Gender Play In Early Modern England

Women were expected to do so much but at the same time so little. They had no power to do what they desire because men had all the power to control them. Society had an expectation of how women were supposed to act. For instance, Mary’s father cared for his sons education he wanted them to know how to read, write, and to do sums, as for his daughters he only cared that they knew how to read and sew. That is the basic that women were allowed to learn it was not important for them to know more since all they were going to work for is taking care of children. Here is an example, “…Gender roles within those families the reinforcement of gender ideals such as “helpmeet” and “notable housewife” by religious and civil authorities, and the simple

Women were always classified based on their relation to a male: wife, daughter, mother, etc. Secondly, women were basically under the control of their male counterparts because of the assumption that they were not of sound mind to make important decisions. The article alludes to these facts that not only were there gender role distinctions, but also class distinctions. Whether it be that you were an office holding general or a woman adorned in gold, the rich were on top of society. Their apparel and positions only confirmed their status. The Oppian law proved to be taking away what made the rich the elite. When these women could not wear jewelry or ride in carriages, they were seemingly on the same level as the lower classes, and in turn their male counterparts were by means of association on that lower level too. Gender

During the Middle Ages, except for those in religious positions, women were only seen as three things, which were daughter, wife, and mother. But in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, new opportunities in learning humanism arose for only those in the higher class families. Even though they started to educate themselves, the majority had no rights whatsoever in money matters as well as estate. From the 17th century and up to the scientific revolution, women’s rights had consistently been improving. However, during the revolution, the study of the human body brought to attention that the male brain is quite larger than that of a female. This revelation set back the female race back to a limited role, but this time this setback was

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

Throughout Western thought to 1600, women are portrayed as second-class citizens, their roles in society were inferior to those of the dominant groups in society. Women during this time filled traditional roles of caretaking, birthing and manual labor. They were tools used in society in the form of property or as a source for bearing children, preferably boys. Women were compared to other luxurious items such as gold, and horses and often praised for their beauty. Although many texts portray women in these subordinate roles, some were referred by name but often times not. Overall women weren’t given access to many positions or resources in society due to the way they were perceived by those dominant in society.

In every society, each person has some type of role that they have to fulfill. Whether they are at the top of the hierarchy or at the bottom, everyone had a job they had to do. Social hierarchy in terms of gender were much different in comparison to today. For instance in ancient Greece, men had more rights than women. Women had fewer rights and they were “unable to vote, own land, or inherit”.

Then in society, men were portrayed as “dominant figures” and women were the “nurturers”. Men not only filled the fatherly role but they also usually earned the “breadwinning”, went to work all day, and financially provided for the wives and

With England coming out of the Middle Ages, the early Modern Age was presented as a revival for the country. With a woman now on the throne the ability to play on the idea of gender was a necessity, and it created an influence on society as a whole. Like many aspects of the period, the presentation of gender and sexuality began to change with the rest of England’s Early Modern era. Conversely, gender play, and even cross-dressing, in this time period was presented as an alternative was looked upon as a disruption society and must be contained. Therefore, the structure for gender roles was concrete and strict, for its intention was used to keep the social order to remain in balanced and keep the general public to function as they should have.

In present times, the idea of gender, and gender roles is a prevalent part of our society. These gender roles are guidelines for men and women on how they should behave, wear, and what jobs they are allowed to do. This concept of these roles are not just in today’s times. In fact, since the time of Medieval Europe and Confucian China, the idea of gender and the rules and regulations of it have been an important aspect of life. In the societies of Medieval Europe and China, the challenged gender roles were too powerful to be broken.

Elizabeth I, the Queen of England, ruled for 44 years after her 1559 coronation. Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she came to power after a separation with the Roman Catholic Church, but governed with much stability for the duration of her reign. During this time, men were seen as vastly superior to women in general. Add that to the fact that most of England’s monarchs had previously been kings, and the previous queen was much disliked - earning the name “Bloody Mary” from the public - gender roles were sure to be discussed during Elizabeth’s rule. The ideas lower class men had about gender put women far lower than the ideas of men in the royal court, and Elizabeth responded to these ideas by reasserting her power and capability to rule.

In order to understand how the social norms of gender came to be, I believe we need to look at the role of women throughout history. Across many cultures, we can see a common idea of a woman being a property of a man whose

The issue of gender has been around since the beginning of time, specifically the idea that women are inferior to men. Men always had a higher status and they held the most power. However, no one challenged this idea because this was the way they knew society was supposed to be during that time and they didn’t have a problem with it. Women were the ones who truly accepted this idea and thus, they followed the traditions of their culture. The texts Agamemnon from Greek culture, The Tale of Genji from Japanese culture and The Thousand and One Nights from Arabic culture all reflect the idea of women being lower than men.

Throughout European history, women have struggled endlessly to become the intellectual and social equals of their male counterparts. After hundreds of years of physical labor, housekeeping, child rearing and many other difficult tasks, women’s attitudes about their place in life began to change. In the last few years of the eighteenth century (after tough and troubled decades) possible beginnings of early women’s rights were born when society began to evaluate the education and potential of women as a social class.

In the 17th century, women had many roles to fill; however, the role to be the perfect, obedient housewife was the most important one. “Women’s proper role in society… was largely limited to the domestic sphere.” According to the article, Status Of Women In 17th Century Neo-Classical Age, women were expected to always be controlled or owned by some sort of male authority,

During this period, ideal women roles existed with a strong emphasis on purity and selflessness while with men they were seen as head of society and head of family. Why were