Clubwomen of Huntington Beach

The women's club movement began in the 19th century, when women found themselves predominantly in charge of domestic concerns while men left home to carry out duties of work and politics in the public sphere. Now in charge of their own domain, women worked within the circumscribed definitions placed on them in order to create an identity that belonged solely to females. Although some women did attach themselves to radical feminist movements, the clubwomen preferred to use the stereotypes of domestication and moral leadership to push the boundaries that confined them to the household and, in doing so, forced their way into the public realm. One woman stated, “[It is] better to play possum, and wear a mask of submission. No use in rousing any ...