As the vote began to expand beyond white male landowners, women began to seek the right to vote. As the Civil War approached, many women were supportive of abolition. They learned that there opinions were not really welcome but their hard work and support were appreciated. Thus began a more solid women’s movement.

The 15th Amendment passed granting black males the right to vote. Women were once again excluded. And they were angry. They had encouraged the abolition of slavery, fought for freedom and were once again told to wait their turn.

In 1848, more than 200 men and women met in Seneca Falls, New York to coalesce on women’s specific issues. During this time, education was not available to all women, women could not own property or possess their own money except for rare circumstances. Men directed every aspect of women’s lives.

In 1872, a suffragist named Victoria Woodhull decided to seek the presidency. She was not even allowed to vote for herself but sought the highest office in the land. She ran on her own campaign and received a handful of votes. She was also the first woman to testify before a Congressional Committee on the subject of woman’s voting and the first woman ever to testify before Congress. Sojourner Truth was also a suffragist and reminded listeners, “Ain’t I a Woman” by telling her story as a slave. She was the first African American women ever invited to the White House by President Lincoln.

In 1890, Wyoming became a state and allowed women to vote. Some western states followed suit.

It took 72 years from the 15th amendment to the 19th amendment allowing women the right to vote passed. It took Susan B. Anthony illegally casting a vote and Alice Paul going on a hunger strike and having she and her supporters sent to jail before they finally won.

In the early 70’s, the Women’s “Lib” movement emerged after the Civil Rights movement. Between 1970 and 1980, many landmark court decisions brought significant changes to women’s lives from Roe v. Wade to Title IX. This era culminated with an agressive fight to pass the Equal Rights Amendment allowing an addition to the Constitution that would declare women equal under the law. This era culminated with a National Women’s Conference in 1977 held in Houston and underwritten by the government. Every living First Lady was in attendance, including Republicans and Democrats as well as numerous well-known women. Gloria Steinem was one of the foremost drivers of this period of change. FYI, the ERA never passed.

In 1984, the first woman was nominated as Vice President on a major political party ticket. The Democratic Party nominated Walter Mondale and he named Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. Since that time, the Republican Party named Sarah Palin as a VP nominee. Many women have sought the Presidency over the last three decades.

96 years after women gained the right to vote, a woman has secured the nomination of a major political party. Whether or not you like Hillary Clinton or not, please recognize the fact that she has broken yet another ceiling in American “Herstory” and history too! Pardon some of us who have fought for women’s equality our whole lives if we are overly excited and or shedding a tear or two.

I won’t apologize for the long post. I have been teaching Women in Politics at the University of Houston for 14 years and enlightening students about women’s herstory. You must look at the long struggles to fully understand the exuberance many women feel at this crack in the ceiling.

The release of a video of Rice striking his then-fiance in an elevator has garnered wide-spread attention and debate. Should a very talented football player be punished for this action? If the NFL had information on this, why didn’t they act sooner? Did she deserve it?

The questions tap into our very complex assessments of gender rules and relationship perspectives. It forces a complex debate that is often held in private to take center stage and it has revealed that we still carry very complicated feelings about domestic violence.

It has hurt my heart in many ways to watch this discussion. Bringing social media into the complexity of domestic violence is challenging. It is hard to describe in 140 characters or less, the deep-rooted challenges of living in a relationship fraught with violence.

We have been discussing the issue in my class this week and it has been fascinating to hear the perspectives of my students. For they are a generation that doesn’t remember when it was legal to hit or rape your wife and indeed, common. Domestic Violence laws in Texas are not that old and have been evolving over the last 30 to 40 years.

If a wife is considered property, you had the right to treat her as you desired. For today’s independent and strong young women, these ideas are foreign. The biggest challenge seems to be a basic question in their minds – why doesn’t she just leave? She can walk out if she wants to, they say. It seems a new way of saying, “she deserves it.”

Domestic violence is still very present in our society. 1 out of 4 women will have some experience with it in their lifetimes. That means that most everyone is touched. It is also blind to race, economic status and cultures. It sees no barrier between poverty and wealth and it sees no color. It penetrates our society deeply.

Let’s stop with the victim blaming and teach our children that it is not o.k. to hit anyone. Period. It is most definitely not o.k. to hit someone who is less powerful than you and cannot fight back. These are basic playground rules. It is not o.k.

No matter what a child does or a woman does or a man does, responding with a punch to the face is not the way to solve the problem.

I want to thank TMZ (never thought I would say that) for bringing this debate out in the open. The Rices are just a representation of millions of families in America today.

Let me caution to exercise care when discussing this issue. “We don’t know the full story” is code word for “she deserved it”. “She hit him first” is code word for “she deserved it”. “It’s really none of our business” is code word for “it’s their problem and a man can do what he wants”. “She hit the rail and that’s what knocked her out” is code word for “he didn’t mean it”. People, he punched her, watched her collapse on the floor and very nearly let the elevator doors close on her limp body. He did not lovingly pick her up and gently carry her to their room. No one deserves to be treated the way we saw in that video.

If you or someone you know is in need of advice, guidance or help with domestic violence, please contact the Houston Area Women’s Center at 713.528.2121 or click here.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I’ll be wearing purple to honor victims. Will you?

However, as you know, this blogger often focuses on women’s issues and for that, we must pause to say “Thanks Joan Rivers”.

To a current generation, Rivers became almost a caricature of herself. It is hard for young women to even begin to grasp how far she has come and how much change she brought to women in comedy, television and fashion.

Rivers was college educated in the 50’s and did not immediately marry. That was the first indication we had she might be a bit different. Like many educated women, she struggled to find her place. With a particular style of humor, she worked in comedy clubs in Greenwich Village and any place that would have her.

Frankly, women comedians are still outnumbered significantly today. It is harder for us to think of women as humorous – especially when they have a biting humor as Rivers did.

But Rivers garnered fame in the 60’s with frequent appearances on Johnny Carson. She busted through the glass ceiling and actually made people laugh on late night television. She also wrote and acted. She had her own show for many years.

Let’s just look at late night television today. We have had a recent shift with retirements from long-time hosts. The replacements do not include a single woman among them or even their side kicks. Sigh…….

So, Thanks Joan Rivers. Thanks for busting the glass ceiling for women, bucking the age barrier and keeping it real for all these years.

To wake them up for the early morning class, I created a short playlist and it included Beyonce’s Rule the World and the spoken word Feminist Interlude.

It helped to spark an intriguing discussion among students. When I asked if Beyonce was a feminist, some said yes and some said no. One gentleman bravely said that she was “too sexual to be a feminist”. I couldn’t have planned it more perfectly! I asked the class what a feminist was supposed to look like and laughingly said “an older white woman like me?” There were actually a number of positive responses.

How can people question whether or not Beyonce is a feminist? Why should this even be a topic of debate? I’m lost. I find her commitment to the cause exciting and hope that she is leading a new generation of women and men to embrace the term.

Since she was a part of Destiny’s Child, Mrs. Carter has performed songs that speak to female empowerment. Her Rule the World song that is currently generating discussion is exceptionally strong. Seriously here are a couple of the lyrics “Who runs the world? GIRLS” and “Our persuasion can build a nation” How can we even question that these lyrics don’t inspire young women.

As I said, this is not her first dive into the feminist discussion. Last year, she published an essay in the Shriver Report by Maria Shriver. Click here to read it.

In my humble opinion, this dynamic young women proves the EXACT point of feminism. You can be beautiful and sexual, married, a mother, have a successful career and support equality for all women.

Thank you Beyonce! Thank you for speaking out and empowering women across the globe!