The Oppression of Women and Their Movement Toward Individuality :: Essays Papers

The Oppression of Women and Their Movement Toward Individuality The theme of individual and society can be looked upon in many different manners. There is the concept of people separating themselves from society in order to become individuals and express their individuality. There is the concept of individuality and the consequences its expression may have. The situation exists in which individuality is limited by society. Each of these ways of looking at the theme of individuals and society is something that has affected women since the beginning of recorded time. Throughout history, women have been suppressed and undermined by those who claim superiority over them based solely on a difference in chromosomes, not a difference in intelligence, talent, or ability. These claims have been made based on ideas from Biblical representations of men and women to protecting women and ensuring their mental and physical well-being. Still, women formed a unity that had clear goals, valid supporters, and strong leaders that enabled them to overcome their oppressions. Many ideas of male superiority come from and began with the Bible. It can be noted that woman, in the second creation story in Genesis, is made from that which is man. It can also be noted that it is a woman who, in the Garden of Eden story in Genesis, initially commits the first act against God's wishes and therefore causes herself and her companion to be judged and punished. Throughout the Bible, women are rarely referred to by an actual proper name. Women are referred to as property, a mere woman in a world of men. Also in the Bible, women are presented to be focused entirely around the home and are property of men with the sole purpose of bearing children, as in the Abraham, Sarah, and Haggar cycle in Genesis in which the two women are property of Abraham, there only to provide him with an heir. However unfortunate, in the context and time it was written, this was the case. Still, today we cannot believe the Bible to be a guideline for the roles of women. Many ideas may be false concerning what has been inferred and what was actually written and its purpose. A closer reading of the text will prove that women played a vital role in many of the treasured beliefs of believers. Even without names, women had a voice and were a force to be reckoned with.