Strength Within Words

The video of speech that I have chosen to admire is Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” read by Alice Walker. Truth wrote that speech and presented it at a feminist gathering. I was actually shown this video recently in my Women’s Studies class and was very moved by her language, message, points, and the way she used her words. This speech was made to influence girls into realizing how unfair our society is due to racial and gender hierarchies. Truth points out many things men stated they should do for women or women were not supposed to do themselves for example women need to be lifted into carriages, lifted over ditches, and be held at very high places in society. As a black women however, she humorously describes how no man has every helped her climb into a carriage or jump over ditches. And she ends this point with “And ain’t I a women?”
I found it very interesting and appealing to see her use humor and sarcasm in a sense to get her ideas across to these women and uplift them into making a change. Even though there was are no videos of Sojourner actually making the speech herself, many have reenacted what they believed was her entire speech and how she would perform it. However, no matter what video or which speaker you wish you watch, there is always a sense of strength and determination in her words. Her goal was to uplift the women she spoke to and bring them to mind of all the inequalities between white and black and men and women. She stated her ideas very straightforward and never sugarcoated anything, even if she was talking directly to men or comparing herself with a white women. Her speech even though reenacted hundreds of times still was strong enough to move me in this day and age. Her quote of “And ain’t I a women” will continue its purpose to show girls that we can do manly and successfully things and still rightfully be a woman.

One thought on “Strength Within Words

  1. “Aint I a woman” is one of my favorite speeches. I’m so glad you chose this example. As I mentioned in class, I will bring this speech in again to discuss rhetorical analysis. This speech reminds me of the concept of “intersectionality,” a concept used often in scholarship on black feminism. Essentially, the intersection of gender, race, and class (social status) must be the starting point for beginning to imagine the lived experiences of someone like Sojourner Truth. Her brilliance as a public speaker is her ability to utilize her position in a way that works in her favor.

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