Paper Title
Creating ‘Big Tent’ Feminism: the Suffrage Politics of Ishbel Marjoribanks Gorden, Lady Aberdeen
Start Date
12-6-2011 9:30 AM
End Date
12-6-2011 12:00 PM
Subject Areas
Europe, North America, modern, activism, politics
Abstract
Today’s political scientists identify ‘big tent’ feminism as characteristic of the modern Canadian women’s movement. Hybrid feminist alliances found special inspiration from Ishbel Marjoribanks Gordon (1857-1939), Lady Aberdeen, Countess and then Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair. As the influential early president of the International Council of Women (ICW) and the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC), she favoured a pragmatic, liberal, and broad-based women’s movement. Aberdeen’s influence has commonly been regarded as a relatively straight-forward expression of her privileged position as a British aristocrat and imperial grande dame. It was certainly this but it was also more. This paper considers the evolution of Aberdeen’s encouragement of a moderate women’s movement. As she faced the distress and conflicts of the nineteenth and twentieth century imperial world, Ishbel drew on her interpretation of aristocratic duty, contemporary religious and social science thought, liberalism’s commitment to orderly change, and the role of women’s organizations. The result was a maternalist creed that credited women with special duties, relied on education, and prized alliances.
Keywords
Aberdeen, International Council of Women, National Council of Women of Canada
Creative Commons License
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Creating ‘Big Tent’ Feminism: the Suffrage Politics of Ishbel Marjoribanks Gorden, Lady Aberdeen
Today’s political scientists identify ‘big tent’ feminism as characteristic of the modern Canadian women’s movement. Hybrid feminist alliances found special inspiration from Ishbel Marjoribanks Gordon (1857-1939), Lady Aberdeen, Countess and then Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair. As the influential early president of the International Council of Women (ICW) and the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC), she favoured a pragmatic, liberal, and broad-based women’s movement. Aberdeen’s influence has commonly been regarded as a relatively straight-forward expression of her privileged position as a British aristocrat and imperial grande dame. It was certainly this but it was also more. This paper considers the evolution of Aberdeen’s encouragement of a moderate women’s movement. As she faced the distress and conflicts of the nineteenth and twentieth century imperial world, Ishbel drew on her interpretation of aristocratic duty, contemporary religious and social science thought, liberalism’s commitment to orderly change, and the role of women’s organizations. The result was a maternalist creed that credited women with special duties, relied on education, and prized alliances.