Mill- The Subjection of Women

Looking back on my blogs I realized I had failed to write about Mills' controversial writing of his time about the role of women in society. Although we might see this writing as commonplace now, it was revolutionary when he wrote it. Women were looked upon as second class citizens and it was shocking to see a man fighting for their rights. Mill therefore should be considered a patriot for women's rights.

Mill believed that the "principle which regulates the existing social relations between the two sexes- the legal subordination of one sex to the other- is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement." (521) So not only did Mill believe that women should be given equal civil rights, he also believed their should be total equality between the sexes. He even credited his wife for the influence she had in his writings. I was really blown away by the brilliance of Mill as he allowed himself to forfeit the power he could have had to fight for a cause he believed in. Although he held several governmental positions throughout his life, his unpopular view on womens rights took away some of his influence. However, his beliefs laid the path for the rights of women for the next century. Without people like Mill it could have taken much longer for women to receive these rights.

After making a case for the equality of the sexes, he attacks the premises that accompany the inequality. Some people believed that the inequality of women was affirmed by the inability of women to rise up against it. Mill attacks this premise saying "Ever since there have been women to make their setiments known by their writings, an increasing number of them have recorded protests against their present social condition." (523) So although women may have been able to have been silenced in the past, modern methods allowed women to band together through forms such as literature. Women were shown that they were not alone in their anger, and it allowed them a form of action.

This writing really spoke alot about the character of Mill. His writings made him a fairly popular figure, and he could have probably wielded more power if he wouldn't have made a stand for the rights of women. Since women could not vote for him, he did not gain any support by taking on this cause. Modern politicians would do well to take note of the beliefs of Mill as sometimes their are things more important that popular opinion. It is nice to know at one point there were politicians who fought for things that were right, instead of being obsessed about what is popular.