Woodhull was a woman ahead of her time in nearly every way. She was the first woman to open a brokerage firm on Wall Street. She ran her own weekly newspaper. She ran for the U.S. Presidency in 1872. She advocated a woman's sexual autonomy and free love 100 years before the Summer of Love. She was by far one of the most interesting women who campaigned for suffrage in her time.
If self-government be the rule, every self must be its subject. If a person govern, not only himself but others, that is despotic government, and it matters not if that control be over one or over a thousand individuals, or over a nation; in each case it, would be the same principle of power exerted outside of self and over others, and this is despotism, whether it is exercised by one person over his subjects, or by twenty persons over a nation, or by one-half the people of a nation over the other half thereof. There is no escaping the fact that the principle by which the male citizens of these United States assume to rule the female citizens is not that of self-government, but that of despotism; and so the fact is that poets have sung songs of freedom, and anthems of liberty have resounded for an empty shadow.
The Woodhull Center for Ethical Leadership has this to say about their namesake:
The woman who inspired and served as namesake to this organization is Victoria Woodhull, a nineteenth-century feminist who was the first woman stockbroker on Wall Street; the first woman to produce her own newspaper; and the first woman to run for President of the United States when women did not even have the right to vote. Victoria Woodhull was a fearless lobbyist, businesswoman, writer and investor who advocated for a woman's equal status in the workplace, political arena, church and family.
Victoria Woodhull was in some ways like the Susan B. Anthonys and Elizabeth Cady Stantons of her time. Like them, she advocated for the full education of daughters, foregoing the 19th century belief that daughters, mothers and wives should be silent 'angels of the house' submissively catering to men's needs. Like them, she called for a vote and a voice. But there the resemblance ends - for she was in many ways a quintessentially modern woman, and far ahead of her time.
She spoke frankly of the need for women to take control of their reproductive life and health- so frankly that she was not received in the most respectable drawing rooms, even those belonging to the feminists of her day. Even her language differs sharply from that of her well-meaning sisters in the suffrage movement: where they were often circuitous and genteel, Woodhull had no patience for mincing words; every speech was ablaze with bold honesty as she savagely criticized Victorian hypocrisies and political inequities.
The other organization I found that bears her name is the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Their list of current projects is pretty amazing. Right at the top is this:
21st Century Census
The current Census exemplifies the government’s outdated view of America’s residents and their relationships. The Census suggests that marriage is the only type of relationship that really matters, it suggests that households all consist of a group of people related to a head of the household, it suggests that male and female are the only two options for gender, etc. If government is going to serve Americans optimally, then it needs to have an updated, accurate understanding of the rich range of personal characteristics and interpersonal relationships that exist in America.
Woodhull is working to restructure the discourse in America about sex and sexuality and about the personal characteristics and interpersonal relationships that stem from that. As part of this work, Woodhull has formed working groups to address these issues around the Census and to present the group’s recommendations to the government.
As a legacy, I don't think either of these things would displease her. Happy birthday!
No comments:
Post a Comment