In this article, T.H. Huxley compares the newly established rights of blacks in the U.S. to the call for the emancipation of women. He argues that "no human being can arbitrarily dominate over another without grievous damage to his own nature," meaning man will benefit equally in emancipating women. Huxley goes on to describe the origins of male superiority in society, dating it back to ancient Greek mythology and the physical qualities of the gods. On the other hand, he notes that both men and women would benefit from a fair education. He claimed that men would not lose their position in society and women would be "none the less sweet for a little wisdom." I found this article interesting because we began discussing first/second/third wave feminism in the U.S. in class yesterday and I thought this was a good example of the mindset of first wave feminism.
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/CE3/B&W.html
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Huxley's approach to advocating feminist rights is definitely interesting, but somewhat deceiving. Instead of supporting women's rights because of the belief that women are truly equal to men, Huxley chooses to convince men to grant women certain rights because men with benefit as a result. Although this approach may have been affective, I think it was quite cowardly. Huxley was trying to do something admirable and courageous by supporting women but took the easy way out of an intimidating situation by failing to openly admit/support that women are naturally equal to men.
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