‘The Free Woman’ by Theresa S. Malkiel from The Socialist Woman. Vol. 2 No. 17. October, 1908.

She less guarded than guarded than ever, ever, yet more
The gross and soiled she moves among do not make her gross and soiled.
She knows the thoughts as she passes, nothing is concealed from her,
She is none the less considerate and friendly therefore,
She is the best belov’d, it is without exception, she has no reason to fear, and she does not fear.
-Walt Whitman.

From east and west, south and north comes the prophesy of the coming of the free woman. The theory of keeping woman “innocent” through sheer ignorance is disappearing. It is necessary that this spirit continue to spread; let every woman, whose heart bleeds for her sex declare herself free. Too long has she acted the part of an appendage to man, suppressing her own individuality and fostering his self-conceit.

At last, after centuries of misunderstanding and association of triviality and frivolity with her, it is dawning upon the world that the truth really lies in the opposite direction.

The march of current events is bringing woman more frequently into social life and freedom. The petty bourgeois ideal of a petite, naive, ignorant and dependent woman is vanishing fast and in its stead appears a being, strong in mind and body, a capable mother, a cheerful companion and helpmate, aware of the evils of the world and therefore fearless of them, independent of man’s assistance and therefore his equal instead of inferior.

For the moment man is dissatisfied with this change, this because he fails to realize the influence the free woman will have on the future of our race.

Unfolded only out of the perfect body of
woman can a man be formed of perfect body,
Unfolded out of the folds of woman’s brain
come all the folds of man’s brain,
A man is a great thing upon earth, and through eternity–but every jot of greatness of man is unfolded out of woman.

Man fears that woman will assume a more dignified and serious attitude towards the opposite sex. It is true, the really free woman will never countenance the mean and unclean types of men whom she consents to accept today. This, however, will lead to the evolution of a more ideal manhood.

It is often argued that the free woman will not want to assume the burden of motherhood. Possibly upon realizing the enormous responsibility attached to motherhood, woman will not count her children by the dozen, but on the other hand when she assumes those responsibilities she will bear them not merely as a fulfilment of the feminine instinct, but with a degree of conscious intelligence hitherto unknown. She will save the souls of the children as well as their bodies and thus raise the ideal men and women of the future. “Unfolded only out of the superbest woman of the earth is to come the superbest man of the earth.” She will not be less Womanly, but she will be more human.

Instead of being confined like the woman of today, to the narrowest routine and limited circle of domestic life, she will take an interest in the events of the day and get her experience of the actual world. Living under different conditions she will be able to unfold her mental power and choose her occupation in accord with her wishes and inclinations. She will discard all prudery and affectation, throw off the artificial barrier in the way of her friendship with man, and alongside of him, unhampered, work for the uplifting of humanity.

She will not, as commonly predicted, indulge in “free love,” but will be free to love where her heart and mind will lead her. She will not, for material considerations, dispose of her body to one man for life, nor will she sell it night after night to a different one for a subsistence. She will not wait until sought and then accept the first man who condescends to ask her, but will seek herself; she will choose as well as be chosen. She will not cling to the man though he ceases to love her, but will proudly continue on her path of life.

Deception which is generally attributed to her as part of her nature is in reality due to her false position in society, and will disappear as soon as she is able to express her ideas and desires without fear of being misunderstood, and, therefore, judged wrongly; then she will not have any cause for deception and will, in time, grow to be a truthful and courageous being.

Some of our scientists deny the possibility of woman ever becoming man’s equal on account of the many differences between them. It is those very differences that necessitates equality of opportunity. If man is stronger physically, if he is more logical and liberal, woman has a quicker perception and appreciation of character, is more emotional and persistent, and only as two equal beings can they supplement each other in life.

The free woman will compel man to cease looking upon himself as an exception to the laws of nature, and cause him to regard his own thought and acts from the same standpoint from which he judges her’s. He will have to compete for her and win her by his personality, and not his social position; she will be able to live through life without him instead of regarding him as her only salvation from a deplorable old age. Yet, the spectacle of old maids who can find no husbands will be more rare than it is today. The instinct of sex and genuine affection, instead of mercenary reasons will be the cause of more frequent marriages.

The Socialist Woman was a monthly magazine edited by Josephine Conger-Kaneko from 1907 with this aim: “The Socialist Woman exists for the sole purpose of bringing women into touch with the Socialist idea. We intend to make this paper a forum for the discussion of problems that lie closest to women’s lives, from the Socialist standpoint”. In 1908, Conger-Kaneko and her husband Japanese socialist Kiichi Kaneko moved to Girard, Kansas home of Appeal to Reason, which would print Socialist Woman. In 1909 it was renamed The Progressive Woman, and The Coming Nation in 1913. Its contributors included Socialist Party activist Kate Richards O’Hare, Alice Stone Blackwell, Eugene V. Debs, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, and others. A treat of the journal was the For Kiddies in Socialist Homes column by Elizabeth Vincent.The Progressive Woman lasted until 1916.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/socialist-woman/081000-socialistwoman-v2w17.pdf