Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Suffragists--United States--History; Political cartoons--History; Editorial cartoons--United States--History; Editorial cartoons; Political cartoons; Suffragists; Suffragists in literature; United States; Life (New York, NY) History; Harper's weekly History; Life (New York, NY); History; Academic theses;
Abstract
The 1890s onward ushered in a younger generation of female pro-suffragists in the United States of America (USA). Theoretically slamming the door on the prescriptive ideal of domesticity and women's abstinence from vice and exercise, they disrupted the "traditional" gender fiction or arrangement. In doing so, they made unequivocal that gender, 'race,' and class were not merely culturally constructed categories of identity, but products of the heteropatriarchal power structure which produce and reproduce masculine dominance over women. These female pro-suffragists were, more often than not, condemned by contemporary popular press. They were prevalently depicted as elite white women seeking amusement and escape from the ennui of their monotonous leisure-filled daily existence. Other times they were either being dragged down from their awarded morally superior pedestal or being portrayed as pseudo men, robbed of all that was graceful, gentle, and pure. This thesis, then, uses the suffrage cartoons of Life and Harper's Weekly from 1890 to 1916 to delve into ideals of femininity and masculinity while recognizing the multiplicity and the relational nature of women's experiences. It explores the multiplicity of the women who championed the cause and explains the misconception of the movement as one waged by white, native-born, elite (middle/upper-class) women. A reexamination of the debate surrounding the spiritual home, the nature and meaning of women's alleged superior morality, and the ballot box follows. Then comes a concentration of gender bending suffragettes and husbandettes and gender trouble in the movement.
Year of Submission
2006
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of History
First Advisor
Barbara A. Cutter
Second Advisor
Sara L. Kimble
Third Advisor
Brian E. Roberts
Date Original
2006
Object Description
1 PDF file (183 leaves)
Copyright
©2006 Mellisa Annesha Campbell
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Campbell, Mellisa Annesha, "“Votes for Women”: Gender, ‘Race,’ Class, and the Suffrage Cartoons of Life and Harper’s Weekly, 1890-1916" (2006). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2286.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2286
Comments
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