Tomorrow for MOVIE WEEKEND, I shall review Suffragette. First, we should learn some suffragette facts that pertain to women in England, where our movie is set:
1. Organized groups of women fought for the vote beginning in the late 1800s. Suffragette was first used as a term of derision by London's Daily Mail, but the women embraced it and hardened the "G" to show their determination to get the right to vote. Women also had no right to their children. If they brought a fortune to their marriages, the money belonged to their husbands.
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| Queen Victoria ruled from 1837 to 1901, but she did not have the right to vote.
2. As the fight dragged on, some of the women became more militant, especially those led by Emmeline Pankhurst. Beginning in 1912, Mrs. Pankhurst's followers chained themselves to railings, set fire to the mail in postal boxes, smashed windows, and even detonated some bombs. In 1913, Emily Davison stepped out in front of King George V's horse during the Epsom Derby. Whether she intended to commit suicide for the cause or hoped to pin a suffragette banner on the horse remains unknown.
3. Suffragettes were punished with stints in prison, during which they fought to be considered political prisoners. Denied, some protested with hunger strikes and were force fed. As a history professor of mine described it, a sort of porridge went through a tube that had been forced down the woman's throat and into the stomach. Overfed, or with the stomach unable to accept the porridge, the women vomited. The porridge came back up through their nose and ears because their mouths were blocked. Nasal tubes were also employed at times.
4. Prominent leader Emmeline Pankhurst did not expect the women who followed her to suffer alone.
Pankhurst was arrested seven times and was force fed on at least one occasion. During a public demonstration, a group of men threw stones, rotten eggs, and clay at Pankhurst and other women, and beat them. Although Pankhurst fought for women's rights for the remainder of her life, with the advent of World War I in 1914, she gave up her militancy in order to support the men who were off to war. She later lived in Canada for a time, visited Russia, and returned to England in time to see the beginning of women's suffrage in 1918, when women older than thirty (with several restrictions), were granted the right to vote.
5. In 1928, women older than twenty-one gained the right to vote in the United Kingdom. Be sure to exercise your right to vote. It was hard won.
I'll see you tomorrow with my review of Suffragette.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
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I will look forward to your review as I haven't seen it yet. This is never taught in schools and the young girls today, who think nothing about voting, have no clue what these women went through. I did not know about this lady who gave her life for the cause In What, I feel, is a bit dumb actually, but she should be known. Did they have to put the horse down? How was the jockey?? I have seen photos of women at this time, beaten and bloody all because they wish they had the right to vote and the basic rights every woman takes for granted today.
ReplyDeleteNo need to feel dumb. I didn't know about Emily Davison until I watched Suffragette. The horse somersaulted, got up, and continued running the race. The jockey's foot was caught in one stirrup, so he was dragged along, unconscious. He survived. I'll write more about Emily Davison when I review the film.
DeleteI get annoyed at times when some of the young girls and women of today take things like voting for granted they either don't understand how hard some women had to fight for the right to vote or really don't give a damn, I want to slap the stupid out of them but in truth I would just hurt my hand and get arrested........
ReplyDeleteYou make me laugh, Jo-Anne. Sometimes I want to do things that would get me arrested. I want to be cruel to cruel people, but I guess it doesn't make sense.
DeleteInteresting post!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteHi Janie - enjoy the film ... the history is very interesting ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThe film is quite good.
DeleteI'm looking forward to the review. I admire those women and as a woman I am thankful for their persistance. It's just a shame that we still have to fight a lot harder than men in order to be recognised for our skills. Thank you for the interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI wait for the day when women earn a dollar for every dollar earned by a man. Will it happen in my lifetime?
DeleteLooking forward to your movie review of "Suffragette" -- still haven't seen it myself but want to!
ReplyDeleteIt's worth seeing.
DeleteThere is nothing positive accomplished in society without innocents paying a harsh price. :-(
ReplyDeleteSad, but true. Well said.
DeleteWow, thank you for these facts, Janie. We give Gloria Steinem (or however it's spelled. I kinda hate her, so I don't care) too much credit. These other women (e.g., Pankhurst) really risked it all and paid tremendously for us.
ReplyDeletePankhurst worked closely with two of her daughters but had a falling out with one over tactics. They never reconciled.
DeleteJanie, that's some video clip! Looking forward to your movie review!
ReplyDeleteIt's an amazing video, isn't it? Such a shock to see it captured on film.
DeleteI would NEVER miss the opportunity to vote!!
ReplyDeleteI wish more people felt the same way. At least more young people started voting when they had the opportunity to vote for Barack Obama.
DeleteIt's important to remember the sacrifices made by women in an era when women were treated like possessions or property.
ReplyDeleteIn many parts of the world, women remain property. Of course, some men are, too. Slavery is a major problem, and I think most Americans are unaware of it.
DeleteMen suppressed women in so many ways for so many centuries. But both men and women have suppressed many other groups of people, too. Women still do not have rights in many countries today. What a crazy world. We are lucky to live when and where we do, I guess, so that we can stand in line to place a vote that barely counts for anything in this country. I definitely want to see that movie and have watched several other documentaries and movies on the subject, too, but never heard of this particular lady or seen this footage. So--have we been suppressing British information on suffragettes? I wonder if they teach any of this in school? I don't remember much more than a couple sentences back when I was in high school. ??
ReplyDeleteI think much of what we learned in high school history classes was limited to dates and events. I don't think we suppress information on suffragettes so much as ignore it. I didn't learn about it until my college history professor lectured on it. Before that, the only suffragette I knew about was Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins.
DeleteThank you for sharing these facts, Janie. Voting was definitely hard won. I'm proud to have that right today.
ReplyDeleteAnd it hasn't been won yet in some parts of the world. The fight continues.
DeleteHard to imagine the toughness of these ladies. And hard to imagine why their cause met with such resistance!
ReplyDeleteThe people with power are usually reluctant to give it up or even share it.
DeleteI had toyed with the idea of skipping voting this year. But we have to remember those who came before, how brave and determined they were. So even if the choices may not be entirely to our likig, vote we must. Thanks for this, you may have helped me make up my mind.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad, Inger.
DeleteBorn into privilege as a white man I have never understood the idea of preventing people who were not white men from enjoying the same rights and privileges I have. It keeps me always just a little angry and sometimes a lot angry.
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the review.
It's good that you're angry. Stay that way. It shows you care.
DeleteCrazy stuff. I knew the battle was a hard one, but I've only heard the American women's fight.
ReplyDeleteSome of the women in the U.S. were also arrested and subjected to force feeding.
DeleteWhat astounds me is that it wasn't so long ago that we got the vote. It boggles the mind how women were treated.
ReplyDeleteIt boggles the mind how women are treated now. It's our fault if we're sexually assaulted. If we're abused by our husbands and boyfriends, then why didn't we leave? We earn seventy-seven cents for every dollar earned by a man.
DeleteOf course the first thing that flashed into my mind was I hope the horse was OK.
ReplyDeleteI Have read some about what was happening in England at the time.
When I was in High School (?) BBC had a few series on the Suffragettes and Mrs. Pankhurst. Many who were in jail and being forced fed did survived but came out of jail sick and broken. Jamming the tubes down and not to gently did so much damage they later died soon or too young or were sick the rest of their lives.
I despise the young women of today. If they can't see a kaderatian (?) butt or boobs they don't care. It is all money, drugs, free money or buying stuff.
Love Jo-Anne's comment. You go girlfriend !
cheers, parsnip and thehamish
I read an account of force feeding. Horrible! I want to watch more documentaries about suffragettes.
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