Friday, January 21, 2011

Before Feminism

Mag 49 

 

 Photograph courtesy of Tess Kincaid,  Magpie Tales

 Before Suffragettes

Chained to fences

Before Emmeline Pankhurst

Saw jail three times

Before Emily Davison

Died under a horse

Before Margaret Mitchell

Wrote  Gone with the Wind 

Before women gained

Their right to vote

Before miniscule minis

Showed everything off

Before Germaine Greer

Said burn your bra

Before wonderful Woodstock

Spawned free love

Before Erica Jong

Wrote you-know-what

Before Linda Lovelace

Shocked us all

Before the seventies

Flower power era

Before animal rights

Made us feel guilty

Ladies in furs

Wrapped for the weather

In bonnets and muffs

Took untold delight

In spending their time

Skating on ice

With what seemed 

Not a care in the world

But

Before you judge

Their frivolous  pastime

Give a thought

To their past

And their legacy

 

Barbara M Lake

January 2011, Trinidad WI










 








17 comments:

  1. Beautiful Bee! Love how you went through the eras!

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  2. Nice. Can you imagine skating in those heavy skirts? In 1895 the bustle went away and culottes were considered acceptable and women could sit astride a horse.

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  3. Love this piece, how you worked your way through highlights and all the so called progress of time. Well some is, but some, was it really progress. I kind of like the legacies they left.

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  4. Bee,
    Well done lady.
    Thanks for the stroll down memory's lane.
    rel

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  5. To the women before us, brava and thank-you.

    Nice homage, Bee.

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  6. I am woman hear me roar!!! I love this Bee!!!
    :-)

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  7. WOW...that is really great. Excellent. I am impressed. :)

    xo

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  8. This is so true. They didn't have all the knowledge and freedoms...good and bad...that we have now. Love their stylish garb and they seem to be having such a grand time : )

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  9. This is perfect in every way ......

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  10. beautiful! i just love this piece, the history adds an incredible depth, full of lessons to learn and/or remember.

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  11. Where would we be without the women?! :)

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  12. I wonder how these three felt about women's rights? Wouldn't you like to sit down to dinner with them? Nice piece, B.

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  13. I'm late with my thanks to you all. When I saw the picture, I was initially at a loss, then lots of ideas and then nothing. This was the result!

    I am glad you liked it - all your comments gave me food for thought. I was very aware of the hardship that many faced - not all of course were born into genteel families. And before that particular era there were many hard working and brave women (such as the fictional Melanie Wilkes) who were the backbone of building the society of that time. ( I must admit though I found her a pain at times - not for her patriotism but for her unrealistic won't-have-a-bad-word-said about anyone, especially Scarlett).

    Yes I would have loved to sit down to dinner with them - I think the conversation would have been very enlightening to say the least.

    thank you everyone for taking the time to call in and post. Much appreciated.

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  14. Oh I do like this. Not just the meaning, but the sense of rhythm that carries you along as you read it.

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  15. Thank you Alan - glad you caught the rhythm - that's exactly what I attempted to do.

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