- Two Just Stop Oil protesters have smashed the glass on the Rokeby Venus by Diego Velázquez at the National Gallery in London.
- This, you might be surprised to hear, is not the first time this painting has been the target of activists.
- In March 1914, a suffragette named Mary Richardson entered the National Gallery with a butcher’s knife secreted in her sleeve.
- It’s not the first time Just Stop Oil has taken a tactic from the suffragette playbook.
Distancing themselves
- On a march in London, Just Stop Oil protesters questioned “would the suffragettes have marched on the pavement?” when asked to move.
- Extinction Rebellion activists, outside of a court where seven women were held for causing damage to Barclays Headquarters, wore suffragette outfits.
- However, both Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil have made distinctions between their actions and the suffragettes’.
- Nevertheless, Just Stop Oil’s use of confetti and jigsaws pales in comparison to the suffragettes’ use of firelighters and paraffin.
Justification through history
- Pankhurst contrasted the actions of other contemporary figures throughout her speeches and her autobiography.
- Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil has followed in her footsteps, ironically adopting a suffragette tactic while distancing itself from the movement.
- Pankhurst contrasted how previous violent movements conducted by men had been rewarded in comparison to the suffragettes who were arrested.
Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Launches 4 August. Sign up here.
Louise Coyne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.