Group Informational Paper

“There is no original or primary gender a drag imitates, but gender is a kind of imitation for which there is no original.” by Judith Butler. It’s been an issue for decades; this issue has been debated for and still affects many people in our present day society. What is gender identity and is it a real issue within the United States? The quick answer would be that in America everyone is equal; but if that was true then why have women been fighting for equality up to this day? Is there something we as one Nation missed? Women have been fighting this inequality since the 1840’s.

So, why did gender roles become so important? Many people believe there are only two genders, male and female. Although there are certain people that don’t identify themselves as either one so they think there are more than 2. Although, scientifically speaking, there are 63 genders according to, aPATH.org. In the book, Into the Wild, it is about a man going into the wild and doing what he wanted to do for so long and live independently. His parents cared about him but did all they could to keep him but it wasn’t what he wanted so the parents accepted that. Again, think about a women. If it was vise versa, would the parent have been accepting? Probably not. Women were less “powerful” than men, therefore she probably wouldn’t even have the chance to live independently and free with accepting parents. All because of the role women have had to play all these years. There is so much to all this but the most important part is that it started because the “disputes over the meaning of child development (and the methods of studying it) indicate some of the ways that women's labor was both acknowledged and demoted during the formative years of American social science.” (Hist Psychol).

Women have contributed so much to the progression of society. In the 19th century, prostitutes were among the freest, wealthiest, most educated women of their time. Before the 19th-century Western towns really weren’t towns at all they were more like work camps. These women were earning a lot of money, and with all that wealth they soon became very powerful leaders. With all their power they had provided services that were desperately needed like Laura Evan’s providing worker’s compensation for injured men, and Diamond Jessie Hayman providing food and clothing to the homeless after the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

Occupations in 1880’s for women were definitely not fair. Women got little opportunities to have the job of their choice or handle their own money. For example, if a man and women were applying for the same position, the man would get it. (NWHM) “During the period between 1880 and 1930, the United States experienced dramatic increases in industrialization, immigration, and urbanization…” and “Women workers were profoundly affected by these social and economic conflicts. Across the nation, anywhere from 25% to 40% of the labor force was female…”.

Women have helped contribute to this nation through multiples roles within our society; even through all the inequality, they were forced to live and grow up in. Gender is something that over the centuries has been defined by society. Whether it was the role within a family or the workplace women have begun a fight toward equality making America have a more progressive era. In the history of this nation, it has missed the importance of equality in gender and all.