Victorian Era Gender Roles
GENDER ROLES AND POWER RELATIONS
Over the years there has been a transformation of sorts. Societies steeped in patriarchy have slowly but surely paved the way for a change. Today, the erstwhile equation of a meek, quiet, obedient, accommodating woman being akin to a ‘powerless’ woman stands changed. The conventional ‘real’ man is not necessarily the outspoken, commanding, ‘powerful’ man that he has always been associated with. Gender stereotypes stand challenged!!!
History is replete with examples all over the world where traditional mindsets existed for different gender. The Victorian Era glorifies the chivalry and valour of the gentlemen, while laying emphasis on the ‘lady-like’ and elegant demeanour of the women. In India, the palaces of erstwhile Kings clearly demarcated the living area of the Kings and Queens. Ambition, fearlessness and courage were …show more content…
Being the bread-winner of the family, he has been the one who has shouldered all major responsibilities and been the provider and protector alike. The woman’s role in such a scenario has been of one in the background, of looking after the family-the husband and children. What may have begun as playing a complementary role to that of the man may have slowly turned into being one of the subjugated as she continued to put herself onto the back-burner.
A need to voice their feelings, I feel, would have been the first step to ‘being heard’. Virginia Woolf’s ‘A room of one’s own’ was symbolic of a sense of freedom and expression. Feminist waves followed and the women of the 20th century were ready to break through the stereotype and make place for themselves in what was essentially a man’s world. The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher; the first woman Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Bandaranaike were just a few of the women who gave the term ‘power’ a new
Over the years there has been a transformation of sorts. Societies steeped in patriarchy have slowly but surely paved the way for a change. Today, the erstwhile equation of a meek, quiet, obedient, accommodating woman being akin to a ‘powerless’ woman stands changed. The conventional ‘real’ man is not necessarily the outspoken, commanding, ‘powerful’ man that he has always been associated with. Gender stereotypes stand challenged!!!
History is replete with examples all over the world where traditional mindsets existed for different gender. The Victorian Era glorifies the chivalry and valour of the gentlemen, while laying emphasis on the ‘lady-like’ and elegant demeanour of the women. In India, the palaces of erstwhile Kings clearly demarcated the living area of the Kings and Queens. Ambition, fearlessness and courage were …show more content…
Being the bread-winner of the family, he has been the one who has shouldered all major responsibilities and been the provider and protector alike. The woman’s role in such a scenario has been of one in the background, of looking after the family-the husband and children. What may have begun as playing a complementary role to that of the man may have slowly turned into being one of the subjugated as she continued to put herself onto the back-burner.
A need to voice their feelings, I feel, would have been the first step to ‘being heard’. Virginia Woolf’s ‘A room of one’s own’ was symbolic of a sense of freedom and expression. Feminist waves followed and the women of the 20th century were ready to break through the stereotype and make place for themselves in what was essentially a man’s world. The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher; the first woman Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Bandaranaike were just a few of the women who gave the term ‘power’ a new