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If all Men are born Free, how is it that all Women are born Slaves?
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“If all Men are born Free, how is it that all Women are born Slaves?”

Mary Astell

Source
Some Reflections Upon Marriage
Date
1706
Meaning

Meaning of “If all Men are born Free, how is…”

Astell turns the language of natural freedom back on a social order that treats women as naturally subordinate, exposing a contradiction between political liberty and domestic domination.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Some Reflections Upon Marriage, Appendix in the fourth-edition text represented by Project Gutenberg #61143. The edition states that the preceding edition’s extended Preface was moved to the end as an Appendix; there Astell asks, “If all Men are born Free, how is it that all Women are born Slaves?” while challenging claims of natural male supremacy. It is early-modern feminist political-religious polemic, not a literal equation of every form of historical slavery.

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EqualityFreedomIndependenceShortThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionHistoryPoliticsRights
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