Kazimiera
08-23-2015, 10:03 PM
Similarities Between Anti-Suffragette Posters and Anti-Feminist Memes
Source: https://suite.io/bailey-poland/6qwp2mv
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/1ee3febf-57d4-455d-91d7-8d49beff6680.jpg
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
One of the strategies often used by anti-feminists is to compare current-day feminism to the suffragette movement, claiming that “back then,” feminists worked for something important and worthwhile – but today, feminists are just shrill, dissatisfied harpies who want to dominate men and sleep around. What these anti-feminists fail to realize, however, is that the arguments they use against feminists now are nearly identical to the arguments used a century ago in protest against the women’s suffrage movement. In this article, I will explore some of the primary fears anti-feminists have about women’s progress, and provide examples of anti-suffragette and anti-feminist posters and memes to examine how those fears are communicated.
Fears About Feminism
Most advancements in society are met with a great deal of hand-wringing about how they will affect women and if the freedom they offer is “too much.” “From the late 18th century through the middle of the 19th, women ‘were considered to be in danger of not being able to differentiate between fiction and life.’” Today, the internet is often a scapegoat for similar worries. Everything from bicycles to washing machines has been a source of angst for people who wanted to keep women’s roles limited to the domestic sphere.
As women began actively campaigning for suffrage, three main rhetorical strategies developed that were intended to diminish support for their cause. Anyone who has expressed a feminist sentiment online will likely be familiar with them:
1. Feminists are ugly man-haters who could not land a husband
2. Women’s freedom turns them into promiscuous libertines
3. Feminism will create a matriarchal system where men are subservient
The amazing thing about these three fears is not that they were true, but that they have remained largely intact for the past century. Anti-suffragette sentiment has transitioned almost seamlessly into the memes and stereotypes used in an attempt to diminish support for feminists today.
The Ugly Man-Hater Stereotype
The idea that a woman would only seek freedom, justice, or equality if she did not conform to patriarchal standards of beauty is often a challenging one to untangle. Beauty standards are still a driving force in advertising, design, and daily life even today (although the accessories may have changed, the underlying drive to force women to conform has not). Dealing with this stereotype often makes feminists feel defensive, as many feminists are conventionally attractive. However, another major aspect of feminism is unpacking what conventional attractiveness is and how it is used as a tool of oppression.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/5bc7c4dc-b52e-4492-9fec-417160b766c0.jpg
The “feminists are ugly man-haters” stereotype is one way that the concept of beauty is used to try to keep women in line. The point isn’t whether or not suffragists then or feminists now were conventionally attractive – the goal of calling women ugly is purely to put them on the defensive and distract from their actual arguments. As it’s called in many quarters, this is a derailing tactic. By attempting to force women to prove that one can be attractive and fight for suffrage or feminism, men reinforce patriarchal expectations of beauty and succeed in diverting women’s attention from their original goals.
Where this stereotype failed – and continues to fail – is that a basic part of feminism is rejecting limiting beauty standards. Feminists learn early on that it doesn’t matter what they look like simply because that has no bearing on how intelligent or hard-working they are, and also because anti-feminists will trot out the “ugly man-hater” stereotype no matter what.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/c741bc83-39c0-43a5-adb2-de14263043ce.jpg
Referring to feminists as man-haters also reflects the anti-feminist’s worry about a loss of control over women. A feminist’s actual actions or statements regarding men are not the issue; many feminists who are deeply compassionate about issues that affect men are still regularly accused of “misandry.” The accusation of man-hating comes from a sense of entitlement to women’s time and energy, and when women are perceived as focusing on their own liberation rather than working to serve men, that is reframed as a type of hatred. This attitude was firmly in place when the suffragists worked, and it remains a key part of anti-feminist attitudes now.
Feminism and the Libertine
As mentioned earlier, all progress for women is met with fear about it being too much freedom or power. These fears are used as an attempt to keep women limited to the roles demanded by current power structures – whether being implemented by anti-suffragists or anti-feminists, the basic message is the same: Women cannot be trusted with their own bodies, and freedom will make them promiscuous.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/fcf7d89e-4700-4514-a107-668f200c8c50.jpg
From the anti-suffragist messaging standpoint, this often took the form of showing women as sexually assertive or aggressive, or relying on feminine wiles to get their way (the fact that this contradicts the image of the suffragist as hideous was, apparently, irrelevant). Although the terminology has changed, anti-feminists often use the exact same concepts to attack feminism, claiming that women today are sluts. Men’s rights activists have developed the concept of the “cock carousel” and the “pussy pass,” which, while cruder than the anti-suffragist posters, reflect identical fears about women.
The ability for women to have control over their own bodies – whether in the form of voting, working outside the home, controlling when they get pregnant and give birth, or even cut their hair short – is an enduring source of fear for people who want to maintain a status quo where they have power and control over others. Slut-shaming women is an effective tool for attempting to keep women in line by threatening to revoke their status as a “good” woman.
The Matriarchy
Like the “man-hating” stereotype, anti-suffragists and anti-feminists seem deeply concerned that feminism will lead not to an equitable society, but to an inversion of power. Tellingly, anti-suffragists and anti-feminists were both afraid that women would gain the ability to treat men the way men treat them. Many anti-suffragist posters reflect this fear, featuring men as brow-beaten and cowed – today’s anti-feminist memes feature the exact same attitudes.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/79c86df3-47ad-479a-a0c5-80388ff6f821.jpg
Positioning feminism as a quest for female supremacy rather than an attempt to break down systemic and cultural barriers, biases, and oppressions is an easy way to make feminism look extremist and dangerous. By treating feminism as a quest to dominate men rather than attempts to not be dominated, anti-suffragists and anti-feminists alike give themselves another reason to avoid grappling with ideas that challenge their power or make them uncomfortable.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/0ba0f27a-df1c-4f97-8d67-1a1332be4b60.jpg
Anti-suffragist posters often showed men taking on women’s domestic roles, which was a recurring fear. It is, however, interesting to note that while men feared being forced into domesticity, they never stopped to wonder why women might be pushing to expand their horizons. If being confined to the home is such a terrifying prospect, you would think they might empathize with the women who sought a more equitable way of being.
Today, anti-feminist memes around the issue of matriarchy often attempt to reinforce male dominance along with speculating about the dystopian rule-by-women. The plethora of jokes that demand women get back in the kitchen, make men sandwiches, or otherwise perform the subservience they expect of women are reflecting the same attitudes about domestic life the anti-suffragists had. After all, if women are out of the kitchen, they could be anywhere, doing anything.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/94ae245b-30f2-4dde-8caa-be4fad6a8cf2.jpg
Running in Place
While a truncated overview of many of the sexist messages employed by anti-suffragists and anti-feminists alike, it is valuable to think about how little anti-woman fears and arguments have changed over the past century. Anti-feminists position today’s feminists as inferior to suffragists of yore, while ignoring the fact that their own opinions on women are direct descendants of the attitudes used to oppose women’s right to vote. Arguments about feminism typically demonstrate far more about the person making the argument than about feminism itself, and it is worth interrogating what attitudes about women are at play.
Although imperfect in many ways, feminism continues to be a dynamic movement that changes in response to its social environment. Those who oppose it are relying on the same stereotypes that were deployed, ineffectively, a century ago. That alone tells us everything.
Source: https://suite.io/bailey-poland/6qwp2mv
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/1ee3febf-57d4-455d-91d7-8d49beff6680.jpg
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
One of the strategies often used by anti-feminists is to compare current-day feminism to the suffragette movement, claiming that “back then,” feminists worked for something important and worthwhile – but today, feminists are just shrill, dissatisfied harpies who want to dominate men and sleep around. What these anti-feminists fail to realize, however, is that the arguments they use against feminists now are nearly identical to the arguments used a century ago in protest against the women’s suffrage movement. In this article, I will explore some of the primary fears anti-feminists have about women’s progress, and provide examples of anti-suffragette and anti-feminist posters and memes to examine how those fears are communicated.
Fears About Feminism
Most advancements in society are met with a great deal of hand-wringing about how they will affect women and if the freedom they offer is “too much.” “From the late 18th century through the middle of the 19th, women ‘were considered to be in danger of not being able to differentiate between fiction and life.’” Today, the internet is often a scapegoat for similar worries. Everything from bicycles to washing machines has been a source of angst for people who wanted to keep women’s roles limited to the domestic sphere.
As women began actively campaigning for suffrage, three main rhetorical strategies developed that were intended to diminish support for their cause. Anyone who has expressed a feminist sentiment online will likely be familiar with them:
1. Feminists are ugly man-haters who could not land a husband
2. Women’s freedom turns them into promiscuous libertines
3. Feminism will create a matriarchal system where men are subservient
The amazing thing about these three fears is not that they were true, but that they have remained largely intact for the past century. Anti-suffragette sentiment has transitioned almost seamlessly into the memes and stereotypes used in an attempt to diminish support for feminists today.
The Ugly Man-Hater Stereotype
The idea that a woman would only seek freedom, justice, or equality if she did not conform to patriarchal standards of beauty is often a challenging one to untangle. Beauty standards are still a driving force in advertising, design, and daily life even today (although the accessories may have changed, the underlying drive to force women to conform has not). Dealing with this stereotype often makes feminists feel defensive, as many feminists are conventionally attractive. However, another major aspect of feminism is unpacking what conventional attractiveness is and how it is used as a tool of oppression.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/5bc7c4dc-b52e-4492-9fec-417160b766c0.jpg
The “feminists are ugly man-haters” stereotype is one way that the concept of beauty is used to try to keep women in line. The point isn’t whether or not suffragists then or feminists now were conventionally attractive – the goal of calling women ugly is purely to put them on the defensive and distract from their actual arguments. As it’s called in many quarters, this is a derailing tactic. By attempting to force women to prove that one can be attractive and fight for suffrage or feminism, men reinforce patriarchal expectations of beauty and succeed in diverting women’s attention from their original goals.
Where this stereotype failed – and continues to fail – is that a basic part of feminism is rejecting limiting beauty standards. Feminists learn early on that it doesn’t matter what they look like simply because that has no bearing on how intelligent or hard-working they are, and also because anti-feminists will trot out the “ugly man-hater” stereotype no matter what.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/c741bc83-39c0-43a5-adb2-de14263043ce.jpg
Referring to feminists as man-haters also reflects the anti-feminist’s worry about a loss of control over women. A feminist’s actual actions or statements regarding men are not the issue; many feminists who are deeply compassionate about issues that affect men are still regularly accused of “misandry.” The accusation of man-hating comes from a sense of entitlement to women’s time and energy, and when women are perceived as focusing on their own liberation rather than working to serve men, that is reframed as a type of hatred. This attitude was firmly in place when the suffragists worked, and it remains a key part of anti-feminist attitudes now.
Feminism and the Libertine
As mentioned earlier, all progress for women is met with fear about it being too much freedom or power. These fears are used as an attempt to keep women limited to the roles demanded by current power structures – whether being implemented by anti-suffragists or anti-feminists, the basic message is the same: Women cannot be trusted with their own bodies, and freedom will make them promiscuous.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/fcf7d89e-4700-4514-a107-668f200c8c50.jpg
From the anti-suffragist messaging standpoint, this often took the form of showing women as sexually assertive or aggressive, or relying on feminine wiles to get their way (the fact that this contradicts the image of the suffragist as hideous was, apparently, irrelevant). Although the terminology has changed, anti-feminists often use the exact same concepts to attack feminism, claiming that women today are sluts. Men’s rights activists have developed the concept of the “cock carousel” and the “pussy pass,” which, while cruder than the anti-suffragist posters, reflect identical fears about women.
The ability for women to have control over their own bodies – whether in the form of voting, working outside the home, controlling when they get pregnant and give birth, or even cut their hair short – is an enduring source of fear for people who want to maintain a status quo where they have power and control over others. Slut-shaming women is an effective tool for attempting to keep women in line by threatening to revoke their status as a “good” woman.
The Matriarchy
Like the “man-hating” stereotype, anti-suffragists and anti-feminists seem deeply concerned that feminism will lead not to an equitable society, but to an inversion of power. Tellingly, anti-suffragists and anti-feminists were both afraid that women would gain the ability to treat men the way men treat them. Many anti-suffragist posters reflect this fear, featuring men as brow-beaten and cowed – today’s anti-feminist memes feature the exact same attitudes.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/79c86df3-47ad-479a-a0c5-80388ff6f821.jpg
Positioning feminism as a quest for female supremacy rather than an attempt to break down systemic and cultural barriers, biases, and oppressions is an easy way to make feminism look extremist and dangerous. By treating feminism as a quest to dominate men rather than attempts to not be dominated, anti-suffragists and anti-feminists alike give themselves another reason to avoid grappling with ideas that challenge their power or make them uncomfortable.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/0ba0f27a-df1c-4f97-8d67-1a1332be4b60.jpg
Anti-suffragist posters often showed men taking on women’s domestic roles, which was a recurring fear. It is, however, interesting to note that while men feared being forced into domesticity, they never stopped to wonder why women might be pushing to expand their horizons. If being confined to the home is such a terrifying prospect, you would think they might empathize with the women who sought a more equitable way of being.
Today, anti-feminist memes around the issue of matriarchy often attempt to reinforce male dominance along with speculating about the dystopian rule-by-women. The plethora of jokes that demand women get back in the kitchen, make men sandwiches, or otherwise perform the subservience they expect of women are reflecting the same attitudes about domestic life the anti-suffragists had. After all, if women are out of the kitchen, they could be anywhere, doing anything.
https://static.suite.io/article_images/large/94ae245b-30f2-4dde-8caa-be4fad6a8cf2.jpg
Running in Place
While a truncated overview of many of the sexist messages employed by anti-suffragists and anti-feminists alike, it is valuable to think about how little anti-woman fears and arguments have changed over the past century. Anti-feminists position today’s feminists as inferior to suffragists of yore, while ignoring the fact that their own opinions on women are direct descendants of the attitudes used to oppose women’s right to vote. Arguments about feminism typically demonstrate far more about the person making the argument than about feminism itself, and it is worth interrogating what attitudes about women are at play.
Although imperfect in many ways, feminism continues to be a dynamic movement that changes in response to its social environment. Those who oppose it are relying on the same stereotypes that were deployed, ineffectively, a century ago. That alone tells us everything.