Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791: Declaration of the Rights of Woman, List 1

The full title of this declaration includes a focus on citizenship, and it was published two years after the declaration of rights for men and immediately after the National Assembly of France rejected a proposal to extend the rights to women. With an ironic tone, the writer and activist Olympe de Gouges dedicated it to Marie Antoinette, who — as a woman — was not seen as an equal. And, as a queen, she did nothing to promote gender equality (yet she was eventually given a trial and death sentence equal to that of King Louis XVI). While a postscript and form for a social contract are also included, the main structure and contents of this declaration parallel and parody its male counterpart.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. scorn
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    Considering that ignorance, omission, or scorn for the rights of the WOMAN are the only causes of public misfortunes and of the corruption of governments, they have resolved to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, inalienable, and sacred rights of the WOMAN
  2. incontestable
    not open to question or doubt; obviously true
    and in order that the Woman-citizens’ demands, henceforth based on simple and incontestable principles, may always support the constitution, good mores, and the happiness of all.
  3. superior
    having a higher rank
    In consequence, the sex that is as superior in beauty as it is in courage during the suffering of maternity recognizes and declares, in the presence and under the auspices of the supreme being, the following Rights of WOMAN and of the WOMAN-CITIZEN.
  4. utility
    the quality of being of practical use
    1. Woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights. Social distinctions may be based only on common utility.
  5. resistance
    group action in opposition to those in power
    2. The purpose of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of woman and man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and especially resistance to oppression.
  6. emanate
    proceed or issue forth, as from a source
    3. The principle of all sovereignty rests essentially in the nation, which is but the reuniting of woman and man. No body and no individual may exercise authority which does not emanate expressly from the nation.
  7. tyranny
    dominance through threat of punishment and violence
    4. Liberty and justice consist in restoring all that belongs to another; hence the exercise of the natural rights of woman has no other limits than those that the perpetual tyranny of man opposes to them; these limits must be reformed according to the laws of nature and reason.
  8. injurious
    harmful to living things
    5. The laws of nature and reason prohibit all actions which are injurious to society.
  9. hindrance
    something immaterial that interferes with action or progress
    No hindrance should be put in the way of anything not prohibited by these wise and divine laws, nor may anyone be forced to do what they do not require.
  10. representative
    an advocate for someone else's policy or purpose
    6. The law should be the expression of the general will. All citizenesses and citizens should take part, in person or by their representatives, in its formation.
Created on Tue Jun 03 12:17:41 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 03 12:20:25 EDT 2025)

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