Curfews
Mock curfew notice in Edmonton, most likely from the early 1980s
This satirical City of Edmonton, Curfew for Men notice (left) represents both a specific debate which was taking place in the city of Edmonton in the late 1970s, as well as an example of how the idea of curfews have long been fought against by feminists. Feminists rejected curfews because they legitimize the authoritarian use of law to police bodies and actions. This item references a proposed curfew for juveniles which was being debated in city council at the time. It uses sarcasm to highlight the fact that if the curfew were instead aimed at men, it would seem ridiculous. It makes clever use of tongue-in-cheek misspellings and word play to add to the general sense of disdain for authority, such as the City of Edmonton’s address being listed as “1 sir Winston crotchill sq.”
This issue was not limited to Edmonton, as is evidenced by the fact that Karen Rowswell also collected a similar flier from a group in Toronto (right). This notice was less satirical and more serious in tone.
Curfews strike a nerve with people concerned with feminist rights because they are a tool to restrict the rights and autonomy of individuals. They are often used to target minorities and they are a tool for officially sanctioning the policing of bodies in public spaces. This opens the doors to a wider use of authority in this regard.
Curfews and curfew laws have flared up as a source of debate and contention recently in light of those imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, those imposed during recent civil rights protests in the United States and the resurgence of “sunset towns” in the United States. As Linda Poon describes in The Racist History of Curfews in America (Bloomberg, 2020), the use of curfews to quell unrest has been documented since the Harlem riots of 1943. These orders often serve to disproportionately criminalize minorities and vulnerable people.
References
Poon, L. (2020, June 18). The racist history of curfews in America. Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-18/the-racist-history-of-curfews-in-america