Suffrage is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums. Suffragette is a woman who advocates suffrage for women. Suffrage and Suffragette both derive from the Latin suffrāgium (vote or support) with the additional -ette which is an English suffix that designates a feminine role or identity. Suffrage was first used between 1350–1400 while Suffragette was first used between 1900-1905.
While both suffrage and Suffragette are interconnected words, Suffragette is more commonly known. Suffragette was actually used as a slur, but as women are used to doing, it was turned into a powerful descriptor for those who were fighting for equality and the right of women to exercise their voice in the right to vote.
Votes and equality for women – a Suffragette call to arms!
Suffragettes are such amazing women and I have long been drawn to their history. Reading, studying, and discovering just what Suffragettes were up against has given such drive and meaning to the current battles being waged by Feminists as we seek out even more freedom and equality for all women and for all those who have been othered and disempowered by misogynists and those who are supposedly in power. May this International Women’s Day see us working ever forward to equality and a voice for all!
Namaste ~ Ella
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Lawhimsy 