The Ideology of Separate Gender Spheres
The Ideology of Separate Gender Spheres
This chapter considers the intellectual forces that came to place women in the situation of remaining in the home looking out on the world of male activity. It discusses the ideology or set of ideas that contributed to the widespread social outlook among the middle and upper classes across the Western world during the nineteenth century—that the lives of men and women by nature pertained to distinct social spheres. In examining this set of ideas, it emphasizes that there was considerable discrepancy between the ideals and realities of the lives of women and the ideology of the separate spheres. Furthermore, much of this outlook informed the lives of middle-class women and what were regarded as respectable working-class women. There were millions of very poor women and women living in rural areas upon whom these ideas had only a minimal impact.
Keywords: gender roles, middle-class women, upper class, social sphere, working-class women, nineteenth century
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