Have You Come a Long Way Baby Essay Example For Students

Have You Come a Long Way Baby? Essay Flatland vs. Modern Culture The treatment of women and the handicapped in the modern world has changed little, as illustrated by Edwin A. Abbotts book Flatland, which was written as a social satire over one hundred years ago. Physically life in Flatland differs greatly from our own, but socially many similarities are evident between the two worlds. According to the politics of Edwin A. Abbotts Flatland women are regarded as inferior (12). In Despite of few distinguishing physical characteristics to discriminate against, from a Flatlanders point of view, women are considered the frailer sex. Inferiority is determined by the intellect of the female in relation to male. Since educational opportunities for women do not exist in Flatland, it is not difficult to refuse rights to those who are unaware that they have rights. The frailer sex must constantly make its appearance known in public because of the lethal capabilities they possess. The capacity to inflict such harm has prompted the powerful male upper classes to limit the opportunities of the inferior gender. When opportunities arise that decrease the barrier such as the passing of the Colour Bill, they are quickly stifled to maintain the balance of power that has been established. Indicated here by the Chief Circle if the Colour Bill passed, .. . fraud, deception, and hypocrisy would pervade every household. Sooner than this, He cried, Come death. (33). This Anti-suffrage speech indicates that the Chief Circle would rather perish than share rights with a woman. It is incomprehensible to most men in this society to believe an educated woman may be just as capable as they themselves are. The situation described in Flatland sounds very bleak, but until recently similar conditions existed in the United States, and though progress has been made still do exist. Very much like Flatland women were also kept from getting an education, and to some extent are still expected to take on traditionally female roles such as nursing and child care when entering into schools. It was very important to keep females out of the classroom for the same reasons given in Flatland. Women were dangerous to mens jobs and egos, and also would harm the domestic bliss that women had to work so hard to maintain. Today women are striving for equal rights but many have realized that they are still not making the progress they should be, women are finding a glass ceiling in many corporate work environments. The glass ceiling refers to the inability of women to find top positions in corporations many are found in the upper level of a business but are very rarely in control. American women were also not given the right to vote until the late twentys this is relatively recent and were only given the right on the assumption that their husbands had control over who they cast their vote for. Similarities also occur in the treatment of the handicapped. In Flatland irregular sides and angles are considered handicaps. The children born with these defects will be unable to live a normal life, they will be less intelligent and looked down upon by society. Children born with defects are immediately destroyed so that the community will not have to deal with the problems of a handicapped child and to keep the risk of having more handicapped children low. To some families in Flatland a child with an insufficient number of sides may be considered handicapped, many of these children were sent to have their sides broken in order to double the number of sides they have, although this process was risky many Flatlanders felt it was the only acceptable option a glad procession bears back the little one to his exultant parents, no longer a polygon . .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 , .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .postImageUrl , .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 , .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777:hover , .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777:visited , .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777:active { border:0!important; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777:active , .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777 .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u81841628f8fe0d3519c3730701d65777:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Anthropology Defined Essay.. at least by courtesy (36). This statement shows that appearances are everything in this society though the child may not have the development of a circle he will be perceived as one. In modern society the handicapped are often thought of as a burden rather than a needy human being. Tests now show if a child will be handicapped even before birth so the decision to carry out the pregnancy may be made then, still handicapped children are often abandoned or sent to institutions to be cared for. The termination of a pregnancy on account of a handicapped child may be compared to the destruction of any irregular children born to Flatland parents. Appearances of .