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The Victorian And Post World War I

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Historically, social norms have been governed by ideas of the sex dichotomy. The division between the two identities of the man and the woman permeated through the Victorian era and developed a template for prospective gender constructs. The Victorian woman, expected to preserve purity and domesticity, was portrayed with a repressed sexuality. Passive characterization supported the duty of child bearing as the female destiny and molded their identities into subordinate ones. At the turn of the 20th century in Great Britain, women began to partake in conventionally male pursuits and diverged from traditional gender roles, completely redefining their identities post-World War I. Seen in exemplary literary texts written during the Victorian and post-World War I eras, as the female role evolved, cautions of “unsexing” of the woman and sexual inversion pervaded through society. Through literary and historical analysis, evidence of sexual inversion surfaced when women began to challenge their gender roles, creating a base for lesbianism to emerge during the identity crisis post World War I. Male and female roles were immensely defined during the Victorian era. This heightened distinction stretched beyond simply classifying the two sexes, but illustrated that men and women resided in separate social spheres. Even though these gendered realms existed, they were bridged by the home, where women oversaw their domestic roles and created a nurturing environment for their family.

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