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Learning outcomesBy the end of this topic you should be able to:

consider how the media reacted to the • suffragette protest

explore how successfully the suffragettes • used the media to promote their cause.

6.4 Suffragettes and the media

The death of Emily DavisonAt the 1913 Derby horse race, suffragette Emily Davison tried to stop the king’s horse as a protest that would be seen by the royal family and all the world’s media. Sadly, she was knocked down and her skull was fractured by the horse’s hooves. Three days later, she died without ever regaining consciousness. The suffragette leaders didn’t know that she was planning this protest. No one knows to

this day whether she meant just to stop the horse or whether she intended to be run down by it.

At fi rst, the media and the general public were angry at what seemed a pointless death from an irresponsible act. However, the WSPU organised two massive funerals for her, one in London and one in Morpeth, her home town. They made her a martyr for the cause of votes for women.

The death of Emily Davison illustrates some important themes in the suffragette protest. Only a small number of women were ever involved in the violent campaign for women’s suffrage, yet the suffragettes managed to get massive media interest in their campaign (which meant newspaper coverage at this time). Why was this?

Women breaking the law and being arrested and • imprisoned was dramatic. Edwardian society valued modest, decent women • who were happy to serve as wives and mothers. Suffragettes were shocking to many and made for good newspaper stories as a result. The suffrage movement put the government • under pressure and this was interesting to newspaper readers. Newspapers themselves were for or against • women’s suffrage. The authorities used violence against newspapers • that supported women. The suffragettes were very good at publicity • – their tactics were always designed to get newspaper coverage.

Some newspapers were always totally against the call for women to be given the vote. This was especially true of The Times, which often ran articles and editorials condemning the campaign, even before the WSPU began to damage property.

Source A: The front page of the Daily Sketch, 8 June 1913.

Source B: An extract from The Times, 1912.

The suffragettes are a regrettable by-product of our civilisation, out with their hammers and their bags full of stones because of dreary, empty lives and high-strung, over-excitable natures.

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Not all newspapers had this attitude to the principle of votes for women all the time.

When campaigners restricted themselves to• non-violent methods, there was often supportfor them in some newspapers. When the reactions of the police seemed • unnecessarily violent or inappropriate (as on ‘Black Friday’), some newspapers, such as the Daily Mirror, reported the incidents and published several photographs. The magazine • Punch generally supported women’s suffrage because it thought the Liberal government had done such a bad job in tacklingthe issue.

However, by and large the newspapers were against votes for women and were hostile to the suffragettes’ tactics. What is interesting is that newspapers only really gave serious coverage to women’s suffrage when the suffragettes started using violent tactics. So, even though the newspapers might be critical of the violent methods, they still gave the suffragettes what they wanted – publicity.

How successful was the suffragettes’ use of the media?If most media coverage of the suffragettes was negative, did that mean their campaign had failed? It is fair to say that what the suffragettes were trying to achieve was attention, and it didn’t really matter whether it was positive or negative.

For the WSPU, though, the aim was to force change by exploiting every opportunity to put pressure

on the government. This brought negative media coverage, and also their most militant tactics meant that the WSPU began to lose members to the NUWSS. Many important men tried to dismiss the suffragettes by claiming that those involved in such violent activities were mentally unstable or hysterical. Although public opinion was often hostile to the suffragettes, they kept the media’s attention.

• The media gave lots of coverage to the suffragettes’ actions for many different reasons, but perhaps most of all because the stories sold newspapers.

• The suffragettes designed their actions to get newspaper headlines.

• Newspaper coverage was broadly hostile to the suffragettes, with some exceptions.

• Newspaper coverage, positive or negative, fuelledthe protest and put pressure on the governmentto respond.

Summary

Source C: An extract from The Daily Chronicle, 1911, before the WSPU began its more violent methods.

With sure and certain steps the cause of women’s suffrage is marching to victory. Saturday’s remarkable procession in London served as a prelude to the inevitable triumph. This peaceful pageant was one of the most impressive demonstrations that London has ever witnessed.

Activities

Study Sources A, B and C.1 How does Source A cover Emily Davison’s

action (remember she died three days after the accident, so was still alive when the story was written)? What inferences can you draw fromthe main heading (the word ‘wonderful’, for example) about the way the media responded to the suffragette campaign as a whole?

2 Source A is from the Daily Sketch. Would you say this newspaper was closer to the viewpoint of Source B or Source C, or somewhere in between? Explain your answer by referring to both sources and the information on this page.

For discussion

3 Do you think the actions of the suffragettes helped or hindered their cause?

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