ABSTRACT

Women who kill their husbands/partners have always been punished more harshly than men who kill their spouses. J. M. Beattie has suggested that women who committed petit treason may have been battered and subsequently acted in self-defence. In the 1990s, protracted campaigns by groups such as Justice for Women and the Southall Black Sisters, were necessary before women like Emma Humphreys and Kiranjit Ahluwalia were released on appeal. Both women had been physically and psychologically abused by their partners whom they subsequently killed. Women were supposed to enjoy sex, indeed, those who failed to do so were encouraged to fake orgasm to ensure their husbands’ ego remained intact. Women’s fashions began to mirror this supposed sexual liberation, with both short hemlines and hairstyles offering a physical freedom unknown to Victorian women. Consequently, when feminists challenge existing accounts about women such as Emily Swann, they “are not simply challenging legal discourse, but also naturalistic assumptions about masculinity.