Victoria C. Woodhull
Victoria C. Woodhull
Before Hillary Clinton ran for president in 2008, and a hundred years before Shirley Chilshom in 1972, there was Victoria C. Woodhull. The name may not sound as familiar as Susan B. Anthony or Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but in the nineteenth century her name was known to anyone with an ear to listen or an eye to read.
Born September 23, 1838, in Ohio, Victoria Claflin was one of four children to a father who held some questionable occupations, including con-man and snake oil salesman. At age 15 in a chance encounter she met Dr. Canning Woodhull, who was more than a decade her senior. The two married and had two children, however, it became very apparent from the beginning that her husband was an alcoholic and a womanizer. The unhappy state of her marriage drew Victoria into an affair with the anarchist Benjamin Tucker. This is most likely the time in her life that formed her opinion on ‘free love’ – that is, a social movement that rejects marriage, as it was seen as social bondage for women – about which Woodhull believed women should have the right to divorce without fear of social persecution and stigmatization. She also called out the social hypocrisy of married men who could get away with having mistresses and various sexual exploits, whereas women were condemned and punished for them. Woodhull stated:
“To woman, by nature, belongs the right of sexual determination. When the instinct is aroused in her, then and then only should commerce follow. When woman rises from sexual slavery to sexual freedom, into the ownership and control of her sexual organs, and man is obliged to respect this freedom, then will this instinct become pure and holy; then will woman be raised from the iniquity and morbidness in which she now wallows for existence, and the intensity and glory of her creative functions be increased a hundred-fold . . .”
As well as being a suffragette, Woodhull also had her hand in many other social movements. She, along with sister Tennessee, started their own brokerage firm on Wall Street, which gained very wide media coverage. They were the first women to ever accomplish this, and it was considered a large step in the women’s rights movement, and Woodhull herself, probably inspired by the early years of her marriage when she was the financial supporter of her family, thought that the best way for women to gain independence was to do so financially, otherwise, one would have to be reliant on their husband or other male family member.
After beginning her brokerage firm, Woodhull and sister launched a weekly newspaper that soon boasted an average of twenty thousand subscribers. The paper started as a political platform, but soon evolved into a place where the sisters could talk frankly about their opinions on sexual equality and also about what they had learned on Wall Street, which included some no so flattering tales about the dealings of their competition. A year after starting her firm, Woodhull spoke before congress on women’s voting rights, making the argument that it was already stated in the constitution that women had the right to do so, citing the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. This argument had been given before but the notoriety of a woman such as Woodhull made people listen. She was even able to win over some on the members of congress who issued letters agreeing with her logic and reason.
In 1871, Woodhull attempted to vote, but was turned away from the polls. Soon after, she declared that she would run for the presidency. In 1872, her running opponents were Ulysses S. Grant and Horace Greeley. In preparation for the campaign, she published a 250 page collection of essays outlining her opinions on political, economic and social reform. Woodhull was nominated under the Equal Rights Party who supported a “[woman’s] right to vote, work, and love freely; nationalization of land; cost-based pricing to reduce excessive profits; a fairer division of earnings between labor and capital; the elimination of exorbitant interest rates; and free speech and a free press.” Although her campaign had started out strong, with a clearly defined platform and much support from fringe voters, unanticipated personal and financial problems soon emerged. Suddenly, two essays were published accusing Woodhull of misusing the United States Postal Service and she was arrested along with her sister. Woodhull ended up spending Election Eve behind bars. History buffs will know that Ulysses S. Grant, the Republican Party incumbent, won the election.
The life of Victoria Woodhull parallels the lives of many women today. Women stuck in unhappy marriages with dreams of owning businesses and being financially stable by their own accord. Yet, I think modern women take for granted their right to these freedoms. In fact, I doubt many women realize that these are freedoms that have been decided on and given to them. Such as the freedom to choose sexual partners, whether or not to marry, whether or not to have children; the freedom to follow their hearts and dreams no matter what they may be. Victoria Woodhull was a woman who saw those freedoms as natural and rightful. She decided to use her logic and reason to pursue her passions and attempt things that women before her had never dared in a patriarchal, misogynistic society. She had a lifestyle during the 1860s that most women only started exploring during the 1960s. Some may say that she was a woman ahead of her time, but I believe that she was right on time, for without her determination and perseverance, women today would still be decades away from where we are now.
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
I've decided to dedicate my subsequent postings to important women throughout the world. And I decided since I was watching Oprah today that I would start with Gloria Steinem. Now, it's difficult to sum up the life of a 74-year-old warrior like Gloria Steinem in one blog post, so I'll try to be short about it.
Steinem was born in Toledo, Ohio, where she first became aware of the social inequalities of women. Her mother, Ruth, became mentally ill, and was treated poorly by her doctors, as well as by society because of her career driven lifestyle; a lifestyle which was blamed as the cause of her illness and that she was forced to give up by Steinem's father. These injustices gave Steinem first hand understanding of women's issues.
Her first big exposure would come in the form of an article exposing the mistreatment of women in Playboy Clubs, when she worked for a month as a Playboy Bunny. Male journalists, however, attacked Steinem's journalistic integrity. Steinem is also responsible for co-founding Ms. Magazine, the National Women's Political Caucus, the Women's Action Alliance (1971-95), the Coalition of Labor Union Women and Choice USA among others.
Some of her stances include being pro-reproductive freedom, anti-pornography, and anti-female genital mutilation.
The only thing I found interesting was Steinem's "One-free Grope" theory. This is, I believe to be a bit of a non-feminist opinion, but then again, one can't be fully engulfed in one frame of mind indefinitely.
And in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Gloria Steinem is a breast cancer survivor.
Also if you would like to read any recent articles by Ms. Steinem you can visit the website www.feminist.com/gloriasteinem
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