National Women’s Month

National Women’s Month

As historian, I am often involved with genealogy and note that when families are listed in old books and newspapers, the first names of women are often omitted. If mentioned, they are almost always “Mrs.” if married, of “Miss” if single. When I do find their first names it confirms that they were treated like property. Names like, Thankful, Fear, Experience, Freelove, Hopeful, Mercy and my favorite, Submit! 

Women have come a long way since those days and now, many of them choose to have unisex names like Kendall, River, Alex, Leslie, Blair and countless others. It is probably a good idea, because it could prevent bias judgment when applying for positions in the workplace.

Why did women from the beginning feel the man was superior? Was it as simple as the fact that the men were physically stronger, or by their Christian beliefs? If so, what changed them? Men are still strong and we still have Christian beliefs.

A large part of the advancements made by women who ultimately succeeded in changing and making laws is credited to the women back in 1848 that were confident enough to step up and lead. The fact that when they finally overcame the barriers that were blatantly forced upon them, even by other women, just goes to show just how far they have come. It was a long, hard road that should never be forgotten, even as we continue to pursue more advanced goals of the future.

A BeLikeBelva poster touts that Belva Lockwood was a Bold, Determined, Strong, Disruptive, Persistent, Passionate, Fearless Bad-Ass Chick and I agree that she was all of these adjectives, but the average woman does not have to be all of these things.

Here in Tioga County, N.Y. when National Women’s Month rolls around, it is common to read about famous, notable women; but you do not have to be famous to be notable. All successful women may not have been badass chicks as some of the more prominent fighters were in the past, but they got it. They knew what they had to do in their personal lives to either make a living, achieve higher goals or for any other reason.

With that said, I would like to point out a few of the professions that our county women achieved. They were independent and strong and often became leaders in their individual communities. Many of them were female “firsts” in their field. They were elected at all levels of county government, supervisors of towns, mayors of villages and other positions. Tioga County has had women in military, medicine, science, business, theater, sports and many other occupations. In fact, there are even more today.

To conclude, it is important to celebrate National Women’s Month, but also to recognize and encourage the women of today to continue to step up and lead as they did in 1848.

National Women’s Month began in 1981 when Congress requested the president to declare the week beginning March 7, 1982 as Women’s History Week to celebrate and commemorate the roles and accomplishments of women. By March 1987, Congress declared March as the first official Women’s History Month.

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