Through her support of the Equal Rights Amendment, her encouragement of women pilots, her style and fashion sense, her career at Purdue University, and many other accomplishments, Amelia Earhart left a significant mark in the fight for women’s equality.ĭrawing upon evidence from Earhart’s personal and professional papers, those housed at Purdue University, this article seeks to analyze her particular brand of feminism by examining how she used her female identity to her advantage, carving out a place for herself in the world of aviation. This individualistic view of women’s rights affords her a unique place in the history of feminism. ![]() She believed that every woman should have an equal opportunity to prove her competence, and that no one should receive preferential treatment based on his or her gender. Despite openly advocating for equal rights and opportunities, according to her husband, George Palmer Putnam, Earhart was not “offensively feministic”(3). As Earhart exceeded the societal expectations and norms for women of her time, she placed herself in an optimal position to become a role model for women, young and old, and to inspire a transformation in societal attitudes (2). In other words, Earhart’s celebrity secured her the public’s admiration, which she then used to shape and mold discussions about femininity in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. As Earhart gained fame for her aviation exploits, she “drew from the symbolic capital of those feats to articulate new visions of women in society”(1). She figured out how to present herself as a barrier breaker and yet remain admired by both men and women alike.Īlthough historians have devoted considerable attention to Earhart’s 1937 disappearance, they have paid far less attention to her role as an intellectual and feminist, writer and communicator. Amelia Earhart achieved much in her short lifetime, but perhaps her greatest feat was her ability to navigate the world within gendered limitations while simultaneously defying them. ![]() From her first world-renowned flight across the Atlantic as a passenger, to her time spent at Purdue University as Counselor in Careers for Women, Earhart viewed her accomplishments not only as personal achievements, but as feats for women everywhere. ![]() Whether she expressly meant to or not, Earhart broke down barriers and served as a role model for many women, not just aspiring aviators. While most accounts frame Amelia Earhart’s legacy around her work as a pioneer of American aviation and on her mysterious disappearance, her contributions to post-suffrage women’s equality also make her a historically significant figure.
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