Graham R (Ed.) - Anarchism - A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas Volume One - From Anarchy to Anarchism (300 CE to 1939)

Women, love And Marriage /239
The first thing that must change is the relationship between the sexes. Humanity
has two parts, men and women, and we ought to be walking hand in hand; instead
there is antagonism, and it will last as long as the "stronger" half controls, or thinks it
controls, the "weaker" half.
How marvelous it would be if only the equality of the sexes were recognized,
but while we wait, women are still, as Moliere said, "the soup of man." The strong sex
condescends to soothe us by defining us as the beautiful sex. Nonsense! It's been a
damned long time since we women have had any justice from the "strong" sex.
We women are not bad revolutionaries. Without begging anyone, we are taking
our place in the struggle; otherwise, we could go ahead and pass motions until the
world ends and gain nothing. For my part, comrades, I have refused to be any man's
"soup," and I've gone through life with the masses without giving any slaves to the
Caesars.
let me tell men a few truths. They claim man's strength is derived from
woman's cowardice, but his strength is less than it appears to be. Men rule with a lot
of uproar, while it is women who govern without noise.
But governing trom the shadows is valueless. If women's mysterious power were
transformed into equality, all the pitiful vanities and contemptible deceptions would disappear.
Never again would there be either a master's brutality or a slave's perfidy .
. . .In New Caledonia I saw warriors loading their women as if they were mules.
Whenever someone might see them, they posed haughtily, carrying only their warrior's
spear. But ifthe gorges and mountains closed up and hid them from view, or if
the path were deserted, then the warrior, moved by pity, would unload some of the
burden from his human mule and carry it himself. Thus lightened, the woman
breathed deeply; now she had no more than one child hanging on her back and one
or two others hanging on her legs. But if a shadow appeared on the horizon-even if
only a cow or a horse-quickly the load went back on the woman's back, and the warrior
made a great pretense of adjusting it. Oh dear, if someone had seen him-a warrior
who thinks women are worth something! But most women after a lifetime of
being treated like this no longer wanted anything more.
Is it not the same everywhere Human stupidity throws old prejudices over us
like a winding-sheet over a corpse. Are there not stupid arguments about the inferiority
of women Maternity or other circumstances are supposed to keep women from
being good fighters. That argument assumes people are always going to be stupid
enough to butcher each other. Anyway, when a thing is worth the pain, women are
not the last to join the struggle. The yeast of rebellion which lies at the bottom of ev-