Womens Gender Studies

3/2/1/+ Response

Student Name, U#: Alyxandrya Pelletier U69088763

Week #: 2

Text You Chose: Yamila Azize-Vargas, The Emergance of Feminism in Puerto Rico, 1870-1930

Main Ideas:

1. The century of Feminism and Education. In Puerto Rico women were deprived the right to have an education, being that they were supposed to stay home and attend to the house and children. At end of the century in 1898, education became a high priority, with Coeducational schools and more girls attending schools. Courses were centered on economic needs.

2. Women in the Working Class. Thanks to World War 1, women were to not only keep up with the households but also to take on jobs such as garment sewing, working in the tobacco industry, and other kind’s jobs within the factories such as “lectors.” Women were to work alongside the men in the tobacco factories in harsh conditions, with minimal pay in comparison to the men.

3. Fight for Your Rights! With the liberal party in power, the bill for legal emancipation for women was not passed, luckily women didn’t stop there. Women brought fear to several legislators with their socialist parties desire to have a say. Many suffragists groups stood together to bring back attention to having a restricted suffrage vote. Many mediums were involved in the movement such as churches, cartoons, magazines, and newspapers, all having something to claim on the matter.

Word count: 206

Quotations: 1: p. 2/4

"They couldn't do anything to stop women in the industry ... we must then, help them to get organized in unions, to get education; they can't be our enemies, they have to be our allies."

This quote says to me that the women knew that they were powerful, they knew that they were close to a breaking point. They were striving to work WITH the men and for equality, not AGAINST or AHEAD of them. I believe that given the opportunity, women could have been such a viable resource for so much more than they were used. I...