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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 23. 23rd September 1973

Books — Women with a Cause:

page 13

Books

Women with a Cause:

Books header

The main puzzlement I experienced as I finished reading this book was why this skilled man is holding such positions as business consultant and Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Arts Council at present, instead of continuing his role as advocate of the immense social end economic changes outlined in his book. However I suppose the answer lies within the book, in his description and analysis of present day New Zealand society and that it would go something like Lenin's dictum, that you cannot live in a capitalist society and be free of its contradictions.

Women with a Cause comes at a very opportune time, when the New Zealand womems liberation movement is unsure of which way to turn. A large section of this movement has so far concentrated on the sexist roles which men and women hold in New Zealand and on specific single issues such as abortion. Both orientations stem from the interests of mainly middle class women, who are often young students. This orientation has lead these groups to produce criticism of a psychological or socio-psychological nature: it is concerned with the implications of our sexist society for the individual (usually the woman, rarely the man), without placing her within a family, work, educational or social context. A most blatant example of this is the slogan used by groups advocating reform of the abortion laws. "Every child a wanted child" is used to advocate freely available abortion for unwanted pregnancies but there has been no adequate discussion of what type of society defines children as wanted or unwanted, and why it does this. Nor have women attempted to outline the conditions needed to ensure that a wanted pregnancy does indeed become a wanted child, teenager and adult. A more serious fault in the womens liberation movement has occurred when spokeswomen such as Sue Kedgley have attempted to shock the complacent middle class, rather than discussing women's liberation in a way which invites indentification.

Sutch claims his book is about "the struggle of women for equality it illustrates how men and women have differing roles in different societies and that these roles change as the needs of society change."

He begins by discussing Freud's and then anthropological and sociological writing on the physical and social determinants of the behaviour of men and women, using these works mainly to illustrate the relativity and flexibility of the types of human behaviour seen in men and women of different cultures.

The National Council of Women Christchurch - including Kate Sheppard

The National Council of Women Christchurch, 1896.

In the next chapter Sutch discards cultural relativism and states "the state of women has historically been closely related to the preservation of the economic system." He adopts a simplistic theory of economic determinism to explain the status of women in various feudal, precapitalist and capitalist societies. And he concludes, "this is not an original thought that the newly arrived capitalism carried within it the seeds of its own decay."

Sutch's coverage of past conditions in chapters 2 and 3 is scanty and perhaps does not allow enough for cultural differences in the definition of sex roles. Beginning in the 19th century he begins to analyse the women's movement in Britain more carefully, and he says of the activity here that "working class women became articulate and active in agitation before the majority of able middle class women made their impact on public opinion." Because of the nature of the society in which such historical data is collected, recorded and preserved, however, Sutch can provide far more comprehensive material on middle class agitation as in the Suffrage movement and Ladies Circles, and more recently in Simone de Beauvoir's through to Germaine Greer's writing. He identifies within this movement the trend both to work within the existing political and economic framework and "the trend to overthrow the capitalist system," but is unable to identify the differing characteristics of cither trend. This is a regrettable omission as it is only through such an attempt that we can begin to discuss why the women's movement has so far failed to achieve one or both of its aims; that is, to achieve full women's rights and to achieve a socialistic society.

The fourth chapter on "The Contribution of Irish Women" is a further attempt to place the NZ movement within a historical context. The description of the fiery, turbulent, Irish women with ther interests in politics, the labour movement, care of the poor and even insurrection, contrasts greatly with the description of New Zealanders Grace Neill and Ettie Rout with their interests in nursing, St Helen's hospitals and prophylactic prevention against V.D. for NZ boys overseas!

So having given a historical, social and academic background to the struggle of women, Sutch begins to look at women in New Zealand. I am sure some will be surprised and/or annoyed at his comprehensive coverage, ranging from discussions of women's activity in such organisations as N.C.W., P.S.A., the Housewives Union to a study of child care, equal pay and discrimination against women in the law. Sutch focuses the need for change on different areas to those advocated by the small groups at present trying to promote the cause of women's liberation. So far as I can remember abortion is not mentioned as an issue and the psychological and mental cruelty which men and women inflict on each other because of their sex roles, is only discussed as a result of social and economic inequalities. Demonstrations and other student-type activities are not mentioned in the chapters on more far-reaching topics such as the family, employment of women, child care and equal pay. Briefly, Sutch defines the topic of women with a cause, more widely than some would attempt to do, although he does not include such movements as Plunket, social security benefits and State housing, which directly had an impact on women's lives in New Zealand. Neither does he mention such new women's organisations as the Society for Research on Women in NZ, or the National Organisation of Women,

Sutch uses sociological and overseas comparative data well to give an outline of the problem he is describing. A far more accurate description of NZ life is given than is seen at least one of the most recent sociology text books published. Once more someone outside the university academic-world produces the most stimulating coverage of some aspect of NZ life (the most worthy other book n this category is Urban Women. SRWNZ).

Sutch sees change for women emerging from the movement to provide pre-school educational and social facilities, and from the fight for equal opportunity and equal pay within the industrial world. His policy programme in the final chapter comprises reforms which will improve living standards for the whole population; children, the sick, parents, women, workers. Even though his suggestions are not radical (and he admits this), he has taken a commendable universalist approach to a specific problem — a far cry from some women's liberationists today who will not even hold discussions with men present.

Photo of a man

Dr Sutch

Sutch's approach to this subject is imaginative and informative. The book is published, printed and bound in Wellington and one wonders whether local production is responsible for this book being moderately priced. A blue-print for revolution is impossible. But Sutch has made a contribution by giving us the historical context and a description of sexual inequality in NZ. He recognises the importance of economic independence for women in capitalist society and concludes, (one suspects rather regretfully ), "It begins to look as though emancipation does involve a social and economic revolution."

Propaganda drawing for Women's Vote

The National Council of Women Christchurch, 1896.