The video about the women’s suffrage movement highlighted areas of the movement that are usually not publicized. Firstly, it was interesting to learn that suffragettes started as abolitionists. These women were able to recognize that slavery was the biggest human rights problem that needed their support, and fighting for women’s rights had to take a backseat to fighting for those who had no voice of their own. Through the fight for abolition, women were able to realize the similarities between women and slaves. Women had no right to their own body once they were married. They were their husband’s property, much like slaves were their owners’ property. While there were obvious differences in the lives of slaves and white women, it was interesting to learn how the similarities encouraged women to fight for slaves before fighting for themselves.
There are also negative aspects of the suffrage movement that were discussed in the video. Facing a need for more support, suffragettes turned to white conservative women for support. The suffragettes were angered when black men were given the right to vote before women, and white conservative women were the angriest of them all. They believed that the reason white women should have the right to vote was to make up for the uneducated black men who had been given the right to vote. This opinion set women back in their fight for the vote because it showed that many of them were not fighting to improve the greater good, but had turned to only fight for themselves. The former abolitionists neglected their duties to the slaves that they had fought to free and the argument for their rights became racist and bitter, thus taking away from the true reasons why women should have the right to vote.
This video made me reflect on the groups of people that are still fighting for human rights in the U.S. right now. While groups such as the LGBT+, racial minorities, and women are all still battling an upward fight for equity with white men, the opinions of other often get in the way of what is actually being fought for. When people have racist, homophobic, and sexist views, they fail to see the fundamental human rights violations that are taking place in the country, much like what happened with conservative suffragettes and their views on black men. People need to focus on the bigger picture, which is that many groups in this country still are not treated equally, and it should not matter what people actually make up these groups.
Your point about groups in the U.S. today such as LGBTQ+, racial minorities, women, etc. needed to support each other in order to progress their causes is very important. Accepting the fundamental human rights everyone should have will inevitably help the causes of these groups because human rights are the backbone of each of their arguments.
I think you drew a really important parallel between the conservative suffragettes and individuals who currently hold racist, homophobic, and/or sexist views in the United States. Like you mentioned, Individuals’ personal perspectives often cloud the larger issue at hand. For example, in the case of Ford vs. Kavanaugh, individuals were quick to make assumptions and accusations about Ford rather than recognizing the issue being addressed in the court room.
I also liked your point about the conservative women suffragists. Although many suffragists possessed great motives for equality, there were many women who used racism as a source to achieving their goal. Although these motives are horrible in nature, they bring up a valid concern of which many white conservative women felt. Further this makes me think about the dichotomy between women suffragists and anti-slavery activists who all-in-all are trying to achieve the same goal but in certain cases end up competing rather than working together. This is a common human habit which highlights the sometimes selfishness of people and clarifies people’s motivations and intentions.