Accolades of the Early Utah Deaf &
Non-Deaf Women's History
Written by Jodi Becker Kinner
2017 - 2019
Note
Because women are marginalized socially, economically, professionally, and politically, I feel it's important to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of early Utah Deaf women throughout history. We will briefly learn about the Utah Deaf and non-deaf women's achievement, especially in terms of leadership. We will also acknowledge and appreciate the Utah women's contributions to the Utah School for the Deaf and Utah Association of the Deaf. It's a great way to remember and honor their legacy. Lastly, we will identify the history/leadership on gender equality and strategies for developing leadership in politics.
Thousands Marched On Utah State Capitol
Calling For Women’s Equality
Calling For Women’s Equality
Women's Rights are Human Rights = Human Rights are Women's Rights. ~Utah Women Unite~
Disclaimer
This webpage is not intended to criticize President Donald Trump, but to help the readers better comprehend what women experience in trying to make their voices heard in a male-dominated politics about the hardships and oppressions the women have endured over the years.
A group of Deaf women at the Utah State Capitol
It was the march that was “heard” around the world. The Global Women’s March took place Saturday, January 21, 2017 where an estimated 2.6 million people around the world united and marched with women and families to raise their voices concerning women’s inequality. Two days later, January 23, snow, hail, wind or icy roads in Salt Lake City did not stop ten thousand Utah residents from bravely marching to the Utah State Capitol, with it being the first day of the Utah’s legislative session. The “Utah Women Unite” was an organized march to call on legislators to support equal rights for women, lesbian/bisexual/transgender women, women of color, immigrant women, Muslim women, women with disabilities and women with low or fixed income. The goal of the march was to stand up for equality for millions of women who continue to be denied basic human rights simply because they are female. Event participants delivered powerful messages to Utah legislators and proclaimed that they are ready “to defend the progress their mothers and grandmothers fought for" (Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 2017).
Within 24 hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Global Women’s March began because they are deeply concerned about women’s civil rights and liberties being taken away or reduced by Trump’s “backwards agenda.” The fear is familiar to a Utah Woman leader and Human Rights attorney, Kate Kelly, one of the “Utah Women Unite” co-founder and event organizer who stated, “I’m sick and tired of men making laws about our bodies and our choices and our lives without consulting us!” (Vaglanos, The Huffington Post, January 25, 2017).
Within 24 hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Global Women’s March began because they are deeply concerned about women’s civil rights and liberties being taken away or reduced by Trump’s “backwards agenda.” The fear is familiar to a Utah Woman leader and Human Rights attorney, Kate Kelly, one of the “Utah Women Unite” co-founder and event organizer who stated, “I’m sick and tired of men making laws about our bodies and our choices and our lives without consulting us!” (Vaglanos, The Huffington Post, January 25, 2017).
Susan B. Anthony with suffrage leaders from Utah and elsewhere. Women Suffrage in Utah
Today the majority of Utah’s “ ‘all-male Republican’ legislative leaders stretched back more than 140 years” (Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 2017). Let’s take a look at 140 years ago, back in the 1800’s, where women were active in politics and fought for equal rights, especially the right to vote. They were known as the “suffragists.” They dominated politics in Utah and were committed to the advancement of women’s rights.
Emily S. and Franklin S. Richards, leaders in Utah's suffrage movement. Photo courtesy of Utah State Historical Society
Emily Sophia Tanner Richards was the one who proposed that Utah organize a suffrage group to be affiliated with the National Woman Suffrage Association. She also formed friendships with such leaders as Susan B. Anthony, Anna Howard Shaw and Carrie Chapman Catt (Toone, Deseret News, May 7, 2014). Emily's husband, Franklin S. Richards was a defender of equal suffrage.
There were more members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Utah than in any other place in the nation (Stack, The Salt Lake Tribune, January 9, 2017). For years, the women were not encouraged to obtain an education or pursue a professional career. They couldn’t own property, keep their own wages, or sign a contract.
There were more members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Utah than in any other place in the nation (Stack, The Salt Lake Tribune, January 9, 2017). For years, the women were not encouraged to obtain an education or pursue a professional career. They couldn’t own property, keep their own wages, or sign a contract.
Woman's Exponent Newspaper
Lula Greene Richards @ Utah Communication History Encyclopedia
Between 1872 and 1914, Woman's Exponent, a progressive newspaper was produced by and for Mormon women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lula Greene Richards and Emmeline B. Wells served as editors. They printed the Exponent newspaper in Salt Lake City, Utah. The purpose of the Exponent newspaper was to lift and strengthen the Mormon women. Throughout the publication, the press covered women's suffrage, plural marriage (Polygamy discontinued in 1890), and social/political topics. After forty-two years of publishing, the Woman's Exponent ended in 1914 due to financial problems (Brooks, Steenblik, & Wheelwright, 2016).
At the time, Brigham Young, Utah Governor and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged women to study and work. He said, "We believe that women are useful, not only sweep houses, wash dishes, make beds, and raise babies, but they should be stand behind the counter, study law or physic, or become good bookkeepers and be able to the business in any counting house, and all this to enlarge their sphere of usefulness for the benefit of society at large. In the following things, they but answer the design of their creation" (Brooks, Steenblik & Wheelwright, 2016).
During President Young’s time, many women worked. As ironically as it may sound, many of them were progressive in achieving their educational and career goals as well as promoting political goals while practicing polygamy. They were activists, physicians, educators, professors, writers, and politicians (Brooks, Steenblik & Wheelwright, 2016). The LDS Church was established in 1830 and historians have said that "Mormon feminists have existed for as long as Mormonism has existed" (Havens, The Spectrum, February 24, 2018).
However, by 1920, women were gradually losing their power and influence in politics and church. In order to meet the global growth needs in the 1960s, the LDS Church correlated the Relief Society, one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world. Between 1960 and 1970, the Relief Society women lost the authority to develop and administer their own programs, finances, and publications to male leaders. Again, between 1970 and 1980, the church adopted the traditional family structure and discouraged women from working outside the home. In a short time, a large percentage of women stayed home and raised children (Brooks, Steenblik & Wheelwright, 2016). Currently, fewer Utah women go to college than women in the nation.
In 100 years from 1870 to 1970, the trend went backwards. The history of Mormon Women's leadership was buried and forgotten until the Boston Mormon feminists brought the Women's Exponent newspaper back to life in the early 1970s. In 2017, Neylan McBaine co-founded Better Days 2020, a non-profit organization, to spread awareness and celebrate the women's leadership contributions to the state of Utah. They also aim to make Utah a better place for women in the future.
At the time, Brigham Young, Utah Governor and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged women to study and work. He said, "We believe that women are useful, not only sweep houses, wash dishes, make beds, and raise babies, but they should be stand behind the counter, study law or physic, or become good bookkeepers and be able to the business in any counting house, and all this to enlarge their sphere of usefulness for the benefit of society at large. In the following things, they but answer the design of their creation" (Brooks, Steenblik & Wheelwright, 2016).
During President Young’s time, many women worked. As ironically as it may sound, many of them were progressive in achieving their educational and career goals as well as promoting political goals while practicing polygamy. They were activists, physicians, educators, professors, writers, and politicians (Brooks, Steenblik & Wheelwright, 2016). The LDS Church was established in 1830 and historians have said that "Mormon feminists have existed for as long as Mormonism has existed" (Havens, The Spectrum, February 24, 2018).
However, by 1920, women were gradually losing their power and influence in politics and church. In order to meet the global growth needs in the 1960s, the LDS Church correlated the Relief Society, one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world. Between 1960 and 1970, the Relief Society women lost the authority to develop and administer their own programs, finances, and publications to male leaders. Again, between 1970 and 1980, the church adopted the traditional family structure and discouraged women from working outside the home. In a short time, a large percentage of women stayed home and raised children (Brooks, Steenblik & Wheelwright, 2016). Currently, fewer Utah women go to college than women in the nation.
In 100 years from 1870 to 1970, the trend went backwards. The history of Mormon Women's leadership was buried and forgotten until the Boston Mormon feminists brought the Women's Exponent newspaper back to life in the early 1970s. In 2017, Neylan McBaine co-founded Better Days 2020, a non-profit organization, to spread awareness and celebrate the women's leadership contributions to the state of Utah. They also aim to make Utah a better place for women in the future.
Emmeline B. Wells @ PBS.org
Original Woman's Exponent newspapers. It was taken at the 'Better Days 2020' Festival.
"The future will deal more generously with womankind, and the historian of the present age will find it very embarrassing to ignore woman."
~Emmeline B. Wells~
~Emmeline B. Wells~
Woman's Exponent II
Magazine & Blog
Claudia Lauper Bushman @ Fairmormon.org
During the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ratification period (1972-1982), one of the Boston Mormon feminists, Susan Kohler disovered the collection of Exponent at the Widener Library at Harvard University and the Boston Public Library. The Exponent newspaper inspired them, including Dr. Claudia Lauper Bushman and Dr. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich to launch Exponent II magazine in July 1974. They proclaimed it, "The spiritual descendant of the Woman's Exponent." Claudia Bushman wrote, "We found in our foremothers who spoke out the models we were searching for in our own lives." Exponent II aims to 'strengthen the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to encourage and develop the talents of Mormon women.' This press also focuses on concerns and experiences of diverse Mormon women from a feminist perspective. Nowadays, Exponent II continues to publish quarterly as the longest-running independent publication by and for Mormon women (Brooks, Steenblik & Wheelwright, 2016). See the link of Exponent II for more information.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich @ ldswomenofgod.com
Three years after women were granted the right to vote in 1920, Alice Paul, a leader of the women's suffrage movement and women’s rights activist, introduced the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1923 as the next step in bringing "equal justice under law" to all citizens. The purpose of the ERA was to protect women’s rights under the U.S. Constitution. Since 1923, the amendment has been introduced in every session of Congress and they finally passed the ERA in 1972. Shortly after that, the states were rapidly ratifying the ERA. However, when the vote came to Utah in 1977, it was opposed and blocked by the LDS Church as a moral issue (known formally as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) (Pemberton, 2016).
The deadline for ERA ratification expired in 1982. Despite a deadline extension, only 35 states of the necessary 38 states passed the ERA (Francis, 2018). Women are still not guaranteed equal rights and protection under the U.S. Constitution.
After nearly 40 years of inaction, Nevada finally became the 36th state to ratify the ERA in 2017. Illinois was next in 2018 as the 37th to pass the ERA. In 2020, Virginia became the 38th and the final state required to ratify the ERA. In Utah, House Sponsor Rep. Rebecca Chaves-Houck and Senator Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City introduced the ERA resolution twice in 2017 and 2018, but failed. In 2020, the Utah Legislature, once again, did not choose to recognize women as equal citizens under the law.
Interestingly enough, Utah passed its own ERA in 1895. Women in Utah already have equal rights and protection. The language in the Utah Constitution (Article IV, Section 1) states, “Both male and female citizens of this State shall enjoy equally all civil, political and religious rights and privileges.” Because of this, Utah has the chance to be the next state to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment (Quist, The Salt Lake Tribune, October 3, 2019). In 2020 and again in 2021, the Utah Legislature, unfortunately again, did not choose to recognize women as equal citizens under the law.
Now the next step is to remove the 1982 deadline so that the ERA can become a permanent part of the U.S. Constitution. 70% of Utahns and 94% of Americans want the ERA to be part of the Constitution. Every other developed country has an equality clause protecting gender, except the United States. Also, every Constitution written in the world since 1950—even Afghanistan’s—contains a provision equivalent to the ERA (Rich, 2020).
For more information about the Mormons for the Equal Rights Amendment go to "From Housewives to Protestors: The Story of Mormons for the Equal Rights Amendment."
The deadline for ERA ratification expired in 1982. Despite a deadline extension, only 35 states of the necessary 38 states passed the ERA (Francis, 2018). Women are still not guaranteed equal rights and protection under the U.S. Constitution.
After nearly 40 years of inaction, Nevada finally became the 36th state to ratify the ERA in 2017. Illinois was next in 2018 as the 37th to pass the ERA. In 2020, Virginia became the 38th and the final state required to ratify the ERA. In Utah, House Sponsor Rep. Rebecca Chaves-Houck and Senator Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City introduced the ERA resolution twice in 2017 and 2018, but failed. In 2020, the Utah Legislature, once again, did not choose to recognize women as equal citizens under the law.
Interestingly enough, Utah passed its own ERA in 1895. Women in Utah already have equal rights and protection. The language in the Utah Constitution (Article IV, Section 1) states, “Both male and female citizens of this State shall enjoy equally all civil, political and religious rights and privileges.” Because of this, Utah has the chance to be the next state to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment (Quist, The Salt Lake Tribune, October 3, 2019). In 2020 and again in 2021, the Utah Legislature, unfortunately again, did not choose to recognize women as equal citizens under the law.
Now the next step is to remove the 1982 deadline so that the ERA can become a permanent part of the U.S. Constitution. 70% of Utahns and 94% of Americans want the ERA to be part of the Constitution. Every other developed country has an equality clause protecting gender, except the United States. Also, every Constitution written in the world since 1950—even Afghanistan’s—contains a provision equivalent to the ERA (Rich, 2020).
For more information about the Mormons for the Equal Rights Amendment go to "From Housewives to Protestors: The Story of Mormons for the Equal Rights Amendment."
Alice Paul @ Biography.com
On March 13, 1943, the Relief Society President and Young Women President asked their senator to support the ERA. Supporting the ERA is in our history. Thanks to researcher, Ardis E. Parshall, for finding this source.
Seraph Young votes at the Utah State Capitol building @ Better Days 2020
Back to history, the Territory of Wyoming was the first to give the women's suffrage movement the right to vote on December 10, 1869, quickly followed by Utah Territory on February 12, 1870 (History.com, December 10, 1869: Wyoming Grants Women The Vote, 2009; Jan, The Suffrage Movement, February 23, 2009).
Wyoming’s next election was in September 1870, when women were granted the right to vote for the first time. Utah’s election was on February 14 of that year, which made Utah women the first to cast ballots. They beat Wyoming women to the polls by seven months. Utah women were also the first to vote in the modern nation (Clark, Better Days 2020).
At the election in Utah Territory, the majority of voters were women (Jan, The Suffrage Movement, February 23, 2009). Seraph Young Ford, a school teacher and grandniece of Brigham Young, was the first woman in the United States to legally vote on February 14, 1870 (Clark, Better Days 2020).
The Utah Women's Suffrage Movement won the right to vote twice: one in 1870 and again in 1895, long before the federal law, the 19th Amendment granted American women the right to vote in 1920. After Utah became a state on January 4, 1896, Utah citizens, including women participated in their first national election. Utah became the third state to grant suffrage after Wyoming (July 23, 1890) and Colorado (November 7, 1893). In the same year, the Utah School for the Deaf was moved to Ogden from Salt Lake City.
Wyoming’s next election was in September 1870, when women were granted the right to vote for the first time. Utah’s election was on February 14 of that year, which made Utah women the first to cast ballots. They beat Wyoming women to the polls by seven months. Utah women were also the first to vote in the modern nation (Clark, Better Days 2020).
At the election in Utah Territory, the majority of voters were women (Jan, The Suffrage Movement, February 23, 2009). Seraph Young Ford, a school teacher and grandniece of Brigham Young, was the first woman in the United States to legally vote on February 14, 1870 (Clark, Better Days 2020).
The Utah Women's Suffrage Movement won the right to vote twice: one in 1870 and again in 1895, long before the federal law, the 19th Amendment granted American women the right to vote in 1920. After Utah became a state on January 4, 1896, Utah citizens, including women participated in their first national election. Utah became the third state to grant suffrage after Wyoming (July 23, 1890) and Colorado (November 7, 1893). In the same year, the Utah School for the Deaf was moved to Ogden from Salt Lake City.
Utah State Senator Martha Hughes Cannon, 1899. LDS Church History Library
On November 3, 1896, Martha Hughes Cannon, a Democrat, doctor, Utah women’s rights advocate, and suffragist, became the first female state senator in Utah (beating her own husband, Angus Cannon and her best friend, Emmeline B. Wells) and in the United States. She served two terms in the state legislature. As a senator, she introduced two bills for the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. One bill is an Act Providing for Compulsory Education of Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Citizens and another bill is to provide a hospital building at the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. Governor Heber Wells appointed Cannon to the board of directors for the Utah School for the Deaf and the Blind. After leaving politics, she still served as a member of the board for the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (Martha Hughes Cannon, Wikipedia, January 22, 2019).
In an effort to encourage more women in Utah to participate in government, legislators formed the Martha Hughes Cannon caucus in October 2015 (Martha Hughes Cannon, Wikipedia, January 22, 2019).
In 2020, Cannon’s statue will be place in the National Statuary Hall collection in Washington, DC as the nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
In an effort to encourage more women in Utah to participate in government, legislators formed the Martha Hughes Cannon caucus in October 2015 (Martha Hughes Cannon, Wikipedia, January 22, 2019).
In 2020, Cannon’s statue will be place in the National Statuary Hall collection in Washington, DC as the nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
The Utah State Senate in 1897, Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon standing to the left of center. Utah State Historical Society
Maud May Babcock. Special Collections Dept. J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
Maud May Babcock, a Latter-day Saint convert, was the first female member of the University of Utah's faculty. She taught at the university for 46 years, beginning in 1892. She was the first woman to hold the position of chaplain of the Utah Senate (Maud Babcock, Wikipedia, December 28, 2018). As a University of Utah professor, she also served for two decades on the board of the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind, including 12 years as president (Toone, Deseret News, May 7, 2014). As of 2017, half the state's population, women hold roughly 1 in 7 legislative seats, one of the worst ratios in the country (Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 2017).
In the wake of the Global Women’s March, a mighty few of the Utah Deaf women seized the opportunity to participate in the local march and they were: Roberta Dunlap Bolanos, Chrystee Davenport, Jennifer Allen-Kelly, Jodi Becker Kinner, Carol Sanderson, Stephanie Mathis, Sari Williams, and Millicent "Millie" Simmonds (a Deaf actress). Deaf women still struggle to achieve gender equality. The lives of Deaf women have not always been easy. Deaf women, too, have come a long way – winning the right to vote, gaining education, obtaining employment, and much more.
In the wake of the Global Women’s March, a mighty few of the Utah Deaf women seized the opportunity to participate in the local march and they were: Roberta Dunlap Bolanos, Chrystee Davenport, Jennifer Allen-Kelly, Jodi Becker Kinner, Carol Sanderson, Stephanie Mathis, Sari Williams, and Millicent "Millie" Simmonds (a Deaf actress). Deaf women still struggle to achieve gender equality. The lives of Deaf women have not always been easy. Deaf women, too, have come a long way – winning the right to vote, gaining education, obtaining employment, and much more.
A group of the Utah Women Unite participants at the Utah State Capitol. Two Deaf participants are seating on the right side. One in her black coat is Millie Simmonds and Carol
Sanderson is sitting next to her. Credit: Utah Women Unite website
Deaf Women Leaders in Utah
It may have been possible that the Utah's suffrage movement influenced Deaf women to achieve their educational and political aspirations in the late 1800s and early 1900s. For example, Elizabeth DeLong, known as Libbie, made history in becoming the first Deaf female president of the Utah Association of the Deaf in 1909 by beating two Deaf male candidates – This is notable, as women were not granted the right to vote for decade until the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920 and Deaf women members were not allowed to vote in the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) election until 1965. She was also the first Deaf female NAD state chapter association president in the entire nation. After serving a second term as UAD president, Libbie gave a talk about women’s suffrage at the UAD Convention in 1915.
In October 2019, Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind announced that the new Deaf School in Springville, Utah will be named after Elizabeth DeLong. The school opened on January 6, 2020. It is a great way to honor her legacy. It may have been possible that the early Utah’s suffrage movement influenced Libbie to achieve her educational, political, and spiritual aspirations. Looking back, Libbie was the first in many of her accomplishments and she has inspired people both in her time and today. Utah is fortunate to have her as an inspirational leader on behalf of the Utah Deaf community.
In October 2019, Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind announced that the new Deaf School in Springville, Utah will be named after Elizabeth DeLong. The school opened on January 6, 2020. It is a great way to honor her legacy. It may have been possible that the early Utah’s suffrage movement influenced Libbie to achieve her educational, political, and spiritual aspirations. Looking back, Libbie was the first in many of her accomplishments and she has inspired people both in her time and today. Utah is fortunate to have her as an inspirational leader on behalf of the Utah Deaf community.
Elizabeth DeLong, 1st Female President of the Utah Association of the Deaf @ FamilySearch
Emma M. Emmertson @ The Utah Eagle, June 6, 1907
Emma M. Emmertson was a Deaf suffragette during the Women’s Rights Movement in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Mary Wooslayer was the first Deaf female student to enter the University of Utah in 1910 who graduated with a bachelor’s degree. While a student, Mary was under the sponsorship of Maud May Babcock, a member of the Utah School for the Deaf board of trustees and a faculty member at the University of Utah (Mary Woolslayer Photograph Collection, 1890).
Since the establishment of Gallaudet College in 1864, women couldn’t attend college until 1887 (US History Encyclopedia: Gallaudet University). Since the founding of the National Fraternal Society of the Deaf (NFSD) in 1901, women, including Justina W. Keeley, who discovered NFSD for Utah, were denied admission to the organization and full memberships. They were not allowed to purchase a regular insurance membership as men. It was not until 1951 that the NFSD agreed that women could receive regular insurance membership during the NFSD convention in Chicago, Illinois (Records of National Fraternal Society of the Deaf, 1900-2006).
Since the establishment of Gallaudet College in 1864, women couldn’t attend college until 1887 (US History Encyclopedia: Gallaudet University). Since the founding of the National Fraternal Society of the Deaf (NFSD) in 1901, women, including Justina W. Keeley, who discovered NFSD for Utah, were denied admission to the organization and full memberships. They were not allowed to purchase a regular insurance membership as men. It was not until 1951 that the NFSD agreed that women could receive regular insurance membership during the NFSD convention in Chicago, Illinois (Records of National Fraternal Society of the Deaf, 1900-2006).
Mary Wooslayer @ Utah Eagle, June 6, 1907
Justina W. Keeley @ Salt Lake City Division No. 56, October 15, 1966
Kim Lucas, 2nd Female President of the Utah Association of the Deaf
Finally, on September 7, 2019, at the UAD Conference, Kim Lucas became the second woman to be president of the Utah Association of the Deaf after over 100 years of men serving as the president.
It is my fervent hope to see the first female President of the United States soon. We, the women, have achieved so much over the years and we are one step closer of having a woman as a president of the United States.
@The Transformed Wife
I’ve included a list of things women couldn’t do that today’s young women take for granted:
- Women couldn’t vote until 1920.
- Married women couldn’t prescribe birth control until 1965.
- Women couldn’t get divorce easily until 1969. It was difficult to divorce for physical abuse or adultery.
- Women couldn’t practice law until 1971.
- Women couldn’t run the marathon until 1972.
- Women couldn’t get abortions throughout the country until 1973.
- Women couldn’t own credit cards under their own names until 1974.
- Women couldn’t serve on juries in all states until 1973. Utah deemed women fit for jury duty way back in 1879.
- Women couldn’t join military academics until 1976.
- Women couldn’t report workplace discrimination on the basis of pregnancy until 1978. They could be fired for being pregnant.
- Women couldn’t report workplace discrimination on the basis of pregnancy until 1978.
- Women couldn’t sue for sexual harassment until 1980.
- Women couldn’t report rape at the hands of their husbands until 1993.
- Women couldn’t protect themselves from domestic violence until 1994.
- Women couldn’t serve in active combat until 2013.
- Women couldn’t get the emergency contraception known as Plan B until 1998. As of 2016, you couldn’t find it in the drugstore aisles.
Thank a feminist who fought for us. The women have come a long way to fight for equal rights. Nonetheless today, women are still battling for equity such as:
Unfortunately, women's rights back then was viewed as ridiculous and it still applies to the condition of women's rights today. Sharon Weeks, an author of her "It seems to me: What young women may not know" article, observed that many young women, who have little understanding of women's history, are satisfied with their status quo. She basically emphasized the importance of being educated about women's rights issues and to challenge their status quo (Weeks, Leader-Telegram, February 19, 2017). The young women's apathetic attitude could have significant impact on our future daughters and granddaughters in the long run.
That being said, it is important to remember that the women's rights movement brought us back the most basic of rights. Let's unite together and support women's rights, a basic human right for all!
- Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) - failed to be ratified in America. The proposed ERA states that the rights guaranteed by the Constitution apply equally to all persons regardless of their sex. It was enacted by U.S. Congress in 1972, but fell three states short of the 38 needed for ratification by a June 30, 1982 deadline. Utah opposed the ERA in the 1970s.
- Gender wage gap
- Physical security (free/prevent from domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual harassment). We have our Sego Lily Center for the Deaf Abused available in Salt Lake City, Utah ~ slcad.org and www.utahdeafhistory.com/sego-lily-center-for-the-abused-deaf.html
- Affordable Housing - women tend to have high level of poverty. The need for safe and affordable housing is crucial.
- Access to quality healthcare, including reproductive services
- Necessarily access legal abortion
- Comprehensive sex education
- Human trafficking
- Racial injustice
- Paid maternity leave (The US is the only developed country that doesn’t require the companies to cover parental leave).
- Leadership roles - women still struggle to shatter the glass ceiling on leadership at all levels. Like Hillary Clinton, for example.
Unfortunately, women's rights back then was viewed as ridiculous and it still applies to the condition of women's rights today. Sharon Weeks, an author of her "It seems to me: What young women may not know" article, observed that many young women, who have little understanding of women's history, are satisfied with their status quo. She basically emphasized the importance of being educated about women's rights issues and to challenge their status quo (Weeks, Leader-Telegram, February 19, 2017). The young women's apathetic attitude could have significant impact on our future daughters and granddaughters in the long run.
That being said, it is important to remember that the women's rights movement brought us back the most basic of rights. Let's unite together and support women's rights, a basic human right for all!
A slideshow of the Utah Women's March in
Salt Lake City, Utah
January 23, 2017
Rally in Utah State Capitol Puts
Focus on Equal Rights Amendment
L-R: Julie Loder, ASL Interpreter, Jodi Becker Kinner, Rep. Karen Kwan, Kim, Smith, Brooke Groosinger, Honor Belshe, and Robert Belshe
State Representative Karen Kwan, D-Taylorsville hoped Utah would make history as 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). On December 3, 2019, around 200 supporters, including Deaf advocates, Kim Smith, UAD President, Robert Belshe, SLCAD President, Brooke Groosinger, UAD Board member, Honor Belshe (Robert’s 15-year old daughter), and Jodi Becker Kinner joined the Utah State Capitol to support Rep. Kwan when introducing legislation for Utah to ratify the ERA to the Constitution of the United States in 2020. It was a memorable day for us, and it was also an honor to be a part of history.
State Rep. Karen Kwan, D-Taylorsville, introduced a bill Tuesday that would ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in Utah. The ERA adds language to the U.S. Constitution on equal rights for all people regardless of sex. ROCIO HERNANDEZ / KUER
A slideshow of Representative Karen Kwan introducing a resolution for Utah to ratify
the Equal Rights Amendment to the
Constitition of the United States in 2020
at the Utah State Capitol
December 3, 2019
Utah Women's Equality Day
August 26, 2021
Danielle and Jodi (Mother & Daughter)
Read the attached articles for more information about the women's equality issues:
To know and protect your rights, you might want to subscribe to the following newsletters and petitions:
- Utah Women United - https://utahwomenunite.com
- Fair Utah - fairutah.org
- National Women Law Center - http://www.nwlc.org
- Equality Now - www.equalitynow.org
- National Organization for Women - https://now.org
- League of Women Voters - https://www.lwv.org
- Equal Rights Amendment - www.equalrightsamendment.org
- Equal Means Equal - http://equalmeansequal.org
- ERA Coalition - http://www.eracoalition.org
- Alice Paul Institute - https://www.alicepaul.org
Bibliography
Brooks, Joanna, Steenblik Rachel Hunt and Wheelwright, Hannah. "Mormon Feminism Essential Writing." Oxford University Press, 2016.
Clark, Rebekah. First Woman to Vote in Utah and the Modern Nation. Better Days 2020. https://www.utahwomenshistory.org/bios/seraph-young/
Gallaudet University Library Deaf Collections and Archives, "Records of National Fraternal Society of the Deaf, 1900-2006."
Francis, Roberta. "The Equal Rights Amendment: Frequently Asked Questions." The Equal Rights Amendment. www.equalrightsamendment.org
Gehrke, Robert. “Gehrke: Utah lawmakers should heed remarkable women’s march as call to action.” The Salt Lake Tribune, January 23, 2017.
Havens, Emily. "Mormon and feminists: Not an oxymoron - a rich history." The Spectrum, February 24, 2018. https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2018/02/24/mormon-and-feminist-not-oxymoron-rich-history-lds-church/345375002/
History.com Staff. "December 10, 1869: Wyoming Grants Women The Vote." History.com, 2009. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wyoming-grants-women-the-vote
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