Tempests in the Tea Room
Tempests in the Tea Room
How woman suffragists used "still hunting" tactics in pursuit of the right to vote
In a battle that spanned seven decades, women working towards the right to vote faced pressure and criticism from all corners - even from other women. One of the greatest critiques was that granting women voting rights would cause home lives to suffer. While some suffragists favored a bold, militant style, others took up more quiet, persuasive means to get the “Votes for Women” message out.
From the Street to the Parlor
As political movements like suffrage, abolition, and and temperance swept the United States, so too did information (& misinformation) about activists, their ideals, and their intentions. Bold statements made by strikes, civil actions, and dramatic gestures made headlines, and they often put the Great Cause, and the people in support of it, in the crosshairs.
Much like the “backlash” in the late 20th Century aimed at discrediting Second Wave feminists and defeating their efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, so too did Woman Suffragists face fierce opposition. Known as the “Antis,” these men and women argues that suffrage would ‘degrade women by introducing them to the rough and tumble of politics, increase family strife, take women away from responsibilities at home, and destroy… appropriate gender roles.” 1
The Art of “Still Hunting”
That’s a pretty harsh indictment, and one that is challenging to refute when you are arrested for marching. In turn, some mainstream suffragists turned to more subtle means to persuade women and men who might be reluctant to support the cause by implementing a political version of “still hunting” - a strategy in which a hunter slowly and methodically anticipates the location of their quarry without causing alarm.
Oregon suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway (1834 - 1915) borrowed the “still hunt strategy” term to describe a series of tactics meant to entice and persuade those reluctant or even hostile towards the Great Cause. Actions like publishing cookbooks, distributing newsletters with home making tips, and sponsoring tearooms and luncheonettes are real-life examples of how suffragists in different parts of the United States engaged people without triggering or exacerbating criticism of the concept of suffrage.
Leigh and I talked extensively about the suffrage cookbooks in Episode 37: From the Kitchen to the Voting Booth but I was eager to learn and share more about the tea parlors, restaurants, and lunchrooms that were also part of the suffrage “still hunt’ strategy.
To the Heart & Head Through the Stomach
Author Laura Kumin (see footnote) describes how patrons of “suffrage lunchrooms” got a serving of suffrage education with every plate of food. In her Manhattan lunchrooms, Alva Belmont served inexpensive full meals on “Votes for Women” emblazoned china amidst suffrage banners and literature.
Similarly, the offer of free lemonade or cookies were an enticement to get passersby into a suffrage-positive shop and a few minutes of conversation about the benefits of suffrage.
Much use was also made of suffrage picnics in Southern California where prizes were offered for outstanding doughnuts, biscuits, and cookies - and the response (and curiosity were terrific).
My favorite example is an enterprise for which New York suffragists planned a farm-to-table enterprise. In 1913, a group formed the “Suffrage Pure Food Stores Company” with plans to sell fresh butter and eggs stamped with “Votes for Women.”
Given how amenable people become when they are well-fed and relaxed, it’s not hard to imagine that many minds were changed in favor of suffrage, and I guess the proof is truly in the pudding.
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“All Stirred Up: Suffrage Cookbooks, Food, and the Battle for Women’s Rights to Vote” by Laura Kumin, Pegasus Books, 2020
Soooo interesting.
Yes! Many a thing is shared over a cup of tea!