EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SUFFRAGETTES

Q: What was the difference between suffragettes and suffragists?

A: Suffragists were women who were asking for the vote – drawing up petitions and meeting their local members of parliament – in a peaceful and genteel way from the 1860s onwards. Emmeline Pankhurst herself started off as a suffragist and they remained on the scene right the way through to 1918, when some women gained the vote. The suffragettes were members of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), an organisation that was founded in 1903 by the Pankhurst family. From the start, the methods of the WSPU were always going to move towards direct action. The clever slogan they used – ‘Deeds not Words’ – really describes the way they had decided things were going to be done. They weren’t going to ask nicely for the vote; they were going to demand it. Their campaign was so out there and their behaviour was so unfeminine and startling. The nickname ‘suffragette’ was actually coined by the Daily Mail and was meant to be condescending, but of course, being suffragettes, they took it and owned it. So, the term suffragette really refers to the women who were prepared to do more than just politely write petitions and go to parliament.

Q: Was there any animosity between the suffragists and the suffragettes?

There’s a misconception that the suffragists and the suffragettes were at loggerheads with each other, which is simply not true. The strategies of the suffragists may have been different, but they worked in parallel with the suffragettes right the way through until 1912. It was always understood the