Human Rights
Mary Wollstonecraft makes a provocative argument that the corruption of society stems, in part, from the false dichotomies that are socially constructed and that divide men from women. More particularly, she argues that men are forced into a social category that is characterized by reason. Women, she observed, are forced into a category that is characterized by feeling. In other words, men act with their heads and women act from their hearts. Not only is this untrue, Wollstonecraft contends, but it contributes to a particularly virulent form of patriarchy that keeps women from realizing the full complement of their rights, and harms both men and women by keeping them from the fullness of their humanity.
Question :
Are the divides that Wollstonecraft identifies in nineteenth century Europe still in evidence today? Either way, discuss and analyze the degree to which women’s rights have evolved and expanded since Wollstonecraft’s era, as well as the ways in which women are still denied access to full equality with men.
