The Origins of a Free Press in Prerevolutionary ... - Web Publishing

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Complaint” begins by pointing out that men and women have unequal positions in
society:
Custom, alas! doth partial prove,
Nor gives us equal Measure ;
A Pain for us it is to love,
But is to Men a Pleasure.
They plainly can their Thoughts disclose,
Whilst ours must burn within :
We have got Tongues, and Eyes, in Vain,
And Truth from us is Sin.
Men to new Joys and Conquests fly,
And yet no Hazard run :
Poor we are left, if we deny,
And if we yield, undone,
Then Equal Laws let Custom find,
And neither Sex oppress ;
More Freedom give to Womankind,
Or give to Mankind less. 37
The concluding plea for equal treatment under the law is remarkably modern in its
outlook. Several historians have taken small note of this argument for gender
equality, but the remarkable nature of such an early complaint deserves greater
attention. 38 At a time when women are generally thought to be restricted to a
private sphere, relegated to the home, here is a very public complaint. The author
criticizes men’s behavior, notes the restrictions on women, and pleads for a change
in the laws that do not treat women equally. Contained within this poem is a
contradiction. While noting that women cannot disclose their thoughts publicly,
37 Virginia Gazette (October 22, 1736), 3.
38 The William and Mary Quarterly, 3 rd ser., vol. 33, no. 2. (April 1976), 331, reprinted the
poem under “Trivia” and referred to it as “Women’s Liberation: Early American Style,” without
further comment or analysis. Kerrison, Claiming the Pen, 21-24, took note of this poem published
later elsewhere, and commented on it as an example of resistance to the accepted model of male
superiority.