Now there are two kinds of people who labor under illusions as regards
the Feminist movement, its opponents and its supporters: both sides tend
to limit the area of its influence; in few cases does either realize
the movement as revolutionary. The methods are to have revolutionary
results, are destined to be revolutionary; as a convinced but cautious
Feminist, I do not think it honest or advisable to conceal this fact. I
have myself been charged by a very well-known English author (whose name
I may not give, as the charge was contained in a private letter) with
having "let the cat out of the bag" in my little book, _Woman and
To-morrow_. Well, I do not think it right that the cat should be kept in
the bag. Feminists should not want to triumph by fraud. As promoters of
a sex war, they should not hesitate to declare it, and I have little
sympathy with the pretenses of those who contend that one may alter
everything while leaving everything unaltered.
An essential difference between "Feminism" and "Suffragism" is that the
Suffrage is but part of the greater propaganda; while Suffragism desires
to remove an inequality, Feminism purports to alter radically the mental
attitudes of men and women. The sexes are to be induced to recognize
each other's status, and to bring this recognition to such a point that
equality will not even be challenged. Thus Feminists are interested
rather in ideas than in facts; if, for instance, they wish to make
accessible to women the profession of barrister, it is not because they
wish women to practice as barristers, but because they want men to view
without surprise the fact that women may be barristers. And they have no
use for knightliness and chivalry.
Therein lies the mental revolution: while the Suffragists are content to
attain immediate ends, the Feminists are aiming at ultimate ends. They
contend that it is unhealthy for the race that man should not recognize
woman as his equal; that this makes him intolerant, brutal, selfish, and
sentimentally insincere. They believe likewise that the race suffers
because women do not look upon men as their peers; that this makes them
servile, untruthful, deceitful, narrow, and in every sense inferior.
More particularly concerned with women, it is naturally upon them and
their problems that they are bringing their first attention to bear.
The word "inferior" at once arouses comment, for here the Feminist often
distinguishes himself from the Suffragist. He frequently accepts woman's
present inferiority, but he believes this inferiority to be transient,
not permanent. He considers that by removing the handicaps imposed upon
women, they will be able to win an adequate proportion of races. His
case against the treatment of women covers every form of human relation:
the arts, the home, the trades, and marriage. In every one of these
directions he proposes to make revolutionary changes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account