Anti-Women’s Suffrage Buttons

Under the heading of “HOLY CRAP!” :Check out the price on this eBay auction. Now I know that women’s right to vote memorabilia does go for a lot of money, in general, but I’ve never seen anything like this.

UPDATE: since the item is no longer there, more info: the object was a simple lapel button from the early 1900s, and it was an anti-women’s suffrage button. The auction price was over $3,000. Part of this was because some universities were attempting to purchase it for their historical archives.

It’s sort of shocking to read some of the anti-women’s suffrage materials; try to check them out on eBay or on the internet. It’s tough to remember there was a time with this sort of thing was said out loud by people in public.

But when you think about it in the context of today’s issues, specifically gay rights, you start to recognize the same sort of bigotry. I tried to collect some of these items and managed to get a few postcards, but the cost of them is so high on eBay that they were tough to collect.

This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. Carl Taylor

    Sir/Madam, I am trying to help a college student identify a quote. The quote is as follows: “one who has ceased to be a lady has not yet become a gentlemen”. I believe this quote is referring to Women’s Suffrage.

  2. Steph Mineart

    The exact quote appears to be:
    “What is a suffragette? A being who has ceased to be a lady and is no gentleman.”
    I can’t find any info on who said it, however.

  3. Steph Mineart

    It appears that Charles Hands of the Daily Mail may have said the quote in 1906.
    I can’t find a place where the quote is directly attributed to him, but his name comes up as having created the term “suffragette” to distinquish between women engaging in direct action protest and women who were pursuing more benign legal avenues to achieve the vote, who were known as “suffragists.” In most of the descriptions they say his use of the term “suffragette” was derogatory.

    http://suffragette.askdefine.com/

    “The title of suffragette was given to members of the women’s suffrage movement in the United Kingdom and United States, particularly in the years prior to World War I. The name was the Women’s Social and Political Union (founded in 1903). The word was originally coined to describe a more radical faction of the suffrage movement in the U.K. Suffragist is a more general term for members of the movement, whether radical or conservative.”

  4. Caitlin

    I have to do this debate on Pro- and Anti-Womens Suffrage, and my teacher put all the girls on the Anti side and all the guys on the Pro side. I don’t know if I’ll be able to say anything. I need some help finding information to back me up in the debate.

  5. Stephy D

    i’m trying to find something on women’s rights for a project. i have to play the role of a plantation owner who does not think that anyone but rich white men should vote. this popped up on google and i thought it was interesting. it didnt help me very much but i didnt know that there were anti-women’s suffrage buttons!

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