Women Against Cruelty: Protection of Animals in Nineteenth-Century Britain

In nineteenth-century Britain, women played a significant role in animal protection, founding organizations like the Battersea Dogs Home and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Their efforts were often belittled, but feminism in the later Victorian period showed that their spontaneous fellow-feeling with animals was a civilizing force. Women's experience of oppressive patriarchy bonded them with animals, who suffered from the dominance of masculine values and the assumption that humans were entitled to exploit them.

Format: Hardback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 22 October 2019
Publisher: Manchester University Press

This groundbreaking book delves into the significant role of women in nineteenth-century Britain in championing animal protection, utilizing a wealth of archival sources. Women played a pioneering role in establishing organizations such as the Battersea Dogs Home, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and numerous groups that actively opposed vivisection. They tirelessly advocated for improved animal treatment, employing both practical initiatives and their literary works, including Anna Sewell's renowned novel Black Beauty. However, their endeavors often faced dismissal or criticism, being perceived as manifestations of female "sentimentality and hysteria." It was only with the emergence of feminism in the later Victorian period that women were able to demonstrate that their spontaneous affection for animals was a civilizing force. The shared experiences of women under oppressive patriarchy forged a deep bond with animals, as they too suffered from the dominance of masculine values in society and the belief that humans possessed the entitlement to exploit animals at their discretion.

Weight: 478g
Dimension: 208 x 137 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526115423