HERSTORY is not a common word and until the other day it was one that I had never even heard of. It is a word that remains unrecognized in multiple dictionaries but yet it holds such power behind it. The definition of the word herstory is “history considered or presented from a feminist viewpoint or with special attention to the experience of women” (Merriam-Webster).

I was empowered by this statement; history had always just been a regular word that I associated with thoughts of the past or education. It was only then that I saw the word as “his story”, just another form of male dominance in a world where women continue to fight for their rights.

In Chapter 3 of the textbook, there is a section about Hofstede’s Framework for Assessing Cultures on of the main focuses being on masculinity vs. femininity. It discusses “the de
gree to which the culture favors traditional masculine roles, such as achievement, power, and control, as opposed to viewing men and women as equals.” The use of the word traditional adds to the effect that history has been dominated by the male perspective and that only now women are fighting for their voices to be heard.

This can be viewed as an ethical issue since men and women she be valued as equals. The problem is that our past consists of generations of male dominance; male presidents and prime ministers, law enforcements, educators, physicians, etc. Whereas women were viewed only as care givers and associated with tasks such as cleaning, cooking, healing, etc. Nowadays jobs are become unisex, there are such things as stay at home dads and female police officers.

Slowly but surely women continue to fight for their voices to be heard as equals, and I believe one day that our fight will come to an end. And on that day, in the world of a newer generation, I would be proud to raise a daughter where society would tell her she could do anything she put her mind to.

Word Count: 337

References

  1. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/herstory
  2. This Is The Manifesto For The Women’s March On Washington. (n.d.). Retrieved February 04, 2017, from http://content.jwplatform.com/previews/ky0LYD5X-avTupidD