Si las mujeres mandasen : Relatos de la primera ola feminista

A journey through some of the texts that helped lay the groundwork for the defense of women's dignity, intelligence, and human potential during the first wave of feminism. How could women govern if they were considered minors and needed a man to supervise them? How could they assume such responsibility if some believed their intellectual capacity was so demonstrably inferior that neither public nor private funds should be wasted on their education? Until the second half of the 18th century, women who freely practiced as writers were isolated examples. But by the end of that century, the Enlightenment had raised the banners of liberty and equality and had convinced women that their time had come. And although the great ideologues of the nascent liberal democracies soon abandoned them, these women can be considered precursors of what, at the end of the 19th century, would be known as feminism. The narrative of injustice, inequality, and physical and mental confinement is the violet thread that unites the stories in this anthology. Many of its authors did not consider themselves feminists, and few were active members of any of the movements encompassed by the first wave of feminism, but it is clear that they all contributed to our understanding of why feminism became such a robust movement over so many years.