Feminism - Women and Memory Forum

244
FEMINISM
The fad, in its extreme form, is
makes for slowness, and a trail
likely to' pass ; but its enormity
of survivals may be left in its
wake. Also the history of the past shows its immense seriousness,
fraught as it has been, and as it threatens to be, with danger
to the race and the state that harbours it.
The woman movement, unlike socialism, has had its principal
extension in the upper classes. There, idle women desire something
to do, some more excitement ; they say they wish to take
part in the world's work. They complain, therefore, that they
cannot enter politics, except on its outskirts. They cannot enter
the army and navy except to succour the wounded ; they cannot
become policemen, except for some special service among women
and children ; they cannot be miners, foundry-men, engineers,
stokers, and a hundred and one other kinds of workers needing
strength and endurance or exposed to dangers. ^^ From these
occupations they do not mind being excluded. But politics
appears so easy : you merely have to vote,^^ and talk gossip about
candidates. The very fact that women (of the upper classes —
how about the hard-working women of the lower?) have so much
more leisure, is adduced as an argument in their favour.^^ The
duty of voting, however, as we shall see, involves much more than
dropping a ballot into a box at odd moments. The argument that
women of leisure should be allowed to vote, like men of leisure,
to give them something to do, is double-edged; for its proper
conclusion is that men who do not work should not be allowed to
vote, if they desire to do so merely for this reason. Such
men are admitted for the fundamental reason which admits other
men; but even without regard to that, they would be admitted
for the practical reason that it would not be worth the trouble to
3X They still are admitted to some dangerous industries, such as working with lead,
etc.; but this is because they were inadvertently admitted in the beginning before the
danger was known. They are gradually being eliminated.
32 '* Voting takes but a few minutes, and can be done on the way to market,'' says
one of the broadsides of the National Woman Suffrage Association.
*' 33 Emerence M. Lemonche: The Woman, in her hour of leisure and with composed
mind, is much better fitted to look after the welfare of Humanity than Map, who, from
morning till night, is occupied but with matters of commerce," The New Era Woman's
Era^ 86. Cf. Alice S. Blaclcwell; "Women of every [I] class have more leisure than
men . . . They can take ten minutes [from their housework] to stop on their way to
market and vote once or twice a year . . . They can find half an hour a day for the
newspapers and other means of information," Objections Answered, 15-16. So also
Francis A. Blackwell thinks the electorate will be improved in intelligence because
women have more time than men for studying the details of proposed measures, An
Electorate of Men and Women, North American Review, June, 1912, p. Sii. Some
women have more time for studying the science of politics, which they do not do; but
the details of politics are learnt without study, by coming in contact with them. This
men do, and women do not. Cf. J. W. P. " : Men learn politics almost insensibly,
through their mode of life . . . What men can do without extra effort, or detriment to
their daily work, women can onl^ accomplish as an uncongenial task, at the cost of
much time needed for their especial cares," A Remonstrant View, 13. Also an anonymous
woman: " The father's business carries him out and about among men, where
these ' public questions * come up at every turn, . . . whilst the woman must ' study
up ' and ' inform herself ' of these things," Rights of Men and Women, 40-1.