Women 1800s to 2000s
Jonathan Kramer
Professor Pina
WRC 1013-13
February 15, 2013
Femininity throughout American History Femininity is the trait of behaving in ways considered typical for women. Although the definition of femininity has not changed, expectations of a typical woman in today’s society has radically changed since the 1800’s. As the 19th amendment was passed and technological advances were discovered, cranes, forklifts and other heavy duty machinery requiring strength, women slowly became more able to do all tasks that once only men could accomplish, women and men even began to wear the same types of clothes, thus the line between masculinity and femininity is gradually fading and nearly gone. gone.gLife in the 1800’s for a typical woman was filled with much adversity. During the early 1800’s women were considered their husbands’ “property” and inferior to men. In the bible, Eve, and Greek mythology, Pandora, brought evil into this world. This gave the overall impression that women were like children and not able to care for themselves (“Women’s History In America”). Wives were expected to obey their husbands’ every command; otherwise most were beaten and not protected by law. Women were not seen as responsible enough or qualified for work or making major financial decisions. They were not allowed to own property and the fathers had full custody of the children if the couple were to separate. Divorce was very uncommon during this time because women were almost unable to provide for themselves. As a child, women would stay home with their mothers and help with everything; this would eventually help them when they too had to do this for their husbands. Also, premarital pregnancy was greatly frowned upon. It was nearly impossible to provide and care for the baby during that time because they had no source of income. In society, women played the role of the housewife. The wife was left with the duties at home, raising the children, cooking and housework;
Professor Pina
WRC 1013-13
February 15, 2013
Femininity throughout American History Femininity is the trait of behaving in ways considered typical for women. Although the definition of femininity has not changed, expectations of a typical woman in today’s society has radically changed since the 1800’s. As the 19th amendment was passed and technological advances were discovered, cranes, forklifts and other heavy duty machinery requiring strength, women slowly became more able to do all tasks that once only men could accomplish, women and men even began to wear the same types of clothes, thus the line between masculinity and femininity is gradually fading and nearly gone. gone.gLife in the 1800’s for a typical woman was filled with much adversity. During the early 1800’s women were considered their husbands’ “property” and inferior to men. In the bible, Eve, and Greek mythology, Pandora, brought evil into this world. This gave the overall impression that women were like children and not able to care for themselves (“Women’s History In America”). Wives were expected to obey their husbands’ every command; otherwise most were beaten and not protected by law. Women were not seen as responsible enough or qualified for work or making major financial decisions. They were not allowed to own property and the fathers had full custody of the children if the couple were to separate. Divorce was very uncommon during this time because women were almost unable to provide for themselves. As a child, women would stay home with their mothers and help with everything; this would eventually help them when they too had to do this for their husbands. Also, premarital pregnancy was greatly frowned upon. It was nearly impossible to provide and care for the baby during that time because they had no source of income. In society, women played the role of the housewife. The wife was left with the duties at home, raising the children, cooking and housework;
Cited: Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia. Women’s History in America. 2nd. Compton’s NewMedia, 1995. Women’s International Center. Web. 28 Feb. 2013 Diamond, Jared. What Are Men Good For?. New York: Longman, 2011. Print Steinem, Gloria. Wonder Woman. New York: Longman, 2011. Print Syfers, Judy. Why I Want a Wife. New York: Longman, 2011. Print Trauth, Denise. The Changing Role of Women. Texas State U, 21 Oct. 2002. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women of the Century. Discovery Education, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013 Women in 1900. HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013