Paulina Luisi - Inspirations

Inspirations

The primary figures that Paulina Luisi drew aspiration from and who provided her with undivided support were her parents Angel and Maria. Her mother Maria encouraged her daughter to pursue her dreams despite the social stigma placed on women at the time. Her father, Angel, an educator and socialist, instilled in her “an uncontainable desire for justice and liberty.” Thus, throughout her life, Luisi recognized herself as a socialist and her attention was mainly focused on getting people to practice moral unity. By this she meant that all people should be aware of their responsibilities in a society. In her case, the main purpose of moral unity was to restrain the practice of prostitution, to check the spread of venereal disease, to protect the future of the human race, and to elevate motherhood from the realm of lust to that of progenitor and guardian of the species (Luisi, 1950: 30-31, 55-56; 1948: 37-39 in Little 1975: 391). Josephine Butler, a famous 19th century English moral reformer, had powerful influence on Luisi as well. Her fight against the Contagious Disease Act of 1864, and her founding of the International Abolitionist Federation in Geneva, Switzerland to curb the white slave trade (Chataway, 1962, in Little, 1975: 391) served as a continual source of inspiration for Luisi (Luisi, 1948: 24-26, in Little 1975: 391). Luisi’s feminist ideas were primarily built upon other movements occurring around the 20th century. While Luisi was still a student, Argentine liberal feminist Petrona Eyle wrote to her, in her capacity as president of the Universitarias Argentinas (Argentine Association of University Women, affiliated with the American Association of University Women, or AAUW), recruiting her to join the organization. In a letter dated 1 May 1907, Eyle encouraged Luisi and her female colleagues in the university to form a Uruguayan branch of the Universitarias, stating that “although there aren’t many of you now, you will always be the nucleus around which others will come together” (Ehrick, 410). It appears that Luisi and others accepted this invitation and joined with their Argentine counterparts in 1907. Important also to Luisi’s insertion into Pan-American liberal feminist networks and in her propulsion to the leadership of still germinating Uruguayan liberal feminism was her participation in the Women’s Congress (Congreso Femenino) held in Buenos Aires in 1910 (Little 1975: 391). There she became acquainted with prominent Argentine feminists such as Alicia Moreau de Justo and Cecilia Gierson (Drier, 1920 in Little 1975: 391). Organized by the Universitarias, the conference brought together more than 200 women, representing Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Paraguay, and Chile. It seems likely that it was at this conference that Luisi first came into contact with many of the leaders (or soon-to-be leaders) of liberal feminism in South America, and where she would establish her contacts and friendships what would endure for decades afterwards (Ehrick, 410). Trips to Europe brought her into contact with women such as Avril Saint Croix, president of the moral unity committee of the International Council of Women, and Jules Siegfried, president of the French National Council of Women (Acción femenina, 1917: 134 in Little 1975, 391) Feminism In 1917, Luisi published a definition of feminism in the magazine “Acción Femenina” stating: …demonstrating that woman is something more than material created to serve and obey man like a slave, that she is more than a machine to produce children and care for the home; that women have feelings and intellect; that it is their mission to perpetuate the species and this must be done with more than the entrails and the breasts; it must be done with a mind and a heart prepared to be a mother and an educator; that she must be the man’s partner and counselor not his slave (Acción femenina, 1917: 48 in Little 1975: 387)