Wow, where do I begin? As a fellow woman, I am of course passionate about this topic. I could spend the rest of the year relating the role of women in the Middle Ages to all kinds of other lessons that discuss women's history and women's studies. I could share historical biographies and offer my students debates on current issues relating to women. My list of activities and learning objectives would be endless. However, my time is limited and the curriculum calls me back to reality. Instead, I settled on answering a few questions:
a. What was the role of women in the Middle Ages?
b. Are ladies Ladies today?
c. How has the role of women changed in America's short history?
d. What does the future hold for America's women?
I wonder which aspect of this lesson will engage my students...most particularly, my male students?
Student Response:
Today’s social studies lesson made me think of modern world gender specific roles. In the society of the 1300’s women (specifically noblewomen) were raised, taught, and expected to bear children, do housework, and be respectful and loyal to their husbands; who of which they “belonged to”. Also, women had none of the rights men had (ex: playing a part in the making of major decisions and voting). In modern society and government, women have nearly all the rights men have, only they can’t play professional men’s sports or take part in gender specific religious activities and so on. Women can vote like men do as of 1920, and women are part of the government. Women today are now taking on roles in society that they used to not be able to, because of “gender boundaries”. However, the stereotype remains in the mindset of many, many people. In the Middle Ages, women were seen as having to be and taught to be emotional, nurturing, affectionate, weak, forgiving, and home-oriented. Men were expected to be athletic, driven, strong, brave. Based upon research, under 3.5 percent of parents who stay home and do housework are fathers, leaving 96.5 percent to be women. Is this because women are still expected to do housework, while the men are being “strong” and doing work, bringing in money to provide for the family? Likely. In the Medieval Times, unless you were a peasant woman who also worked in the fields alongside children as well as doing all the housework, men did all of the providing for the family. Women stayed home and raised the children. I decided to take it upon myself and anonymously ask the general public on the Internet what roles they believe women should take on. Here are some of the answers I received…
Q: What is the role of a woman?
A: “Different women have different roles.”
“Cooking, Cleaning, Children.”
“Same as a man’s.”
“To cook for her husband.”
“To cook.”
“To be a functional member of society in the western world.”
“To be a wife.”
“Housekeeping and cooking.”
As you can see, many people today believe the stereotype set in the Middle Ages. To end my “post”, I would conclude my study of feminine roles in society show that although women now have most political rights, they don’t necessarily have complete social equality. Much has changed since the Middle Ages but the stereotype of who women are supposed to be hasn’t altered too greatly.
No comments:
Post a Comment