by MM

Suffs is a musical by Shaina Taub that just closed on Broadway. Beelee recently wrote a fantastic blog post about the history behind the show. I was similarly inspired by the musical and its many moments that echo recent Mormon feminist history and culture. 

Come with me on a listen-through of moments in the show that remind me of those events. I’ve linked to the Spotify recordings, so you can listen along (though you can easily find it on Apple Music or your preferred streaming service). 

“Let Mother Vote” 

As the show opens, Carrie Chapman Catt gives this speech encouraging men to “let Mother vote.” She talks about how women have already contributed so much to the country through the men to whom they have given birth. She believes a “kind” approach is the best way to handle the men. 

As I listen to this, I can’t help but think of J. Annette Dennis’ recent (infamous) talk “Accessing God’s Power Through Covenants.” The talk in itself could have been seen as monumental. She talked about Latter-Day Saint women having power and authority from God. This is something most Latter-Day Saints struggle to acknowledge. But, she also suggested that women may not need any more power, authority, or representation when she said, “There is no other religious organization in the world, that I know of, that has so broadly given power and authority to women.” This was met with significant pushback.

To me, the current Relief Society Presidency does fight for change for women, just slowly and kindly, with a smile, and it’s simply not enough for many women. Recent Relief Society presidencies have talked about divorce, infertility, working women, and abuse, all deep, important topics. The key is: are they saying it so sweetly (and so infrequently, given how little of a platform they are given), that the general Church population is not listening? 

“Ladies”

This is possibly my favorite number in the musical and my comfort song while driving home from a particularly patriarchy-ridden Sabbath service. Grace MacLean leans in perfectly to the villainy of benevolent sexism.

To most women outside of the Church, this song is purely humorous. Surely no one today would still say that women are too fragile to handle responsibility like voting, right? 

Well, here are a few comments I have seen in the last month regarding Heavenly Mother (a literal goddess). 

“Imagine having a spouse, and knowing that if because of your public identity, you will be slandered and berated and any awful thing that can be said about you will be said… Imagine how you’d feel knowing the same could be done to your spouse because of their relationship to you.” 

“I don’t want my heavenly mother getting mocked, hypersexualized, or blasphemed for the sake of being more known, but that’s just me lol. I believe God doesn’t bring her up more in order to preserve her sanctity.” 

This sure reminds me of President Wilson’s insistence that “ladies must be protected” from the “dangers” of politics and the right to vote. In fact, the insistence that women get everything they need through the power of their husband’s vote echoes many of the comments I have heard about how women have plenty of influence in the Church based on their ability to convince their husbands of things. (Heck, it was not that long ago that Mission President’s wives were not included as “Mission Presidents,” despite their full service and call). 

Here’s my re-write of the end of this song: 

If priesthood pollutes our ladies’ lives, I’m scared to say.

We’ll sacrifice virility and compromise fertility and threaten the stability of the family.

So ladies must be commanded, they require a man to manage their affairs.

We must keep them safe at home, afar from evil, far from greed.

We must keep them in our arms where their freedom’s guaranteed.

So why would ladies’ need the priesthood? 

We provide all that they need! 

“A Meeting With President Wilson”

At the beginning of the next number, President Wilson insists that (despite singing an entire song about how women do not need the right to vote), “this is the first [he’s] hearing of this.” 

This is quite reminiscent of President Gordon B. Hinckley’s interview with Larry King. In answer to the question of women’s ordination, President Hinckley said, “Well, they don’t hold the priesthood at the present time. It would take another revelation to bring that about. I don’t anticipate it. The women of the church are not complaining about it. They have their own organization, a very strong organization, 4 million plus members. I don’t know of another women’s organization in the world which does so much for women as does that, as this church has. They’re happy. They sit on boards and governance in the church. I don’t hear any complaints about it.” 

“Worth It”

This song speaks to me so personally (and probably many women). I admit that it took about 50 listens before I could make it to the end without bursting into sobs, because I feel that this song so richly encapsulates the female experience. 

When all of the other members of the ensemble ask “is it worth it?” at the end, you can picture each woman weighing the decision to have children so heavily. No matter what Alice Paul or any other woman chooses, the decision can be excruciating. Is it worth it to work? Is it worth it to have children? Is it worth it to make any sacrifice to make either of those things work? How can you bring children into a world (and a Church) where they will face heartbreak and discrimination for things they cannot control? 

As I listen to this song, I am drawn to the story of current Relief Society President Camille N. Johnson. President Johnson worked as a lawyer while raising her children, and she talks about that regularly as she encourages women to put God first in their lives. This caused quite a stir recently, as many women were able to do the math and realize that President Johnson was running a law practice while the prophet of the time was saying things like:

“Wives, come home from the typewriter, the laundry, the nursing, come home from the factory, the café. No career approaches in importance that of wife, homemaker, mother—cooking meals, washing dishes, making beds for one’s precious husband and children.”

“This Girl”

This may be a bit of a stretch, but sometimes I see President Camille N. Johnson as a Carrie Chapman Catt. She clearly does believe that women are capable of more than just stay at home motherhood, if they choose it. She talks about it, and made that choice when the prophet counseled against it. Yet, now, she “plays nice” and recommends following all of the advice the prophet gives. 

To me, this can feel like Carrie Chapman Catt insisting that staying nice is the way to make your voice heard and effect change. And, in truth, as you’ll see in the show, both are needed. Carrie Chapman Catt could not do it without Alice Paul, but Alice Paul needed Carrie Chapman Catt too. 

In moments like when thousands of women pushed back on President Johnson’s talk about her motherhood and work, I can imagine time stopping for her and her filling with a bit of rage at “[These] Girls” who do not see how much she has done and is still trying to do for them. 

“Wait My Turn”

This song is amazing and powerful. Alice Paul has been the hero of the show. She’s plucky and inspiring! But when she suggests that Ida B. Wells march in the back and “wait her turn” to fight for equal rights for black Americans, Wells does not hesitate to point out how deeply flawed that opinion is. 

Yet, as Kate Mower (@LatterdayLez) has pointed out, many Latter-Day Saint feminists fail to include their queer and BIPOC siblings in their fight for equality. Discussions about Heavenly Mother still often enforce gender roles and heteronormative expectations. Mower wrote, “If our feminism looks like trying to claim as much power as cishet white men… we are doing it wrong!” 

Additionally, Mower said, “Our devotion to Heavenly Mother is a cishet white supremacist problem. There’s no other way to slice it. And the fact that many Mormon feminists don’t even know why that is is exhausting to try and explain repeatedly. We need to be more creative and less transphobic in our recreation of divinity.” 

When I read those quotes, I stopped in my tracks. I realized that I had been part of the problem. In my desperation to have Heavenly Mother just acknowledged more, was I essentially asking my queer siblings to wait their turn? 

I still think we should talk more about Heavenly Mother more, but I now work much harder to educate myself on the struggles of my queer siblings and I encourage all of us to involve them and their needs in our fights for equity.

Nicole Sbitani recently published a blogpost for Exponent II calling on the Exponent II community to do more to take up DEI efforts. If you have not read it, check it out here. 

As we continue to fight for equity in the Church, let’s make sure we are fighting for equity for all of God’s children. 

“How Long”

SPOILER FOR THE SHOW IN THIS ONE

This song is devastating. It comes in the show when Inez Milholland dies while giving a speech urging people to fight for suffrage. She collapses while begging the question, “How long must women wait for liberty?” (This follows a struggle with anemia and infertility that she had kept hidden- and of course, this makes “Worth It” even more heart-wrenching). At the funeral, the suffragists gather together to remember Inez and they continue to ask, “How Long?” 

This is how I felt when Kate Holbrook passed. It’s how I felt again when Melissa Inouye passed away. These women were so formative for me. They were accepted by large swaths of the church and had books published at Deseret Book. Kate Holbrook’s At The Pulpit made women’s voices more easily searchable in the Gospel Library App. They also openly spoke and wrote about feminist issues. I saw them as inspirations for how to make change, boldly! 

When they passed on, I did not know how things could still change. Without these women with powerful voices at Deseret Book and women’s conferences, would our progress take two steps back or stop entirely? 

Like the women in the show, I realized there are more voices, and I realized that I had to keep amplifying the things these women said, if I wanted to see change. 

“The Young Are At the Gates”

When people could be arrested for speaking out against the US involvement in WWI and the President at the time, these brave suffragists picketed at the White House. 

As I listen to “The Young Are At the Gates,” I think of the Ordain Women movement. I think of the women who asked to be admitted to the General Priesthood Session of Conference in October, 2013 and who continued to fight for admittance. 

I think of Kate Kelly’s excommunication and the women who have continued to stand “at the gates,” demanding equality for women in the Church. 

I am reminded of every woman who participates in micro-feminisms to make changes today. I think of the next generation of young women, in their classy, bright pantsuits, walking into the chapel, demanding change. 

“Respectfully Yours, Dudley Malone”

Dudley Malone met Doris Stevens and she essentially converted him to the cause of suffrage. He had a position in the government at the time and resigned publicly to voice his support for women. You can read about it here, if you are interested. 

Dudley Malone represents all of the male allies who stand with women. He has a lot to learn at the beginning, but he puts in the work and supports the cause of women, at a personal cost. 

This reminds me of a video Jana Spangler shared of a Bishop in Missouri who resigned and shared over the pulpit that he was stepping down, because he could not in good conscience continue with the calling. 

Dudley also reminds me of every man who reads Exponent II, every man who speaks up for women at church, every man who stands up for women in Instagram comments, and every man who “does the work.” 

“A Letter from Harry’s Mother”

Grab your tissues. The deciding vote in the final state ratifying the 19th amendment was cast by Harry Burn. He changed his initial vote after reading a note from his mother telling him to “be a good boy and vote for suffrage.” 

While this does not connect to a specific moment in recent Church history in my mind, it does make me think of the work women are doing everyday with their children. Every teacher who says, “I don’t know” or “What do you think?” when asked why girls can’t pass the sacrament is planting seeds for future generations to make the change. 

Personally, I think of my grandmother, who worked on a farm and fought everyday for her children. She believed women had a place, and she encouraged me to chase my dreams. I carry on her torch today. 

“Keep Marching”

This song is the final call in the show to keep showing up, keep fighting, and keep working for change. The women of the show reflect on their work and everything they accomplished while they plead for us to “keep marching.” 

They say:

“We did not end injustice and neither will you

but still, we made strides, so we know you can too

make peace with our incomplete power and use it for good

’cause there’s so much to do.”

As I read about Eliza R. Snow, Jane Nyman, Kate Kelly, Maxine Hanks, Eugene England, Lavina Fielding Anderson, and all of the other changemakers in and out of the church, I remember that they may not have done it perfectly and they may not have “finished the fight,” but they made strides and leaps and baby steps that got us where we are today. 

********

I encourage you to listen to the rest of the show! Share in your comments what moments in the show remind you of Mormon feminism. Who are the “Suffs” in your ward or on your feed? 

And, I leave you with this call to keep fighting in a way that stays true to you: 

“The gains will feel small and the losses too large

Keep marching, keep marching.

You’ll rarely agree with whoever’s in charge.

Keep marching, keep marching.

‘Cause your ancestors are all the proof you need

That progress is possible, not guaranteed;

It will only be made if we keep marching on.” 

MM is an opera singer and voice teacher in the Pacific Northwest. When not singing, she enjoys reading, cooking, and hanging out with her husband and their pet turtle.