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id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span 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Available in 19 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-19" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">19 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A1" title="استعباد النساء – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="استعباد النساء" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%BE_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5" title="Подчинението на жените – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Подчинението на жените" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poddanstv%C3%AD_%C5%BEen" title="Poddanství žen – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Poddanství žen" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_H%C3%B6rigkeit_der_Frau" title="Die Hörigkeit der Frau – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Die Hörigkeit der Frau" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_esclavitud_de_las_mujeres" title="La esclavitud de las mujeres – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="La esclavitud de las mujeres" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Submeti%C4%9Do_de_Virinoj" title="La Submetiĝo de Virinoj – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="La Submetiĝo de Virinoj" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AF_%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86" title="انقیاد زنان – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="انقیاد زنان" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_l%27assujettissement_des_femmes" title="De l'assujettissement des femmes – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="De l'assujettissement des femmes" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%97%AC%EC%84%B1%EC%9D%98_%EC%A2%85%EC%86%8D" title="여성의 종속 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="여성의 종속" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%82_%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE" title="स्त्रियों की पराधीनता – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="स्त्रियों की पराधीनता" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BAgun_kvenna" title="Kúgun kvenna – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Kúgun kvenna" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_servit%C3%B9_delle_donne" title="La servitù delle donne – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="La servitù delle donne" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%95%D7%93_%D7%94%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%94" title="שעבוד האישה – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="שעבוד האישה" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%9A%D0%B5_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0" title="Подредување на жената – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Подредување на жената" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvinneundertrykkelsen" title="Kvinneundertrykkelsen – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Kvinneundertrykkelsen" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%87%D0%B8%D1%9A%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82_%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%9A%D0%B0" title="Потчињеност женскиња – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Потчињеност женскиња" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naisen_asema" title="Naisen asema – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Naisen asema" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8F_%D0%B6%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BA" title="Поневолення жінок – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Поневолення жінок" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A6%87%E5%A5%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B1%88%E4%BB%8E%E5%9C%B0%E4%BD%8D" title="妇女的屈从地位 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="妇女的屈从地位" data-language-autonym="中文" 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<div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">1869 essay by John Stuart Mill</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox vcard"><caption class="infobox-title" style="font-size:125%; font-style:italic; padding-bottom:0.2em;">The Subjection of Women <span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Subjection+of+Women&rft.author=%5B%5BJohn+Stuart+Mill%5D%5D+and+%5B%5BHarriet+Taylor+Mill%5D%5D&rft.date=1869&rft.pub=%5B%5BLongmans%2C+Green%2C+Reader%2C+and+Dyer%5D%5D&rft.place=United+Kingdom"></span></caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Subjection_of_Women.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/The_Subjection_of_Women.jpg/220px-The_Subjection_of_Women.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="378" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/The_Subjection_of_Women.jpg/330px-The_Subjection_of_Women.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/The_Subjection_of_Women.jpg/440px-The_Subjection_of_Women.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2112" data-file-height="3632" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">The title page of first print of <i>Subjection of Women</i>, 1869</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Author</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill" title="John Stuart Mill">John Stuart Mill</a> and <a href="/wiki/Harriet_Taylor_Mill" title="Harriet Taylor Mill">Harriet Taylor Mill</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Language</th><td class="infobox-data">English</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publisher</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Longmans,_Green,_Reader,_and_Dyer" class="mw-redirect" title="Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer">Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Publication date</div></th><td class="infobox-data">1869</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publication place</th><td class="infobox-data">United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Media type</th><td class="infobox-data">Print</td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i><b>The Subjection of Women</b></i> is an essay by English philosopher, political economist and civil servant <a href="/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill" title="John Stuart Mill">John Stuart Mill</a> published in 1869,<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> with ideas he developed jointly with his wife <a href="/wiki/Harriet_Taylor_Mill" title="Harriet Taylor Mill">Harriet Taylor Mill</a>. J.S. Mill submitted the finished manuscript of their collaborative work <i><a href="/wiki/On_Liberty" title="On Liberty">On Liberty</a></i> (1859) soon after her untimely death in late 1858, and then continued work on <i>The Subjection of Women</i> until its completion in 1861. </p><p>At the time of its publication, the essay's argument for equality between the sexes was an affront to European conventional norms regarding the status of men and women. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History_and_context">History and context</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History and context"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In his autobiography, Mill describes his indebtedness to his wife, and his daughter <a href="/wiki/Helen_Taylor_(feminist)" title="Helen Taylor (feminist)">Helen Taylor</a> for the creation of <i>The Subjection of Women</i>: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>As ultimately published it was enriched with some important ideas of my daughter's and some passages of her writing. But all that is most striking and profound in what was written by me belongs to my wife, coming from the fund of thought that had been made common to us both by our innumerable conversations and discussions on a topic that filled so large a place in our minds.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>While scholars generally agree that John Stuart Mill was the sole author,<sup id="cite_ref-Tong_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tong-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> it is also noted that some of the arguments are similar to Harriet Taylor Mill's essay <i>The Enfranchisement of Women</i>, which was published in 1851.<sup id="cite_ref-Tong_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tong-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Mill was convinced that the moral and intellectual advancement of humankind would result in greater happiness for everybody. He asserted that the higher pleasures of the intellect yielded far greater happiness than the lower pleasure of the senses. He conceived of human beings as morally and intellectually capable of being educated and civilised. Mill believed everyone should have the right to vote, with the only exceptions being barbarians and uneducated people. </p><p>Mill argues that people should be able to vote to defend their own rights and to learn to stand on their two feet, morally and intellectually. This argument is applied to both men and women. Mill often used his position as a member of Parliament to demand the vote for women, a controversial position for the time. </p><p>In Mill's time a woman was generally subject to the whims of her husband or father due to social norms which said women were both physically and mentally less able than men and therefore needed to be "taken care of". Contributing to this view were both hierarchical religious views of men and women within the family and social theories based on <a href="/wiki/Biological_determinism" title="Biological determinism">biological determinism</a>. The archetype of the ideal woman as mother, wife and homemaker was a powerful idea in 19th century society. </p><p>At the time of writing, Mill recognized that he was going against the common views of society and was aware that he would be forced to back up his claims persistently. Mill argued that the inequality of women was a relic from the past, when "might was right,"<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but it had no place in the modern world.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Mill saw that having effectively half the human race unable to contribute to society outside of the home was a hindrance to human development. </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>... [T]he legal subordination of one sex to another – is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement; and that it ought to be replaced by a system of perfect equality, admitting no power and privilege on the one side, nor disability on the other.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Arguments">Arguments</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Arguments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt 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.sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile nowraplinks"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:Feminist_philosophy" title="Category:Feminist philosophy">a series</a> on</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle"><a href="/wiki/Feminist_philosophy" title="Feminist philosophy">Feminist philosophy</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span class="skin-invert" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Feminist_philosophy.svg" class="mw-file-description" title="female symbol merged with a question mark"><img alt="female symbol merged with a question mark" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Feminist_philosophy.svg/100px-Feminist_philosophy.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="126" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Feminist_philosophy.svg/150px-Feminist_philosophy.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Feminist_philosophy.svg/200px-Feminist_philosophy.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="605" data-file-height="764" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Major works</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"> <ul><li><div style="display:inline-block; padding:0.2em 0.4em; line-height:1.2em;"><a href="/wiki/A_Vindication_of_the_Rights_of_Woman" title="A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"><span class="wrap"><i>A Vindication of <span class="nowrap">the Rights of</span> Woman</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1792)</span></span></a></div></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink"><i>The Subjection of Women</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1869)</span></a></li> <li><div style="display:inline-block; padding:0.2em 0.4em; line-height:1.2em;"><a href="/wiki/The_Origin_of_the_Family,_Private_Property_and_the_State" title="The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State"><span class="wrap"><i>The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1884)</span></span></a></div></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Second_Sex" title="The Second Sex"><i>The Second Sex</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1949)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Feminine_Mystique" title="The Feminine Mystique"><i>The Feminine Mystique</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1963)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sexual_Politics" title="Sexual Politics"><i>Sexual Politics</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1969)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Dialectic_of_Sex" title="The Dialectic of Sex"><i>The Dialectic of Sex</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1970)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Luce_Irigaray" title="Luce Irigaray"><i>Speculum of the Other Woman</i><span style="font-size:85%;"> (1974)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Luce_Irigaray" title="Luce Irigaray"><i>This Sex Which is Not One</i><span style="font-size:85%;"> (1977)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mary_Daly" title="Mary Daly"><i>Gyn/Ecology</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1978)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Throwing_Like_a_Girl" title="Throwing Like a Girl"><i>Throwing Like a Girl</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1980)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/In_a_Different_Voice" title="In a Different Voice"><i>In a Different Voice</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1982)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Politics_of_Reality" title="The Politics of Reality"><i>The Politics of Reality</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1983)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Angela_Davis" title="Angela Davis"><i>Women, Race, and Class</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1983)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_Theory:_From_Margin_to_Center" title="Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center"><i>Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1984)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gerda_Lerner" title="Gerda Lerner"><i>The Creation of Patriarchy</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1986)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Toward_a_Feminist_Theory_of_the_State" title="Toward a Feminist Theory of the State"><i>Toward a Feminist Theory of the State</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1989)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gender_Trouble" title="Gender Trouble"><i>Gender Trouble</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1990)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sexual_Personae" title="Sexual Personae"><i>Sexual Personae</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1990)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Black_Feminist_Thought" title="Black Feminist Thought"><i>Black Feminist Thought</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1990)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Val_Plumwood" title="Val Plumwood"><i>Feminism and the Mastery of Nature</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1993)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Whipping_Girl" title="Whipping Girl"><i>Whipping Girl</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(2007)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Promise_of_Happiness" class="mw-redirect" title="The Promise of Happiness"><i>The Promise of Happiness</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(2010)</span></a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Major thinkers</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sandra_Bartky" title="Sandra Bartky">Bartky</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Annette_Baier" title="Annette Baier">Baier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Simone_de_Beauvoir" title="Simone de Beauvoir">de Beauvoir</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/August_Bebel" title="August Bebel">Bebel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grace_Lee_Boggs" title="Grace Lee Boggs">Boggs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judith_Butler" title="Judith Butler">Butler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/H%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne_Cixous" title="Hélène Cixous">Cixous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Voltairine_de_Cleyre" title="Voltairine de Cleyre">Cleyre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Juana_In%C3%A9s_de_la_Cruz" title="Juana Inés de la Cruz">De la Cruz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patricia_Hill_Collins" title="Patricia Hill Collins">Collins</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mary_Daly" title="Mary Daly">Daly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Angela_Davis" title="Angela Davis">Davis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Claire_D%C3%A9mar" title="Claire Démar">Démar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Andrea_Dworkin" title="Andrea Dworkin">Dworkin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Silvia_Federici" title="Silvia Federici">Federici</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shulamith_Firestone" title="Shulamith Firestone">Firestone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_Fourier" title="Charles Fourier">Fourier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Betty_Friedan" title="Betty Friedan">Friedan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marilyn_Frye" title="Marilyn Frye">Frye</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zo%C3%A9_de_Gamond" title="Zoé de Gamond">Gamond</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Emma_Goldman" title="Emma Goldman">Goldman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elizabeth_Grosz" title="Elizabeth Grosz">Grosz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sally_Haslanger" title="Sally Haslanger">Haslanger</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bell_hooks" title="Bell hooks">hooks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Luce_Irigaray" title="Luce Irigaray">Irigaray</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alison_Jaggar" title="Alison Jaggar">Jaggar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Julia_Kristeva" title="Julia Kristeva">Kristeva</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gerda_Lerner" title="Gerda Lerner">Lerner</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Audre_Lorde" title="Audre Lorde">Lorde</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maria_Lugones" title="Maria Lugones">Lugones</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rosa_Luxemburg" title="Rosa Luxemburg">Luxemburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Catharine_A._MacKinnon" title="Catharine A. MacKinnon">MacKinnon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amina_Mama" title="Amina Mama">Mama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Louise_Michel" title="Louise Michel">Michel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill" title="John Stuart Mill">Mill</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harriet_Taylor_Mill" title="Harriet Taylor Mill">Taylor Mill</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kate_Millett" title="Kate Millett">Millett</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martha_Nussbaum" title="Martha Nussbaum">Nussbaum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Camille_Paglia" title="Camille Paglia">Paglia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sylvia_Pankhurst" title="Sylvia Pankhurst">Pankhurst</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Carole_Pateman" title="Carole Pateman">Pateman</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Val_Plumwood" title="Val Plumwood">Plumwood</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gayle_Rubin" title="Gayle Rubin">Rubin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nawal_El_Saadawi" title="Nawal El Saadawi">Saadawi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elaine_Showalter" title="Elaine Showalter">Showalter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Valerie_Solanas" title="Valerie Solanas">Solanas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gayatri_Chakravorty_Spivak" title="Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak">Spivak</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suzanne_Voilquin" title="Suzanne Voilquin">Voilquin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Monique_Wittig" title="Monique Wittig">Wittig</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mary_Wollstonecraft" title="Mary Wollstonecraft">Wollstonecraft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Iris_Marion_Young" title="Iris Marion Young">Young</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clara_Zetkin" title="Clara Zetkin">Zetkin</a></li></ul> </div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Ideas</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Feminism" title="Feminism">Feminism</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Analytical_feminism" title="Analytical feminism">analytical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_epistemology" title="Feminist epistemology">epistemology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_ethics" title="Feminist ethics">ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_existentialism" title="Feminist existentialism">existentialism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_metaphysics" title="Feminist metaphysics">metaphysics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminist_philosophy_of_science" title="Feminist philosophy of science">science</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gender_equality" title="Gender equality">Gender equality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gender_performativity" class="mw-redirect" title="Gender performativity">Gender performativity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_construction_of_gender" title="Social construction of gender">Social construction of gender</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethics_of_care" title="Ethics of care">Care ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Intersectionality" title="Intersectionality">Intersectionality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Standpoint_theory" title="Standpoint theory">Standpoint theory</a></li></ul> </div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Journals</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><div class="hlist"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Feminist_Philosophy_Quarterly" title="Feminist Philosophy Quarterly">Feminist Philosophy Quarterly</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Hypatia_(journal)" title="Hypatia (journal)">Hypatia</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/PhiloSOPHIA" title="PhiloSOPHIA">philoSOPHIA</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Radical_Philosophy" title="Radical Philosophy">Radical Philosophy</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Signs_(journal)" title="Signs (journal)">Signs</a></i></li></ul> </div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content plainlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Category</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content"><div class="CategoryTreeTag" data-ct-options="{"mode":20,"hideprefix":20,"showcount":false,"namespaces":false,"notranslations":false}"><div class="CategoryTreeSection"><div class="CategoryTreeItem"><span class="CategoryTreeBullet"><a class="CategoryTreeToggle" data-ct-title="Feminist_philosophy" aria-expanded="false"></a> </span> <bdi dir="ltr"><a href="/wiki/Category:Feminist_philosophy" title="Category:Feminist philosophy">Feminist philosophy</a></bdi></div><div class="CategoryTreeChildren" style="display:none"></div></div></div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar" style="border-top:1px solid #aaa;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Feminist_philosophy_sidebar" title="Template:Feminist philosophy sidebar"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Feminist_philosophy_sidebar" title="Template talk:Feminist philosophy sidebar"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Feminist_philosophy_sidebar" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Feminist philosophy sidebar"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Mill attacks the argument that women are naturally worse at some things than men and should, therefore, be discouraged or forbidden from doing them. He says that we simply don't know what women are capable of, because we have never let them try – one cannot make an authoritative statement without evidence. We can't stop women from trying things because they might not be able to do them. An argument based on speculative physiology is just that, speculation. </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>The anxiety of mankind to intervene on behalf of nature...is an altogether unnecessary solicitude. What women by nature cannot do, it is quite superfluous to forbid them from doing.<sup id="cite_ref-Women,_Chapter_I_1869_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Women,_Chapter_I_1869-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>In this, men are contradicting themselves because they say women cannot do an activity and want to stop them from doing it. Here Mill suggests that men are admitting that women are capable of doing the activity, but that men do not want them to do so. </p><p>Whether women can do them or not must be found out in practice. In reality, we don't know what women's nature is, because it is so wrapped up in how they have been raised. Mill suggests we should test out what women can and can't do – experiment. </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>I deny that any one knows or can know, the nature of the two sexes, as long as they have only been seen in their present relation to one another. Until conditions of equality exist, no one can possibly assess the natural differences between women and men, distorted as they have been. What is natural to the two sexes can only be found out by allowing both to develop and use their faculties freely.<sup id="cite_ref-Women,_Chapter_I_1869_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Women,_Chapter_I_1869-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>Women are brought up to act as if they were weak, emotional, docile – a traditional prejudice. If we tried equality, we would see that there were benefits for individual women. They would be free of the unhappiness of being told what to do by men. And there would be benefits for society at large – it would double the mass of mental faculties available for the higher service of humanity. The ideas and potential of half the population would be liberated, producing a great effect on human development. </p><p>Mill's essay is <a href="/wiki/Utilitarian" class="mw-redirect" title="Utilitarian">utilitarian</a> in nature on three counts: The immediate greater good,<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the enrichment of society,<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and individual development. </p><p>If society really wanted to discover what is truly natural in gender relations, Mill argued, it should establish a <a href="/wiki/Free_market" title="Free market">free market</a> for all of the services women perform, ensuring a fair economic return for their contributions to the general welfare. Only then would their practical choices be likely to reflect their genuine interests and abilities. </p><p>Mill felt that the <a href="/wiki/Feminism" title="Feminism">emancipation</a> and education of women would have positive benefits for men also. The stimulus of female competition and companionship of equally educated persons would result in the greater intellectual development of all. He stressed the insidious effects of the constant companionship of an uneducated wife or husband. Mill felt that men and women married to follow customs and that the relation between them was a purely domestic one. By emancipating women, Mill believed, they would be better able to connect on an intellectual level with their husbands, thereby improving relationships. </p><p>Mill attacks marriage laws, which he likens to the slavery of women, "there remain no legal slaves, save the mistress of every house." He alludes to the subjection of women becoming redundant as slavery did before it. He also argues for the need for reforms of marriage legislation whereby it is reduced to a business agreement, placing no restrictions on either party. Among these proposals are the changing of inheritance laws to allow women to keep their own property, and allowing women to work outside the home, gaining independent financial stability. </p><p>Again the issue of women's <a href="/wiki/Suffrage" title="Suffrage">suffrage</a> is raised. Women make up half of the population, thus they also have a right to a vote since political policies affect women too. He theorises that most men will vote for those MPs who will subordinate women, therefore women must be allowed to vote to protect their own interests. </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1244412712"><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>Under whatever conditions, and within whatever limits, men are admitted to the suffrage, there is not a shadow of justification for not admitting women under the same.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>Mill felt that even in societies as unequal as England and Europe that one could already find evidence that when given a chance women could excel. He pointed to such English queens as <a href="/wiki/Elizabeth_I" title="Elizabeth I">Elizabeth I</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Queen_Victoria" title="Queen Victoria">Victoria</a>, or the French patriot, <a href="/wiki/Joan_of_Arc" title="Joan of Arc">Joan of Arc</a>. If given the chance women would excel in other arenas and they should be given the opportunity to try. </p><p>Mill was not just a theorist; he actively campaigned for women's rights as an MP and was the president of the <a href="/wiki/National_Society_for_Women%27s_Suffrage" title="National Society for Women's Suffrage">National Society for Women's Suffrage</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Conclusions">Conclusions</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Conclusions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The way Mill interpreted subjects over time changed. For many years Mill was seen as an inconsistent philosopher, writing on a number of separate issues. Consistency in his approach is based on utilitarianism, and the good of society. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Utilitarianism">Utilitarianism</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Utilitarianism"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Nothing should be ruled out because it is just "wrong" or because no one has done it in the past. When we are considering our policies, we should seek the greatest happiness of the greatest number. This leads to attacks on conventional views. If you wish to make something illegal, you need to prove what harm is being done. Individuals know their own interests best. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Progress_of_society">Progress of society</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Progress of society"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The greatest good is understood in a very broad sense to be the moral and intellectual developments of society. Different societies are at different stages of development or civilisation. Different solutions may be required for them. What matters is how we encourage them to advance further. We can say the same for individuals. Mill has a quite specific idea of individual progress: (1) employing higher faculties; (2) moral development, with people placing narrow self-interest behind them. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Individual_self-reliance">Individual self-reliance</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Individual self-reliance"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>We are independent, capable of change and of being rational. Individual liberty provides the best route to moral development. As we develop, we are able to govern ourselves, make our own decisions, and not to be dependent on what anyone else tells us to do. Democracy is a form of self-dependence. This means: </p> <ol><li><b>Personal Liberty:</b> As long as we do not harm others, we should be able to express our own natures, and experiment with our lives</li> <li><b>Liberty to Govern our own Affairs:</b> Civilized people are increasingly able to make their own decisions, and protect their own rights. Representative government is also a useful way of getting us to think about the common good.</li> <li><b>Liberty for women as well as men:</b> All of Mill's arguments apply to both men and women. Previous ideas about the different natures of men and women have never been properly tested. Women can participate in determining their own affairs too.</li></ol> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Liberty" title="On Liberty">On Liberty</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gender_Equality" class="mw-redirect" title="Gender Equality">Gender Equality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Feminism" title="Feminism">Feminism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Women%27s_Rights" class="mw-redirect" title="Women's Rights">Women's Rights</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFMill1869" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill" title="John Stuart Mill">Mill, John Stuart</a> (1869). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/subjectionofwome00millrich"><i>The Subjection of Women</i></a> (1869 first ed.). London: Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">10 December</span> 2012</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Subjection+of+Women&rft.place=London&rft.edition=1869+first&rft.pub=Longmans%2C+Green%2C+Reader+%26+Dyer&rft.date=1869&rft.aulast=Mill&rft.aufirst=John+Stuart&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fsubjectionofwome00millrich&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AThe+Subjection+of+Women" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMill1873" class="citation book cs1">Mill, John Stuart (1873). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/mill1873e.pdf"><i>Autobiography</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. p. 166.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Autobiography&rft.pages=166&rft.date=1873&rft.aulast=Mill&rft.aufirst=John+Stuart&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.earlymoderntexts.com%2Fassets%2Fpdfs%2Fmill1873e.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AThe+Subjection+of+Women" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Tong-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Tong_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tong_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTong,_Rosemarie2009" class="citation book cs1">Tong, Rosemarie (2009). <i>Feminist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introduction</i>. Westview Press (Perseus Books). p. 17. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8133-4375-4" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8133-4375-4"><bdi>978-0-8133-4375-4</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Feminist+Thought%3A+A+More+Comprehensive+Introduction&rft.pages=17&rft.pub=Westview+Press+%28Perseus+Books%29&rft.date=2009&rft.isbn=978-0-8133-4375-4&rft.au=Tong%2C+Rosemarie&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AThe+Subjection+of+Women" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMill1851" class="citation book cs1">Mill, Mrs. John Stuart (1851). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yKMYAAAAYAAJ&q=editions%3AwW7zT9nyvEIC&pg=PA1"><i>The Enfranchisement of Women</i></a> (July 1851 ed.). London: Westminster & Foreign Quarterly Review. p. 27<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">4 June</span> 2014</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Enfranchisement+of+Women&rft.place=London&rft.pages=27&rft.edition=July+1851&rft.pub=Westminster+%26+Foreign+Quarterly+Review&rft.date=1851&rft.aulast=Mill&rft.aufirst=Mrs.+John+Stuart&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DyKMYAAAAYAAJ%26q%3Deditions%253AwW7zT9nyvEIC%26pg%3DPA1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AThe+Subjection+of+Women" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"To yield to force is an act of necessity, not of will; it is at best an act of prudence. In what sense can it be a moral duty ... once might is made to be right, cause and effect are reversed, and every force which overcomes another force inherits the right which belonged to the vanquished. As soon as man can obey with impunity, his disobedience becomes legitimate; and the strongest is always right, the only problem is how to become the strongest. But what can be the validity of a right which perishes with the force on which it rests? If force compels obedience, there is no need to invoke duty to obey, and if force ceases to compel obedience, there is no longer any obligation. Thus the word 'right' adds nothing to what is said by 'force'; it is meaningless. 'Obey those in power.' If this means 'yield to force' the precept is sound, but superfluous; it will never, I suggest, be violated. ... If I am held up by a robber at the edge of a wood, force compels me to hand over my purse. But if I could somehow contrive to keep the purse from him, would I still be obliged in conscience to surrender it? After all, the pistol in the robber's hand is undoubtedly a <i>power</i>." <i><a href="/wiki/The_Social_Contract" title="The Social Contract">The Social Contract</a></i>, Book I, Chapter 3: <i>The Right of the Strongest</i> (<a href="/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau" title="Jean-Jacques Rousseau">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a>, 1762).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">John Stuart Mill, On the Subjection of Women, Chapter I"... [T]he law of the strongest seems to be entirely abandoned as the regulating principle of the world's affairs: nobody professes it, and, as regards most of the relations between human beings, nobody is permitted to practice it. <i>On the Subjection of Women</i>, Chapter I (John Stuart Mill, 1869).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>On the Subjection of Women</i>, Chapter I (John Stuart Mill, 1869).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Women,_Chapter_I_1869-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Women,_Chapter_I_1869_8-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Women,_Chapter_I_1869_8-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">On the Subjection of Women, Chapter I (John Stuart Mill, 1869).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>The family, justly constituted, would be the real school of the virtues of freedom.</i> <i>The Subjection of Women</i>, Chapter II</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"The moral training of mankind will never be adapted to the adapted to the conditions of the life for which all other human progress is a preparation, until they practice in the family the same moral rule which is adapted to the normal constitution of human society." On the Subjection of Women, Chapter I (John Stuart Mill, 1869)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>The Subjection of Women</i>, Chapter III.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Julia_Annas" title="Julia Annas">Annas, Julia</a> (1977). "Mill and the Subjection of Women," <i>Philosophy</i>, Vol. 52, pp. 179–194.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/William_James" title="William James">James, William</a> (1869). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25109514">"Women's Suffrage, by Horace Bushnell and the Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill,"</a> <i>The North American Review,</i> Vol. 109, No. 225, pp. 556–565.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Oliphant" title="Margaret Oliphant">Oliphant, Margaret</a> (1869). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951001888558i;view=1up;seq=611">"Mill on the Subjection of Women,"</a> <i>The Edinburgh Review,</i> Vol. 130, pp. 291–306.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mary_Lyndon_Shanley" title="Mary Lyndon Shanley">Shanley, Mary Lyndon</a> (1981). "Marital Slavery and Friendship: John Stuart Mill's The Subjection of Women," <i>Political Theory,</i> Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 229–247</li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Stove" title="David Stove">Stove, David</a> (1993). "The Subjection of John Stuart Mill", <i>Philosophy,</i> Vol. 68, No. 263, pp. 5–13.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=The_Subjection_of_Women&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikisource-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/15px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/23px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/30px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" 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href="/wiki/Essays_on_Some_Unsettled_Questions_of_Political_Economy" title="Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy">Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy</a></i> (1844)</li> <li>"<a href="/wiki/A_Few_Words_on_Non-Intervention" title="A Few Words on Non-Intervention">A Few Words on Non-Intervention</a>" (1859)</li> <li>"<a class="mw-selflink selflink">The Subjection of Women</a>" (1869)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Books</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/A_System_of_Logic" title="A System of Logic">A System of Logic</a></i> (1843)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Principles_of_Political_Economy" title="Principles of Political Economy">Principles of Political Economy</a></i> (1848)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/On_Liberty" title="On Liberty">On Liberty</a></i> (1859)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Considerations_on_Representative_Government" title="Considerations on Representative Government">Considerations on Representative Government</a></i> (1861)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Utilitarianism_(book)" title="Utilitarianism (book)">Utilitarianism</a></i> (1863)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Three_Essays_on_Religion" title="Three Essays on Religion">Three Essays on Religion</a></i> (1874)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Articles</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill_Institute" title="John Stuart Mill Institute">John Stuart Mill Institute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mill%27s_Methods" title="Mill's Methods">Mill's Methods</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" 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S. Mill, based on ideas he developed with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill; argues for equality between the sexes, largely on utilitarian grounds; attacks marriage laws and the idea that women are naturally worse at some things"}</script> </body> </html>