‘Virtually a victory': The Australian Woman’s Sphere and the mainstream press during Vida Goldstein’s 1903 Federal candidature

‘Virtually a victory': The Australian Woman’s Sphere and the mainstream press during Vida Goldstein’s 1903 Federal candidature

Vida Goldstein was one of the first women in the world to stand for national election on equal footing with men in Australia in 1903. Her feminist newspaper, The Australian Woman’s Sphere (1900–1905), documents much of her political campaign but also reveals a remarkable interplay with the mainstream press. This chapter explores how white women and men negotiated the sudden shared space of a Federal election through the way two newspapers from the potent world of the Melbourne press, The Age and The Argus, portrayed and misrepresented Goldstein’s aims and policies. Examining the reactions to her candidature and the controversies surrounding her campaign, including the 'fiscal question' and the 'ticket' problem, and her own responses, provides insights into the unexplored interaction between the three newspapers. While exposing gender inequality and discrimination, the dialogue between Goldstein’s newspaper and the two dominant dailies reflects the voices and experiences of the first-wave feminist movement, and its detractors, during a moment of major social and political transformation.

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.