University of Virginia Library

Women Do Not Want It.

Every improvement in the condition of women thus far has been
secured not by a general demand from the majority of women, but
by the arguments, entreaties and "continual coming" of a persistent
few. In each case the advocates of progress have had to contend
not merely with the conservatism of men, but with the indifference
of women, and often with active opposition from some of them.

When a man in Saco, Me., first employed a saleswoman, the men
boycotted his store, and the women remonstrated with him on the
sin of placing a young woman in a position of such "publicity."
When Lucy Stone began to try to secure for married women the right
to their own property, women asked with scorn, "Do you think I
would give myself where I would not give my property?" When
Elizabeth Blackwell began to study medicine, the women at her
boarding house refused to speak to her, and women passing her on
the street held their skirts aside. It is a matter of history with what
ridicule and opposition Mary Lyon's first efforts for the education
of women were received, not only by the mass of men, but by the
mass of women as well.

In eastern countries, where women are shut up in zenanas and
forbidden to walk the streets unveiled, the women themselves are
often the strongest upholders of these traditional restrictions, which
they have been taught to think add to their dignity. The Chinese
lady is proud of her small feet as any American anti-suffragist is of
her political disabilities. Pundita Ramabai tells us that the idea of
education for girls is so unpopular with the majority of Hindoo
women that when a progressive Hindoo proposes to educate his little
daughter, it is not uncommon for the women of his family to
threaten to drown themselves.

All this merely shows that human nature is conservative, and that
it is fully as conservative in women as in men. The persons who
take a strong interest in any reform are generally few, whether
among men or women, and they are habitually regarded with disfavor,
even by those whom the proposed reform is to benefit.

Many changes for the better have been made during the last half
century in the laws, written and unwritten, relating to women. Everybody
approves of these now, because they have become accomplished
facts. But not one of them would have been made to this day, if it
had been necessary to wait till the majority of women asked for it.
The change now under discussion is to be judged on its merits. In
the light of history, the indifference of most women and the opposition
of a few must be taken as a matter of course. It has no more
rational significance now than it has had in regard to each previous
step of women's progress.