Page:Women and the State.djvu/5

 HOW POLITICS AFFECT WOMEN. In primitive times men protected their womenfolk from outside dangers and hunted for food, while women's duties were to care for the children and to cook the food which the men provided. There are people who think that the same holds true to-day, that the duties of men and of women can be divided into separate water-tight compartments, and we are continually hearing such trite phrases as "Women's sphere is the home," and "Women our angel, not our legislator." The people who use these phrases forget entirely that in primitive times the whole duty of men and women was summed up in this fair division of labour, but that, as civilisation advanced, and the idea of "each man for himself" gave way to the higher ideal of brotherhood, mutual service, and help, the State arose, creating quit« a new set of duties and ideals. These new duties and ideals have been looked at almost exclusively from the point of view of men, although they affect both sexes equally and should be under joint control.