Free Sample Essays > Sociology
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
goals for autonomy was none other than education. In her mind education was an effective way to transform society, so the most effective way to feminize society was to feminize education. Education is a teaching tool to show women how to dedicate their lives towards a common good rather than the familial good that our patriarchal society stressed. With this in mind; she along with many other notable women of her time devised an educational system that de-emphasized masculine and feminine character traits in order to fully enable women to enter and act as full and equal members of society. Through a gender-balanced educational system, men and women would develop into socially active intellectuals, both capable and both self-reliant human beings.
Throughout her lifetime and even today scholars perceive Gilman as a feminist. Yet, Gilman’s feminist ideas clearly have a place within the progressive movement. Her works stressed the importance of an equal society and were the strongholds during the fight for women’s suffrage. During most of her lifetime Gilman was a highly respected and internationally known figure. However, many people both men and women alike rejected her comments towards the rights of women. It wasn’t until the contemporary women’s rights movement of the 1970’s was Gilman’s literature fully appreciated by all (4).