More handpicked essays just for you.
Decline in masculinity in contemporary society
Masculinity in american society
The oppressive role of women in 19th century america
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
American women in the late 1800s, women were standardized by men and the beliefs of the patriarchy because they socialized them into the feminine role by the women de-selfing themselves into familiarity, the double standards, and evolutionary perspectives on attractiveness in the United States.
De-selfing is when "one person (usually the woman) does more than her hair share of compromise and giving up her own sense of clarity and control of her choices" as Harriet Lerner explains it. In the late 1800s women were characterizing themselves into familiarity. What that means is that they started to become more in tune with what the "regular" day to day woman looked like. What they were wearing, shaped, and made effort to look similar to other
…show more content…
The double were set based on the cultural ideas, values, norms, and expectations. Women since then have always been reminded of another women, even idol that is socially exposed to them to look up and forward to, physically for attractiveness. Undeniably making the standards of attractiveness most salient. Even at the time, obviously magazines, television, social media did not exist, but it has always been physically and "virtually impossible for women to escape the media's constant reminders" as the article describes it to be. There's always a standard, or a person to look up to withhold that standard as to what one should look or strive to look like. The article on beauty politics it also states that, "men are less likely to feel guilty about not meeting such standards." That's a double standard in itself. Although, other qualities receive equal or greater importance such as occupational success, social eminence, or athletic competence. The fact that men aren't judges and categorized my their attractiveness as to how important it is made by them to women proves the point into which they are standardized and held to that double standard to which they do not obtain to other than set and reinforce it. Therefore, the double standards portrayed in the media do both result from and contribute to double standards that exist in real
compared to American present-day society, a society in which a woman's worth is determined by
The 1870s was a time when women and men were seen as unequal. Females were thought of as the weaker sex of society, and were expected to be obedient to men. According to the Women’s International Center, “Women were long considered naturally weaker than men, squeamish, and
However, the role of women in 1995 America is a little bit 1934, a little bit 1955 and a lot of neither. The following generalizations are just that: Today in this society, women are expected to be sexy and smart,but not too much of either one. If a girl is very glamorous, she is not expected (or desired) by males to be smart, and women see her as hurting the liberation movement, perpetuating the "object" stereotype. On
For over centuries, society had established the societal standard of the women. This societal standard pictured the ideal American woman running the household and taking care of the children while her husband provided for the family. However, between 1770 and 1860, this societal standard began to tear at the seams. Throughout this time period, women began to search for a new ideal of American womanhood by questioning and breaking the barriers society had placed upon them.
The Puritan Revolution of 17th-century in America endorsed an intimate classification of women with domestic life that achieve a wide acceptance throughout the 18th century. Women were thus locked in the "created" domestic sphere while men were busy in the political sphere. However, Anne Hutchinson was a religious dissenter and she challenged the Puritan principle of conformity with religious laws was a symbol of godliness and that the Bible as the sole source of those laws. Nevertheless, Hester was a feminist and she challenged the Puritan belief of women belonging in the "cult of domesticity."
18th and 19th Century Attitudes Towards Women From the author of both sources we can immediately gather that they both relate to middle-class women. Working class women were on the whole illiterate, as they were offered no education, so therefore would not be purchasing, 'The Magazine of Domestic Economy'. For Florence Nightingale to be able to write diaries, this demanded a middle-class upbringing. With the ability of hindsight, we know that Florence Nightingale was a very unusual woman, as the, 'Lady with the Lamp' tendered to many injured soldiers in the Crimean war. Despite experiencing the nurturing into being the 'typical woman', such as attending tea parties and presenting yourself respectably as a lady, she seems bored by this monotonous routine, as suggested when she finishes her entry with the sentence, "And that is all."
In the 1960's, women had the idea it was better being skinnier (department store buyers reported that most women had shrunk 3 or 4 dress sizes), more feminine (30% of women dyed their hair blonde), and much
Every year about a million immigrants come to America in hope to start a better life for their family. They leave with virtually nothing, just the clothes on their backs and a few, hard earned coins. As they start a new life here in the United States, most immigrants tend to notice the drastic differences that are present between their culture and Western society, particularly in the way women are supposed to talk and behave. In the excerpt from “Memoirs of a Girlhood among Ghosts,” Maxine Hong Kingston addresses these hardships as a Chinese girl who is searching for her voice in America. During the excerpt, Kingston portrays fitting into these “cultural expectations” as absolutely necessary, as shown in the last paragraph in Page 10. She says things like “If you don’t talk… then you can’t be a house wife.” Or “Don’t you ever want to be a cheerleader?” (Kingston 10) At the time of this scene, the narrator was so sure that the American way was the right way, that she bullies a younger student into changing. Alas the student never changes and the narrator falls sick for a year and a half because of her ill actions. However, plenty has changed since that time of the Korean War (1950’s.) Nowadays, these expectations of what is an American woman are changing. Compared to the 1950’s, women currently are holding much more power, and are viewed as a superior sex symbol.
In the latter years of the nineteenth century, women's roles in American society underwent gradual but definite growth, spurred on by a rapidly changing society. As the nation recovered from its Civil War and slavery faded away, a massive transformation of industrialization took place, and revolutionary scientific ideas, such as those presented in Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, and by Sigmund Freud, caused people to question and to rethink fundamental aspects of their lives, religion, and beliefs. Social reforms in the fields of health, labor, and education developed as the publication of books and periodicals revealed to the public the problems therein. At the turn of the century, women's roles were severely limited by society's concepts of male supremacy and female inferiority. Women were perceived as weak, a notion upheld by the "prevalence of invalidism among nineteenth century women". (Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth) Fashions of the times didn't help either. Voluminous, billowing skirts hampered movement, and corsets caused dizzy spells and fainting. A woman's priority in young adulthood was to find a husband, and after doing so, raise a family and run a well-kept household. Women were not expected to harbor aspirations other than "... the acquisition of a husband, a family, and a home....". (Cowen, Ruth Schwartz) The male-d...
towards African Americans are presented in number of works of scholars from all types of divers
Before the Women’s Rights Movement women were viewed less than men in every aspect. Pre- Civil War women were viewed as the source of life but viewed less than men intellectually . In the 19th century the ideal women was submissive, her job was to be an obedient, loving wife . There were two important thing that ruled the way that women were treated. One of these was the most important out of the two during this time period this was the Cult of Domesticity, which basically said that women were supposed to do all of the domestic work in a household 3.
It is hard to imagine that anyone could argue the mistreatment experienced by women in the late 1800’s. Men have decided the legal framework within which women could operate. As could be expected, their rights were greatly diminished. As a general rule, they were treated as second rate citizens with little authority to control their own money, property, or even their own bodies. Not seen as equals to men in any realm, women were treated unfairly, to say the least. They did not have the right to vote, were not encouraged to further their education, and were perceived as simple housewives who should only manage the home and the people in it. Treatment of women today has changed dramatically from that of the late 1800’s due to the Women’s Suffragette
Throughout American history women have been considered the inferior sex, and have endured the discrimination brought upon them by men. In the time period of 1780 to 1835 the United States underwent extensive societal and economical changes that resulted in a shift in the role of women, leading to the “cult of true womanhood.” Although the new “cult” restricted women to the virtues of piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity it also led to a rise in the influence of women on the developments of society. In “Bonds of Womanhood,” Nancy Cott focuses on the time period of 1780 to 1835 to effectively illustrates how the changes leading up to the “cult of true womanhood” restrained women together through the creation of a separate “women’s sphere,” while also restricting women to the ideologies that became prominent with “true womanhood.” Although I agree with Nancy Cott’s argument, it would have been more effective if she had included politics as one of the main aspects of her argument.
During the 1800s, society believed there to be a defined difference in character among men and women. Women were viewed simply as passive wives and mothers, while men were viewed as individuals with many different roles and opportunities. For women, education was not expected past a certain point, and those who pushed the limits were looked down on for their ambition. Marriage was an absolute necessity, and a career that surpassed any duties as housewife was practically unheard of. Jane Austen, a female author of the time, lived and wrote within this particular period. Many of her novels centered around women, such as Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice, who were able to live independent lives while bravely defying the rules of society. The roles expected of women in the nineteenth century can be portrayed clearly by Jane Austen's female characters of Pride and Prejudice.
Women and men are nestled into predetermined cultural molds when it comes to gender in American society. Women play the roles of mothers, housekeepers, and servants to their husbands and children, and men act as providers, protectors, and heads of the household. These gender roles stem from the many culture myths that exist pertaining to America, including those of the model family, education, liberty, and of gender. The majority of these myths are misconceptions, but linger because we, as Americans, do not analyze or question them. The misconception of gender suggests that biological truths no longer dictate our gender roles as men and women; they derive from cultural myths. We, as a nation, need to do severe critical thinking about this delusion of gender, how has limited us in the home, media, and education, how it currently limits us, and what the results of the current and future changes in gender roles will be.