HeatherP’s previous summary of Chapter Four is here.
This chapter is a collection of excerpts from the Woman’s Exponent, Exponent II, the Alice Louise Reynold/Algie Ballif Forum, Mormons for ERA, the BYU Women’s Research Institute, and the Mormon Women’s Forum newsletter. It offers a great historical perspective, and is one of our favorite chapter’s so far. We really enjoyed reading these and following the time line of events as they’ve occurred throughout women’s history, from the beginning of the Church until now. Isn’t it amazing how much the issues remain as they ever were? The geography doesn’t seem to change much over time for the good, and the bad.
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We did a little research on the fantastic Emmeline B. Wells and discovered that before she became editor of Exponent (a position she held for 37 years) she wrote under a pseudonym named Blanche Beechwood. Quite the little radical she was. A.w.e.s.o.m.e.!
Some favorite excerpts of ah…excerpts:
– Woman is the mother of the world, and her interests can no more be separated from those of man, than could the world exist with only one sex. It is to be hoped that this fact will have full weight in the future agitation of the “Woman Question.” EDITORIAL, Exponent Vol. 2 (June 1873), No. 1
– …. and every woman in Utah, who has the interest of her sex at heart, should exert her utmost influence to extend the circulation of the Exponent; for wherever it finds its way, into whatever home, village or town, it penetrates there will thought be awakened, there will woman begin to feel and understand that there is something elevating and inspiring, worth living for, worthy of attainment. —“BLANCHE BEECHWOOD” (“Emmeline B. Wells”), Exponent Vol. 3 (Sept. 1874), No. 9
– And if men would interest themselves in helping to develop woman’s higher powers, instead of placing almost insurmountable barriers to hinder their progress, they would find it much to their own advantage; and women who are the most highly cultivated morally, mentally and religiously, are the very ones to do honor and reverence to men, who possess the noblest attributes and are nearest akin to God and Divinity. —“BLANCHE BEECHWOOD,” Exponent Vol. 4 (Oct. 1874)
– I know we are taught that Eve was the first to sin. Well, she was simply more progressive than Adam. She did not want to live in the beautiful garden for ever, and be nobody—not able even to make her own aprons. —E. N. B., Vol. 3 (15 July 1875), No. 16
– If a woman dares to stand up in public and express her ideas, (even before her own sex) or if she happens to differ in point of opinion from her husband, father, or brother, she is at once set down as a radical. Or as belonging to a certain “stripe of female characters,” (a term I have heard,) who ransack the country, and in open defiance of all the laws of propriety, good-breeding, and modesty make for themselves a standard of morality; endeavoring to gain influence by imposing upon the unsophisticated and unwary…—“BLANCHE BEECHWOOD,” Vol. 3 (Feb. 1875), No. 17
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– In speaking of the characteristics of the “new woman” emerging in the late nineteenth century, a sister from Provo stated: “ … the distinguishing characteristic of the new woman is her intense longing for the same freedom of action that her brothers have” (Clara Nuttal, Young Women’s Journal, 3 February 1897). How very relevant this nineteenth century statement is in the light of today’s women’s movement … I am a feminist in my desire to enjoy the freedom our Father in Heaven intended for each of His children, regardless of sex. —LORIE WINDER, Utah, Exponent II Vol. 2 (June 1976), No. 4
– There is a vast spectrum of acceptable behavior and acceptable thinking within the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a difference between the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church as an organization, and somehow we can help the two to stumble along together. —MARY PAXMAN MCGEE, Virginia, Exponent II Vol. 10 (Fall 1983), No. 1
– The Priesthood was often mentioned while I was cooking at our stake girls’ camp last August. “The Priesthood” visited the camp most evenings. One morning “the Priesthood” even stayed for breakfast … I think somebody is mixed up, maybe a lot of somebodies … The men aren’t the Priesthood; they do hold the Priesthood, which allows them to perform specific ordinances and give blessings that are recognized by the Lord. If we use the term “Priesthood” only to refer specifically to the power of God and its use on the earth, we won’t confuse polishing a boy’s shoes with honoring the Priesthood of God. —CARREL SHELDON, 2 Sept. 1976
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– The Woman’s Exponent is full of rhetoric about women’s rights that today’s Mormon women would find shockingly radical … they are venerable women, our Mormon mothers—real saints. And coming from them, the ideas in my [Senate] testimony had the force of their known piety and of their honored position in the present-day church. After all, I … was not saying it. Emmeline B. Wells was. I wasn’t saying it, Lucinda Dalton was … How could anyone fault them? … —SONIA JOHNSON, from Housewife to Heretic, 125-28, composed ca. 1978
Possible discussion points:
– What are your favorite excerpts, and where does this chapter rank compared to the past three?
– Anyone have any sort of revelation of thought while reading these? Learn something new?
– Did anyone think the more recent commentary was more radical or just a gradual evolution of the issues over time?
– There were a lot of Name Withheld’s, and pseudonym’s used. How about you? Do you feel comfortable using your real name while commenting on a blog like this, or not? Do we still live in an age where we’re worried about reprisals for our voice? That someone will turn our name into our Stake President?
– Blanche Beechwood said: What remains to be done then? inform one’s self… What do you think of that advice? Can that kind of attitude promote real change?
Next week’s discussion on Chapter Five: An Expanded Definition of Priesthood?: Some Present and Future Consequences by Meg Wheatley