Whose Citizenship? Which State? Work and Its Challenges for Women's Visions of Citizenship, 1900-1925.

The role of the women's movement in shaping women's vision of the obligations of citizenship in 1900-1925 was examined. The analysis focused primarily on the final 2 decades of the suffrage struggle. Special emphasis was placed on the class alliances and tensions that were forged during the struggle for suffrage and later helped set the stage for the shape of maternalist policies to come. The following were among the key themes and topics considered: (1) the thesis that maternalism or "difference feminism" was responsible for social policies that engendered a second-class citizenship for working women and women of color during the 1920s-1930s and that had continuing impact in the welfare state; (2) the emancipatory potential of gender difference and attempts to transform interpersonal service from an activity performed by those in subordinate and dependent positions to an activity involving equals rather than servants; (3) the question of whether the maternalist agenda was more about statism than about participation; (4) the theme of class as a contradiction at the suffrage movement's heart; (5) women's contributions to the definition of citizenship; and (6) "scientific motherhood" as an attempt to legitimate women's claims on the political agenda. (Contains 34 references.) (MN)