Though both groups support equal suffrage worldwide, and equal opportunities for women, the League opposes the kind of absolute equality in all circumstances demanded by the Woman’s Party, and endorses some “protective” labor laws applying only to women. The National Woman’s Party believes that “protective” labor laws for women are actually more “restrictive” than “protective,” and often make it harder for women to compete with men for jobs.
Category: Herstory
Today in Feminist History: Women Graduate from Elite Military Academies (May 28, 1980)
Andrea Hollen, a Rhodes Scholar, became the first woman to receive her diploma from West Point, ranking tenth in her class. After the ceremony, she noted: “We’ll always be first, but we’re not tokens anymore.”
Men’s Cycles (They Have Them Too, You Know)
In 1970, Dr. Edgar Berman dismissed the assertion that a woman could be president, by referencing women’s “raging storms of monthly hormonal imbalances.” The woman who subsequently held him to account was Dr. Estelle Ramey—my grandmother.
“Women’s chains have been forged by men, not by anatomy,” Ramey wrote in the first issue of Ms. in 1972.
Evangelicals Paid Roe v. Wade Plaintiff to Publicly Oppose Abortion Rights
For two and a half decades, the anti-abortion movement has weaponized the story of Norma McCorvey against reproductive rights in the United States. But it finally backfired on them.
Today in Feminist History: Politicians Will NOT Stand in the Way of Equality for Women (May 25, 1877)
The New York State chapter of the National Woman Suffrage Association has just made it clear that it will publicly and severely criticize any politician who stands in the way of political equality for women.
Today in Feminist History: “Votes for Women!” [and Parades Too!] (May 24, 1913)
So enthusiastic are local suffrage supporters that the last of the speeches was not the end of the day’s activities. Three “flying squads” of suffragists are now driving their automobiles around the area promoting the cause to anyone who may have missed the parade and rally. Jessie Hardy Stubbs is in charge of Hempstead, Elizabeth Freeman is in Rockville Center, and May Morgan is converting Sea Cliff residents as our campaign for suffrage in the Empire State rolls on with the same renewed vigor here that it has experienced nationwide.
Today in Feminist History: Arguments in Favor of Women’s Suffrage (May 23, 1870)
The most powerful speech this evening was given by Mr. Garrison himself, who had not just one good reason why women should be able to vote, but twelve!
We Heart: The “Mrs. Files” and Women’s Right to Their Own Names
How many women and feminist trailblazers have been historically called by their partners’ names—boiling them down to the mere “Mrs.” version of their husbands?
The answer: a lot.
Today in Feminist History: A ‘Working Woman’s Curfew’ (May 22, 1919)
A New York State law that puts all women workers at a disadvantage with men by restricting the number of hours per day and days per week women can work, and prohibits them from working between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Today in Feminist History: Amelia Earhart Flies Across Atlantic (May 21, 1932)
Not only is she the first female pilot to have made the trip by herself, and only the second person to have ever done a solo flight across the North Atlantic, she is the only person to have flown the Atlantic twice in a heavier-than-air craft.