Daily Life of women in the 1800's compared to today
The mid-to-late 19th century was the onset for the fight of the modern female. From that point forward, normal women began standing up for themselves; they wanted to stop being seen as simple laborers and house maids, and instead as human beings, just like their male counter parts. But, what exactly were the roles that these women wanted to change; and how do they compare to to the roles women have today?
Education
This image shows Alice Paul speaking to her audience over the topic of women's suffrage. Paul broke the status quo and attended three different universities. Although she fought for women's rights mainly through voting rights. Nonetheless, Paul helped break down the barrier preventing equal rights.
Traditional
Unlike their male counterparts, girls were not expected to have a broad and meaningful education. Only a microscopic portion of female students were able to further education past their compulsory courses. Because of this, women were kept to knowing the basics of education at the time, and were instead taught about house work such as cleaning and cooking. This led to men assuming that women were intellectually inferior. Which furthered their beliefs that women should remain housemaids.
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Today
Today the roles have actually been reversed in a sense. A higher percentage of women received bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees than men in 2010; a conclusion could be drawn that women are not discriminated against education-wise. Women have proved their worth in this field, showing they are equal to men in terms of knowledge.
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Jobs
The image to the left shows a woman working in the kitchen, a common place from women to stay while the men were at work and the children at school. House work was one of the most common jobs that women were expected to fulfill.
Traditional
The only job women were expected to do was house work. A woman obtaining a job was usually due to a deceased husband, or less commonly, one who was never married. Women searching for job's outside of the home were often discriminated. They were seen as weak and dull-witted compared to men. Because of this, the small number of jobs available to them. For instance, being a seamstress. These jobs had low pay and required extremely long hours. One could think of this as a punishment for not fulfilling the roles society gave to them.
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Today
Today, discrimination of sex in the work field has been decreasing for the past one hundred years. Many could argue that sex discrimination is virtually gone in America. There are various laws that minimize lower salaries for women compared to men, and laws that prohibit sex as a factor for hiring. Also, a new trend has arisen in America; women being the bread winners of the family. The percent of mothers leading the income in the family has been steadily increasing. Reaching almost 25%; a statistic that was virtually non-existent in the early 20th century.
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Marriage
The picture to the left features an African American couple getting married in the 1920's. The couple is among millions that have been wed during the era of traditional roles in America. Similar to those couples; the wife will most likely be a housewife and the husband will be the bread winner.
traditional
Marriage was an odd thing during this era. It was not completely based on love and attraction. Family ties, property, and breeding also played a large role in the selection of the bride. Women had very little say in who they married, and their groom was usually chosen by a parent. Females could not legally own their own property when married, and the property that the previously owned was handed over to the male by law. Because of this, wealthy single women were sometimes pushed to be married, in some cases against their will. Outside of a few cases, women were barred from getting a divorce; it was up to the male. Although in a few liberal states, divorce could be granted due to abuse and alcoholism. Many historians agree that wives were treated by property by both their husband and the law.
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today
Marriage is far more balanced today. Both parties must be consenting, meaning parents cannot arrange their children's wedding unless agreed upon. Wealth and assets are mutual between partners. A male can no longer take a woman's property for their own after being married. Since assets are commonly split around the 50/50 mark; divorces are less extreme. Each partner will take about half of the shared assets, but it can vary from judge to judge. Also, divorces can filed from either party, although a contested divorce can be very difficult and expensive; so a majority of divorces are agreed upon by both parties. With all this in mind, it is obvious that neither party controls the other, unlike a hundred years ago.
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Furthering Your research
A video discussing the lives of women. It covers various topics such as roles as a wife, equality among classes, the activities of housewives, the women's rights movement, and other smaller topics:
The link below is about the traditional roles women were expected to follow, covers various topics such as fashion, marriage, and education:
This link covers women from the point of view from the law. Topics include; abortion, divorce, and property laws:
This link leads to a mostly statistical article about women in the work force and in higher education today:
The following link is a broad collection of marriage laws from various states. Content includes; age requirements, permission from guardian, and blood tests: