There are numerous issues concerning women that men have dictated the

law for. Rape cases are one of the most prevalent. However, fortunately for women,
with the luck of Pauli Murray, some strides were made in rape law. Although there is
still a long way to go until law concerning rape is just and female friendly, the
strides made in the 1980s helped shed light on how toxic the rape laws that were in
place are.
One of the main problems in rape cases was the jury. Similar to other places
of legislation, women were extremely underrepresented and because of this, law
was designed with the male perspective in the spotlight. Some of this was entirely
done with the best intentions. Guy Miller, a prominent Chicago judge confessed,
“through what turned out to be a mistaken sense of chivalry”, he had once excused
women from juries involving rape because he considered them revolting or
gruesome and unsuitable for women to hear.1 But he found that women were upset
over this discrimination and wanted to be jurors in those cases. Miller had good
intentions and thought he was making the correct decision by shielding women
from serving on the jury of rape cases, but all he was doing was erasing the female
voice from sharing perspective on rape cases. Because of the lack of female
representation harmful jury statements like “You can’t kill a man for giving you a
good time”2 when a woman killed her rapist in self-defense. Until the 1970s, marital
rape wasn’t acknowledged as legitimate because a wife was considered her
husband’s property. 3 But although rape injustice was an issue that was not
exclusive to one race, white women were better heard in rape cases and better
supported through women’s groups and homes. Black women, were depicted and
viewed as naturally immoral and were shamed not only for being a woman but also
for being a black woman.
The consequence of the shame placed upon rape victims and the lack of
available and legitimate resources were botched abortions. It took until the Great
depression for contraceptives to become introduced and less taboo.4 But, even the
introduction of contraceptives wasn’t centered on female reproductive
empowerment. The government only stepped in to help introduce family planning
techniques as a way to help alleviate the costs of child rearing that an impoverished
family could not afford. Before condoms were somewhat streamlined, women were
subjugating themselves to harmful methods like coat hanger abortions, or rolling
themselves downstairs to try and destroy their unborn child. 5

1Kerber, Linda K. No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies: Women and the Obligations of

Citizenship. Hill and Wang, 2000, Page. 145.

2 IBID. Page 255.

3 IBID. Page 167.
4 VanBurkleo, Sandra F. Belonging to the World: Women's Rights and American

Constitutional Culture. Oxford University, 2001. 245

5VanBurkleo, Sandra F. Belonging to the World: Women's Rights and American

Constitutional Culture. Oxford University, 2001. 246
The first major stride towards progress was when John F Kennedy established the
Commission on the Status of Women. This commission was headed by Eleanor
Roosevelt and was one of the earliest government supported organizations that
gave women a place of the table. This committee was not only heard, but also
respected and got to share their opinions on issues that interested women such as
strengthened equal rights amendments and better access to education so that
women would have more opportunities in the labor force.

Pauli Murray was a female lawyer who proposed a revolutionary equality

amendment. She advocated for the fair treatment of women and through this
mission she created the Equal Rights Amendment.6 Unfortunately the amendment
did not receive a lot of positive support upon its codification. Women were worried
that this amendment would be too similar to the 14th amendment. The fact that
black men were allowed to vote after the passing of the 14th amendment but all
women were still excluded caused many women to question whether any
amendment’s wording would be strict enough to allow for women to vote.

Word Count 688

6Kerber, Linda K. No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies: Women and the Obligations of

Citizenship. Hill and Wang, 2000, Page. 185