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  • Essay / The oppression of women in Iron Jawed Angels

    What does oppression mean and how to take a stand? Oppression is being treated unfairly because a person abuses the power they have over someone. Women go about their daily lives often not reflecting on the struggles and battles that other women had to endure during the women's suffrage era. During this time, women fought tirelessly for the right to vote and for their voices to be heard. Martin Luther King, activist and leader of the civil rights movement, wrote a powerful essay in 1958. The essay "Three Ways to Face Oppression" focuses on the best methods to address oppression through acquiescence, violence and non-violence. King wrote a strong essay because of his familiarity with oppression, with African Americans being discriminated against and segregated because of the color of their skin. The methods mentioned by King can be seen throughout the women's suffrage movement, depicted in the film "Iron Jawed Angels." Women fought their oppression through strikes, marches, and a prison hunger strike that led to the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The three types of ways King used to deal with oppression are all significantly depicted in the movie "Iron Jawed Angels" and can also be seen in today's current situations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the methods of dealing with oppression mentioned by King is acquiescence. Acquiescence is a way of accepting oppression, of passively accepting unfair treatment. In the movie “Iron Jawed Angels,” Paul and the other women were walking and the men on the sides kept yelling at them. The men were shouting, “Look what you have under your skirt!” » “Are you trying to be a man?” These men were shouting their expectations of a woman because not all women had the strength to oppose women's right to vote. They believed that women had no place in a parade and that showing their strength was their attempt at trying to be a man. Women were expected to accept this unfair treatment because they were considered a minority. Another example is the number of countries around the world that still do not accept the LGBT community. There are countries where homosexuality is still considered illegal. Members of the LGBT community living in Russia struggle to be themselves. “Discrimination based on sexual orientation is widespread in Russia. There have been cases of harassment, threats and violence against LGBT people. Government officials have been known to make derogatory comments about LGBT people. » The Russian LGBT community must leave the country to join their partner or accept to live in silence, oppressed in their true sexuality. To conform to oppression is to give authority to the oppressor and allow them to believe that they are morally correct. A second way to combat oppression that King mentions is through violence. Violence is a method that he considers destructive because of the hatred it fuels and which does not provide a peaceful solution. In the movie "Iron Jawed Angels" we see Alice Paul and Lucy Burns meet with the NAWSA and ask if they can organize a suffragist parade. They were strictly asked not to use the methods used by the British. British women adapted the method of violence to protest women's right to vote. The film mentions)."