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Essay / Issues of Modernization and Gender Ideology
When the term modernization entered industrial society in the 19th century, it changed not only the social dynamics of society, but also the family structure. The transition from an agrarian lifestyle to urbanization meant that the distance from the breadwinners [the patriarch of the family] home became even greater. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay New gender ideologies such as domestic ideology and free labor ideology influenced the way society thought about characteristics workers who succeeded in murder. from the trial of Helen Jewett and Richard P. Robinson. The DI and FLI brought positive developments for American men and women, giving women purpose, authority, and value in their assigned roles and encouraging and motivating men to work toward success financial. Before industrialization, families worked on plantations in their home countries. Women spent most of their time at home, preparing meals, cleaning and raising children while men were assigned to more labor-intensive work outside the home, in plantations and responsibilities beyond the farm. Both gender roles were intended to support and prosper the home and family. Modernization transformed many aspects of the agrarian lifestyle, moving from work to capital-intensive and from rural to urban. The emergence of modernization in industrial America gave rise to two gender ideologies, the domestic ideology and the free labor ideology. These ideologies have changed the way women and men are perceived as well as the roles they play in the public and private sphere. Domestic ideology justifies why women belong to the more private domain which is generally linked to the home, family and all economic relationships. In domestic ideology, women are seen as caregivers and a moral compass for society. Their place in the home is no longer seen as an expectation but as an important and beneficial role for society. Women are given the role of running the household when the patriarch is gone, the home front also becomes a women's affair. Women become the home experts in all financial domestic life. Lydia Maria Child, author of The American Frugal Housewife, wrote her book in the 1830s with a critical look at "unpaid labor within the household" and embraces "family finances" and its connections. with the economy. The child explains how the women of the household can be used economically to provide for the family. She uses the phrase “Time is money” to emphasize the need to save and recycle resources. The child gives an example; mothers can reuse “scraps from dresses, curtains” and other inexpensive materials to repair and transform old fabric into something useful. Child also emphasizes teaching children the importance of financial thrift and the importance of “considering every day of lost earnings for which something has not been done” to improve the family economy (103 ). Even though women are subjected to these unrealistic expectations, there are also ideologies that are imposed on the male partner as well. FLI, or Free Labor Ideology, is the idea that anyone can elevate their status, regardless of their living conditions. THEMen can succeed financially by improving and mastering themselves. This ideology is based on the idea of education or learning an important skill that can be capitalized on. It may be becoming an apprentice or going to school and receiving an education, but the goal of free labor ideology is to improve and motivate oneself to gain social mobility. This ideology is illustrated in Horatio Alger Jr's book, Ragged Dick, when Dick had a conversation with Frank's uncle Mr. Whitney about his rise up the social ladder. When Dick asked Mr. Whitney how he left the life of poverty, the older man advised Dick to expand his knowledge, stating that he "must know something about books." Dick illustrates the motivation that FLI supports through his determination to eventually abandon the black boot lifestyle. He begins his journey by putting aside the "five dollars" that Mr. Whitney gave him in his bank book and makes the decision "that he would devote every penny he could spare from his winnings to the fund he hoped accumulate”. Dick was motivated to envision his future and find the self-control necessary to save his earnings and one day find the opportunity to make something of himself. In the era of industrialization, women were considered pure. Domestic ideology perceives that women possess innate characteristics that make them purer than men. The book, The Murder of Helen Jewett, written by Patricia Cline Cohen, describes the murder of a prostitute named Helen Jewett and how it influenced change in media and society. Helen Jewett challenges the vision of Domestic Ideology. During her childhood, Helen, formerly known as Dorcas, had tried to fit in with the ideology when it came to taking care of the household and providing for her family. As a child, Dorcas was given chores such as "cooking, sweeping, and doing laundry" as well as the opportunity to pursue an education at a "Girl Academy in Portland and Boston" (187) where they would learn skills at home such as needlework, piano lessons and other duties of the “social elite”. Helen Jewett rebels against this ideology when she was "driven to sin by the very necessity of her nature" (219), separated from her foster family, and led a life of "sin" as a prostitute. The public's reactions to his profession have been cast in several different lights. A journalist believes that Helen's murder and her fall from grace can be seen as a testimony of women straying from the path of domestic ideology. Helen's ending is a lesson for women "not to follow the fallen girl through the passages of this love" and to resist these temptations, because "the fallen woman has been contaminated" (225). Helen Jewett is an anomaly and her case has sparked equal amounts of fear, fascination and disgust. However, the private and public spheres are not completely separate. These spheres are flexible and can fit together at any time. Women who enter the labor market, for example in factories, are excluded from the domestic ideology which locates women strictly in the home. Domestic ideology does not benefit all women nor does it create other opportunities for other work. Women like Amy Galusha, A Lowell Mill girl who lived between 1849 and 1851, she left her parents' home and worked in the mills. His letters home speak of working conditions and urbanized culture that differ from the agricultural lifestyle. Amy Galusha describes her field of work compared to that of men in factories, explaining the difficult things that men,.