A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

Chap. II. The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual Character Discussed
Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Woman is possibly the most well-known feminist treatise of our time, and because it was the first truly feminist work of literature she is accredited as being the mother of the feminist movement. The main theme of this chapter shows Mary's observance of the practice of her time which was to have women that yielded and became mere coquettes to men. She observed how, in her time, women were merely educated in the rights of manners while men were educated of the world. Ms. Wollstonecraft also refutes many poets and authors including the famous Jean-Jacques Rousseau as well as Dr. John Gregory in observing the necessity for mankind to tear itself away from the old ideals expressed by these two men (those of women not being educated and becoming the pawns of "tyrants" and "sensualists") and recognize women on the same standard as men, as valued intellectuals. As Mary shows throughout the chapter, she doesn't want just for women to have equal social and political rights with men, but she wants a whole new view on women to be fastened to the minds of society. In saying this, she recognizes that she may be asking for a "Utopian" principle when asking for total integration of the female race into the intellectual world, but nevertheless she was way ahead of her time in introducing this wholly new ideal. Also, Mary recognizes the difference between friendship and love and quotes a "shrewd satirist" in saying "that rare as true love is, true friendship is still rarer", which shows her opinion that men and women should not marry for mere love (which she labels more as desire and passion) but, using reason, should match for friendship and find each other companions, here would lie the only answer for immortal love. Finally, Mary closes with the argument in which she began in saying that society should accept this truly healthy ideal of bringing women into the intellectual world because "as sound politics diffuse liberty, mankind, including woman, will become more wise and virtuous."
Mary's Vindication brings up to me a question, have we as a truly more enlightened and intellectual society, more than two hundred years later integrated women fully into the intellectual world, or are they still stuck as being pawns of man's desire? The answer to me is quite bluntly no. Even though we find, in our world today, brilliant women at the head of our science industries, teaching in the best universities across the globe, and becoming leading figures in many nations' governments, women are still found to be sexually exploited in movies, television shows, and especially advertisements. This exploitation brings to me a second question of will attractive young women ever be looked at as more than just sexual objects put to good use selling merchandise and movie tickets? For me, at least at the present moment the answer is still a resounding no. As long as our society can subjugate women, and these young women allow it to happen, women will not reach the full integration into our intellectual society that Ms. Wollstonecraft was wishing for two hundred years ago.