Critical View of On the Equality of the Sexes by Judith Sargent Murray Essay

Critical View of On the Equality of the Sexes by Judith Sargent Murray - Essay Example Critical View of â€Å"On the Equality of the Sexes† by Judith Sargent Murray This essay opens with a poem which expresses Judith feelings towards oppression and education for women. It further stresses how the society silences women and how the male chauvinists disregard women. She expresses her frustrations when she say men thinks that women appreciate and love little thighs that do not matter when in real sense they appreciate and love similar things that men do. Judith exhibited high degree of intelligence which her parents noticed during her younger age and encouraged her to study with her brother. According to Smith, gender bias was creation of our founding fathers and mothers. Notably, the Declaration of Independence in the America gave an impression that men were born equal and free and could only be governed at their own will. In the nineteenth century, women increasingly participated in various efforts to improve their social status, rights and defend their place in the society. The very first women rights movement emerged from shared sense of discontents facing many women. They capitalized on women antislavery experience and in 1850’s they joined hands in promoting broad agenda for married women to acquire property rights. Judith Sargent Murray was born in Massachusetts, Gloucester in May 1751from a wealthy family that engaged in trade in both West Indies and England. Judith grew up with her brother, Winthrop who was educated b y her parents in order to go to Harvard. However, Judith only received rudimentary education and basic needlework in preparation for marriage. This discriminatory treatment irritated her and eventually she chose to dedicate herself to advocacy for women education and equal rights in male chauvinist society (Murray 134). Judith was married to John Stevens in 1769. She made proper use of her family extensive resources which enable her turn her quest of knowledge and love of reading into a prolific writing career. When Stevens was away, Judith published her first essay titled â€Å"Desultory Thoughts upon the Utility of Encouraging a Degree of Self-Complacency, especially in Female Bosoms†Ã‚  in 1784. Stevens died in 1786 and she was married by John Murray in 1988 with whom she had two children. In 1790’s she wrote for Massachusetts Magazine an essay titled, â€Å"On the Equality of the Sexes†. Others include â€Å"The Gleaner,† that focused on citizenship, federalism, abilities, virtue and female education, â€Å"The Repository,† that emphasized on reflection, philosophy and Universalists subjects. When Judith and her husband moved to Boston, she was offered a column in a biweekly newspaper called Federal Orrery. However, she only submitted five essays and eventually had to cut ties with the newspaper when she received a backlash after allegations that her husband John did most of the writing. This essay compares and contrasts the various critical views of, â€Å"On the Equality of the Sexes† essay. This essay opens with a poem which expresses Judith feelings towards oppression and education for women. It further stresses how the society silences women and how the male chauvinists disregard women. She expresses her frustrations when she say men thinks that women appreciate and love little thighs that do not matter when in real sense they appreciate and love similar things that men do. This is one of the bases of â€Å"O n the Equality of the Sexes†Ã‚  in which she tries to depict how men and women are equal both rationally and intellectually hence the need to be taught the same way as they grow up (Mays 78). The essay also challenges the notion that men possess greater intellect than women. In this respect, Judith argues that