Response to DuBois, Sojourner, and The Dec. of Sentiments

In “Feminism Old Wave and New Wave”, DuBois’ notion of the “woman’s sphere” is fascinating to consider because I think that it is applicable to not only the first wave of feminism during the abolitionist movement, but all feminism movements that proceeded.  In her explanation of the first wave of feminism, DuBois suggests that women who were working in the abolitionist movement were confined to a specific sphere of activities that were essentially approved by men.  However, once women tried to involve themselves in the movement outside of their designated sphere, men immediately reprimanded them.  The “woman’s sphere” that existed during abolition may have expanded since, but I think that it is still omnipresent today and arguably even more invisible and dangerous than ever before.  As we have been discussing in class, there is a tendency in today’s world to assume that because women have had a significant amount of gains towards creating equality, the “woman’s sphere”, particularly in the workforce, does not exist.  Furthermore, I think women tend to joke about their roles in the “woman’s sphere”, whether that be domestically, sexually, and so on.  Going back to previous readings, the women who do find a way out of their sphere and start encroaching on the “men’s sphere” are subjected to negative stereotypes and representations that were most likely created by men themselves (i.e. Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada).

Another aspect of these readings that really caught my attention was the focus on religion.  I do not know the religious background behind the women who wrote “The Declaration of Sentiments” and the “Ain’t I A Woman?” but I wonder how men grappled with women demanding that they look to the Bible as proof that they should be treated as equals.  “The Declaration of Sentiments” refers to the “nature’s God”, a “Creator”, “Jehovah himself”, while “Ain’t I Woman” makes references to Christ, suggesting women were meant to be endowed with the same rights as man.  Although these references are relatively brief, they seem to have agency in an attempt to catch the attention of men.  When considering the claims in the Bible about equality, it is ironic that churches have always been based on a patriarchal hierarchy that tends to exclude women from predominate roles.