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Monday, November 11, 2013

The Suffragettes

When I was a child, my image of the early 20th century Suffragettes was based on watching Glynis Johns as Mrs. Banks in the 1965 movie "Mary Poppins."


In other words, they were silly, blowsy middle aged ladies in corsets and ridiculous hats, strutting around, smashing windows, chaining themselves to iron gates, and blithely neglecting their domestic responsibilities.  (Never fear, by the end of "Mary Poppins", Mrs. Banks has seen the error of her ways.)

However, the resurgence of the New Misogynists -- many of whom would frankly like to return to a pre-suffrage America -- has made me more curious about, and appreciative of, the ladies of the Suffrage Movement. 

You can watch Hilary Swank and Frances O'Connor in an HBO movie, Iron Jawed Angels", playing the respective roles of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns.



By the end of the film, both women have endured relentless mockery, betrayal by the competing "old guard" women's party, the corruption of law enforcement and congress, incarceration as political prisoners, beatings and torture. The scenes depicting forced feedings are particularly horrifying.  Ultimately, of course, Paul and the single plank National Woman's Party triumphed:  The 19th Amendment granted American women the right to vote in 1920.  

"Iron Jawed Angels" is not a great film.  I must admit I'm not a huge fan of Swank's onscreen persona; she always reminds me of a camp counselor with her toothy grin and endless, intense enthusiasm.  I'm also getting a bit tired of seeing Anjelica Huston cast as "the villainess."  And I found the use of contemporary songs in the sound track a distracting anachronism.  There is an entirely unnecessary "love interest" of course -- I guess so the audience won't assume Burns and Paul, quel horreur, were lesbian lovers?  However, the movie is fairly unique in its telling of an important and seldom-taught piece of history, and it reminds those of us who have been following the New Misogynists what a return to "the good old days" would look like.

6 comments:

  1. It's 100 years since Emily Davison threw herself under the king's horse and so in the UK there have been loads of suffragette-themed programs and articles. There's a comedy show called Up The Women about a group of rural suffragettes, which I haven't seen, but your post reminds me I should. It's going into a second series.

    The courage of these women was astounding.

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    1. Indeed it was. And my understanding is that the American Suffrage Movement owed MUCH to the inspiration of their British counterparts. So... thanks again Ms. Bodycrimes.

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  2. Hey, have you ever covered a guy named Chuck Ross? He's a manosphere guy I feel flies under the radar a lot, and it's a shame because he not only is one of the most disgusting of the bunch, but he's also trying to take a stab at legitimacy with a real freelance writing career. You're so good at breaking down the psychology of these people that I'd like to see you take a stab at him. I don't know what type of legitimate writing career he expects to have. The minute he gained any traction, he would be dox'ed instantly!

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    1. Never heard of him, but of course you've got me curious... Will report back.

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  3. He's friends with Roissy and Roosh and the rest. He blogs over at Gucci Little Piggy. He's a scientific racist but he's also trying to get a legitimate freelance writing career going. What I don't get though is that he's blogged under his real name, and his blog is so full of racism that I don't see what kind of mainstream writing career he can ever have given that he's effectively dox'ed himself. Roosh at least doesn't even try to get mainstream legitimacy. He seems to think he can get success using a racial niche, as the guy who debunks accusations of racism. So far he's done "investigative reporting" series trying to prove that Trayvon Martin deserved to get killed. Now he's doing the same with the latest black girl who got killed, Renisha McBride, trying to dig up proof that she deserved to get shot. For him, any white person who is accused of a racist crime against blacks is automatically innocent and he tries to build a case for them, then he trolls any famous pundits or reporters on twitter who disagree, in desperate hopes that they'll notice him. His twitter handle is ChuckGLP.

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  4. Manboobz has also mocked him a few times too.

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