The politics of gender in Victorian Britain : masculinity, political culture, and the struggle for women's rights / Ben Griffin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Griffin, Ben, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Women's rights--Great Britain--History.

Women's rights.

Masculinity--Great Britain--History.

Masculinity.

Feminism--Great Britain--History.

Feminism.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1837-1901.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 352 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This groundbreaking history of Victorian politics, feminism and parliamentary reform challenges traditional assumptions about the development of British democracy and the struggle for women's rights and demonstrates how political activity has been shaped by changes in the history of masculinity. From the second half of the nineteenth century, Britain's all-male parliament began to transform the legal position of women as it reformed laws that had upheld male authority for centuries. To explain these revolutionary changes, Ben Griffin looks beyond the actions of the women's movement alone and shows how the behaviour and ideologies of male politicians were fundamentally shaped by their gender. He argues that changes to women's rights were the result not simply of changing ideas about women but also of changing beliefs about masculinity, religion and the nature of the constitution, and, in doing so, demonstrates how gender inequality can be created and reproduced by the state.

Contents:

'Feminism' and the history of women's rights

The domestic ideology of Victorian patriarchy

Class, liberalism and the erosion of Victorian domestic ideology

Religious change and the transformation of domestic ideology

The politics of paternity

Performing masculinities in the House of Commons

Classes, interests and parliamentary reform

The instability of the 1867 settlement, the secret ballot and women's suffrage

Redefining 'fitness': from the educated voter to household suffrage

The road to democracy, 1885-1906

Conclusion.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-107-23008-X

1-139-21002-5

1-280-48536-1

1-139-22299-6

9786613580344

1-139-21819-0

1-139-21510-8

1-139-22471-9

1-139-05753-7

1-139-22128-0

OCLC:

775869993