Women have gained a lot of mobility in reference to the spaces we are now ‘allowed’ to enter. Does it mean we are welcomed with open arms to enter these spaces? No, but hey it’s in our rights and is now seen with more normalcy then it was dating back to the 1950’s where mobility was nothing but the house, store, and possibly the bank. Looking back more closely into the 1950’s it represents the birth of the American Dream where women’s imagination came to die. Suburnian life came into full swing with white picket fences, one working father, at least 2 children, and a housekeeper, I mean wife, was all one lifestyle. The American Dream is called that for a reason, because at the end of the day it is unattainable and very few are able to reach the common understanding of what the Dream is. The outsiders are always looking into something that seems so close and is plastered everywhere as a goal and something to be achieved when in actuality it is to keep the working class working. Karl Marx speaks on this and views people as extremely creative but we throw ourselves into a hole of neverending labor. He states, “Humanity creates itself as the product of its own labor, ultimately objectifying itself through the work it performs.” Marx believes with the rise of capitalism that all we are is machines with no other purpose in life. I believe Marx is close to understanding what keeps workers working but misses the mark in terms of why people continue to work. For most there is no choice but to continue down the same deadpan path as certain groups receive less opportunities to advance in society than others. This can be as a person of color, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or as a woman. Going back to women, taking up space as a woman was an unheard of term and women were quite literally told to take up as little space as possible and be seen not heard. For black women, it was not to exist at all and not be seen nor heard. Women like Claudette Colvin, who refused to move to the back of the bus before Rosa Parks did or Serena Williams who was talked about in the excerpt from Citizen as someone who would take up space in a predominately white sport helped pave the way for women’s mobility. Taking up space should be the goal to normalize women being able to do anything they want in any space they want. Women are more than capable of it and I know it will continue as women cautiously step into uncharted territory of being free to be anything or do anything they desire. 

Claudette Colvin