Growing up, I thought that by the time I was in college, the United States would have a female president. Unfortunately, although the United States has made great strides in the way of women’s rights, it remains a patriarchal society lacking in female leadership. Though thankfully, many US presidents and their wives have acknowledged the importance of feminism. Let’s take a look at a few.
1. Eleanor Roosevelt
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This remarkable woman completely redefined what it means to be First Lady. Throughout her life, Eleanor Roosevelt was heavily involved in human rights activism, including some early feminist endeavors.
“A woman is like a tea bag—you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.”
2. Jimmy Carter
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Former president and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Jimmy Carter wrote a book called A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, which addresses some of the greatest atrocities women face today. These issues are so dear to Carter’s heart that he considers this book his most important, even though he’s written over 20.
“Yes, of course, I consider myself a feminist. If a feminist is someone who believes women should not be persecuted and women should have equal rights, then all men ought to be feminists.”
3. Abigail Adams
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Abigail Adams fought for women long before first-wave feminism even began in the United States. She urged her husband to “remember the ladies” and their role in fighting for independence by ensuring they had some political power.
“Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”
4. Barack Obama
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We could dedicate an entire article about how awesome Barack Obama and all his efforts to support feminism are. Throughout his presidency, he encouraged discussions on rape culture, toxic masculinity, and intersectional feminism.
“We need to change the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive, that criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our boys for shedding a tear.”
People around the world look up to the POTUS and FLOTUS as examples of leadership, which makes it of upmost importance for these people to identify with feminist values. The more feminist leaders we elect, the more people will expect feminism from their leaders. This will allow more women to be in leadership positions, which will benefit people of all gender identities.
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