turned right -- instead of going home -- and circled a couple of blocks to get to the music store on Cherry Street.  I parked, put money in the meter, and went inside. The folks there had never heard of the song and, anyway, it would take awhile for the sheet music to come out, they informed me, looking at me like I was crazy. And I was crazy! I wanted those lyrics, I wanted that music, I wanted to sing! Oh, how I wanted that feeling of being strong! Invincible! WOMAN!

Yes, I certainly understand how "I Am Woman" became the anthem for the women's liberation movement in the 1970s.

Just as "Sister Suffragette" epitomizes for me the first wave of feminism – as women fought for the right to vote, "I Am Woman" embodies the second wave – when women fought for legal rights and equality with men.  According to some of what I've been reading, we are now in the third wave.  Does anyone have any ideas about what song might inspire today's young women?

"Sister Suffragette"

Have you ever heard of Emmeline Pankhurst?

No?  Well, my history textbooks didn't mention her, either, but that's not surprising.  Women weren't usually mentioned in my history classes, back in the 1940s and 1950s, unless as the "wife of" -- a king or a president, maybe.  But if you've ever seen the 1964 movie "Mary Poppins," you've at least heard the name "Missus Pankhurst," as the song writer called her.  Let me refresh your memory with this short clip, and then I'll tell you the story of Emmaline Pankhurst.



"Well done"? Okay, eventually women did get the right to vote (in 1920 in the United States). But was it worth all the pain and suffering?  (If the video quits working, click here.)  Take a look at this photo of "the militant campaigner for women's suffrage, Emmeline Pankhurst, being arrested outside Buckingham Palace, London, May 1914."

The blurb I read added, "A short time previously she had been released from prison after serving less than a year of a three-year sentence for a series of arson attacks in 1913." That guy carrying her doesn't look like a Bobby to me. His hat and uniform look more like military. As I studied this photo, I went from thinking the man in the middle was yelling at her, to wondering if he's trying to tell the big fellow that he is HURTING the woman. Look at her face. Her pain is even more evident in the photo below, which seems to be the untouched-up original. I'm pretty sure you can enlarge the photo ABOVE by clicking on it.

I can't help but wonder if he is breaking some of her ribs, carrying her that way.  I wanted to know more about this interesting woman, who went right back into the fray even though she had spent most of a year jailed for her activism.  I know that I am not that brave.  Wikipedia has a very long article about her, beginning with this:

Emmeline Pankhurst (née Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement, which won women the right to vote. In 1999, Time named Pankhurst as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century, stating: "she shaped an idea of women for our time; she shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back."

As part of the Women Unbound reading challenge, I've been reading a lot about women fighting for their rights.  About a hundred years ago, Emmeline Pankhurst was doing all she could to gain the vote for women.  The period from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, when women in England and the United States were trying to get voting rights, is considered the "first wave" of feminism.  Wikipedia has this definition of the word:

"The term feminism can be used to describe a political, cultural, or economic movement aimed at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women."

The "second wave" began in the early 1960s and lasted through the late 1980s.  Some scholars say the second wave continues to exist alongside the "third wave" of feminism, which has already begun.  I was called a Women's Libber during the "second wave" because I dared to speak up about sexism and the fact that women made less than men for doing the same work and could be told with impunity, "We don't hire women to do that."  It didn't matter if women could do the job, maybe even better than the man hired.  We were told, "Men have to support their families."

My question for this week is, Was the fight worth it?  I ask because when women got the right to vote, most of them (I've read) voted the way their husbands did.  I don't think that is necessarily the case today, but after the pain "Missus Pankhurst" went through, don't you think we ought to take advantage of our right to vote?  Why do so many stay home on voting days, especially if the weather isn't perfect?  So I ask, Was it worth it?

Read more about Emmeline Pankhurst by clicking on her name.
__________

UPDATE:  I have found a BBC News photo of this event, taken from a different angle!

Question of the Week ~ same-sex marriage

With respect to marriage, the government should: a) Recognize marriage only between a man and a woman. b) Recognize both traditional and same-sex marriage. c) Get out of the marriage business, and leave it to private associations.
a.
b.
c.

(Click to enlarge image below.)

Question of the Week ~ patriotism

“Patriotism is not a virtue but a vice, a prejudice in favor of one’s own kind that we should try to overcome.” Do you agree?

Question of the Week ~ civic virtue

Should the law aim at making citizens virtuous? How do you answer Aristotle’s claim that the point of politics is more than just mutual security and economic exchange? Isn’t the purpose of politics to encourage civic virtue and promote the common good?

Question of the Week ~ ethnicity

Is it unfair for universities to consider race or ethnicity as a factor in admissions? Answer yes or no, and then please tell us why.

Question of the week ~ David Letterman

David Letterman, host of The Late Show, makes over $30 million per year, while the average schoolteacher makes less than $55,000. Is that just?  Answer yes or no, and then please tell us why.

Question of the Week ~ racial profiling

 

“Racial profiling by the police is unjust, even if it might make us somewhat safer.”  Do you agree with that statement?  Answer yes or no, and then please tell us why.

Question of the Week ~ cheat a child?

Suppose a child goes into a store to buy a loaf of bread.  The shopkeeper realizes that he could shortchange the child.  But he worries that if he did so, other customers might find out, and he would lose business.  So he gives the child the correct change.  Does the shopkeeper’s action have moral worth?  Answer yes or no, and then please tell us why.

Question of the week ~ selling a kidney

Should it be legal for people to sell one of their kidneys on the open market? Answer yes or no, and then please tell us why.

Question of the week ~ owning myself

If I own myself, does it follow that I should be free to sell myself into slavery if I wish to do so? Answer yes or no, and then please tell us why.

Philosopher John Locke believes that your “unalienable right” to liberty does not include the right to kill yourself. Is he right? What does your liberty entitle you to do with yourself? Where do the limits come from?

John Locke believes that government, once it is set up, should be guided by the principle of majority rule. However, he also believes that the purpose of government is to protect people’s rights, including their “unalienable” right to property. What if these two goals conflict? What if a poor majority wants to tax a rich minority?

Question of the week ~ tax the rich

Would it be just to tax the rich in order to provide health care for the uninsured poor? Answer yes or no, and then tell us why, if you like.

Question of the week ~ guardrail

Community residents want to install a guardrail on a dangerous stretch of mountain road, after several people have driven off the cliff and died. But city officials say that expense would leave the city with no money for parks, business development, or even garbage removal. Should the city install the guardrail? Answer yes or no, and then tell us why, if you like.

Question of the Week ~ about cannibalism

Suppose four shipwrecked sailors are stranded at sea in a lifeboat, without food or water. Would it be wrong for three of them to kill and eat the cabin boy, in order to save their own lives? Answer yes or no, and then tell us why, if you like.

Justice ~ What's the right thing to do?

Is torture ever justified? Would you steal a drug that your child needs to survive? Is it sometimes wrong to tell the truth? How much is one human life worth? What do you think and why?

"Justice" is one of the most popular courses in Harvard’s history. Now Harvard opens its classroom to the world. Professor Michael Sandel challenges us with difficult moral dilemmas and asks our opinion about the right thing to do. He then asks us to examine our answers in the light of new scenarios. The results are often surprising, revealing that important moral questions are never black and white. This course also addresses the hot topics of our day—affirmative action, same-sex marriage, patriotism and rights. Here are the twelve classes:

Oct 12 ~ The Moral Side of Murder / The Case for Cannibalism ~ 1
Oct 19 ~ Putting a Price Tag on Life / How to Measure Pleasure ~ 2
Oct 26 ~ Free to Choose / Who Owns Me? ~ 3
Nov. 2 ~ This Land is my Land / Consenting Adults ~ 4
Nov 9 ~ Hired Guns? / Motherhood: For Sale ~ 5
Nov 16 ~ Mind Your Motive / The Supreme Principle of Morality ~ 6
Nov 23 ~ A Lesson in Lying / A Deal is a Deal ~ 7
Nov 30 ~ What's a Fair Start? / What Do We Deserve? ~ 8
Dec 7 ~ Arguing Affirmative Action / What's the Purpose? ~ 9
Dec 14 ~ The Good Citizen / Freedom vs. Fit ~ 10
Dec 21 ~ The Claims of Community / Where Our Loyalty Lies ~ 11
Dec 28 ~ Debating Same-sex Marriage / The Good Life ~ 12

Every week, starting Monday, October 12th, I'll ask a question (or two) from each of these topics. You are welcome to watch Harvard's weekly video, do the readings they provide (not all episodes have related readings), and come here to see what's being said. I'll post a link on the sidebar of Bonnie's Books that will bring up ALL questions in this series, and you can answer earlier questions as well as the current one. Here's this week's question: Does morality interest you enough that you'll join us in exploring the ideas?



"Justice" ~ let's think about this stuff together.