Forty years ago, and no doubt it goes back far longer than that, these things happened, whereby some men thought they could touch or grope a woman as and when they felt like it, with no fear of reprisal. More often than not, these men were in a position of power and women felt it was something they had to endure, for fear of losing their job.
I have spoken to many, many of my contemporaries and, without exception, they had all experienced this in one way or another, and it occurred from workplace to workplace. That was THEN, when it was a completely different culture of behaviour, but it really saddens me that this sort of thing is still going on.
But, as with those brave suffragettes all those years ago, women are finally, COLLECTIVELY, saying “No! We are not prepared to put up with this any longer - enough is enough”, and those men who abused their position, are being made to realise that they were totally out of order. For far too long, this whole thing has been brushed under the carpet, but no more.
Whilst carrying out research relating to Votes for Women, I was surprised to learn that when the Act was finally passed in February 2018, the minimum age that women could register their vote was 30.
A further ten years would pass before women were given the vote on equal terms as men, at the age of 21.
It is a matter of some pride that the first woman MP to take her seat in the House of Commons in 1919, was Nancy Astor, who represented my home City of Plymouth, here in Devon. In fact, she represented the City for thirty years.
The Suffragettes attached importance to their dress and appearance. Anything masculine was to be avoided, and even when setting forth to smash windows, as part of their protest, they would always wear a hat.
8 comments:
Hi Thisisme! Wow...Happy 100th Anniversary to the women for the right to vote! In the past years of my employment, I did experience some inappropriate gestures from men in the workplace. One incident in the 1970's resulted in the young man spreading rumor that I was Lesbian, because I wouldn't give in to him on our first date! After that, the women in the workplace wouldn't associate with me and I had no idea why. I was working as a portrait salesperson in a photography studio at the time, and the man was a photographer. My brother was a supervisor of photography at the time, and found out what was going on. He had the photographer transferred to another studio in another city! Then, the record was set straight and the ladies in my workplace were sorry they had treated me so badly. This, in turn gave that photographer a not-so-pleasant reputation!
In the 1970's, it was still taboo to prefer same sex relationships, consequently, you were shunned if you were found to prefer same sex relationships. So much has changed, hasn't it! And, now, I am delighted to say, women have risen up, and have become bosses over some of these arrogant men! I was proud to be in my final workplace, where I did not endure any such goings on by men. And, the company I worked for stayed right on top of abuse and harrassment of any kind in the workplace. Of course, later I was older and out of the single dating scene, no longer wearing short skirts and high heels, haha!
I enjoyed your post, Thisisme, and the wonderful vintage demonstration photos-you presented some good ones! Thank you for the great information, and the photo of Mary Astor. Have a great week, sending hugs and sunshine your way! ♥
Hi Suzanne. Thank you for your input and that very long response. I appreciate that. That situation you had to go through was absolutely awful. When you think about all the incredible incidents we have been through, they are unbelievable really. But, no, they actually happened. The incident you mentioned, was another reason why women were afraid to speak out. Because of the man’s response and, invariably, they were believed. As you say, thank heavens, same sex relationships are now able to be enjoyed, although I’m
Aware that there are still a minority of people against. I Pray for an end to all Prejudices, but most of all, I pray that the young girls of today, never have to go through what we did when we were younger. Thank you for always supporting my blog, my Texan friend. Hugs to you.
Me again...I wanted to add that since the New Year's celebration is over, there has been so much trash on Facebook. I just wanted to see something nice for a change, instead of all the political garbage about our president and senators, etc. So, I enjoyed posting some Elvis news, a much refreshing subject, haha! See you! ♥
Good for you, Suzanne! All that sort of political stuff can grind you down after a while, so I don’t blame you lightening the mood a little! 😊
Beautifully written and a wonderful read. Thank for the thoughtful post. I hope we can always move forward and have each other’s back! Sisterhood is a powerful thing. 💗
Hi there Sush. This is a treat, having you popping over to leave a comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed today’s Post - I was reading about the Suffragettes and how it was 100 years since women first got the vote over here, and it got me thinking about all that is going on in the media at the moment with regard to women. Onwards and upwards! Sisterhood is a powerful thing indeed. Hope you’re doing okay at the moment, my friend. ❤️
Women who are standing up ..have high paid jobs or actresses.. I haven't heard of a woman in a low paid job ,,quit ...we can't. But to be honest I have never come across anything like this .. I enjoyed working for men .. I find them easier than women .. who when high up ,really aren't great bosses ..and this is my OWN opinion. In fact women can be hard work even if just one level up. . We women are being ignored ..those of us try to get our pensions ... EVEN the women in power are ignoring us ..NOT all but some.
But Diane you have written an excellent post .. and very interesting. , I am sorry what happened to your friend ., and glad her brother sorted it all out .,
which brings to a point which is happening today .. and you may of read about some situations last year .,and quite a few., Lesbians bullying women ., and one incident which stands out a female pretended to be a man and duped a female into having sex with her ..and I think a few other stories. Sorry to out this on your page you can remove it if you wish but is all relevant. Hugs .
Hi Anne. Thank you for your comment. Yiu were obviously fortunate that you never experienced anything like this from men. I had it from my very first job. My friends experienced exactly the same sort of thing. I really do hope that it’s still not happening in the work place, but I don’t think it’s going to go away overnight. We can all only speak from our own personal experiences. I hear what you said about the Pensions for women. I fell into the right age group there. And I was able to draw my old age pension from60. There are still so many instances where the cards are stacked against us. Thank you again for coming over x
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