Man and Superman | Historical Context

Man and Superman Historical Context

Women's Suffrage Movement

In 1889, Shaw considered running for public office as a Liberal candidate. His platform would include "suffrage for women in exactly the same terms as men." During Shaw's life, women discovered that they could earn an independent living. The next logical step was to demand the right to vote. Women in Britain had been fighting for the vote and the right to own property since 1875. Shaw's circle of friends included renowned suffragettes such as Emily Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel, who endured multiple imprisonments and force-feedings—tube-feedings to prevent them from dying (as a result of the hunger strikes they would pursue) and thus becoming martyrs—in their mission to liberate women.

Shaw supported the suffrage movement and spoke out against forcible feeding, which he considered torture. Although he frequently contributed witty editorials to the suffragettes' cause, however, he felt that women themselves were completely capable of fighting their own...
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