MARGARET ROSSITER, REFLECTION OF MATILDA JOSLYN GAGE

Throughout history, there has been a lot of discrimination that made our teeth cringe. That they are of order ethnic, religious or even sexist, they all have brought their share of conflicts and victims. Among all that, groups of people were able to raise the point and say stop. These people fought for everyone to have the same rights. Here we will focus on two large figures of feminism: Rossiter and Joslyn Gage. They too, in their own way, had the courage to stand up against the trend for women to have the same freedoms and privileges than women.

The Writer Who Fought
for their rights

Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage is female American born March 24, 1826 and died March 18 March 1898.

Already during her childhood, Joslyn Gage intervened against inequalities. She was helping by example the slaves present at the "Chemin de underground iron ”, network used by these last who fled to the free states of United States or Canada. This aid, which was formally banned at the time, he notably worth being imprisoned.

In addition to being a writer, she was an abolitionist and supported the feminist movement with fervor. It is the proof that the movement already existed at that time, however distant. His major acts within this movement mainly concern obtaining the right vote by American women, something that was not possible until 1920 in the United States United.

She began to take an interest in feminism by 1852, when she spoke at the “Annual Convention on Women's Rights”, meeting aimed precisely at defending the of this female right to vote.

To further support his position, Gage will even become president of the "National Woman Suffrage Association ”and head of executive committee for over 20 years. Finally, ultimate proof of its support for the women, the writer will sign the "Declaration of women's rights of the centenary of 1876 ”in company of feminist Lillie Devereux Blake.

All these acts will eventually earn him his registration, in 1995, at the famous museum American, the National Women's Hall of Fame.

The historian who teaches
their story

Margaret W. Rossiter was born in July 1944 and is still alive currently. The 77-year-old American is a teacher but also historian of science, subject which she teaches at Cornell University.

It was at the famous Harvard University that she begins his long and tedious apprenticeship on the place of women in the history of sciences in the United States.

While at Yale University, someone is going to give her something to think about will mark: "There are no women scientists at United States, but only assistants. "

The researcher will then progressively seek to invalidate this sentence, by proving that there are women with the skills intellectuals all as remarkable as men in science, then by defending the rights of the latter to assert himself in the community.

She did not know it yet but Rossiter, who has itself suffers from inequalities in view of its status of "woman scientist", will dedicate all his life to this cause. Among all her publications, the historian explained the phenomenon that made it worldwide know, "the Matilda effect".

These two figures have, each in its own way, each in its own time, contributed to improving women's living conditions. They are beaten so that women have the same rights than men. The difference of temporality that separates them proves that the fight it is and will remain timeless, at least as long as inequalities will not have totally missing. They are real examples to follow and their works have earned them honorable distinctions.

Many supporters of feminists help get things done by through works, whether literary, artistic or even cinematographic. For example, "Figures in the Shadows" is a film which also, in its own way, talks about inequalities suffered by women in the scientific domain.

If you want to know more about this movie which is a reference in the history of science and women scientists, I invite you to read the article dedicated to him.