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.

The Sex Question

Horace Traubel, “Free Speech in Philadelphia or Anywhere” (1909)

July 7, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
Free Speech in Philadelphia or Anywhere.* I. I am glad that in speaking of Emma Goldman today you took high ground for free speech and shooed off the dogs of war. There’s no sense in trying to kill ideas with brickbats and guns. The policeman’s club is never an argument. It always vulgarly and brutally remains a policeman’s club. To suppress Emma Goldman is not an evidence of power but a confession of weakness. Imagine a whole nation put on edge by a little woman a few feet high who says a few things with which majorities do not agree! […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “Walt Whitman”

July 6, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
[two_third padding=”0 10px 0 0px”] The poet of Leaves of Grass is a true son of American soil and yet very un-American. So long as he sings the song of the wonders of nature, the beauties of the unlimited resources, old Walt feels part and parcel of the strength of Mother Earth, but our great poet becomes un-American when he arraigns the Puritanic interference which has paralyzed life to such an extent as to make it barren. In fact, Walt Whitman may be called the iconoclast of Puritanism. No other writer or poet in America has so thoroughly exposed the […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “Russell Sage” (1906)

June 28, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
RUSSELL SAGE. Emma Goldman. WHAT an indictment against Society! Impure and poisonous, indeed, must have been the soil that nurtured such a plant. The champions of the capitalistic system assert that the majority will ever have to live in poverty and misery, and that millions of backs are to remain forever bent, to sustain the magnificent structure called civilization. Were we all to toil to produce the mere necessities of life—they say—who would foster art, poetry, and literature? Surely, there must be a select few. By their culture and aestheticism, by their refinement and beauty, they illuminate and elevate those […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “The Tragedy of Woman’s Emancipation” (1906)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
The Tragedy of Woman’s Emancipation By Emma Goldman I BEGIN my article with an admission: Regardless of all political and economic theories, treating of the fundamental differences between the various groups within the human race, regardless of class and race distinctions, regardless of all artificial boundary lines between woman’s rights and man’s rights, I hold that there is a point where these differentiations may meet and grow into one perfect whole. With this I do not mean to propose a peace treaty. The general social antagonism which has taken hold of our entire public life to-day, brought about through the […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “The Effect of War on the Workers” (1900)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
THE EFFECT OF WAR ON THE WORKERS. (Address by Emma Goldman on February 20, in London.) FELLOW WORKERS.—Let me begin my address with a quotation from one of England’s greatest men; not the England of to day, the invading, murderous, crushing England, but the England of a time when Liberty and Hospitality were her main virtues—the England that has given the world the profoundest thinkers, the most brilliant writers, the most touching poets, from among whom Carlyle stands out like a shining star upon the firmament. It was he who said, when asked “What is the net purport of War?”: […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “Police Brutality” (1906)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
POLICE BRUTALITY. Liberty by the grace of the police and the might of the club was again brought home to us in the most brutal and unspeakable manner. A club of young boys and girls, peaceably assembled Saturday night, October 27th, to listen to a discourse as to whether or not Leon Czolgosz was an Anarchist. At the close of the meeting three of the speakers—Julius Edelson, M. Moscow, and M. Rubinstein—were arrested and placed under $1,000 bail each. Tuesday, October 30th, a meeting was called to protest against the arrest of these boys and the suppression of free speech. […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “To the Readers of Mother Earth” (1906)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
TO THE READERS OF MOTHER EARTH. Those of you who have been startled by the rumor of Comrade Alexander Berkman’s disappearance and his supposed kidnapping I want to inform that there was little truth in the story. People never realize that there are worse things in human life than merely external forces. But what made it impossible for our friend to continue his tour lies in the terrible contrast of solitary confinement, enforced silence and monotony and the rush and hurry of our daily lives. Few have stood the years of hell as bravely as Comrade Berkman, but the lack […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “Police Education” (1907)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
POLICE EDUCATION Our criticism of the police brutality at the arrests on October 30th seems to have done the “Safety” Department some good. True, the word Anarchism still affects them like the proverbial red rag, but they have at least learned to perform their “duty ” in a more or less decent manner. After dogging our steps for nine weeks, their “perseverance” and “tenacity” have at last been rewarded. Sunday, January the 6th, the police closed our meeting held under the auspices of the “Mother Earth” Club, and arrested the Chairman, John R. Coryell, Alexander Berkman and myself. The Criminal […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman and Max Baginski, “Mother Earth” (1906)

June 8, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
MOTHER EARTH THERE was a time when men imagined the Earth as the center of the universe. The stars, large and small, they believed were created merely for their delectation. It was their vain conception that a supreme being, weary of solitude, had manufactured a giant toy and put them into possession of it. When, however, the human mind was illumined by the torch-light of science, it came to understand that the Earth was but one of a myriad of stars floating in infinite space, a mere speck of dust. Man issued from the womb of Mother Earth, but he […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, Letter to “Freedom” (November-December, 1924)

June 8, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
LETTER FROM EMMA GOLDMAN. Dear Comrades,—Ever since I have come to England I wanted to get in touch with you and tell you of my plans for activities in behalf of our ideas. But I have been very busy adjusting myself to the new conditions and meeting people who might be interested in the work 1 have in mind. I am glad to say that my efforts so far have met with greater success than I had expected. The dinner on November 12th brought out a huge gathering of men and women whose interest made me feel very hopeful for […]