On 8 January 1896, “La Voz de la Mujer” (The Voice of Women), the world’s first explicitly anarchist-feminist newspaper, appeared in Buenos Aires, advocating class struggle, women’s liberation and sexual freedom.
Its first editorial was a fierce condemnation of the situation of women in society:
“Because we are tired of all the tears and misery; tired of the endless drudgery of children (dear as they are); tired of begging and pleading; and no longer wanting to be playthings for our notorious exploiters or vile husbands, we have decided to raise our voices in the concert of society and demand, yes, demand, our little bit of pleasure at the banquet of life.”
While the paper was welcomed by some in the anarchist movement, others, especially men, were clearly opposed to it. In its second issue, the editors took on the reactions of their critics: “The first number of La Voz de la Mujer appeared and of course all hell broke loose: ‘Emancipate women? For what?” … ‘Let our emancipation come first, and then, when we men are emancipated and free, we will take care of yours.’”
1000-2000 copies of each issue were sold, mainly to women workers in the cities of Buenos Aires, La Plata and Rosario. Nerd fact: Rosario is the hometown of the new world football champion Lionel Messi.
About the design: We are very happy to have Meri Prodan or Poxi, an extremely talented artist from Buenos Aires, on board for the design. Poxi decided to depict the struggle of the brave women in the form of an angry, wide-open mouth, emblazoned with the name of her newspaper “La Voz de la Mujer”. This back print is complemented by a smaller, more subtle front print showing the same mouth with the words “Ni Dios, Ni Jefe, Ni Marido” (No God, No Boss, No Husband); a slogan used by the women behind the newspaper at the time.
