Getting Married · Chapter
A Probable Effect of Giving Women the Vote explained
This chapter argues that women's political emancipation will lead to stricter legal enforcement of sexual morality, forcing society to critically examine and potentially reform its marriage laws and moral standards.
What happens
This chapter argues that women's political emancipation will lead to stricter legal enforcement of sexual morality, forcing society to critically examine and potentially reform its marriage laws and moral standards.
Themes in this chapter
Economic Dependence of Women
Discusses how women's economic emancipation through Socialism will change their tolerance of legal immorality.
Hypocrisy and Social Pretense
Exposes the gap between professed morality and actual behavior, noting that men evade laws they would otherwise criticize if enforced.
Key passages
“The political emancipation of women is likely to lead to a comparatively stringent enforcement by law of sexual morality (that is why so many of us dread it); and this will soon compel us to consider what our sexual morality shall be.”
Giving women the vote will probably result in stricter legal enforcement of sexual morals, which is why many fear it; this will force us to decide what our sexual morality should actually be.
Introduces the central argument that women's suffrage will trigger a reexamination of sexual morality.
“When Liberalism enfranchises them politically, and Socialism emancipates them economically, they will no longer allow the law to take immorality so easily.”
Once women gain political rights through Liberalism and economic freedom through Socialism, they will no longer tolerate the law's leniency toward immorality.
Links political and economic emancipation to a demand for legal accountability in sexual matters.