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I found a strikingly forward thinking concept in the Sojourner Truth speech. She is discussing the nature of femininity in a manner that is highly relevant to our generation as issues of gender identity become increasingly prominent. What makes a woman a woman? Is it the need to be helped over mud-puddles and escorted into carriages? Is it giving birth to children and being a mother? Is a woman who eats and works "like a man" not a woman? Sojourner Truth presents her statements in such a way as to allow her experiences and truths of her life to demonstrate that these characteristics are not mutually exclusive. She was one of the first to acknowledge the simple fact the a woman can be a strong worker and should not, because of that, have her womanhood revoked or ignored.