gender history – Manchester Historian

Manchester in the 19th and 20th century was a hub of activism, a city which witnessed the mobilisation of marginalised groups who were striving for better lives. The National Society for Women’s Suffrage (NUWSS) was founded in 1867 by Manchester-born Lydia Becker; as the first national organisation dedicated to women’s suffrage, the society was fundamental to women’s enfranchisement in 1928.

Women’s arrival in positions of political and economic power coincided with the emergence of gender history as they entered the historical mainstream. Scholars began to analyse gender’s role in familial and political power dynamics, and its use as a tool to reinforce male dominance.