The Wayside Pulpit No.17
The Face of Feminism
"Thank heavens for little girls,
They grow up in the
most delightful way.
- - - - -
Thank heavens for little girls,
For without them what would little boys do?"
Yes, even now I can
hear Maurice Chevalier sing this song, with his delightful French accent. His
gentle and humorous comment on the fair sex is not without it's charm and
warmth, but more than that, as a married man of some 34 years experience, I can
truthfully say that my wife is equivalent to my home. Our four grown-up
children are quite vociferous in agreeing with that. Somehow a wife and mother
is a symbol of society that we should be very sad to lose. There are homes
here, there, and everywhere, from which the warmth of a mother's love has left
an indelible mark. When Mum is away from home, there is something wrong. The
"home" has (temporarily) departed with her, and everyone awaits her
return, even if its only from a shopping spree. How often have I heard our
children say in the past, "When will Mummy be coming back?" It's not
the same with us men. Somehow we're expected to be away, at work, out doing
something, or what have you, but not so with Mum. She is the hub of the home,
and it is her presence which pervades the house. The flower arrangements, the
decor, the ornaments, the pictures and photographs, the delicious smell of her
cooking, and above all her kindly maternal advice, all contribute to make the
house into a home, HER home. No matter what people say, there are things in
life that a man is simply not cut out for, and cannot fulfil in quite the same
way as a woman.
Yesterday, when the
post came, the large new memorial stamp on one of the envelopes showed a woman
behind bars, presumably Emmeline Pankhurst, and the captions "DEEDS NOT
WORDS" and "VOTES FOR WOMEN." This year is apparently one of
the 75th anniversaries of equal rights, the goal of Mrs Pankhurst and the
Suffragette movement. She was imprisoned several times for destroying property,
and went on hunger strikes to advertise her cause. British women have travelled
a long way since then, until finally one became Prime Minister.
I have no slogans to
shout from my Internet Soap Box. I don't wish to get involved in the political
side of this subject at all. It's just that I retained the following letter
that appeared in "The Daily Telegraph" on
SIR - The round-up of
women's views on the 75th anniversary of female suffrage gave a curious,
ideologically-centred view of history. I cannot altogether agree, for instance,
with the opinion - stated as fact - that "the feminists of the Seventies
took on the battle where their sisters at the turn of the century left
off."
Like those ladies
quoted, I had a grandmother who supported the suffragettes - it is family
folklore that she once hid Mrs Pankhurst in her kitchen - but Granny intensely
disliked much of what the Seventies-style feminism represented. She certainly
saw in it a total break with the ideals and hopes of her generation.
Lifelong faithful
marriage, enthusiasm for child-rearing as among the most worthwhile of
occupations, a delight in learning for its own sake and not merely for career
potential, a commitment to the role of women as upholders of good manners and
civilised values - these were among her most profound beliefs.
She was also, above
all, a practical person who was less interested in slogans than in the everyday
reality of life.
Many useful inventions
have enormously benefited modern women, liberating us from exhausting chores
which were the lot of earlier generations, and releasing energies and talents
for more creative things.
These were not the
result of feminist ideology but of a thriving free enterprise economy and
(largely male) inventiveness, ingenuity and skill. Washing machines, wipe-clean
surfaces, soap powders, disinfectants, vacuum cleaners, flushing loos and
decent plumbing have almost certainly been of greater value to women than, say,
Beatrice Webb's sermons. Mrs Webb idolised the
Can we honestly say
that the present package of feminism, with its career pressures, emphasis on
abortion and divorce, toleration of lesbianism and creation of super-woman
imagery is really making today's women happier? The rising figures for female
alcoholism, crime and suicide point to another side of a muddled picture."