Blog #4

1. What were the major components of the ideology of “true womanhood?” How was this ideology linked to the class structure of early nineteenth-century America?

The major components of the ideology of "true womanhood" were that men and women are complete and absolute opposites of each other. Another component was that society was always split into separate spheres of life like public and private, work and home life, and politics and family. This idea was mainly appealing towards the middle class, in which a man could provide his family with everything they need and the woman could concentrate on creating a stable environment at home. With the spare time on their hands from not working, the middle class women preached the idea of “true womanhood” to the lower class.

2. What is the significance of the Lowell mill girls in the history of U.S. women and work?

The Lowell mill girls were the first fully female labor force in the United States. Spinning cloth had been a household chore for a long time and had now become an incredibly large industry. Since the females who spun cloth at these factories were all young and unmarried, they were able to help their families drastically in a time of increasing expenses. However, as time passed they gained more and more independence and contributed more and more to the economy. They eventually started petitioning the state legislature for normal work hours and wages, this made the push for women into the political process.

1. What is Sanger’s view of the moral nature of women?

Sanger believed that most women wouldn’t normally sell themselves for casual, public, and non-marital sex of their own free will. He argued that they were “deserted, seduced, driven by destitution, or forced into prostitution by some other extraordinary event over which they had no control.”(170) Those who fell on hard times may not have had any alternative way to provide for themselves and those closest to them.

2. What does Sanger think are the cause and consequences of prostitution for women?

Sanger’s survey revealed that women had various reasons for becoming prostitutes. Some chose that style of life for themselves and others were merely left with no alternative to feed themselves. Some of the women were alcoholics and became prostitutes for the sole purpose of obtaining liquor. The low wages of the era gave most women no choice, but to resort to this horrible lifestyle. Consequently, women who chose this life were harshly ridiculed and degraded in public life, while only trying to make ends meet and feed their families.

3. How do Sanger’s conclusions about prostitution reflect the values of his own day?

Sanger may not have agreed with what prostitutes did, however, he was an understanding man and realized that technically none of these women chose to be prostitutes. They all just fell into an unfortunate set of circumstances and had no other method to solve their problems. The society of Sanger’s day looked down on prostitution and upper and middle class women could never understand what could force a woman to take on this horrid lifestyle.