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Women and Children First

“As the Titanic began to sink in the early hours of April 15, 1912, the captain ordered women and children first to the lifeboats. Ultimately, he went down with the ship” (Bakalar). The commonly accepted notion that men duteously sacrificed their lives for women and children during the sinking of a ship remains a myth that persists to this day. The sinking of the Titanic made us believe that in disaster, men who spent their whole lives suppressing women’s rights, would selflessly lay down their lives for women’s survival. Several maritime disasters since the Titanic’s demise, however, have proved that the chaos of a sinking ship creates a Darwinist “survival of the fittest” scenario, in which the male dominated crew members take advantage of their superiority over the women and children to ensure their own survival. The male crew members often abandon ship first, leaving women and children to fend for themselves. Despite examples of crew negligence such as on board the Lusitania or Costa Concordia, the Titanic’s model of gentlemanly behavior and the myth of “women and children first” persist to this day.

In the Titanic’s final hours, men allowed women and children the first seats in the few coveted lifeboats. Because of this selfless act, many men on the ship drowned or froze in the ice cold North Atlantic waters while women and children safely evacuated. The stark contrast in survival based on gender transcended class boundaries, as men of all classes cooperated. Up until the ship’s final moments, the crew stationed deep in the ship worked tirelessly to ensure the best chance of survival for the passengers while the sailors stationed on the boat deck fervently helped passengers into the lifeboats.

This action by men on a doomed vessel, however, was hardly the norm. “A group of researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden found however that the events on the Titanic, where 20 percent of men and 70 percent of women lived were highly unusual, if not unique” (Bakalar). The Titanic’s excellent example formed the iconic “women and children first” phrase, solidifying it in our minds as proper emergency procedure.

Three years after the Titanic disaster, another ship brought its passengers into a desperate life or death situation and tested the practice of “women and children first.” On her homeward journey to Queenstown, England during the early days of World War I, the Lusitania carried approximately 2000 passengers through a dangerous warzone infested with U-boats. 15 minutes from land, the Lusitania took a torpedo on her starboard side, dooming the vessel and sending the passengers into a panic. Some passengers like Edith Williams never received assistance. “No one helped. No one spoke to her, she tried to ask a sailor for advice, but he brushed past her, intent on some bigger problem” (Ballard 100).

The crew of the Lusitania, all men, did little to help the plight of the passengers, and many fled the vessel to save their own lives. “A few crewmen stood by with their arms folded, watching the nightmare unfold, as confused and uncertain as the passengers. Others saved themselves, taking rafts and abandoning the ship, ignoring passengers pleading to be saved” (Ballard 101). The model behavior set by the Titanic’s crew was instantly forgotten, costing the lives of many women and children and creating a new tradition among men to replicate the lack of rights experienced by women on land. Current shipping disasters continue this same trend, the crew often abandoning the passengers and saving themselves.

From the Wilhelm Gustlov to the Costa Concordia, sinking often ended badly for the less capable passengers. In these disasters, “survival of the fittest” often prevailed, and the crew members were the most likely candidates for survival. Sometimes, as was the case with the Concordia, the captain himself aimed to save his own life instead of those of the passengers. During the sinking of another cruise ship, the Oceanos, the passengers again received no help from the captain or crew, who floated away in a raft, leaving them in the hands of two of the ship’s musicians. Often because of the crew, the passengers fend for themselves in a game of “survival of the fittest” while those in power save their own lives.

Attaching the glorious image of women and children first only hides the undignified treatment of women and children. In the desire to remain socially acceptable, women did everything from wear tight fitting corsets to tolerating abusive treatment from husbands. In her “Declaration of Sentiments”, Elizabeth Stanton addresses many of the grievances made by men against women. By claiming that women and children receive the exclusive right of survival during a ship sinking, society justifies the treatment of women with this idealistic and chivalric notion. As more sinkings occur, proof of men’s descent into a “survival of the fittest” mentality becomes clear and further demonstrates men’s often callous attitude towards female life.

Since the sinking of the Titanic, “women and children first” has become heralded as the motto for those in high society. Reality, however, presents a different outcome of these events than many admit. The chaos of a dying vessel often gives many crew members the opportunity to save themselves. Contemporary examples maintain this selfish trend in many modern ship disasters, as passengers’ lives are jeopardized by the crew. The idea of “women and children first” often venerates a time known for men’s atrocities against women, hoping to resurrect the blemished image of that period’s men. Although the Titanic disaster portrays an example of the knightly protection of women, contemporary examples show how degraded men often are in life or death situations.