Iron Jawed Angels - Thoughts

 Maddie D

Our culture seems to like putting labels on individuals so that we can make assumptions about them. Even within the gender label of woman there are so many different sub-labels that come with a certain connotation. For example, a single woman and a married mother are two different ways we describe women that come with different reactions. We can see this in the movie “Iron Jawed Angels” in the struggle Alice Paul had when deciding to pursue a relationship while fighting for women’s right to vote. Alice didn’t want to lose her freedom by being in a relationship because once people saw her as a mother or married she would be ostracized for putting herself at risk when she had others to take care of. In addition, married women can be seen putting their husband’s reputation in jeopardy when they stand up for what they believe in. This can be seen in Emily Leighton’s story throughout the movie; her beliefs and actions directly contradicted what her husband’s party believed, which opened the door for social criticism. Although this is an extreme case where the public was acutely aware of the Leighton’s, it seems as though married women are often given the responsibility of upholding their husband’s social status through their own behavior. This behavior is ideally perfect and conforms to gender norms of the time, showing how single women can be considered more free. 


Clip from Yale University Article.


Comments

  1. David BernellFebruary 10, 2023 at 4:48 PM

    This post highlights the ways in which women's roles have been framed and judged in terms of their relationship to men, generally with respect to being married or not. My sense is that the post seems unfinished, as it doesn't lead to what seems like the (unstated) conclusion: women's roles continue to be assessed in relation to the men in (or not in) their lives, while this is not a lens applied to men's roles and accomplishments.

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