Gender and Family - Introduction

3 important questions on Gender and Family - Introduction

What is the story of Long Meg of Westminster?

  • A popular story in early modern England told the adventures of Long Meg of Westminster, a doughty young woman who dressed as a man, fought and overcame male adversaries and performed heroic feats in Henry VIII's wars against France.
  • Meg's story ends with her marrying and vowing to be a respectful and obedient wife.

What did gender constitute?

  • Gender constituted one of the key foundations of the European order, shaping almost every sphere - social, economic, religious and political.
  • The ideal family was seen as a loving partnership, but one in which the husband's supremacy was sacrosanct.
  • Then as now the family was perceived as the social unit best equipped to raise children and transmit society's values to the next generation.

How did family differ from its modern equivalent?

  • In many other respects, however, the family differed sharply from its modern equivalent, in character, function and composition.
  • It possessed a political and economic as well as a social dimension; its composition was unstable (through death, rather than divorce); and it frequently contained members biologically unrelated to either parent.

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