The Sex Question

In the writings of the 19th and early 20th century, the questions we associate with feminism were addressed under a variety of labels, one of the most economical of which was “the sex question,” which referred, in practice, to a wide range of question concerning sex, gender, sexuality, etc. The texts collected here cover a wide range of “women’s issues.” The current collection includes material previously contained in the following archives: La Frondeuse (Black and Red Feminist History), Anarchy and the Sex Question and A Beautiful Nihilist.

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Lizzie M. Holmes, “Her Life for Labor” (1901)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
HER LIFE FOR LABOR “But a man must succeed for himself first—before he can help others to any extent. What can a poor, obscure, struggling young man do for the cause of labor, or any other cause? When he has acquired some wealth, influence and position, he is better able to make his efforts felt. The wiser way is to devote one’s self to gaining a sure, permanent position, then one can work to some purpose.” The young man spoke earnestly, his restless movements showing his energetic, forceful nature. The young woman sitting at the table with her chin resting […]
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Lizzie M. Holmes, “The ‘Dignity of Labor’” (1901)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
THE “DIGNITY OF LABOR.” In a corner of the great, dusty workroom of a large suit-making establishment, near a grimy window, sat a young woman awaiting the “starting of the steam;” not idly, for the dinner half hour was seldom all “wasted” in eating. She was sorting out pieces of cloaks and laying them together ready to be run under the greedy feeder of the machine when the wheels should begin to turn. Agatha Willis might have been handsome in her early youth, for her features were regular and her hair still waved prettily back from a low, wide forehead; […]
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Lizzie M. Holmes, “Economy That Proved Disastrous” (1901)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
Lizzie M. Holmes [main page] ECONOMY THAT PROVED DISASTROUS. Once upon a time a pleasant, busy little manufacturing town stood on the banks of a swiftly flowing river. It seemed a happy and prosperous village, for the small cottages of the workers were neat and surrounded by flowers and trees. The windows were tastefully draped with muslin or lace curtains. In the evenings the tones of singers, mingling with the sound of organ and violin, floated out on the peaceful air. The young people dressed well and took an active part in the literary societies, socials and parties, where a […]
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Lizzie M. Holmes, “Two Types of Wasted Lives” (1901)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
TWO TYPES OF WASTED LIVES. An exquisite young creature, the son of a millionaire father, lolls on the luxurious divan of a room in his favorite club house, enduring an attack of twentieth century ennui. George Meredith is a fair product of the best modern culture. All that generations have accumulated of knowledge, taste, elegance have been given him; nothing has been wanting. Whatever could add to the rich development of a human being, whatever the world held that could minister to the perfection of a precious creation has been obtained for this young man. There enters another man, much […]
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Lizzie M. Holmes, “Only an Industrial Outcast” (1901)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
ONLY AN INDUSTRIAL OUTCAST. A homelike cottage, low, rambling, vine-clad and well shaded, faced toward the hills in the south, with the long, low, green valley and its winding stream in the center lying between, and the towers, steeples and chimneys of a village peeping above the trees at the western end. Behind the cottage rolled away broad fields, now nearly stripped of their harvests, and nearer stood well-filled barns and granaries, while on either side orchards and gardens showed the thrift and plenty of the owners. On the broad porch of the house sat two middle-aged men, lazily smoking […]
The Sex Question

Lizzie M. Holmes, “Woman’s Future Position in the World” (1898)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
WOMAN’S FUTURE POSITION IN THE WORLD. To be strictly logical one should not treat of woman apart from the rest of the human race, for this is in a manner to admit that women are a distinct class, not affected by conditions, environment, etc., as men are. But we find a “woman question” actually existing. A great deal of discussion has been going on as to what is proper for woman, what her real nature is, and how many of the duties and privileges of man she should be admitted to. Women do not occupy the same position, socially, politically, […]
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Lizzie M. Holmes, “World’s Exposition in the Year 2,000” (1896)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
WORLD’S EXPOSITION IN THE YEAR 2,000. (A sketch which did not win the prize in the late Times-Herald competition.) The sun rose and sent a burst of glory over the sparkling lake, and glittering, smokeless city, that seemed to spring out of the water itself and stretch far away toward the western sky. At the same instant, music rich, soft, all-pervading, swelled out upon the still, sweet air, strains that could be heard in all parts of the city, and whose source could not be determined by the sound; a grand succession of rich harmonies in new and inspiring modulations, […]
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May Huntley (Lizzie M. Holmes), “A Common Story Seldom Told” (1895)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
A COMMON STORY SELDOM TOLD. Two women sat in the dusk of a summer evening, where the glow from a western window fell on their faces, and the one star showing in the purplish radiance, looked in upon them sympathetically. Their voices were low and even—as voices grow in the hush of twilight when one revels in the “sweetness of doing nothing and confidences are so easy.” “There is something incongruous in hearing such words from your lips,” said the younger, a dark-eyed, stately woman whom others called haughty, but who was sweetness itself to the quiet, gentle lady at […]
The Sex Question

Lizzie M. Holmes, “Woman in Economics” (1892)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
WOMAN IN ECONOMICS. Women have now entered nearly every profession and every trade that man ever followed. In the last hundred years a great change has come over both the industrial and social phases of society. The discovery of steam revolutionized the industrial world. Production and producers turned about in kaleidoscopic variance. That vague, restless rebellion against the narrow confines of her sphere, which other influences had been slowly creating in the hearts of women, was stimulated—forced into activity by the change. Simultaneously with the growth of a longing to escape from dependence and consequent bondage, came the necessity for […]
The Sex Question

Lizzie M. Holmes, “Woman’s Emancipation” (1891)

July 24, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
WOMAN’S EMANCIPATION. While it is certain emancipation would speedily follow economic freedom, it is not true that such emancipation is a part of or would come simultaneously with economic freedom. Heinzen said: “In the man the human being alone can be oppressed or liberated; in the woman the sex as well.” Woman is doubly, enslaved. She wears the chains her poor laboring brother wears, and, besides, the bonds he in his ignorance placed on her ages ago when he first began to take note of her periodical weakness. Naturally, it would not take long for an economically free woman to […]