Impact! : The History of Womanhood (first draft)

 Keywords: Women’s Studies; Military History; Institutional Politics; Intersectional Feminism; Collective Memory; Service Academies 

War. What is it good for? 

A question that has been asked by millions across nations and generations. Though destructive and heartbreaking, war can actually build bridges between people. From the dawn of time men have participated in numerous wars. Creating a bond and gaining valor through their attempts to defend their land, protect their families, financial gains and pure patriotic duty. During this time, women were always there, keeping the household strong, supporting their husbands and sons, and being the shoulder to cry on. However, few women chose to chase the dream of equality amongst their male counterparts and built a legacy worth noting. 

Looking to the strength portrayed by the Greek, Roman, Native, and Indian goddesses, women have seen these powerful female divine figures worshipped across global mythologies, rulers, and destroyers. Rather than viewing mythology folklore, feminist scholars utilize the goddess archetype to deconstruct traditional gender roles and reimagine female power. Women like Carol P. Christ, the pioneer of the “Goddess Movement”, Marija Gimbutas, and Dr. Ruth, have all promoted using the goddess energy within to find the enlightenment, encouragement and strength to process the daily tasks of womanhood. 

Christ and Gimbutas followed the teachings of goddesses like Aphrodite, Kali, Lilith to reclaim them as symbols of autonomous power, unfiltered life force, and resistance to institutional control. These three were traditionally seen as goddesses of feminine sexuality or the seductress. Because Aphrodite is seen as a woman in charge of her own sensuality, body and pleasure, she is often viewed as a seductress and women who follow her teachings or the teachings of Kali or Lilith were compared to the “Madonna-whore” dichotomy. They are asserting themselves in a way that is completely independent from the traditional reproductive duties or of male ownership. 

Not all goddesses were created on the arch of fertility and feminine sexuality, some were built on rage, war, destruction and divine retribution. Kali is one of those goddesses, similar to Sekhmet, in the reclamation of female power. Kali annihilates ego and institutional oppression in order to clear a path for her own renewal. Bursting from Durga’s third eye, Kali is produced by rage Durga had for Chanda and Munda, the Divine Mother’s wrath, ready to do the violent work that civilized diplomacy could not achieve. Kali, bloody, violent and divine, is the sheer energy and force that a woman puts toward protecting her bloodline. Seen in many women now serving in combat roles. These goddesses encompass female power and the raw urgency that violence is on the battlefield. 

There are also goddesses of wealth, fortune and spiritual abundance, and that is seen in Lakshimi, Fortuna, and Oshun. Oshun, the African goddess of the river, beauty, sweet waters and wealth. Her teaching shows that wealth is meant to be enjoyed and used to bring in life’s many sweet treasures, like gold, her sacred metal. These many goddesses are utilized by Carol P. Christ and Marija Gimbutas as a blueprint that maps out the feminine power within all of us. 

The “Triple Goddess” or Mother, Maiden, Crone, is for much debate between Gimbutas’ and Christ's theories. The “Triple Goddess” often seen as the biological birth, life and death (Google, 2026) of a woman or her aging process is analyzed by Gimbutas not as the goddess’ aging process, since they do not age, but of the cosmic aging processes. Universal and something that not only humans participate in but all of nature. Whereas Christ teaches that the “Triple Goddess” is not an ancient symbol but actually from Robert Graves’ The White Goddess of 1948. Here, Graves describes the three goddesses as the women’s reproductive status and age. Christ did not agree with Graves and believes that the triad represents a more natural state of womanhood and a reclamation of the archetypes. Christ also explains that male dominated spaces try to force women into flat categories completely ignoring the inner goddesses within.

In male dominated areas such as, the military, corporate, or academia, women are often seen as an assistant role. They are utilized for many jobs that men tend to turn down. Administrative and other non-combative roles, even though combative roles have recently opened up to women the competition is fierce. 

Women’s rights, history and the military

As a centuries-long evolution from unrecognized individual sacrifice to institutional integration and ongoing policy debates. Historically women used the military service to prove their civic worth and demand full citizenship rights, rights to land ownership and a career instead of the traditional roles of womanhood, like mother and wife. Presently, women in the military focus primarily on maintaining changing standards, leadership equality and institutional protections.

To understand the inequality of women in the military just take a look at the awarded women of the military. Of those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor, only one was a woman. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War surgeon, POW of the Confederate Army, surgeon, suffragist and the only woman in United States history to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Using the courage of Athena, she suffered when she was captured by the Confederate Army while being across enemy lines administering medical care to her troops. Unfortunately, her award was revoked in 1917 due to changes to the Medal of Valor’s criteria that required recipients to participate in direct combat; she refused to remove it with a Lilith-like quality. After her death, the Medal of Valor was reinstated to her in 1977. Even decades after her death there is still the “toxic nationalism” attacking her valor. Recently, in 2023, the military base that held her namesake, plus nine others, were reverted back to their original name, to commemorate Confederate Civil War generals. (“Her Medal of Honor was once revoked. Now her base is being renamed.”  Seck, Hope. Military TImes. 20 June 2025). 

This is the type of toxic masculinity and toxic nationalism that attacks many women who are just trying to do the same as men in the military, protect their homes, protect their families, and defend their nation. However, because of sacrifices by women like Dr. Walker, the Combat Exclusion Policy of 2013 came into existence. Before we continue to mention memorable feminist lets explain what a feminist actually is. 

What is a feminist? 

A feminist is constantly describes someone who holds and acts on the beliefs that all women and girls should have equal rights and the same opportunities as men. Anyone can be a feminist and hating men does not make someone a feminist. A whole generation worked to empower women and teach men to live with empowered women. 

“Men should be glad women just want equality and not revenge”  –Oteghau Uwagba

This quote by Uwagba fully summarizes the systemic oppression, disenfranchisement, and cultural mistreatment of women by patriarchal societies (X. OteghaUwagba). Uwagba, understands that women have been mistreated for generations and wishes to change that by teaching women how to live on their own without men. Both, financially and independently, creating a lifestyle that is solely their own and without rules or objectification. A feminist wants to teach women that fighting for equal pay, fair hiring practices and financial independence are necessities to living an empowered, unmonitored life. Financial independence is not something that is easily attainable for most women, which leads to most women struggling below the poverty line even while holding 2 to 3 jobs. Economic fairness will only be attained when equal rights are established, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are made.” 

Ginsburg meant that women need equal representation in leadership, government, boardrooms, and all areas of power. Fighting her entire life for equal fairness and representation for women, Ginsburg believed that women deserve to be normal participants in leadership, not rare tokens or exceptions to the rule. She set the stage for many women leaders to advocate for women’s rights. Women like Ginsberg followed women like American rights activist Susan B. Anthony, the “champion of temperance, abolition, the rights of labor and equal pay for equal work” (Mathias 2024). Anthony pioneered the fight for women’s rights in the United States and the 19th Amendment. To Anthony, it was a form of tyranny to have control politically and personally over a woman and she used this to demand the rights to vote for women during the 19th-century women’s rights movement. 

In her speech, “Women Wants Bread, Not the Ballot”, Susan B. Anthony argues that they are one in the same, the bread and the ballot. She states:

  Disfranchisement means inability to make, shape or control one’s own  

 circumstances. The disfranchised must always do the work, accept the wages, occupy 

the position the enfranchised assign to them. The disenfranchised are in the position of 

the pauper.  (Anthony 1890) 

Arguing that the right for women to vote is essential to economic survival and fair wages. Susan B. Anthony delivered this famous lecture between 1880 and 1890 connecting women’s lack of voting rights directly to disfranchisement. She explains in her lecture that everywhere on the globe men and women are suffering from disfranchisement, women especially. That labor is regulated by capital not dominated by it. She continues to speak about the disfranchised class and how in order for them to become enfranchised, women must possess the right to vote. This will not only assist women but also improve society as a whole. Until this is done the ballot will always be used as a way to keep men and women in a poverty stricken class. A degraded class of labor in the market. 

She spoke about the governing of society and how the disfranchised lose their power when they are governed without consent. This is an ideology that she learned from President Abraham Lincoln. Anthony wanted the degraded class to understand that bread is not for labor, that only voting can bring true independence from those governing. Teaching political gains are just as important as collecting bread. Anthony explained that the governed body was disfranchised against their consent by the enfranchised people. She details that women must vote in order to achieve political power within the degraded class. 

She wanted to dismantle the rule that men had over women and the rule the enfranchised had over the poor and “ignorant” (Anthony 1890). To let women free from the life of obedient servitude to men. 

Anthony said, “To them this government has no just powers derived from the consent of the governed.” She teaches that this society is a society in which the “odious aristocracy” governs the uneducated poor. Therefore this aristocracy is purely patriarchal where the household is governed to oppress women. So she asks, “are women persons?” explaining that being deemed as persons as such hold the rights of the other half of the sexes. This will give women the right to vote over who will govern their bodies, finances and households. 

Susan B. Anthony never married and dedicated her life to the cause of women’s rights. When she died in 1906, women still had not received the right to vote. It wasn’t until 14 years after her death that women were awarded the right to vote with the 19th amendment of 1920. This was just the start for women’s rights and the suffrage movement. As years have passed, due to the amendment, women have been able to hold political office, vote on reproductive rights and also build themselves from a disfranchised state to an enfranchised society. Where the matriarchy and feminist movements have changed the rules and introduced new ones to protect women. 

Intersectionality

Intersectional feminism means recognizing how injustice is woven into both the past and present. Centuries of violence, racism, and discrimination have created deep inequalities that continue to shape people’s lives today determining who has access to education safety, decent work, healthcare and political power. 

From the spread of online misogyny, the act of the targeted denigration, harassment and dehumanization of women and girls via digital platforms intersectionality shows.  From them you also see that though we have advanced as a culture, equality is still difficult to obtain for many. This is not just a problem, it is a crime and must be fought back. Everyday, harassment is experienced by women and girls. Women are constantly discriminated against in the boardroom, chats, and on personal social media pages. In schools girls are bullied on social networking sites and online class chats. 

Systemic inequality has exploded all over cyberspace. Intersectional feminism shows that it created unsafe online spaces and abusive content (Fontanella 2024).  Since 1990 to 2022, analysis studies have shown that online misogyny runs rampant across the internet. Gone are the days of gossip columns and rumors sprawled across the bathroom walls. Now, there are global websites dedicated to degrading women and comment sections filled with derogatory remarks. And so we enter the “manosphere”.

Manosphere

Promoting misogyny online is much easier than trying to spread the agenda through passing out brochures and putting up posters. Now reading material and forums are violating the internet in the “manosphere”. This is a collection of websites, online forums, and blogs geared toward teaching, supporting and building hate between the sexes. They glorify abuse and plan violent acts toward women and girls. Worse than most pornographic sites, “manosphere” websites allow those against women to share their thoughts, beliefs and schedule meet up groups. Promoting violence has led to mass-shootings at feminist rallies. The 

2014 Isla Vista killings and the 2018 Toronto van attack have been attributed to the “manosphere”. Bringing the online world to real life. 

There is a world where men hate women and are ready to cause violence at any time and these websites, influencers, and social media groups are the cause. Men of the “manosphere” have been able to influence others with their hate of women, fitness tips, and financial advice. That is adjusted to living in a more male dominated world where women live the lifestyle of the obedient, submissive, non-equal. 

Though there are some sites that promote dating, fatherhood, or other hobbies; men in the “manosphere” are cautious of who they follow and what they support. Some are even cautious about posting misogynistic propaganda, so that they can slip in their ideas between advice columns. But often the men who are not abusive to women or do not hate women, are abused themselves and pushed out of the misogynist groups for being too female positive. They are often labeled as feminist or sympathizers and may even be attacked outside of the internet. It is a gang mentality that only promotes hate and produces crime. 

The popularity of influencers on social media have utilized their platforms to attack women in a more “normalized” fashion. Creating popular terms and habits that are spread throughout social networks, like YouTube, and are taught to even young boys and girls. This is the radicalization of extreme ideologies that ultimately normalizes violence against women. The more popular the influencer, the easier it is for them to spread their misogynistic ideals. 

By creating a sense of community within the platforms that appeals to young men and adolescents that are looking for a safe space to find fitness tips or even cryptocurrency advice, all while spreading hate toward women. Unfortunately, some men fall into the trap of putting themselves up by pushing others down because they are taught that this is the “normal” way of living and unfortunately those that are marginalized are women. This suggests that some men in the “manosphere”, those who do not stay long, have become victims of misandry or prejudice against men. (unwomen.org) 

Feminist Theory

Feminist theory’s social construction of gender, views gender roles as fixed biological traits explaining that the roles and expectations are cultural and political constructs. The feminist theory that gender is identity, role and set of expectations created by culture and society rather than biological sex. 

Sex, is the biological construct that defines the biological differences between men and women. Whereas gender, are the cultural behaviors and responsibilities that society assigns to the body. The interdisciplinary framework of feminist theory also examines the nature of gender inequality, power dynamics, and systemic oppression placed on gender roles. The way children learn is directly affected by gender identification. That is what parents and toys that are specifically designed to appease the biological aspects of the individual, taught feminist theory. 

Exploring the “systemic causes and effects of inequality among the sexes” is just one way feminist theory is essential (Feminist Theory Archive 2003). The other is fighting back against misogyny by dismantling oppression. The mission is to find and identify oppressive systems and demolish them. Unfortunately some essential groups are dismantled in the process of creating a feminist society. One example of this is the construct and termination of DACOWITS and the changes to the current structures of the United States military physical standards. Two policies that have helped women succeed in the military. 

DACOWITS 

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services was established by Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall and Assistant Secretary of Defense Anna Rosenberg in 1951. It was the oldest advocacy group for women in the military. DACOWITS assisted in transitioning women to military life. A group of 50 civilian women from all walks of life and all over the United States were gathered by Marshall and Rosenberg, they were then interviewed on the successful ways to “recruit and utilize women in national defense” (Marshall Foundation 2015)

In addition to recruiting women for the military, DACOWITS assist many female military personnel by teaching advocacy. Through their efforts they have improved women’s tactical uniforms, new training techniques for women, provided support for mothers and families and changed the food in the mess halls to healthier options. Just the start, DACOWITS took on more challenges, rank limitations for women, relationships with service members, and even the implementation of access to education for women. Making it that in 1976 women could attend service academies like the Naval Academy, West Point and the Air Force Academy. DACOWITS also assisted in the implementation of women in combat roles in the military. 

Even after all of the disruption against the systemic oppression of the military, DACOWITS is now facing termination by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. This is just another obstacle on the path to women’s empowerment. Leaving women to join in, shouting with Gloria Steinem:

“We are the women our parents warned us against, and we are proud.”

This battle cry optimizes the social construct of the disruption of oppression. Steinem sent a warning to the patriarchy. That women will not back down to misogyny. Steinem challenged the status quo and pushed past barriers that held women in “traditional” roles. In the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, Steinem’s work reached millions worldwide, she is the reason why globally, daughters were taken to work to learn what careers were available for them and the reason why women are now capable of serving in every military capacity. 

She is the most influential woman in the world who recognizes that women deserve a right to speak up in classrooms, boardrooms, and war rooms. Not only was she an advocate of women’s rights she also faced the racial and cultural injustices that held women of all races, creeds, and cultures back from independently pulling themselves out from under the patriarchy. 

Patriarchy is the social system in which men hold primary power in leadership, politics, social privilege and control of property. Steinem fought against that; ensuring and explaining, like many women before her, that women deserve leadership roles, control over their own bodies and careers, education and proper healthcare. Many feminist theorize that the military is historically rooted in patriarchal roles. Therefore roles for women, for the most part of many wars, were non-existent. Throughout history though many foot soldiers were men, most were led by famously strong combative women. Women like Cleopatra, Catherine the Great and Joan of Arc. These women possessed characters like the great Athena. Often viewed as women with “Athena like-quality”, these matriarchs embody a strategic warfare, disciplined intellect, and calculated purpose. They were cunning before they were forceful. 

In the differences….