Is feminism more effective through government or every-day change?

 I believe the contrast between Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and The Declaration of Sentiments excellently shows controversy within feminism itself. 

Wollstonecraft speaks with an almost sarcastic tone in her writing, trying to show the absurdity of the societal role that women are meant to play. When she says, “My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering their fascinating graces…” She is trying to empower women to break away from grace, but I actually think she is also denouncing women at the same time. Her entire argument is that women should go against classic feminine traits of elegance and “sweet docility” in their every-day lives to usher in a new wave of feminism. Though, she does not explicitly recognize that some women might like staying in these roles, and that true feminism (as seen today) is about letting women have the freedom to decide who they want to be. Perhaps her response to this point would be that women first have to challenge gender roles even if they don’t agree with this cause to collectively create change in the minds of others. By doing this, women can reach the point where they can embrace whatever roles they choose. Still, she drives home that the changes needed for feminism must happen in the home first, before trying to make governmental changes as seen in the Declaration of Sentiments. 

The Declaration of Sentiments does a better job of pushing feminism, since governmental action is often more impactful than single people making change. The Declaration argues that the government is inherently sexist, as men are never targeted for performing actions that would be sinful for women. I think the argument in the Declaration of Sentiments is especially strong because it highlights that women being treated equally in institutions like school, church, and government will actually benefit society as a whole. Women would contribute diverse points to these institutions and would become more responsible human beings since they can no longer get away with crimes simply because they’re women. I would argue that the Declaration of Sentiments is more effective than Wollstonecraft’s writing since it paves a clear and sound plan of action for integrating women into society. 

I think of these two sides of controversy (whether feminism should be practiced more at home or pushed in the government) similar to the current environmental issue. In the past few years, many have been pushed to incorporate small tasks into their lives that would help the environment like using paper straws or saving water. While these activities by individuals are always positive, it has been proven that they make a largely insignificant impact. The largest harms to the environment are caused by corporations that can only face restrictions from the government. I think feminism was a similar concept in the 1900s, where governmental action would be more valuable than individual help. Currently, though, I think feminism is extremely valuable in every-day lives since the government has made many strides in women’s rights throughout the years.