Gender Research Assignment

The Effect Class Has on Gender Roles

Class division was really a division of power and money. Women in positions of higher status had much greater power, authority and influence than those who did not share those positions. The classes were divided as follows:

Upper Class

Middle Class

Working Class

Under Class (impoverished)

Belonging to the upper classes, the highest being nobility, royalty (e.g. the Queen) women were challenging stereotypes of their role as the homemaker and took on positions of great power and responsibility. Whereas women in the lower classes worked at a very domestic level; as maids, washerwomen and seamstresses. Gender roles were often challenged by women in the higher classes but arguably, reinforced by those in the lower positions of society who had no other option.

Conventions Around Gender

Women were expected to be housewives and bear children. The woman was supposed to manage the houeshold, delegate its servants, and possessed the job for taking care of sick family members. Attributes that women looked for in Victorian times included a good temper, compassion, and neatness. Fine motor skills were very important to the mistress of the household. Women could be emplyoed in factories or in the garment industry, but often did not work in subjects such as law or medicine. Women were typically educated in the arts and French.

Status of Women in the Victorian Era

Women were seen as "pure and clean" and consequently, they were not used for physical exertion. A women's role in Victorian society is to improve the lives of others through the development of healthcare, education, and social services. For instance, women were expected to tend the house, such as delegating tasks to the servants. Similarly in the late 1800's, women were still thought of as "pure and clean" and they were commonly employed as nurses and typists. However, women were treated ad second-class citizens sinc they were denied the rights to vote.

Works Consulted

" Victorian Women -- Social and Economic Status: Class and Occupation." The Victorian Web: An Overview. 29 Oct. 2009 <http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/femeconov.html>.

"Women in the Victorian era." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 23 Oct 2009, 09:48 UTC. 29 Oct 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Women_in_the_Victorian_era&oldid=321546575>.