Ladies against Women: Mobilization Dilemmas of Antifeminist Movements

Abstract

This study compares the resource mobilization dilemmas of the antisuffrage movement which was most active between 1912 and 1918 and the anti-Equal Rights Amendment movement of 1972–82. I argue that the problems confronted by both countermovements were caused in part by their predominantly female constituencies and their opposition to feminism. Using historical documents, I identify common rhetorical, tactical, and organizational solutions to these dilemmas. I also identify differences between them which help to explain their divergent outcomes. These findings suggest that both countermovements adopted rhetorical strategies sharply differentiating opponents from proponents of women's rights, but their exaggeration of traditional feminine traits created additional mobilization dilemmas which were more effectively resolved by Phyllis Schlafly's leadership of the national campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment.