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Loading... Are Women People? A Book Of Rhymes For Suffrage Timesby Alice Duer Miller
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I happened upon a facsimile of this book while working on a research assignment for class. It pains me to think of how many of these poems remain true today, over 100 years after they were written. One hopes that it will not take 100 more years to see further change. ( ) A slim collection of poems mocking common sexist thought and arguments. Pointed and hilarious, like an early Dorothy Parker. Each poem is accompanied by a quote of a recent legal decision or editorial that provides context for the piece--and they are so sexist that they're both laughable and terrifying. I originally found this through the Hairpin's review. A personal favorite, which still seems a bit too applicable: Chivalry: It's treating a woman politely As long as she isn't a fright: It's guarding the girls who act rightly, If you can be judge of what's right; It's being—not just, but so pleasant; It's tipping while wages are low; It's making a beautiful present, And failing to pay what you owe. A nice collection of US suffrage rhymes and other snippets - with titles like "The Revolt of Mother" and "Why We Oppose Pockets for Women". As far as poetry goes, it's pretty dreadful - but that isn't what it's for. It is a pointed but humourous contribution to the campaign for female suffrage in America and (more particularly) a piece of well-deserved mockery for anti-suffragist speakers and writers. Well worth an hour or two - especially at election time! no reviews | add a review
Are Women People? (1915) is a collection of poems by Alice Duer Miller. Inspired by her work as an activist for women's suffrage, Miller published many of these poems individually in the New York Tribune before compiling them into this larger work. Focusing on the opposition of politicians and citizens alike, Miller makes a compelling case for the extension of voting rights to women across the nation. With her keen eye for hypocrisy and even keener ear for the rhythms of the English language, Alice Miller Duer crafts a poetry both personal and political. In "Representation," she lampoons the notion that men's votes and voices are capable of representing the viewpoints of the women in their lives: "My present wife's a suffragist, and counts on my support, / [...] / One grandmother is on the fence, the other much opposed, / And my sister lives in Oregon, and thinks the question's closed; / Each one is counting on my vote to represent her view. / Now what should you think proper for a gentleman to do?" In these lighthearted lines, Miller satirizes the exclusion of women from American democracy, which inherently supposes that womanhood is monolithic, containing no opposing points of view. In "To President Wilson," Miller excoriates the President for his focus on militarism and foreign policy, asking "How can you plead so earnestly for men / Who fight their own fight with a bloody hand; / [...] and then / Forget the women of your native land?" Succinctly and convincingly, Miller makes her case for women's suffrage. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Alice Duer Miller's Are Women People? is a classic of American literature reimagined for modern readers. No library descriptions found.
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