Context
In the second half of the 19th century, women’s roles in society were significantly limited and strikingly different from those of men, with women enjoying far fewer rights, opportunities, and status. By the time the weekly newspaper was published in 1868, women did not have the right to vote, so political processes in the country had proceeded without their participation. Restrictions on rights also applied to labor: women, unlike men, were forbidden or socially discouraged from entering the skilled labor market, so the main form of female activity was domestic duties and service to men. Much of this was due to the limited opportunity for higher education. In an attempt to emancipate women, social organizations began to fight for their rights and freedoms, and the publication of The Revolution was a significant milestone of the 1960s.
Content
In their article “Muscular Woman,” Cady and Pillsbury Weekly discuss the acceptance of the muscular woman and the phenomenon of physical strength. The authors begin by discussing the belief that the modern world is built on the recognition of physical strength, and strictly speaking, women cannot be on par with men unless they have the same strength. Paradoxically, when a woman proves to be strong and can “hold a twenty-pound weight on the palm of her hand,” it is not socially approved and certainly does not receive the same opportunities as a man. Cady and Pillsbury call the current gender system flawed and point out that physical strength is an improvement in the body that is equally characteristic of both men and women. Moreover, according to the authors, only the acquisition of such strength can help a woman achieve freedom, for in a healthy body lives a healthy spirit.
Meaning
The value of this primary source is in redefining the role of women in the history of the American community. Indeed, nothing would have changed from a single newspaper article, but Cady and Pillsbury have systematically and regularly reexamined the established values of this society. A strong woman is not a mistake of nature or an attempt to become a man, but, according to the authors, a desire to comprehend inner freedom and achieve harmony with her body. Readers of the time could understand that to engage in traditionally male physical labor for women should not be despicable or shameful, and that a strong woman is not an appendage to a weak or strong man. In other words, for historians, the value of this source lies in its ability to illustrate the fundamental changes occurring in American society at the time.
Works Cited
“Feminism in the Long 19th Century.” Library of Congress.
“Feminism: Sociology.” Britannica.
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, and Parker Pillsbury. “Muscular Woman.” The Revolution, 1868.