Chapter 3
(1)
The ideology of “true womanhood” was a set of beliefs about different components of a woman’s life. Some of these components were her home life and personal relationships. It was believed that a woman was responsible for taking care of the home, her husband and her children. This was not regarded as work but rather a birthright. Her life was based on service others. Women who worked outside of their homes were called working class and those who worked inside their homes were considered middle class. There was a conflict between them because middle class women believed they were more ladylike and womanly than the working women.
(2)
The Lowell mill girls represented a time of new opportunities and a shift in the discrimination of society against working women. These young women experienced personal independence and held their own unique views and opinions. Even for a short time, they challenged wide held beliefs about womanhood and inspired new ideas at a time when their gender was restricted in many areas. The decline of the Lowell system implied that the gap between the “ladies” and the “factory girls” was widening again and that society was not yet ready to accept this form of employment for women.
“The History of Prostitution”
(1)
Sanger viewed women as being vulnerable to the effects of bad treatment by family
members and personal issues such as poverty. He believed that women did not exactly have it in them to choose a life of prostitution, but rather they had to be influenced by some situation they were in. On the other hand, women who were candidly sexual and who admitted to choosing this kind of life for no reason other than their personal desires, were viewed as immoral and corrupt. It is easy to see that Sanger, as much as he tried not to make his studies personal, held discriminatory beliefs against prostitution. I believe that what he tried to do is very significant, regardless of the fact that his opinions were somewhat biased.
(2)
Three causes of prostitution that stood out in Sanger’s study were inclination, destitution and seduction & abandonment. Most of the prostitutes he interviewed were driven by their extreme poverty and inability to care for their children or fund their addictions. Others had husbands or boyfriends that left them and they viewed prostitution as a way of payback. Some women had been sexually violated at some point, others were alcoholics and some were persuaded by friends or bad company.
(3)
Sanger’s study of these women leads us to believe that during that time there was largely a discrimination against women’s choices and behaviors. Sanger did not write about how minimal work opportunities were available to women at the time and how a woman didn’t have many other alternatives to choose from. Sanger did not see that prostitution was a product of his society, not only of the personal choices of these women. Prostitution exists today, as does discrimination, but there are now many opportunities available to women that weren’t available then. So, if Sanger were alive today, he would see a new world for women but he would find that a lot of the views of prostitution he held back then are still largely accepted and held in our society today.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Blog #2
(1)
When the Europeans arrived in North America, there were approximately 200 Native American tribes living there. Each had distinct methods and customs but they were very alike in their regard of women as superior in decision making. We can draw generalizations about the powerful economic roles they played, along with their sexual power and influence. Economically, women satisfied such roles as planters and preparers of food. Food production was regarded as a spiritual task. They also made clothes and other necessary items such as pottery. In these tribes, women had a lot of sexual equality and power. This is evident in the views they had on reproduction; it was viewed as a ritual or spiritual act with religious ties. Women, particularly older ones, were listened to and followed. When the Europeans came, women served as the catalyst through which their tribes began to adapt and communicate with the colonizers.
(2)
White womens lives were tied up with slavery in a few ways, one being that some were actually indentured servants as well. In England, employment opportunities were few, so young people decided to go into contracts with masters in the New World who promised that they would only be indentured for a certain amount of time. In Chesapeake, ¾ of the women who came from England were indentured. It was not ideal for the indentured white women to be working the fields and doing groundwork but such was the case most of the time. When African slaves were brought to North America, certain laws were created that allowed the white servants to have some more rights while the African slaves were additionally restricted. On another note, white women who had enough wealth to house a large group of African slaves for tasks around their homes, devoted more time for leisure and their children. It is evident that white women were largely tied with slavery.
(3)
The European women colonists had significant differences relating to where they were settled and the religious ideas they brought with them. In the Chesapeake colonies, it was difficult to maintain the patriarchal system the settlers had in England because of such circumstances as high mortality rates due to disease and other harsh conditions. Married women were property of their husbands and had limited rights, but single women had some more rights. Some even owned land or had political power. This was the case for only a small amount of women, a lot of the women who came to Chesapeake were indentured. Women who lived in Charleston, South Carolina, had more money and played host to parties and engaged in other leisurely activities. The New Enland colony women were Puritans who lived with strict rules which held specific beliefs of the womens role in the family. These women had high birth rates and stable marriages which lasted long. Women in the Middle Colonies were diverse and lived in societies that encouraged new ideas. They were considered as an equal partner in marriages.
When the Europeans arrived in North America, there were approximately 200 Native American tribes living there. Each had distinct methods and customs but they were very alike in their regard of women as superior in decision making. We can draw generalizations about the powerful economic roles they played, along with their sexual power and influence. Economically, women satisfied such roles as planters and preparers of food. Food production was regarded as a spiritual task. They also made clothes and other necessary items such as pottery. In these tribes, women had a lot of sexual equality and power. This is evident in the views they had on reproduction; it was viewed as a ritual or spiritual act with religious ties. Women, particularly older ones, were listened to and followed. When the Europeans came, women served as the catalyst through which their tribes began to adapt and communicate with the colonizers.
(2)
White womens lives were tied up with slavery in a few ways, one being that some were actually indentured servants as well. In England, employment opportunities were few, so young people decided to go into contracts with masters in the New World who promised that they would only be indentured for a certain amount of time. In Chesapeake, ¾ of the women who came from England were indentured. It was not ideal for the indentured white women to be working the fields and doing groundwork but such was the case most of the time. When African slaves were brought to North America, certain laws were created that allowed the white servants to have some more rights while the African slaves were additionally restricted. On another note, white women who had enough wealth to house a large group of African slaves for tasks around their homes, devoted more time for leisure and their children. It is evident that white women were largely tied with slavery.
(3)
The European women colonists had significant differences relating to where they were settled and the religious ideas they brought with them. In the Chesapeake colonies, it was difficult to maintain the patriarchal system the settlers had in England because of such circumstances as high mortality rates due to disease and other harsh conditions. Married women were property of their husbands and had limited rights, but single women had some more rights. Some even owned land or had political power. This was the case for only a small amount of women, a lot of the women who came to Chesapeake were indentured. Women who lived in Charleston, South Carolina, had more money and played host to parties and engaged in other leisurely activities. The New Enland colony women were Puritans who lived with strict rules which held specific beliefs of the womens role in the family. These women had high birth rates and stable marriages which lasted long. Women in the Middle Colonies were diverse and lived in societies that encouraged new ideas. They were considered as an equal partner in marriages.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Blog #1
Growing up in an environment where most of the kids around me were positive that they knew what they wanted to do when they grew up, I always felt out of place. I’ve never had what you would call a “drive” I was born with that told me what my purpose would be in this life. I did well in school and was accepted to a few universities out of high school but I chose not to go. I felt I needed a little time to find myself so I came to GCC. After deliberating for 2 years, changing my major about 5 times and choosing between a UC and a Cal State (I chose Cal Poly Pomona, to my parents dismay)… I am finally at a place in my life where I can breathe a little. I am currently attending Cal Poly and taking some classes at GCC as well. My major was originally Poli Sci but being the indecisive person I am; I changed it to Real Estate, Business Law & Business Finance. My goal now is to be accepted to law school, preferably Loyola or Southwestern, after I graduate. My college experience has been amazing at times and disheartening at times, but what I know for sure is that it has been a crucial part of the person I am today.
My experience in formal education along with the life lessons I have learned in my personal life allow me to come to a few conclusions about certain things. I have learned that self esteem and confidence are extremely important in all aspects of life. I cannot stress this enough. At a personal level, we allow ourselves to form relationships with the wrong people when we are lacking self esteem. We lose sight of the value we carry and become blind to who walks in and out of our lives, taking something with them everytime they go. At a professional level, a lack of self esteem enables us to give up easily at the sight of a challenge. If some one we are up against is more qualified, we will step aside because we do not believe that we could do better. An older, wiser friend of mine once told me, "Know your value and never give anyone a discount." I hope this might help some one who is reading my blog, because it took a while for me to learn it myself.
My experience in formal education along with the life lessons I have learned in my personal life allow me to come to a few conclusions about certain things. I have learned that self esteem and confidence are extremely important in all aspects of life. I cannot stress this enough. At a personal level, we allow ourselves to form relationships with the wrong people when we are lacking self esteem. We lose sight of the value we carry and become blind to who walks in and out of our lives, taking something with them everytime they go. At a professional level, a lack of self esteem enables us to give up easily at the sight of a challenge. If some one we are up against is more qualified, we will step aside because we do not believe that we could do better. An older, wiser friend of mine once told me, "Know your value and never give anyone a discount." I hope this might help some one who is reading my blog, because it took a while for me to learn it myself.
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