Celebration of Scholars
20th Century Argentine Suffrage: An investigation into women's agency during early twentieth century Argentina
Name:
Alex Karcher
Major: History
Hometown: Toledo, OH
Faculty Sponsor: Stephen Udry
Other Sponsors: Stephanie Mitchell, Sandra Bisciglia
Type of research: Senior thesis
Abstract
This senior thesis focuses on early twentieth century women’s agency within Argentina and the fight for nationalized suffrage. While many historians have focused on suffrage and tangential aspects of women’s agency throughout the first half of twentieth century Argentina, many scholars have failed to link non-related forms of agency to the fights for suffrage. For example, Argentine female philanthropists were largely upper class women seeking to help lower class impoverished citizens. Feminists on the other hand came from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and sought equal legal, social, and political rights for women. These two groups had vastly different missions, and in many aspects directly contradicted each other. The fact remains, however, that both philanthropists and feminists aided each other’s cause simply by demonstrating women’s agency outside of the typical domestic roles of women. In conclusion, the various roles of women outside of the home, no matter as a philanthropist, feminist, or other activist, demonstrated women’s interest and agency outside of typical gendered norms, and in that right, positively aided the national suffrage movement that led to the 1949 Constitutional Revision that granted national suffrage in Argentina.Submit date: March 18, 2015, 9:41 p.m.