This thesis examines international feminist activism from the late nineteenth century to the present. In particular it focuses on the campaigns against forms of sexual slavery including child marriage. It examines the male sex right as a major cause of sexual exploitation and it investigates claims that similarities between trafficking children into the institutions of marriage and prostitution reflect the power of heteropatriarchy in governing the social model of heterosexuality and the ensuing subordination of women and girls. It argues that challenging sexual exploitation is difficult because of the social acceptance of men’s right of sexual access to women and girls. / This thesis examines the ways in which the ideologies of cultural relativism and sexual libertarianism protect the concept of ‘conjugal rights’ in systems of traditional marriage. It introduces the theory of sexual relativism in order to explain how cultural relativism works in relation to child marriage. Sexual relativism as a corollary of cultural relativism is used as a feminist tool of analysis in order to make the male sex right visible and politically accountable. / Lesbian historiography is introduced in order to document the role of lesbian experience in the lives and networks of these international activists. The inclusion of lesbian existence in this thesis is a unique approach intended to restore historical accuracy to the lives of women who have been involved in international campaigns against forms of sexual exploitation that include child marriage, child prostitution, incest, and other harmful cultural practices. I discuss how lesbians and spinsters, as unhusbanded women, experienced freedom from domestic duties including child care and the sexual servicing of men. Their ensuing independence enabled them to become involved in political work and by forming networks they were able to discuss and formulate their ideas. I explore the relationship between the personal and political in the examination of these women’s lives. In particular I examine the lesbian existence within the political and friendship networks of interwar feminists such as Eleanor Rathbone, Constance Antonina (Nina) Boyle, Alison Neilans, Cicely Hamilton, Katharine Furse and Margaret Haig. The radical feminist approach to this inquiry is intended to contribute to filling gaps in the knowledge base of feminist history and to broaden the transdisciplinary approach to international scholarship.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/245623 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Moschetti, Carole Olive |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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