HOW MEN MAKE WOMAN UNWOMANUY.

Star (Christchurch), 30 September 1893, Page 3

HOW MEN MAKE WOMAN UNWOMANUY.

Mrs Fawcett' Writing in the Humanitarian for July upon "Politics in the Home," turns the tableß upon those adversaries of woman's emancipation who maintain tbat , voting "once in six years in an election would destroy the womanliness of the woman, by calling attention to tbe way in which that fell result is brought about by those who repudiate with ecorh any sympathy with woman's rights. She says: — Let me give an example from the present attitude of many women of fashion to field sports, to show how miich the true womanliness of woman is marred by their too much deferring to the masculine taste for these things, instead of being swayed by their own feminine inatincts. What can be more repulsive to the meray, pity, peace, and love of true womanhood, than to take part in the slaughter of gentle and beautiful creatures, or to stand by as spectators and take pleasure in seeing other people slaughtering them? Tet in the society of many country houses the whole interest and occupation of the men is entirely concentrated in killing deer, or game, or fish ; they occupy themselves with il all day. aud talk about it all night; the women in the earne society have hot the courage to resist the force of the stream of public opinion, as it were, on these auh_ .iects. A lady in Buch a house who dared to say she~ didn't caie how '.mauy stags had been shot, and would have preferred it if none had been shot at all, would be looked upon not merely as eecentrifc but extremely I disagreeable. .She would have to endure a good deal' of mild martyrdom. Accordingly wo find in too many instances that the' women yield tbeir womanly instinct of preservation to the manly instinct of destruction ; they go iv parties to places i where they can see the Seer drive, or the ] partridges and pheasants shot. Most, j horrible of all, they go, or used to go, in j troops tor Hurlingham, to ccc tame pigeons j shot aB they were let out of a trap. Thia i is the sort of unwomanliness which tbe present system produces. Let us all work with a will for the strengthening of everything that will make auch conduct disrepu-. table, tbat will lift up and sustain the true womanliness that loves to soothe and heal/ not to destroy. - >