In the 19th century women were attaining more freedom. Women
were starting to embark on various career fields, such as medicine, law,
business, and entertainment. Women began to venture in opportunities outside of
the home and beyond their typical household duties to take part in urban public
life. [249] They joined reading clubs and could partake in leisure activities
such as croquet. On the surface life for women was improving. But as new
opportunities presented themselves for women so did new opportunities for
gender inequalities, sexism, and attempts to keep women second class citizens.
Freedom and equality was a constant uphill battle for women.
During the Gilded Age, employment opportunities exploded as
the economy and job market of the north and west boomed. Even with the need for
certain jobs, women held lower positions and lower pay than their male
counterparts. Department stores became a huge employer for women, however “most
managerial jobs, including floorwalker, were reserved for men.” [243] In 1870,
the United States had only five female lawyers and many women such as Myra
Bradwell were denied the bar.[242] As the medical physician profession became
more prestigious men became more resistant to women attending medical school
and harassed the few women that did attend. It’s quite ironic that women
weren’t considered suitable for medical school considering their medical contribution
during the Civil War Thousands of women in the North and South worked as paid
and volunteer nurses [197]. During the
Civil War women were also more effective medical providers than men. “A Confederate
congressional investigation discovered that the mortality rate among soldiers
cared for by females was only half that of those tended by men.” [198] Clara
Barton’s contributions and efforts to solicit donations and supplies were so
successful that she founded the American Red Cross. [200]
Perhaps, if more women were doctors there would have been
less unnecessary surgeries to remove female reproductive organs to supposedly
cure mental illness. “It’s possible that a connection existed between the
increasing independence of many women and the surgical assault on them.” [252]
If a surgeon can perform this procedure to cure “virgin nymphomania” [253], it
becomes apparent this is an attempt to control women. The medical profession not
only used surgeries to suppress women but also drugs. It was not acceptable for
women to drink alcohol, but acceptable for them to take medication to ease
their depression and loneliness while their husbands spent the evenings in clubs
or saloons. “Young women cannot go to a ball without taking a dose of morphine
to make them agreeable.”[254] If woman were unhappy it was through their own
fault and not due to society and their mistreatment of women. “I do wish that
every woman who feels dissatisfied with her lot would realize that she is sick
and would take steps to make herself well” [254]
Women were welcomed into careers as switchboard operators
since “men tended to talk back to the costumers.” [243]This eluded and fed into
the idea that women are naturally submissive and men are naturally dominant.
The job opportunities that presented themselves in business offices for women
were for “a pretty blond” and opened to sexual harassment.[245] With the steps
forward women took into the employment market came numerous steps backward for
gender equality. Also, during the gilded age women were exposed to body image
concerns and uncomfortable fashion getups much like the early 1800s. Women’s
preoccupation with fashion and body image was another step backwards for women.
Pioneer women headed West took on more masculine duties
along the trail such as driving oxen, pitching tents, and pulling wagons, but
were still expected to do domestic duties such cooking, cleaning and birthing
children while remaining proper Victorian women.[211] The the suffrage and
abolition movements may have had some success in the North and East, but this
meant little in the West where Chinese, Mexican, and Indian women were abused
and sold as slaves. Even white women captured by Indians were sold as slaves or
used for sex.
Women may have gained opportunities for different careers,
but they were still expected to be responsible for household and domestic
duties. Every advancement for women came with restrictions. The concept of women
should be devoted to family and children remained which is why only single
women were available to many job opportunities. Even with all the changes,
women will need to continue to fight for equal treatment. Even today I make
less than money than my husband who works in the same job and has less experience.
And we have yet to see a female president. Yes, the more things change the more
they remain the same!
1. Gail Collins, America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls,
Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines (New York: Harper Perennial, 2007), 249.
2. Ibid, 243.
3. Ibid, 242.
4. Ibid, 197.
5. Ibid, 198.
6. Ibid, 200.
7. Ibid, 252.
8. Ibid, 253.
9. Ibid, 254.
10. Ibid, 254.
11. Ibid, 243.
12. Ibid, 245.
13. Ibid, 211.
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