White Feather Campaign

The White Feather Campaign was a prominent enlistment campaign and shaming ritual in Britain during the First World War, in which women gave white feathers to non-enlisting men, symbolising cowardice and shaming them into signing up.

Although the campaign was unpopular among the public, often causing mental suffering and suicides among men, it was seen as a success by the government. The campaign is also interpreted as one of the reasons behind the passing of the Representation of the People Act, which first granted franchise to land-owning women.