10. Instead of Cooperating With Men, Women Would Be Competing With Them
Yes, this argument was a real one. It was published in a 1910 pamphlet that advocated against granting women the right to vote. At its heart lies the fallacy that women and men are innately and inherently in cooperation with one another, a myth that was already debunked with the idea that men always vote in the best interests of women. This logic is further challenged by the fact that in fighting for the right to vote against men who didn’t want them to have it, women and men were not cooperating with each other! They were neck deep in competition, and this competition was over a political matter. Oh, to be a man on the losing side of history.
The concern was that if this nonsense about women gaining suffrage didn’t die out and die out quickly, then women and men would begin to contend with each other, publicly and on political matters, on more and more topics. Instead of agreeing that women should remain at home and men cooperating by working and “taking care” of their wives, they might start to contest even this notion and want to start working! Heaven forbid that one day, women might want to join the military and also run for public office. Women and men might find themselves in a fierce competition should that occur.