Freedom Torches

Lately I have been constantly thinking about cigarettes. About the way they look, how they smell, what they signify and their contribution to our society as a whole throughout history and presently. In theory, it is a really lovely practice. You get to go outside, away from everyone else, have a little moment to yourself to think about what's happened so far throughout your day or night. If you happen to find another smoker, you get to share that personal moment with them, have a splendid chat, and just escape the world you had been a part of just a second ago. If you are interested in that person, smoking can be a very sensual thing, as the constant bringing of the cigarette to your mouth encourages a little oral fixation, especially if you two are sharing one cigarette. Plus, thanks to sexy movie scenes, the smoke surrounding your faces creates a dream-like aesthetic to your shared experience.

I don't want to go into the negative effects of smoking because I know them and I know you know them and I am not a smoker whatsoever so that is not even an issue. However, what is at the center of my thoughts is the history of cigarette-smoking and its associations (or lack their of) with modern feminism.

During the 1920s, it was illegal for women to smoke outside, and one women in 1922 was even arrested in New York for lighting up on the street. As more women protested, smoking became a form of liberation and a sign of a new, free woman. Cigarettes had been seen as something for men only, and women were once again confined to the home in order to enjoy this cultural tradition. Because of its phallic symbolism, smoking embodied a sign of new feminine power as women started to take on roles traditionally thought of to be men's. At the time, the ability to smoke went alongside the freedom and power associated with the vote women had just achieved, taking on men's jobs, and overall public recognition.

I am not advocating smoking three packs a day. I am not even sure if I want to advocate smoking at all. What I do want to bring attention to are the aspects of society previous to us that contemporary feminism forgets, simply because of their somewhat controversial nature. Cigarettes meant power for women of the 1920s, and who are we to judge what they deemed as influential to gaining that power in their lives. Perhaps the medical world was ignorant to how bad cigarettes were for your health at the time, but for us to be ignorant to the importance smoking held for women of the past is no better. So, next time you light up outside the bar, try to take a second of your little personal moment and think about the women who worked to spark the flame that you were able to ignite...