Suffragette & women's right to vote

[Ruinel]

Obviously, there were enough men who thought differently at the time. Hence the vote given to women.

[Janny]

Originally posted by Ruinel
Obviously, there were enough men who thought differently at the time. Hence the vote given to women.

Well it was the ideal of the liberal party to permit women to vote, but they were forced into it by campaigning et al because it made no political sense, all the female votes would go to the Tories.

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by Janny
Well it was the ideal of the liberal party to permit women to vote, but they were forced into it by campaigning et al because it made no political sense, all the female votes would go to the Tories.

Wow, how odd that it ended up that way.

[sun-star]

Originally posted by Ruinel
Obviously, there were enough men who thought differently at the time. Hence the vote given to women.

OK then

Depends what you mean by "enough" though...

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by sun-star
OK then

Depends what you mean by "enough" though...

I meant "enough" to make a difference in the vote, of course. IMO, all men should realize that women are generally their equal in such matters. There are equally uninformed men as women, and equally informed men as women.

[Janny]

Sorry to become that horrid species of mooter who redrags things up... but I found these quotes about suffrage:

Women's vocation is a high one. their vocation is to make life endurable. - Mr Scourfield 1870

It is not a disability that women should not have the vote but it is rather privilege that they should not be mixed up in political strife. - Mr Fowler 1870

I got the impression from learning about suffrage that all men were cynical and didn't want women to vote for basically maintaining the dominence of masculinity. I now kind of feel that some genuinely adored women and did want to protect them, though not in a patronising way. However some viewpoints have evolved beyond all value besides us pointing and laughing:

There are certain ladies of great intellect, no doubt they are women by accident and they want to assume the position of men. Now I object to legislating for what, with all respect to the ladies, I may call freaks of nature. - Henry Labouchere 1891.

There's more where that came from...

[sun-star]

I always liked the quote about the MP who opposed women's suffrage on the grounds it would be too stressful for a man to go home after a hard day at the office and discuss politics with his wife (aka "a politician in petticoats")

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by Janny
Sorry to become that horrid species of mooter who redrags things up... but I found these quotes about suffrage:

Women's vocation is a high one. their vocation is to make life endurable. - Mr Scourfield 1870

It is not a disability that women should not have the vote but it is rather privilege that they should not be mixed up in political strife. - Mr Fowler 1870

I got the impression from learning about suffrage that all men were cynical and didn't want women to vote for basically maintaining the dominence of masculinity. I now kind of feel that some genuinely adored women and did want to protect them, though not in a patronising way. However some viewpoints have evolved beyond all value besides us pointing and laughing:

There are certain ladies of great intellect, no doubt they are women by accident and they want to assume the position of men. Now I object to legislating for what, with all respect to the ladies, I may call freaks of nature. - Henry Labouchere 1891.

There's more where that came from...

Many men were brought up to believe that women were meant to be kept by men, and that their place was to serve their husband (or father, or next male relative). They did not own property for quite a long time in history and had little rights under the law. Many men considered them to have the mind of a child, and that educating women was a waste, generally. For this, women were cherished as ornamentation. How could women have the mental ability to choose a leader or representative? It was proposterous for many men. Women who actually were intelligent and discussed politics or business were considered harpies, and, at best, an oddity (but never as brilliant as a man).

I'm glad you brought the thread back up. I'm glad that more people are adding to this thread.

[Janny]

Is that rhetorical? I hope it is...
I'm not saying it was right to treat women as if they weren't equal, but I 'm saying it wasn't a single minded 'let's discriminate against women' approach.
But some of the stuff said is very amusing, if you forget its implications.

[Ruinel]

Originally posted by Janny
Is that rhetorical? I hope it is...
I'm not saying it was right to treat women as if they weren't equal, but I 'm saying it wasn't a single minded 'let's discriminate against women' approach.
But some of the stuff said is very amusing, if you forget its implications.

Oh, absolutely!

There were many justifications to keep the vote from women. It really wasn't a misogynist thing to most men. They really thought women should be protected.

[Draken]

Originally posted by Janny
Well it was the ideal of the liberal party to permit women to vote, but they were forced into it by campaigning et al because it made no political sense, all the female votes would go to the Tories.

You mean having nagged until they got what they wanted they went off with someone else?

Hmm yeah, I'll buy that....

[Janny]

Very Good!

Now where's the feminist who will lampoon me for laghing?