19th Amendment and the Iconic Sash

by Miriam | Sep 14, 2020 | Coffee Break, Voices

Yes, I’m a month late to the 19th Amendment Century Celebration.  Sometimes we who are empowered, emboldened, and emancipated women are also busy women.   Meanwhile, I consumed content regarding the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of Women’s Right to Vote, including print articles and podcasts, and I learned a few things.

For a good overview of the Women’s Suffrage movement, check out “The Surprising Path to  Women’s Suffrage with Ellen Carol DuBois” one of the “Factually” podcasts published by Adam Conover.  Be patient with the content – Adam tends to dominate the conversation, and Ellen Carol DuBois is a little hesitant as a speaker, but the content is solid and very informative.  An important thing I learned:  The proper term is “Suffragists,” not “suffragettes,” which was a term used to belittle and demean the suffragist movement.

Suffragists in the UK in 1908

Also, check out the New York Time’s Opinion piece by Dr. Hilary Levey Friedman, “The Single Strip of Fabric That Went From ‘Votes for Women’ to ‘Miss America’.”  This is an interesting example about how everything involving women eventually turns on a sexuality dime.  In this case, it took less than a year for the sash to go from a symbol of the suffragists to a symbol for a titillating show to keep people on vacation at a beach resort for an extra week.

Atlantic City 1921 – one year after the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Those are bathing suits, in case you were wondering where the “tittilating” part comes in.