Gender and Family - Gender
7 important questions on Gender and Family - Gender
What religious belief was there about gender throughout Europe?
What gender orientation did religions have?
- The Christian religion was essentially male-orientated, like the Judaic tradition from which it had sprung.
- God had created Adam first, with Eve as his companion and 'helpmeet'. Eve's weakness in the face of temptation had triggered man's fall and expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
- The New Testament reinforced the message, with Jesus choosing male disciples and St Paul preaching the duty of obedience by women.
- The Protestant Reformation further strengthened religion's male character by rejecting the cult of saints and of the Virgin Mary.
What did physicians say about the human body?
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What physical difference created a lot of clarity in gender-roles?
- Physical strength remained an essential requirement in many occupations, including agriculture, which gave men an obvious advantage.
- Though manual work made many women physically strong, this was offset by repeated pregnancies and the care of small children.
What role did the power of custom have for genderroles?
- Equally important was the power of custom. Gender-based assumptions had led in many areas to the exclusion of women from education, from many trades and from professions.
- Without education or training, women inevitably appeared incapable of taking on male roles.
- Moreover, most people naturally absorbed the ideas and values of the society in which they had grown up, and even strong-minded individuals tempted to challenge them could not point to any place or time when things had been different.
How can early modern society be described in terms of family life?
What importance did region have?
- We should also note the importance of regional variations. Roman Law, religion and custom combined to limit women's freedom and rights far more severely in Southern Europe than in the north.
- Foreign visitors sometimes described England (with considerable exaggeration) as a paradise for women; no one spoke in such terms of Spain or Italy, where middle- and upper-class women were largely confined to the home.
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