The Subjection of Women

2017 Reprint of 1869 Edition. Mill attacks the argument that women are naturally worse at some things than men are and should, therefore, be discouraged or forbidden from doing them. He says that we simply do not know what women are capable of, because we have never let them try - one cannot make an authoritative statement without evidence. We cannot stop women from trying things because they might not be able to do them. An argument based on speculative physiology is just that, speculation. Mills felt that even in societies as unequal as England and the U.S. one could already find evidence that when given a chance women could excel. He pointed to such English queens as Elizabeth I or Victoria, or the French patriot, Joan of Arc. If given the chance women would excel in other arenas and they should be given the opportunity to try.