Teatro y política: teatro sufragista estadounidense

• Author: Verónica Pacheco Costa
• Position: Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla
• Pages: 247-257

Revista inteRnacional de Pensamiento Político - i ÉPoca - vol. 16 - 2021 - [247-257] - issn 1885-589X

247

TEATRO Y POLÍTICA: TEATRO SUFRAGISTA

ESTADOUNIDENSE

THEATRE AND POLITICS: SUFFRAGIST THEATRE IN THE

UNITED STATES

Verónica Pacheco Costa

Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, España

vpacheco@upo.es

Recibido: septiembre de 20021

Aceptado: noviembre de 2021

Palabras clave: movimiento sufragista, Estados Unidos, teatro, textos políticos.

Key words: Suffragist movement, United States, theatre, political texts.

Resumen: Una de las herramientas de publicidad que las sufragistas británicas,

primero, y las estadounidenses, más tarde, usaron fue el teatro. El teatro su-

fragista se escribió con un propósito claro, que no era otro que la propaganda

política y su representación dentro de la campaña que se llevaba a cabo. En

muchos casos, las obras eran reflejo de la situación en la que vivían las mu-

jeres, y funcionaban a modo de denuncia, en otros, eran obras didácticas, ya

que explicaban de manera muy sencilla y clara las acciones que se estaban

llevando a cabo para conseguir los derechos de las mujeres.

Abstract: One of the publicity tools used by British and then American suffragists

was theatre. Suffragist theatre was written for a clear purpose, which was none

other than political propaganda and performance as part of the campaign being

conducted. In many cases, the plays performed reflected the situation in which

women lived, denouncing their circumstances; in others, they were didactic

works, explaining in a very simple and clear way the actions that were being

carried out to secure women’s rights.

1. Suffragist theatre and political-social movement

The suffragists and feminists of the early 20th century in the United States found in

theatre the most useful weapon of political propaganda, since the visibility and immediacy

of the theatrical message on stage is comparable to the political message delivered on

a rostrum. Women not only conquered the public space of the stage and controlled the

entire theatre process, but also managed to become visible in society and the patriarchal

system, winning numerous rights and freedoms that had previously been denied to them.

The right to vote, equal pay, the right to abortion, and so many other rights and freedoms

that women have today might not have been possible without their plays. As proof of this