Group 2: Presentation

"The same images which expose the helplessness of animals were used to reinforce the subordinate and powerless position of women in relation to the institution of male power and privilege." - Chadwick 

Vivisection:

Vivisection was an animal rights issue that was highly criticized. It is the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of experimentation or scientific research. Animal vivisection rose after human vivisection was deemed unethical. People began to see how vivisection was cruel, therefore, starting the anti-vivisection movement - which parallels itself to the women rights movement. 

Medicine in the 19th Century:

J. Marion Sims before performing a procedure

In the 19th century, a popular operation was performed in which healthy ovaries were removed when there were menstrual difficulties. Women were strapped to tables and chairs for examinations, and their feet were placed in footrests called stirrups. Not only was this a medical mishap where the doctors did not have adequate reason to follow through with such an invasive procedure, but the patient may have had more say over her body if she were given a say and not thought of as property. Women also experience the language of control in gynecological practice. J. Marion Sims, "father of modern Gynaecology" used enslaved women as his test subject. He conducted his procedures without any anesthesia.

The intersection of Women's Rights and Animal Rights:

The correlation of women rights with animal rights begins to take form in different forms of media, such as books. Anna Sewell’s novel Black Beauty is the “autobiography of a horse”. She portrays Black Beauty as a working animal who is at the mercy of her owner and a beautiful piece of property, just like a wife at that time. This novel explores the cruel oppression of all creatures, especially women. At that point, many people in Britain began to associate animal rights issue with the human rights issue.

Another example of the correlation of women rights with animal rights is the dialogue in Girls Own Paper. The dialogue was between a horse named Pansy and her master to display Pansy’s desire for equality and how that desire is diminished after she is beaten. According to Chadwick, beating Pansy is analogous to Victorian pornography where women are whipped into submission.

The Four Stages of Cruelty:

The Four Stages of Cruelty by William Hogarth

William Hogarth, an English artist, was a proponent of women’s rights. In his work, the Four Stages of Cruelty, Tom Nero, a fictional character, goes through 4 different stages in life. These pieces were published on cheap paper so people from the lower class will have access to it, and learn that actions such as torturing a dog, beating a horse, killing a woman are immoral, and these acts are punishable. Since he names his work "stages" one can believe that he is giving value to each of the different things that are being killed. For example, torturing a dog is the least cruel, then follows beating a horse which he makes it seem like is crueler than torturing a dog. To continue, the third stage is the killing of a woman, but the final stage is the killing of the man. Due to the word "stages", one can assume that he is giving the man's life the thing to be with the most value.

Rosa Bonheur

Horse Fair

Quick Facts about Horse Fair:

• the horses are depicted as Percherons
• Her inspiration for Horse Fair came from thinking about the Parthenon Friezes, the marble structures adorning the top part of the Greek Parthenon temple
• She had a lifelong partner, Natalie Micus who helped her with Horse Fair
• She wanted to capture the horse's freedom and their uncorrupted nature in her painting.

Quick Facts about Rosa Bonheur:

• Comes from a supportive family
• her family was full of artists: her mother was a piano teacher and her siblings were also animal painters and sculptors
• her father, Raymond Bonheur, believed in female education
• She obtained a medical permit to wear clothing that is considered masculine
• her fame was alongside the debate of animal right and abuse around the issue of vivisection