ABSTRACT
John Adams famously wrote in response that women are already in control, and if the current order granting authority to men in the colonies were to dissolve, men would be subject to the "despotism of the petticoat". This chapter argues that one of the most compelling arguments for updating the US Constitution for the twenty-first century is the gaping absence of specified rights across genders. It focuses on the findings and recommendations by students in a 2015 sociological theory class to revise the US Constitution to include women and gender, building upon strong examples from other countries. Across the Atlantic, despite Abigail Adams's best efforts, the US Constitution would contain no specific language devoted to the rights of women or protection from discrimination. Women's movements pressed international governing bodies to address their rights, needs, and concerns in a panoply of treaties that referenced the political-philosophical foundation of "human rights".
